Category: Sosial

Singaporean Shortlisted For US$1M Teaching Prize, Will Not Compete

Greenview Secondary School teacher Muhammad Nazir Amir, who teaches science by getting his students to design toys , was on Wednesday (Dec 9) morning named one of the 50 finalists shortlisted for a US$1 million (S$1.4 million) teaching prize by a Dubai-based education charity.

But in a surprise turn of events, Dr Nazir, 38, who won the President’s Award for Teachers last year, said he was not proceeding with the competition.

“I am very happy and honoured to be in the Top 50 but am not proceeding further due to personal reasons,” he told The Straits Times.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Varkey Foundation, which gives out the prize dubbed the “Nobel Prize for teachers”, said that the 50 finalists were arrived at after whittling down 8,000 nominations from 148 countries.

The number of shortlisted applicants will be further reduced from 50 to 10, and their names will be announced in February next year.

The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai in March.

The yearly prize was launched last year to recognise exceptional teachers who go the extra mile for their students and contribute to the profession as a whole.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the Varkey Foundation said: “By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world.”

It said that Dr Nazir, who has a PhD in science and design and technology education from the National Institute of Education, developed the RAP (relevant, appealing and personal) teaching approach for Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects to better engage with students, particularly those who are less academically inclined.

His lessons include getting students to build toys using scientific principles for storytelling.

This approach has contributed to a high level of passes among his students.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who supports the prize, said: “Teachers are entrusted with nurturing the potential of the young and helping them blossom as productive and responsible members of society.”

This year, Ms Nancie Atwell from Maine in the United States won the prize.

She was recognised for her work in teaching children to read and write.

She planned to donate all the money to the Centre for Teaching and Learning, a non-profit demonstration school that she founded in 1990.

The winners will receive their US$1 million prize money over 10 years, and will be asked to serve as global ambassadors for the Varkey Foundation, attending events and speaking about their work.

But they will also be required to remain working as classroom teachers for at least five years as a condition of winning the award.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

December 10, 2015
Walid J. Abdullah: Singaporean Majority Must Not Be In Denial About Racism Here

I still find it amazing that people claim there is no racism in Singapore. What is more incredible is that often, these are the same people who say that we need to continue having the GRCs, as racial voting still occurs (contradiction much).

I do not deny that many people are unaware of ‘Chinese privilege’ simply because they are not in a disadvantaged position, and there really is no malice on their part. For these people, after reasoned explanations, they usually accept that being in the majority brings about certain benefits (for example, you are not required to ‘integrate’ or ‘prove yourself).

But for some people, they are just in denial. And their reason for holding such beliefs is: ‘of course there is no racism, i have never witnessed it.’

To paraphrase my favourite comedian, Jon Stewart, just because it is snowing outside your window, it doesn’t mean that global warming isn’t taking place.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

December 10, 2015
Workers In Singapore Want More Annual Leave

Apart from a bigger pay cheque, what’s the one thing you really want from your boss? Right, more time off.

That was indeed the result when 500 employees in Singapore were asked what topped their wish list – apart from more pay, of course.

The survey by recruitment firm Robert Half Singapore found 36 per cent of workers put more annual leave at the top of their wish list.

About 32 per cent chose more flexible working hours, while ano-ther 20 per cent said professional development opportunities were their top priority.

But employers have a different opinion of what their team wants.

When 150 senior employees such as chief executives were asked the same question, only 18 per cent felt that their workers would like more days of leave.

Instead, 54 per cent think that flexible hours is what their employees most desire.

“While everyone would like more days off, very few companies will increase the amount of annual leave above that which was agreed to when the employee started with the company,” said Robert Half Singapore managing director Stella Tang. “So while the desire among employees for more days off is strong, it is a wish that is unlikely to come true.”

Flexible work arrangements, she noted, are a more realistic demand that bosses have the power to provide.

Mr David Ang, director of consultancy Human Capital Singapore, said the benefits of non-traditional employment packages are a hard sell to smaller companies.

“The bottom line is the cost of business. Because of the manpower crunch and the cost of labour, most small and medium-sized enterprises will simply follow what the Manpower Ministry prescribes in the Employment Act,” he said.

For most Singaporeans, balancing between professional and personal time is a question of compromise.

Mr Muhammad Isa, 31, chose to quit his sales job to be a freelance fitness trainer.

“I’m a backpacker, I travel often, and I’m just happy with my life because I have time to travel without worrying about my boss,” he said.

He earns $3,000 to $4,000 a month, but he gets no employer contribution to his Central Provident Fund account. His friends, in turn, envy him his freedom.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

December 3, 2015
Couple’s Appeal Against Flat Repossession Rejected

The top court dismissed a couple’s appeal for a judicial review of the Housing Board’s (HDB) decision to repossess their flat for illegal sub-letting.

The appeal court, comprising Judges of Appeal (JA) Chao Hick Tin, Andrew Phang and Justice Judith Prakash, found HDB was “amply justified” in compulsorily acquiring the flat and there was no evidence that the minister acted unreasonably in the move.

The case is the first to be heard by the courts involving judicial review of the compulsory acquisition of a flat. Mr Per Ah Seng, 48, and his wife, Madam Tee Bee Kiaw, sought to quash HDB’s move to compulsorily acquire their four-room flat in Bukit Batok Central for unauthorised sub-letting.

