Category: Sosial

  • ‘Bukit Timah Belt’ Schools Breeding Elitist Students

    ‘Bukit Timah Belt’ Schools Breeding Elitist Students

    I am glad Mr Chan Poh Meng, principal of Raffles Institution, has challenged the school to do something about its problem (“RI now a ‘middle-class’ school / ‘Make RI a better school for S’pore’”; Aug 4).

    Unfortunately, there are many other “elite” schools in the Bukit Timah belt, and I feel sad that many of their students have not been taught proper values.

    I have stopped patronising the Starbucks outlet in Coronation Plaza as the place has been overrun by students from the nearby schools.

    The students will hog the seats for the whole day, often leaving their things unattended for hours, thus depriving others of the use of the space. While it is encouraging to see our students studying so hard, it is sad to see their selfishness manifested in their ugly behaviour.

    Students who can afford to drink expensive coffee every day do not understand the value of money.

    It saddens me that these schools will continue to churn out top scholars who are self-centred and lack an appreciation of the basic necessities of life. One day, some of these elite students will grow up to be leaders of our country and they will never appreciate that their one cup of coffee is equivalent to two meals for some people.

    I hope the school principals in the Bukit Timah belt will learn from Mr Chan’s words and inculcate the right values in their students before it is too late. As a start, they should consider providing study facilities with free beverages for their students, so that they will stop hogging the Starbucks seats.

    Jessie Loy Sze Nah (Madam)

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Bila Hantaran Jadi Beban: Ada Terpaksa Pinjam Bank Atau Guna Cek Tendang

    Bila Hantaran Jadi Beban: Ada Terpaksa Pinjam Bank Atau Guna Cek Tendang

    Pinjam bank atau berbohong, termasuk memberi cek tendang.

    Itulah yang dilakukan sebahagian lelaki dan ibu bapa mereka – kadangkala dengan berpakat bersama tunang mereka tanpa pengetahuan ibu bapanya – gara-gara wang hantaran tinggi.

    Ini dinyatakan beberapa orang yang pernah mengendalikan kes sedemikian.

    “Bakal suami dan isteri ini berpakat. Hutang dengan bank untuk bayar hantaran. Inilah kenyataannya sekarang…,” dedah Cik Azhanani Kamis, seorang kaunselor bersama firma Apkim Resources yang turut mengendalikan kes kaunseling yang dirujuk Mahkamah Syariah.

    Penolong Pengurus Pusat Nasihat Hutang (DAC) Angkatan Karyawan Islam (AMP), Encik Saiful Nizam Jemain, juga berkata pusat itu ada menguruskan kes sukar membayar kembali hutang yang didapatkan bagi majlis perkahwinan, termasuk wang hantaran.

    “Pihak lelaki tidak menjelaskan kepada pasangannya bahawa beliau tidak mempunyai wang sebanyak itu. Beliau meminjam wang itu kerana dikehendaki memenuhi persetujuan,” kata beliau mengenai kes eksekutif berusia 28 tahun itu.

    “Pinjaman bermasalah itu bermula dengan $10,000 bagi duit hantaran dan perbelanjaan lain. Tetapi dengan duit bunga, ia meningkat menjadi $15,000. Isterinya hanya tahu setelah mereka bernikah apabila bank menghantar surat tuntutan,” singkap Encik Saiful Nizam.

    Lelaki itu sedang berusaha melangsaikan hutang tersebut secara ansuran selepas perbincangan dengan bank dan Kaunseling Kredit Singapura (CCS).

    Encik Saiful Nizam berkata meskipun jumlah mereka yang mendapatkan bantuan DAC berhubung masalah menyelesaikan hutang majlis perkahwinan agak kecil, ia sesuatu yang tidak seharusnya berlaku.

    Sebanyak 20 daripada sekitar 900 kes yang diurus DAC sejak ia ditubuh dua tahun lalu kes melibatkan hutang majlis perkahwinan atau berkaitan dengannya, sama ada oleh pengantin atau ibu bapa pengantin.

