Category: Singapuraku

Tourists Who Allegedly Angered Mount Kinabalu Spirits To Be Charged In Sabah Native Court

The seven tourists who allegedly posed in the nude for photographs on top of Mount Kinabalu and whose actions are said to have angered the spirits there which unleashed Friday’s earthquake, will face charges in a native court for violating local native laws, said the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sabah Parks.

Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin told reporters at the Sabah Park headquarters in Kundasang last night that the tourists were in police custody in Kota Kinabalu and could be charged as early as tomorrow.

He, however, could not say if they would be charged in the court in Kota Kinabalu or the one in Kundasang.

The death toll from the quake that hit Sabah on Friday morning is now 13, while six people remain missing.

Most KadazanDusuns interviewed believed in their ancestors’ belief in the spirits of the mountain, and that the spirits were provoked by the tourists’ reported nude jaunt at the summit of the mountain last week.

The tourists also allegedly urinated in “improper places” at the summit.

“It’s akin to someone going to a mosque or temple and urinating in them,” said Zainal, describing the act as desecration.

Photos of their antics were posted on Facebook, which quickly went viral.

Even Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan shared the sentiment that the Westerners provoked the spirits and that they should be punished.

He reportedly said a ritual would be conducted to appease the angry spirits.

The mountain is revered by locals who called it Akinabalu, which in the native language means resting place of the dead.

“Kadazandusuns have long believed the mountain to be sacred, and in the past even pointing at the mountain was absolute taboo,” said Zainal.

“They still believe it to be sacred today and that is why the sogit (a sacrificial ritual) is performed at the end of every year to appease the spirits and seek their permission to climb it for another year,” he said.

“They (the tourists) have no respect for local beliefs. It is only appropriate they be punished for disrespecting and breaking local native laws.”

Even though he is Muslim, Zainal believed there is “something” in the mountain from personal experience.

The former Royal Air Force pilot narrated how a Frenchman in the 50s refused to perform the sogit before climbing the mountain and was seriously injured in a fall.

He said a series of unusual and unexplained incidents also occurred in the attempt to take the injured Frenchman to hospital.

The incidents, said Zainal, so unnerved the Frenchman that he later had the sogit performed.

The sogit is a ritual where seven white “kampung” chickens are slaughtered and seven of everything including beetlenut leaves and kapor, are offered to appease the spirit before any climb.

Seven, said Zainal, is an important number in ancient Kadazandusun religious belief.

Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

June 8, 2015
Local Teacher: Singapore And Malaysia Need To Ban Nudist Prick And Crew For Disrespecting The Victims Of Sabah Earthquake

Admin,

I teach at a primary school. It’s been almost 8 years since I first started teaching. I did not become a teacher because I love children. I became a teacher for the opportunity it affords me to help mould the lives of these little ones. Over time, I learnt to love them. Even the naughty ones. They fill you with such joy with their earnestness and innocence.

Needless to say, I was overcome with grief when I first heard of the losses by TKPS. As a teacher and as a parent of a toddler myself, I was devastated. I thought of my own little one and how I would feel if I lost him. It scares me. So, I cannot imagine how it is for the parents to deal with their loss. Like other Singaporeans, I can only emphatise and offer my deepest condolences.

There are some who say that the Malaysian government’s rescue efforts was found wanting. I don’t know. Maybe it is still too early to say. For me, now’s the time to focus the effort on working together to look for those still missing. The review can come later. Then we’ll have a better idea of what went right, or wrong, during the search and rescue.

But what I cannot understand and forgive is these foreigners who react with not an ounce of sensitivity in their being. Go and see Emil Kaminski‘s fb profile and his page, Monkeetime.

Many have slammed the foreigners who chided and ridiculed their guides before taking naked pictures of themselves on Mount Kinabalu. Many Malaysians, including government officials, have blamed them for the disaster. I agree that it is a bit far-fetched.

But what I’ll say is what they did really disrespected the culture and traditions of people who treat the mountain as sacred. It is not their place to ridicule or to “liberalise” the Sabahans. They do this for what? Entertainment? I am very appalled by his reactions, to say the least.

They need to stop with the white men’s burden mentality and stop imposing their values on others. Even with all the grief sadness, this a**hole still posted on his timeline with the semi-naked photos of his trip and captioned it, “Mount Kinabalu. Time of my life”. This was last night when more or less, a lot of the students were confirmed dead. That is being very provocative. So no, you don’t call these people who blame you for the earthquake, stupid.

Stupid is one who had caused an uproar only to pour scorn on the loss of young lives. Stupid is one who is disrespectful of local customs in their search of fun. You may not have directly caused the earthquake. But that does not give you the right to mouth-off and ridicule, and rub slat into the fresh wounds of the parents who loss their children in the earthquake.

