Category: Sosial

What Should Come First, A Baby Or A Flat?

“You need a very small space to have sex.”

Those were the words of Singapore’s Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo during a state media interview on marriage and parenthood issues.

Like many wealthy countries, Singapore is facing the challenge of an ageing population and low birth rates, so its government is actively encouraging young citizens to get on with starting a family.

The candid politician, who is in charge of population matters, was asked if part of the reason why young Singaporeans were not having children was because they were having to wait too long to get their own homes.

If they’re still living with their parents, it’s hard to do what’s necessary to have a baby, the argument goes.

But Ms Teo suggested property shouldn’t be a priority, as “you need a very small space to have sex”.

“In France, in the UK, in Nordic countries, man meets woman [and] they can make a baby already. They love each other,” she said.

“It’s a matter of living in yours or living in mine. They also don’t have to worry about marriage – that comes later,” she said.

But in the case of Singapore, she said, “man meets woman, falls in love, proposes and then they plan the wedding and a house”.

‘When you care about growth statistics more then citizens’

The National Population and Talent Division didn’t immediately reply for a request for more comment, but Ms Teo’s words ignited fierce debate on social media.

A Facebook post carrying the interview was shared more than 5,000 times from the Straits Times newspaper’s official page.

It also drew a flurry of heated comments from netizens.

“Do you produce flats faster than we produce babies? Such statements only show how much empathy you’re lacking with couples,” remarked Singaporean Derrick Poh.

“Did she just promote premarital sex? This is what happens when you care more about growth statistics more then citizens’ well being,” said Shayful Kamal.

“Our society centres on conservative moral values. In Singapore, building a career trumps having a life partner in terms of financial security – but it doesn’t mean people don’t want to fall in love, get married and have kids,” wrote Chng Jing Hui, who also said Ms Teo’s comments were “frivolous”.

Other Singaporeans raised the point of financial stability and being “responsible”.

“I think she’s missed the point; it’s not where to have sex. To have a house before a child is correct. Is she encouraging young couples to have babies and continue to depend on their parents? Having a flat also means the couple is financially sound before they can move on to the next stage of life,” said Jo-Ann Tan.

Charis Mun said: “Children should be planned for when both parties are ready for the responsibilities of parenthood. And having the stability and security of your own matrimonial home is essential to raise children.”

Source: BBC

October 13, 2016
Wartawan Mediacorp Liyana Othman Antara Penerima Anugerah Kewartawanan Alam Sekitar

Lapan wartawan dan dua pertubuhan media diiktiraf atas liputan, fakta dan imej yang berkaitan dengan sekitaran di Anugerah Kewartawanan Alam Sekitar Asia (AEJA) pada Rabu (12 Okt).

Sebanyak 11 anugerah diberikan di AEJA tahun ini, iaitu majlis penyampaian anugerah tahunan yang dianjurkan oleh Majlis Sekitaran Singapura (SEC) bagi mengiktiraf kecemerlangan dalam bidang tersebut di Asia.

Wartawan Channel NewsAsia Liyana Othman adalah pemenang bersama bagi Anugerah Wartawan Muda Alam Sekitar SEC bagi liputan beliau terhadap isu-isu sekitaran yang mendesak dalam negara, sementara Channel NewsAsia mendapat anugerah bagi Pertubuhan Media Sekitaran SEC-Yayasan Lee bagi liputan mengenai kandungan yang mesra sekitaran sebagai sebahagian daripada inisiatif Saving Gaia.

Mediacorp menerima anugerah yang sama pada 2014, sementara Thomson Reuters diberikan anugerah tersebut pada 2015.

Menteri Negara Perhubungan dan Penerangan merangkap Kesihatan Chee Hong Tat yang menyampaikan anugerah itu turut menekankan “peranan kritikal” yang dimainkan oleh pihak media dalam melindungi alam sekitar dengan memaklumkan orang ramai dan membentuk pendapat dan pandangan awam mengenai isu-isu sekitaran yang penting.

Menurut Encik Chee, sama seperti jerebu rentas sempadan, isu-isu sekitaran menjejas lebih daripada satu negara, maka itu adalah penting untuk semua negara “memainkan peranan yang aktif dalam melindungi sekitaran global”.

AEJA menerima 234 penyertaan pada tahun ini, yang merupakan satu rekod, dengan peningkatan sebanyak 34 peratus berbanding 2015, di mana 20 negara termasuk Azerbaijan, yang mengambil bahagian buat julung-julung kalinya.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

October 13, 2016
Damanhuri Abas: Unprincipled Leaders Corrupt Morals, Out Of Wedlock Pregnancy Suggested As Solution

Unprincipled leaders will spew morally bankrupt suggestion of illicit out-of-wedlock pregnancies as solutions to tackle complex procreation, child-bearing and upbringing issues. They should seriously step aside and allow more serious decent productive conversation to take place.

On a lighter note, just consult your proven procreation expert (your next door abang lah with 5 children). We malays cope with tight flats and still produce many babies and don’t complaint.