    Pengantin terlibat berusia antara 24 dengan 35 tahun manakala ibu bapa antara 50 hingga 60 tahun.

    Cik Azhanani berkata ada pasangan bercerai sebelum hutang majlis perkahwinan atau wang hantaran dilangsai.

    “Ada mati-mati hendak berpisah sedangkan hutang wang hantaran dan majlis kahwin belum habis dibayar. Bagi wang hantaran, suami dan isteri masing-masing pinjam $5,000 daripada bank. Isteri turut berhutang ibunya $18,000 untuk katering dan hiasan majlis perkahwinan.

    “Isteri kata beliau akan selesaikan sendiri hutangnya pada ibunya. Dia kata, ‘saya tak kisah, saya tetap nak cerai’,” singkap Cik Azhanani.

    Seorang guru Al-Quran dan tuisyen pelajar madrasah, Ustazah Nurul Huda Khamsani, yang berumah tangga November lalu, berkata beban mengadakan wang hantaran tinggi adakala dirasa juga oleh pihak perempuan.

    “Saya tahu ada daripada kawan-kawan saya berkongsi bersama pasangan mereka untuk mengumpul wang hantaran. Si perempuan kasihankan pihak lelaki, jadi dia bantu kumpulkan wang itu.

    “Mereka olok-olok kononnya itu duit pihak suami, sebenarnya bukan. Mak bapa perempuan tak tahu. Sebenarnya, ramai yang buat perkara ini.

    “Oleh kerana duit yang ada sudah digunakan buat wang hantaran dan majlis hendak diadakan dengan gah, ada pula pinjam bank bagi majlis perkahwinan.

    “Lepas bernikah, bergaduh pasal duit, pasal hutang,” ujar Ustazah Nurul Huda, 28 tahun.

    Seorang naib kadi, Ustaz Noor Rawi, 60 tahun, pula berkata beliau pernah mendapat aduan pihak perempuan yang diberi cek tendang bagi wang hantaran.

    Seorang lagi naib kadi, Ustaz Dr Firdaus Yahya, berkata perbuatan memberi cek kosong itu mungkin dek wang hantaran tinggi yang diminta pihak perempuan dan telah disetujui pihak lelaki.

    “Keluarga perempuan minta, dan keluarga lelaki setuju sebab takut malu tidak dapat sediakan. Akhirnya, pihak lelaki beri cek kosong.

    “Semasa akad nikah, ditulis wang hantaran sudah diberi tetapi sebenarnya wang itu tidak ada. Ini sebab nak jaga air muka,” ujar beliau.

    Usahawan khidmat pengantin, Cik Fatimah Mohsin, 39 tahun, berkata tekanan rakan sebaya dan orang sekeliling antara punca perkara itu.

    “Orang Melayu selalu fikir tentang apa orang lain kata. Kita tidak harus begitu. Lakukanlah sesuatu berdasarkan kemampuan diri.

    “Jangan kerana orang lain, anak kita pun harus adakan wang hantaran atau belanja perkahwinan tinggi.

    “Apabila tidak cukup duit, mereka pinjam sana sini, sekali gus memulakan perkahwinan dengan pelbagai masalah,” ujar beliau.


    “Bakal suami dan isteri ini berpakat. Hutang dengan bank untuk bayar hantaran. Inilah kenyataannya sekarang…,”

    – Cik Azhanani Kamis, seorang kaunselor bersama firma Apkim Resources.

    “Pihak lelaki tidak menjelaskan kepada pasangannya bahawa beliau tidak mempunyai wang sebanyak itu. Beliau meminjam wang itu kerana dikehendaki memenuhi persetujuan.”

    – Penolong Pengurus Pusat Nasihat Hutang AMP, Encik Saiful Nizam Jemain.


