Category: Singapuraku

Malay Single-Mother A Hero To Old Chinese Couple

Single mother Noriza A. Mansor gets only one day off a week from her job as a bedsheet promoter.

Most would use that day to rest, but she spends it looking after an old man she met by chance as he stood in a Toa Payoh supermarket soiled by his faeces.

Ms Noriza, 49, made headlines last October when she stepped forward to help Mr Tan Soy Yong, 76, who had soiled himself while buying groceries with his wife, who was in a wheelchair.

Others had recoiled from the old man and his stench. But Ms Noriza not only bought him new shorts but she even knelt to wipe the dried faeces off his legs – an act which moved a bystander to tears.

Since that day, she has made it a point to visit Mr Tan for at least six hours a week at his Potong Pasir three-room flat.

Mr Tan has lived there alone since the start of the year, when his wife, Madam Lee Bee Yian, also 76, was hospitalised for cancer.

During her visits, Ms Noriza cleans up Mr Tan, who cannot control his bowels, and washes his soiled laundry. She also mops the floor and tidies up the flat, while chatting brightly with him in a mix of Malay and Hokkien. Some days, she will accompany him to visit his wife in hospital. On other days, she will take him out in his wheelchair to the hawker centre to eat his favourite wonton noodles.

Said Ms Noriza: “I only wish I could see him more often. Sometimes if I finish work at 8pm, I will go to see him. But I don’t always have the time.”

She often works 12 hours a day, taking home around $2,000 a month. She has three sons and two daughters aged 11 to 26. Four of them still live with her.

Yet she has no qualms about making time for the old couple. “In my life, I am never tired,” she said.

Mr Tan told her he has a son and a daughter, but Ms Noriza said that, according to social workers, the couple have no children. She thinks they have a niece and a nephew living in Singapore, but has been unable to contact them.

Ms Noriza believes Mr Tan was sent into her life by God, as she lost her parents when she was 21.

Her father succumbed to cancer and her mother wasted away in depression eight months later.

She said she treats the couple as “my own father and mother”.

Mr Tan once asked her if she had a passport. “I said yes. He said when his wife is discharged, we can go on holiday together as a family.”

She smiled wistfully. “I know this kind of thing is very hard, with their conditions. But of course I told him we would. He’s so sweet.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

July 13, 2015
Meet The Malay Football Coach Who Risked Life To Save Others From Fire

When a Choa Chu Kang Housing Board flat burst into flames and terrified residents fled en masse, one man ran in the opposite direction.

On discovering the February 2014 fire, football coach Faizaltulamri Noorali immediately ran from door to door to warn his neighbours. Racing up and down several flights of stairs, the 34-year-old saved two elderly women, two maids and a little girl. He even rescued a cat.

When The Straits Times caught up with him more than a year later, he downplayed his deeds. “I was just doing something a normal human being would do,” he said.

That morning, he had spotted smoke coming out of an eighth-storey unit. The heat made him hesitate, but the thought of somebody being trapped inside spurred him to break a window pane. Recalling the thick black smoke that billowed out over him, he said: “I had to squat down to avoid the smoke. I almost lost consciousness then.”

Despite inhaling some of the smoke, Mr Faizaltulamri went on to rescue others, including a 63-year-old housewife on the 14th storey. As she refused to leave without her cat, he had to search her flat and catch the feline.

On the 11th storey, he found a 76-year-old woman lying in the corridor, with her maid crying helplessly next to her . He carried the elderly woman down and, despite his fatigue, went back upstairs, returning with a five-year- old asthmatic girl in his arms.

His acts have got him recognised by strangers, not just in Choa Chu Kang but also in the new restaurant he is helping his friend manage, and even on one occasion by Singaporean tourists in Batam.

Mr Faizaltulamri said, however, that he did not always cut such a gallant figure. A rebellious youngster, he was even involved in a secret society at one point.

He said: “In the past, I didn’t think about other people. If this had happened 10 years ago, I would have been one of those bystanders taking a selfie with the fire in the background.”

His outlook changed after he met his girlfriend of 11 years, Ms Faizureen Ashiqkeen. “She’s my real inspiration,” he said.

The 32-year-old educator was not amused by her fiance’s heroics, though. Mr Faizaltulamri said she broke down on learning how he had risked his life.

The couple are getting married next month, and plan to move into a new flat five minutes away from Mr Faizaltulamri’s family.