We marry at void decks and make do. We are champions leading the babies production game for this country we love and we don’t compromise on marriage and family. If the Minister or whoever she is wants some ideas, join us at the nearest void deck on Sunday. See u there.

And no silly hanky panky ideas lah…. haiyo please lah…. we got pride u know…

Source: Damanhuri Abas

October 13, 2016
Mayat Bayi Baru Lahir Dijumpai Dalam Pesawat Di Indonesia

Mayat seorang bayi yang baru lahir dijumpai dalam tandas sebuah pesawat selepas pesawat itu mendarat di Indonesia dari Doha, dengan pihak polis sedang menunggu untuk menyoal siasat seorang penumpang wanita, kata seorang pegawai hari ini (11 Okt).

Penemuan mengejutkan itu berlaku lewat Ahad (9 Okt) oleh para pekerja pembersihan semasa mereka berada dalam pesawat Qatar Airways selepas ia tiba di lapangan terbang antarabangsa di Jakarta.

Bayi itu dianggarkan berusia antara lima hingga tujuh bulan, kata Endang Sutrisna, jurucakap polis lapangan terbang kepada AFP.

Kakitangan lapangan terbang itu mendapati bayi itu dibalut dengan kertas tisu di dalam sebuah tandas.

Seorang penumpang wanita – warga Indonesia yang bekerja di luar negara – dibawa untuk pemeriksaan kesihatan sebelum dipindahkan ke sebuah hospital polis di Jakarta Timur untuk ujian lanjutan.

Para pegawai bagaimanapun tidak menjelaskan hubungan wanita itu dengan bayi berkenaan.

“Jika hasil pemeriksaan doktor menunjukkan wanita itu sihat untuk disoal siasat, wanita itu akan dibawa kepada pihak polis lapangan terbang untuk menjawab beberapa soalan dan perlu bertanggunjawab atas (yang disyaki) tindakannya,” kata Sutrisna.

Masih tidak jelas sama ada wanita itu akan dikenakan dakwaan jenayah, tambah pegawai itu.

Negara-negara Timur Tengah seperti Qatar, Arab Saudi dan Bahrain adalah destinasi utama bagi pembantu rumah Indonesia, terutama sekali wanita yang bekerja sebagai amah dan menghantar wang pulang kepada keluarga mereka.

Source: BeritamediaCorp

October 12, 2016
You Don’t Need Much Space To Have Sex: Josephine Teo On ‘No Flat, No Child’ Belief

You do not need much space to have sex.

That was the feisty rejoinder from Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, who oversees the National Population and Talent Division, to a question on whether young people are not getting their flats early enough to have children.

The suggestion was that this could be a chicken-and-egg problem. To qualify for the Parenthood Priority Scheme, which gives first- time married couples first dibs on getting a flat, they must be expecting or have a citizen child below 16.

But to have a child, some say they need to have a flat first.

With a straight face, Mrs Teo declared: “You need a very small space to have sex.”

Known for her candid blog posts on dating and marriage, Mrs Teo does not mince her words – think “menstruation” and “cysts” – when it comes to urging young people to look for love and settle down early.

In an interview on marriage and parenthood issues last week, the mother of three teenage children tackled issues ranging from infertility to why the Government should not be “too kaypoh” (Hokkien for busybody).

She noted that the Singaporean love story has a different arc from that of countries in the West. “In our case, man meets woman, man falls in love with woman, man proposes to woman, they then plan the wedding and do the house,” she said.

“In France, in the UK, in the Nordic countries, man meets woman, tonight they can make a baby already. They love each other. Both of them partly have their own family, so it is a matter of living in yours or living in mine, and they also don’t have to worry about marriage – that comes later,” she added.

So how about having a couple declare that they wish to have a child in two years and get the flat first?

“What if they can’t conceive? Take back the flat from them? How do you know they really tried to conceive? Can we check whether they use contraceptives? Cannot, right?” she replied, amused.

Instead of having the Government poke its nose into the bedroom, Mrs Teo relied instead on persuasion. She urged women to have babies early as they would not know if they are fertile or not.

“You never really know that you’re not fertile until you try. Unfortunately, it is one of those things. There is no fertility indicator. As a woman you will know, if you have regular menstruation, okay, (there is a) likelihood. But maybe you have a major cyst and how would you know until you attempt to conceive, only to realise that you can’t?”

The search for love is also not something to be left to chance, she said. “When I meet young people and ask if they go and look for upgrading opportunities, they said ‘yes’. I said, ‘What about love? Do you go and look for love?’ They said ‘no’. I said, ‘Why not?’ They said, ‘If it happens, it happens’.

“I said, ‘You don’t think that upgrading and a good job, if it happens it happens, right? So why is it that you would apply that thinking to your career and your own education, but you don’t apply it to your personal life?’”

However, the minister was quick to point out that there is a need to respect personal choice when it comes to marriage and children.

She said: “In this day and age, it is not possible for us to say that you are somehow bad, you are not doing your part for society.

“No, there are many reasons why people remain single. Sometimes, (for) very good reasons. Why should we pass judgment on them?”

Source: The Straits Times

October 12, 2016