    PERIHAL MAS KAHWIN DAN WANG HANTARAN

    ANGGARAN KADAR WANG HANTARAN DI SINGAPURA

    – Tiada: Satu atau dua daripada setiap 10 pasangan memilih tiada wang hantaran

    – $1,000 – $3,000: Sebagai tanda hadiah

    – $3,000: Pasangan muda berusia awal 20-an tahun.

    – $5,000 – $7,000: Kadar pertengahan.

    – $8,000: Lulusan politeknik.

    – $10,000 – $15,000: Lulusan universiti atau daripada keluarga berkemampuan

    – Jumlah paling popular: $8,000 hingga $10,000.

    (Berdasarkan maklumat beberapa naib kadi)

    PERBEZAAN ANTARA MAS KAHWIN DENGAN WANG HANTARAN

    – Mas kahwin: Hadiah yang wajib diberi suami kepada isteri dalam bentuk wang tunai atau barang.

    Di sini jumlahnya sekurang-kurangnya $100 tunai atau barang bernilai sekurang-kurangnya $100.

    – Hantaran: Hadiah dalam bentuk wang tunai dan/atau barang yang diberi mengikut adat masyarakat Melayu.

    Mengikut kebiasaan, jumlah wang hantaran diumum kepada hadirin semasa majlis pertunangan dan dipersembah dalam bentuk gubahan atau dimasukkan di dalam bingkai gambar dan diletak di atas dulang semasa majlis pernikahan.

    Kini ada keluarga memberinya dalam bentuk cek semasa majlis pernikahan.

    Ada pengantin menggunakan wang hantaran untuk membeli kelengkapan seperti katil, almari, dan lain-lain bagi rumah barunya.

    Hadiah hantaran diberi pasangan suami isteri kepada satu sama lain pada majlis perkahwinan. Ia biasanya merupakan barang keperluan harian seperti pakaian, jam tangan, kasut, dan kini telefon bimbit serta tablet, kelengkapan solat seperti sejadah dan telekung, serta makanan. Barang-barang itu biasanya diberi dalam bentuk pelbagai gubahan.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • Housing, Jobs And Healthcare Concerns Weigh Heavily On Singaporean Minds

    Housing, Jobs And Healthcare Concerns Weigh Heavily On Singaporean Minds

    Are Singaporeans happy with life as a whole now – and do they feel confident about the next 10 years?

    According to a survey commissioned by MediaCorp’s Current Affairs Unit, 66 per cent of residents said they are happy while 14 per cent said they are not. Asked whether life is close to ideal, five in 10 said yes.

    Many expressed concerns over issues ranging from transport to housing and security. But even more people said they expected to be more worried about these issues 10 years down the road, reflecting a sense of uncertainty about the future.

    Overall, six in 10 residents think economic conditions here will allow them to reach their personal goals.

    CONCERNS OVER NEXT 10 YEARS

    With the buzz of a General Election in the air, what weighs heaviest on the minds of Singaporeans?

    The affordability of healthcare, availability of affordable housing, and the loss of potential jobs to foreigners were the top three concerns of respondents. All three were hot-button issues in the last General Election in 2011.

    Concerns about elderly needs and the availability of integrated healthcare came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

    The survey involved 2,000 citizens and permanent residents from the ages of 18 to 65, across all races and income groups. Half were surveyed via email while the rest were interviewed face to face.

    HEALTHCARE

    Despite more state funds being pumped into healthcare and subsidies such as the Pioneer Generation Scheme, as well as Medishield Life starting on Nov 1, healthcare affordability topped the list of respondents’ concerns, with 83 per cent saying they were worried about increasing healthcare costs.

    Low-to-middle income workers (earning S$3,000 to S$5,000) were more worried about rising healthcare costs than low-income earners, who are on the receiving end of heavier subsidies and aid.

    One respondent said: “Healthcare costs have increased exponentially over the years, notwithstanding the increase in subsidies.”

    Associate Professor Paulin Straughan of the National University of Singapore’s sociology department said these are real concerns as life expectancy increases. “This quote sums it all. When you ask an individual to project their anxieties to the next 10 years, the only thing they can think of is the trend,” she said.