HDB, acting on a tip-off in 2009, conducted investigations which showed the entire unit was rented out without approval. Mr Per denied renting out the flat, but admitted his family stayed overnight in his mother’s Hougang flat at times.

HDB said its decision was not unreasonable and there was no breach of natural justice to justify a judicial review. Mr Per had been accorded due appeal process to HDB and the minister before the flat was compulsorily acquired by HDB, said HDB’s lawyer Dinesh Singh Dhillon.

The High Court had dismissed Mr Per’s application last year, ruling the papers were filed out of time but making clear the suit failed on the merits of the case even if the review was allowed to proceed.

“In Singapore, there is perhaps no social contract more far-reaching than that relating to flats provided by the HDB, in which the vast majority of Singapore’s population lives,” wrote JA Chao on the court’s behalf.

The court noted that very often, subsidies are provided by the Government to make the flats more affordable but flat owners had to reciprocate by adhering to conditions in relation to the units owned.

A key preliminary issue in the case was whether the relevant section of the HDB Act prevented the court from examining the minister’s decision. Many legal academics and commentators have argued against the court recognising such “ouster clauses” especially when involving tangible issues subject to review, noted JA Chao.

“Our courts have viewed such clauses with circumspection and have declined to give effect to them on several occasions,” he added.

The court noted that lawyers from Allen & Gledhill as well as the Attorney-General’s Chambers defending HDB and the minister respectively had declined to rely on the ouster clause in opposing the couple’s bid for a judicial review.

Noting this, the court refrained “from coming to a firm conclusion on whether this ouster clause bars us from reviewing the minister’s decision”, wrote JA Chao in judgement grounds released yesterday.

The court, instead, opted to assume the relevant law does not appear to prevent the court from reviewing the minister’s decision, noting the issues in the case were “eminently” qualified for court review.

Mr Per had appealed to the apex court where his lawyer Kirpal Singh argued HDB did not disclose sufficient details about the investigation before seizure to enable him to respond adequately.

The court disagreed, finding there were cogent public interests that justified non-disclosure, as people may “game” the system if investigative methods were revealed.

The court allowed Mr Per’s appeal that the application was not filed out of time, but dismissed his case as being without merit.

Among other things, the court did not find Mr Per to be a “truthful person”. The court, however, reduced the legal costs payable by Mr Per by a third.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

December 3, 2015
Amos Yee: Islam Sucks!

So since AllSingaporeStuff shared my blog post about my thoughts on calvin cheng, and preferred to a use a more provocative headline of ‘FUCK ISLAM AND ALLAH DOESN’T EXIST’ (probably the most provocative line there) to generate more views, as opposed to a more accurate one (they presented the blog post not as an explanation of how calvin cheng sucked, but as if it were a thesis condemning islam, seriously AllSingaporeStuff, what the fuck? You once admitted your mistake that you were manipulative cunts, but that doesn’t mean you should do it again) I have obviously gained condemnation from the dumb muslim community in singapore. and like mecca itself, the islamics seem to have lots of sand in their vaginas too, because the number of stupid death threats I got is voluminous. But don’t mind them, they do after all follow a sky wizard and a pedophile prophet.

And why are people shocked that I despise islam? I think it’s quite obvious for an advocate of logic such as myself, that I hate all organised religions, christians are cunts, buddhists are delusional, taoists are just plain stupid and islam is absolutely fucking horrible; It’s always a mental debate on my part, which do I hate more? Christians, islam or meat-eaters.

And of course not all islamics are extremists like isis (though I don’t think I ever implied that), but if islamics did really follow the core tenants of the quran (quran (8:65) – “O Prophet, exhort the believers to fight…” , quran (9:29) – “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, ), they really should be, otherwise they’re not really obedient followers of allah though they claim that they are (fortunately for an atheist, I don’t have the burden of all these contradictions and bullshit, sad for religious pricks…. awww…)

I would like to make a blog post or video condemning islam, but I have other priorities at the moment, but thankfully there are many such videos already available on the internet, like this one from one of my favourite Youtubers, CultOfDusty.

It’s not as extensive as a video that I would make (A heavily-scripted and edited video, not a virgin casanova episode(though sometimes(and probably more in subsequent episodes(or non-related word)) it happens there too)), but it provides a succinct enough argument to prove that islam is retarded, and if you watch more of his videos, you’ll be even more convinced of their idiocy, so I recommend you do (This is the kind of content I watched throughout my secondary school that was strong enough for me to counter the incessant conditioning of the government and be liberated from being a conservative cunt pap dog (If you like dusty, you would also really love other great atheist youtubers like the amazing atheist, jaclyn glenn and cristina rad).

And I’m thinking, if this guy from America, the land of guns, hasn’t been killed, then I wouldn’t be, singapore is after all a very safe country, ain’t it? HAHAHAHA!! (Don’t ever be afraid of criticising stupidity, especially if it concerns islam and they threaten violence on you if you do, such people should be viciously condemned. You have the 0.01% chance of getting beaten up and the 0.00001% chance of getting killed. Is it worth it? Of course it is).

So calvin cheng sucks, pap sucks, and now so does islam, and really every other religion, and they should all be vehemently mocked to prevent stupidity from spreading, and society can improve. Have fun!

Source: Amos Yee

November 29, 2015