Their first step on setting up house? “Get fire insurance,” quipped Mr Faizaltulamri.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

July 13, 2015
Calls For More Sites To Be Protected Following Botanical Gardens’ UNESCO Success

The Republic’s successful bid to have the Singapore Botanic Gardens recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site earlier this month has sparked discussion, and hope, that more sites reflecting the nation’s heritage may gain recognition and protection.

Top on the wishlist of heritage experts and the public are Pulau Ubin, Bukit Brown and Jalan Kubor cemeteries, Jurong industrial estate, and even the types of public housing built over the years.

As the largest Chinese cemetery outside China with about 100,000 graves, Bukit Brown is a historical site comparable to others around the world, said Singapore Heritage Society vice-president Terence Chong. “More importantly, Bukit Brown is a showcase of the complexity of overseas Chinese culture with Fujian influence lying beside Peranakan aesthetics,” he added.

The society’s president, Dr Chua Ai Lin, said the cemetery was placed on last year’s World Monuments Watch, a global list of endangered cultural heritage sites. This is testimony to the fact that it has considerable heritage value, she said. Jalan Kubor, Singapore’s oldest Muslim cemetery and home to about 15,000 graves, is equally rich in heritage, she added.

The decision to build a road through Bukit Brown in 2012 resulted in consternation among conservation groups, which lamented the ensuing loss of heritage and biodiversity. Meanwhile, calls have been made to preserve Jalan Kubor by making it part of the Kampong Glam conservation district.

Last week, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the Botanic Gardens was “just the very first site” that Singapore could offer to the world, and that there was much to reflect upon with regard to the nation’s next heritage site.

Indeed, the Gardens’ success has led to much discussion about what else can be done to recognise other heritage sites — even if they do not have the potential to get on UNESCO’s list.

Singapore formally protects heritage sites through the inscription of National Monuments and conserved buildings. But Dr Chua noted that heritage-rich sites such as Bukit Brown slip through the cracks of protection.

“It is neither a building nor a monument,” she said, adding that there needs to be a comprehensive review of heritage legislation. “One of the things we’ve been saying is there is already existing legislation, but are they sufficient in protecting all sites?”

For instance, Singapore University of Technology and Design architecture assistant professor Yeo Kang Shua said public housing, ranging from Singapore Improvement Trust flats to more recent HDB homes, was worthy of consideration too, given the country’s success in this area.

Said Dr Yeo, who is also Singapore Heritage Society’s honorary secretary and whose work includes the restoration of Yueh Hai Ching Temple on Phillip Street: “We can look at the different periods of development and how we keep it as part of our landscape.” However, he acknowledged the challenges of getting public housing inscribed. “It’s a lived environment and, because of that, we have to accept that it’ll change over time.”

Architect and urban historian Lai Chee Kien pointed out that Jurong industrial estate, a “Garden Industrial Estate”, was revolutionary in its planning and design. “It’s the only industrial estate I know that crisscrosses industrial areas with greenery … the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, Bird Park and lake area provide greenery for workers’ respite,” he said. “Jurong is a lesser-known but important idea that Singapore has given the world — that you can integrate green areas to ameliorate industrial areas, rather than setting them apart.”

Pulau Ubin, said Dr Chua, also needs further protection. “Pulau Ubin is not protected by any legislation now, but is a place that is rich in cultural heritage and deserves to be protected.”

Wishlists aside, Dr Chua said what is more pressing is the need to involve Singaporeans in the ongoing public conversation on heritage. Agreeing, Dr Yeo said: “Having a title tends to raise awareness. We congratulate ourselves for getting Botanic Gardens (listed), but what’s next?” He called for a public platform where people could “discuss heritage openly and transparently, be it our local community heritage, national heritage or world heritage”.

Responding to media queries, the National Heritage Board (NHB) said it has no plans to nominate other sites in Singapore for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. NHB CEO Rosa Daniel said putting up a bid for such a status requires a lot of resources from government agencies and the community, and the work continues even after a successful inscription. But the board is open to exploring possible sites with experts and stakeholders, she added.

While most may expect a World Heritage site to be of certain grandeur, such as China’s Great Wall, Dr Chua felt that in Singapore, it could be any place that is “deeply valued by the local community and which meets UNESCO criteria”.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 13, 2015
Racial Harmony Kampung-Style In HDB Corridor

About once a month, residents on the 14th storey of Block 591A, Montreal Link in Sembawang gather for a meal together.