    “This is one area we’ve been worried about because of the rise in costs. We are living much longer now, and we anticipate that we will be spending a significant portion of our life living with disabilities.

    “And there’s nothing more worrisome than being ill when you don’t have an income any more.”

    HOUSING

    Despite HDB resale and private housing prices falling since early 2014, 78 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about the affordability of housing, with 47 per cent “extremely concerned”. The concern was greater among those aged 18 to 24.

    78% of residents surveyed are concerned about the affordability of housing.“I think it would take at least 2 general elections before people actually change their attitude towards housing,” says cultural critic Nazry Bahrawi. Also hear from sociologist Paulin Straughan and social changemaker Rebekah Lin.Watch the full episode at http://video.toggle.sg/en/series/talking-point/ep24/338939.

    Posted by Talking Point on Friday, August 7, 2015

    Mr James Chia, a financial educator from Innervative Learning, said: “Ultimately you expect the trend to go up, especially with population increasing. It’s demand and supply, so the concern will always be there.”

    Respondents, especially the younger generation, expressed worries about the difficulties of buying their own home.

    Miss Rebekah Lin, co-founder of 50 For 50, a social enterprise, said: “The prices of property have risen much faster than an increase in salary. It is increasingly harder for young couples and singles to afford.”

    Mr Chia said: “Housing is the biggest ticket item you’re going to buy in your life, so there will always be a concern.”

    LOSS OF POTENTIAL JOBS TO FOREIGNERS 

    Since the 2011 General Election, the Government has scaled back foreign worker numbers and employment passes. It has also introduced initiatives such as the Jobs Bank, closer scrutiny of companies’ hiring practices, and even a wage subsidy if companies hire unemployed Singaporean professionals, managers and executives aged 40 and above for mid-level jobs.

    But respondents said they are still worried that they will lose out on potential jobs to foreigners over the next five to 10 years.

    Said Assoc Prof Straughan: “I’m not denying the fact that there are tension spots, but certainly we shouldn’t accept these as broad strokes to describe the implications of having immigration.

    “Because truth of the matter is we don’t have enough of ourselves with a sustained low-fertility rate, (and) we’re not able to maintain the kind of buzz in our labour market.”

    Mr Chia noted: “I think the concern runs deeper than the issue of foreigners.”

    He said foreigners may be an easy target in terms of loss of jobs, but innovation, too, has the potential to displace jobs as Singapore gears towards being a smart nation.

    Agreeing, Assoc Prof Straughan said that this boils down to being “future ready”.

    She said: “You need to be able to future-proof your skill set so that you will always remain relevant no matter who is with you in the competitive arena.”

    “The real issue (concerning foreigners) is really about a disparity that people perceive,” said Dr Nazry Bahrawi, humanities lecturer at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

    “I guess the PMETs are probably the ones that feel these most. And some find a bogeyman that is easy to seek,” Dr Nazry added.

    “What we should do then is to look at how we can develop the groups that are caught up in this disparity rather than shape the discourse towards blaming a certain group that may not be the real concern here.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • For Foreign Workers, Dorm Life Better Than Singapore Heartlands

    For Foreign Workers, Dorm Life Better Than Singapore Heartlands

    Dormitory or the heartlands?

    Given the choice, some foreign workers in Singapore prefer to live in dormitories instead of the heartlands, where Singaporeans reside.

    Yahoo Singapore recently spoke to some of the residents from Tuas View Dormitory and found that they are comfortable due to reasons beyond the state-of-the-art facilities available there.

    Tuas View Dormitory is Singapore’s largest purpose-built foreign worker dormitory to date. It has 16,800 beds across 12 blocks of rooms, and occupies a land area of 84,000 square metres.

    Kampong spirit in the dorms

    Yahoo Singapore spoke to a few workers and all of them said they love the communal spirit in the dormitory, where friends and colleagues live just walking distance from each other – in some cases even on the beds next to them.