The Singapore government keep saying that we need foreigers. This kind of foreigner we don’t need. Instead, we need to keep them out. Our social compact is too fragile to cope with these rude people who with big egos who are resistant to learning, as well as showing compassion and humility.

Singapore and Malaysia should bar him and his nudist bunch from entering ever again.

Teacher Teaching

[Reader Contribution]

June 8, 2015
PRC Girls Alleging Molest To Blackmail Singaporean Men For Compensation

Got This from a friend.

The email below has been circulating around cyberspace.

Please forward this to all your male Singaporean loved ones and friends. This is something that actually happened to me and I feel that it needs to be shared. I believe my experience will help your male loved one stay out of trouble.

On the morning of 18th February at about 9.50 am I was standing at Coffee Bean (Novena Square) counter, ordering my usual cup of mocha latte before heading for the office.

Behind me was a row of leather cushions that the mall has provided. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed a young Chinese lady with an umbrella and a Cold Storage plastic bag, looking really nervous, glancing around every now and then.

The lady had shoulder length hair tied up neatly in a pony tail and looked pretty plain, wearing just a normal t-shirt and jeans – nothing too revealing. She was about mid 20s to early 30s and pretty pleasant looking I must say. But her eyes were scary when she stared intently at me for a short moment I did not pay much attention to her as I thought she was waiting for the slimming centre to open. I carried on my business as usual, glancing through the Today newspaper.

As I made my way towards the direction of Banquet coffee shop, she stood up and walked towards my direction. What happened next caught me completely by surprise.
The lady stopped directly in front me of, stared at me and suddenly screamed “Why you touch me?” Only then did I realise from her unmistakable accent that she is from China. I said “Sorry? What are you talking about?” I was more in shock then angry. The first thing that came to my mind was, is this some woman that I accidentally brushed on the train this morning?

She did not bother to explain but kept on screaming and pointing her index finger at me “Why you touch me!” about 4 or 5 times. She then squatted, covering her face and cried, crying out over and over again that I had touched her. I was really lost. There were some people walking past me and I felt like a criminal standing there, while people gave me this disgusted look. All the while I was trying to talk to the China lady but she remained in a squatted position, covering her face and crying.

A t this point of time, a Malay man in light blue coloured uniform walked over from Banquet. Seeing the situation he asked me what happened. The lady stood up and said that I had “touched” her. She then told the Malay man that I needed to give her $500 to “see doctor” or else she would report me to the Chinese Embassy. She took out her hand phone and took several photos of me.

The Malay man then said, “Bro, I think we better call the police”.

At this point of time, I had gotten over my shock and anger was slowly taking over. I nodded to the Malay man in agreement. I took out my hand phone too. But instead of taking her photo, I dialled 999 immediately. “I am calling the police myself. Let them settle the matter”. I said calmly to the both of them. At this point of time, she picked up her plastic bag and umbrella, and swiftly left towards the direction of Tan Tock Seng hospital – even before my call could connect!

We were left there puzzled. Some how I was relieved that it was over and did not want to proceed with the call. The Malay man asked me if I was ok. All I said was “Thanks”. He patted my shoulder and walked away towards the direction of Coffee Bean. Several patrons inside banquet were already witnessing the commotion. I just wanted to get out of there.

In case something like this happens to you or your loved ones, do not make the same mistake I did, trying to console the woman. Immediately take out your hand phone, take a photo of her and call the police. Please help to spread this around to our Singaporean husbands, sons, brothers and friends.

Please, my dear Singaporeans, look around you, what has happened to our country? Where have all these pests come from? Think about your loved ones and your other Singaporean friends. Forward this story and make sure that they know what to do when the same thing happens to them.

DO NOT start arguing or reasoning with her. Just take out your mobile & call police

My friend is a retired businessman in his early 60 and what he encountered last Saturday in a high end dining/shopping area could also happen to anyone of us.

My friend accompanied his wife to a bank in Holland Village to do some banking transaction. While his wife was being served by the personal banking executive, he decided to go and do some window-shopping around the area. While admiring the display, suddenly, out of nowhere, a young about 20+ girl pushes him aside and shouted at him, accusing my friend of molesting her. She then asked my friend to compensate her for her “ordeal” – loss of face.

My friend being a gentleman was stunned and at a loss for word s for a moment because he really never did anything to her. He just stood there and did not know what to do. His mind went blank.

Luckily, a Caucasian man nearby saw all that and told the PRC girl to stop her nuisance (unsure whether she understood English) and took out his mobile and said he wanted to call the police. The PRC girl quickly walked away joining the other shoppers.

Should any man become one of the victims, please stay calm. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT start arguing or reasoning with her. If you try to reason with her, then you have fallen into her trap. In general, people will most likely sympathise and believe a female as a victim. You will end up bending to her demands.