There are five families living on this level and they take turns hosting the monthly gatherings.

During this period of the Muslim fasting month, the neighbours gathered again one Saturday evening earlier this month to break fast together.

One of them, Mr Jasem Rif’at Muhammed Effendi Arriola, 19, posted a photo of the gathering on his Twitter account and it went viral, with more than 2,800 retweets, much to the surprise of the neighbours.

The photo was shared more than 3,000 times on Facebook and was also shared on online sites such as Stomp.

The comments were overwhelmingly positive.

Some said the residents were bringing back the “kampung spirit.”

Others commended the fact that the mainly Muslim neighbours asked their non-Muslim neighbours along.

The neighbours had another meal on Saturday.

For one of the neighbours, Mr Syed Agil Syed Ali, 34, the attention was strange.

“We’ve always been doing this and we’ve always been posting these eating sessions on social media,” he said.

“This is the first time that a photo of one our makan (Malay for food) sessions has attracted so much attention,” said the information technology specialist.

For Mr Ang Cheng Bin, 49, joining his Muslim neighbours to break fast was not an issue.

“Since I moved in, they have always been so friendly to me,” he said.

“Plus, we’ve had these sessions before,” added the pastor of Bartley Christian Church.

Mr Ang moved in with his family in February and is the newest addition to the 14th storey.

Even before he moved in, his future neighbours’ friendliness was evident to him and his family to see.

“Before purchasing the flat, I came down with my wife to survey the area,” he said.

GOOD GUYS

“This is when I met Helmi, who invited me, a total stranger to enter his house to take a look at the view. That was when I knew that these guys were a bunch of good guys.”

That person was Mr Muhammad Helmi Azman, who lives in the unit across from Mr Ang.

Like his neighbours, Mr Muhammad Helmi did not think that his actions were out of the ordinary – he was just being friendly.

“Its good that we have this spirit,” said the 31-year-old nurse.

He and his wife, Madam Noraisah Zolkapli, 26, had moved into the unit beside Mr Syed Aqil’s in January last year.

Said Mr Muhammad Helmi: “My heart is at ease, knowing we have neighbours who are friendly and that our kids can play together.”

He has two daughters, aged one and two.

Mr Helmi’s neighbour, Mr Hafiz Yusoff, 25, told TNP that their children playing together was one of the reason why they have bonded.

He lives with his wife in the unit next to the Angs.

There are six children, aged between one and six, among the five families who live on the 14th storey.

“They play with each other, sometimes in the corridor, most of the time in each other’s houses,” Mr Hafiz said.

As the clock ticked closer to the time to break fast on Saturday, the mat where they would all sit and eat was rolled out.

Each household brought out the food they had prepared to share with their neighbours.

The main dish of the night was laksa cooked by Mr Hafiz’s wife, Mrs Nor Diana Mohamed, and his mother-in-law.

Mr Ang brought out fruits and otah-otah and Mr Helmi brought finger foods. Mr Syed Agil and his wife helped to prepare the drinks and prepare the dining area.

As the radio signalled that it was time to break their fast by playing the azaan, the Muslim call to prayer, all of them tucked in.

When asked if he hoped that this practice would continue, Mr Syed Agil said: “Of course. In fact, I hope that there are more of such scenes all over Singapore.”

Source: www.tnp.sg

July 13, 2015
Yishun Drama – Intruder Hide In Sranger’s Flat To Evade Police

For 20 agonising minutes, a mother and her three young children were stricken by fear when they were held captive in their Yishun flat yesterday.

A desperate intruder had broken into their home and was frantically trying to escape the police.

He was eventually arrested.

Speaking to The New Paper after the incident, Madam Suhadah Jumadi, 33, said she was getting ready to break fast with her children in the living of their home in Block 431B, Yishun Avenue 1, when she saw a barefooted man walk out of her bedroom.

He had climbed into her sixth-storey flat through the master bedroom window from the level above, breaking her window grilles.

She hadn’t heard him as the TV was on and her children were playing.

“The man told me not to call the police and asked me to find a way to help him get away,” Madam Suhadah said.

Then she heard a commotion at her door as well as sounds under the block.

“I could see uniformed officers outside (the window on the first storey), as well those knocking on my door (through the peephole).

“That’s when I knew he was a wanted man,” she said.

Source: www.tnp.sg

July 13, 2015