    They said they cook together, play cricket or watch movies for free at the outdoor cinema in their free time.

    Yes, you read that right. The workers living in the dormitory enjoy facilities like cinemas, a gym, a cricket lawn, beer garden and a self-service kitchen, just to name a few. It is almost nothing like workers’ accommodations in the Singapore heartlands.

    According to electrical engineer Rajaguru Karuppasamy (known as Samy), who is in charge of maintenance of the dormitory, Singaporean families living in HDB apartments tend to “stick to each other”, which is unlike life in the dormitory.

    The 26-year-old, spending his second year in Singapore, added that he has no problems with being located far away from the city. He says it’s not unusual for someone who comes from a remote village back in India.

    “My village is a few hours drive away from Chennai, so it’s okay,” he said, adding he prefers the peace of the dormitory compared to the “stress” of the city.

    Bangladeshi worker, Muhammad Farid Uddin, who has been working for AzTech Pte Ltd in Singapore for eight years, said he likes how other foreign workers at Tuas View would plan outings to places like Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa together during their free time.

    The 30-year-old loves the “nice” beaches in Sentosa Island. He says they’re very different from the ones in Bangladesh.

    No place like home

    Despite earning salaries they say are five times bigger than those back home, many still yearn for their homelands.

    The foreign workers were cheerful when talking about the benefits they enjoy in Singapore, but the mood turned somber when we asked them about home.

    “Yes, I have a mother and two sisters back home. They stay together… I call them everyday,” said Motabbar Shoag, 26, from Bangladesh. Motabbar has not been home in two years, but is excited to go back in two months’ after a project he is working for ends.

    Before arriving in Singapore, the ST Marine employee worked as a car painter in Bangladesh. He likes working in Singapore because of the bigger pay, but says he still pines for life back home, with his family and friends.

    Samy, meanwhile, misses riding his bike back home – he has a sports bike and a car. He has a drivers’ license in Singapore, but can’t afford a vehicle here.

    Satisfied with working in Singapore

    These men are just some who have benefited from efforts to improve living conditions of foreign workers in Singapore since the 2013 Little India riot.

    According to a 2014 Foreign Worker Survey, about 90 per cent of the 4,000 foreign workers surveyed reported they were satisfied working in Singapore. Many attributed this to “good pay, relatively good working conditions and a sense of security”.

    However, overcrowded foreign worker dwellings at Lorongs 1 to 42 of Geylang remain a cause for concern. Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say, in May 2015, said errant owners and operators of overcrowded properties in Geylang “are being taken to task” after an inspection of more than 600 units were conducted.

    The Ministry of Manpower is also seeking to raise public awareness in order to change behaviour towards foreign worker dwellings.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • Habib Hassan, Hj Mohd Alami Dan Iskandar Jalil Antara Penerima Anugerah Pingat Jasa Gemilang

    Habib Hassan, Hj Mohd Alami Dan Iskandar Jalil Antara Penerima Anugerah Pingat Jasa Gemilang

    Mei lalu Imam Masjid Ba’alwie Habib Hassan Muhammad Al-Attas menerima kejutan manis apabila jasa beliau kepada usaha Pertubuhan Antara Agama (IRO) diberi penghargaan dalam satu majlis di Istana.

    Semasa sambutan Hari Kebangsaan baru-baru ini beliau sekali lagi menerima kejutan manis apabila disertakan dalam senarai penerima Anugerah Hari Kebangsaan tahun ini.

    Habib Hassan merupakan salah seorang daripada 13 jasawan awam yang dikurniakan Pingat Jasa Gemilang.

    Turut menerima pingat itu tahun ini ialah Presiden Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis), Haji Mohd Alami dan pakar tembikar, Encik Iskandar Jalil.

    Anugerah Hari Kebangsaan mengiktiraf jasa dan sumbangan warga kepada negara.

    Tahun ini, seramai 3,888 individu menerima Anugerah Hari Kebangsaan yang dibahagikan kepada 15 kategori anugerah.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

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