Just take out your mobile phone or ask someone (if you have no mobile) to call the police, let the law enforcement authority deal with her. For sure, all this PRC girls dare not face the justice of the law because most of them are over-stayers.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

June 8, 2015
Yale-NUS Courses ‘Do Not Match’ Students’ Academic Expectations

As the Republic’s first liberal arts college prepares for its third intake this August, some former Yale-NUS College students have decided to drop out because of a mismatch between the college’s offerings and their academic expectations.

Of the college’s 330 students, about 3 per cent have chosen to leave, some for other top universities and some to pursue specialised degree courses, said the school. Some students who left also told TODAY they felt the courses, in covering a broad range of subjects, did not go into their preferred level of depth.

The college welcomed its first intake in 2013. Ms Lichie Nazirah Nwaozuzu, 22, who enrolled in a double-degree programme in law and liberal arts, later chose to focus only on her law degree.

All first-year students are required to cover a range of Common Curriculum courses such as philosophy, English literature and scientific enquiry, but Ms Nwaozuzu, who was part of the inaugural cohort, said it felt too “touch-and-go” and dropped out after her first semester.

For instance, the course outline for her philosophy class required them to read a book by Plato but students were only assigned to read four chapters in the book that were discussed over two weeks, said Ms Nwaozuzu, now a second-year law student at National University of Singapore (NUS).

“In essence we covered a lot of material but we never really went in depth for each of them and I guess that’s the nature of liberal arts, so to speak. It wasn’t as meaningful for me as it was for a lot of the other students,” said Ms Nwaozuzu.

Responding to queries from TODAY, a Yale-NUS spokesperson said liberal arts education emphasises broad-based, multidisciplinary learning as well as depth of study. In the first two years of college, all students take Common Curriculum courses that provide an introduction to broadly-defined areas of inquiry rather than in-depth coverage.

“In their third year of studies, students can select one of the 14 majors we offer and explore the subject in-depth while adding the knowledge gleaned from the Common Curriculum to augment the learning experience,” the spokesperson said.

Ms Nwaozuzu also said while it might have been the intention of the college to provide broader insights to a subject, for instance, by getting historians or sociologists to teach literature, this approach did not provide the academic expertise and rigour she was looking for.

Similarly, Mr Rocco Hu, 23, who left Yale-NUS after his third semester, said the discussions-based, seminar-style classes did not provide the deep academic expertise he was hoping for. The college’s spokesperson said classes are conducted in the style of an “intimate seminar” to emphasise discussion and debate.

The teething issues typical of new colleges, such as limited staffing and course offerings, were Mr Hu’s other reasons for switching school. For instance, he felt that the professors for his philosophy classes — a compulsory module for all first-years — appeared to be stretched thin.

“On top of that, a lot of them are junior faculty who are on tenure track but have not gotten tenure yet. So, they also need to publish research … go on sabbaticals … go on research leave — it creates a lot of pressure against adequate course offerings for upper-year undergraduates in the first batch,” said Mr Hu, who is starting his first semester at Oxford University in October reading philosophy, politics and economics.

“I can see this issue ironing itself out in subsequent years when everything stabilises, but I didn’t see it happening in the time span I was in the college … I just didn’t feel secure that my academic needs would be met.”

A Yale-NUS spokesperson said the college remains on track in its plans for a full team of 100 faculty members. There are now 70 faculty members although another 20 will be joining next month, she added.

They include key appointments such as Professor Steven L Bernasek, a renowned experimental chemist formerly from Princeton University, who will helm the college’s Division of Science, as well as distinguished anthropologists Prof Joseph S Alter and Prof Nicole Constable who will be joining the Social Sciences division.

The spokesperson also said its faculty-to-student ratio “remains healthy at 1:4”.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 8, 2015
Team Singapore Sepak Takraw Player In Hospital After Accident, Brother Passes Away

National sepak takraw player Muhammad Azreen Sairudin, 25, is in Tan Tock Seng Hospital after he was involved in an accident in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He was traveling on the Seletar Expressway in the direction of the Central Expressway when the motorcycle he was riding met with an accident with a car.

It is unclear how the accident happened.

The New Paper understands that Azreen was riding the motorcycle, while his younger brother, aged 21, was riding pillion.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they conveyed two men to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after they received a call at 2.55am on Sunday morning (June 7).

One of the men sustained a fracture to his left arm, while the other suffered a chest injury.

Police said the younger man, aged 21, later died from his injuries.

Investigations are ongoing.

Azreen is part of the sepak takraw team that is representing Singapore in the 28th SEA Games. The team is due to play Indonesia at 11am tomorrow (June 8), then Thailand at 5pm on the same day. TNP understands Azreen was meant to play in tomorrow’s matches.

Source: www.tnp.sg

June 8, 2015