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I’m Willing To Convert To Be With My Malay Muslim Gay Partner

I’m a chinese and i met a guy whom i really like. He is a malay. We liked each other and we always enjoy each other’s company a lot. He is a nice guy, someone i can get along well and he knows how to make me happy. However, we had a complicated issue that makes us difficult to be together. It was religion. Because of that, he decided to let us go and he stopped himself from falling in love with me. He like me but yet to fall for me. He said it is hard for us to be together and he wouldnt let himself to love me.

At that point of time, i really do not want any religion commitment and he knows about that. However after losing him, i thought about it and realised i am willing to convert to islam for him. I don’t mind doing it for him. But i dont think this is good because religion is very important and i am supposed to convert for myself, not for anyone.

The problem is.. i havent had the chance to tell him about the fact that i dont mind converting for him. I’m not sure if he still likes me. He may have moved on already since it has been a month since that day he told me we cannot be tgt. It is highly possible he may like someone else already? He is strong in his mind, if he had alr said he wouldnt love me he may have already let us go. I still think of him all the time, i cant get rid of him off my mind. We are still friends. We only met up once after that day we cleared things up.

So we met recently and we still cross the boundaries of friends. Some of our actions are clearly more than just friends. The way we look into each other’s eyes and we hug each other really tight before we part. I told myself, enjoy those moments i have with him that day. Dont think about anything else. When we talk through text, he tend to use that chance to avoid me to stop himself from talking too much with me.

What am i supposed to do.. Should i just tell him that i wouldnt mind converting to islam for him so that religion would no longer be an issue? Regardless whether he still likes me a not, should i just tell? Because 10 years later, i think i will regret for not saying it out. Or should i wait for the next meetup and see how it goes? If we’re still good and i could feel that he still likes me, then by then i go for it?

Feel free to give me your opinions. Thank you everyone for reading.

Source: Gay SG Confessions

February 23, 2015
Employment Agencies Call For FDWs To Undergo Professional Training In Singapore

Employment agencies in Singapore are calling for domestic workers to undergo professional training here so that they can become skilled workers. This comes after Indonesian President Joko Widodo said last week that the country wants to stop sending its women overseas as maids to preserve the country’s “dignity”.

Although no time frame for the stoppage has been given, the Indonesian manpower ministry has been ordered to come up with a “clear road map” on when this can take place.

According to estimates by the Indonesian Embassy, there are about 125,000 Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore. The number accounts for about half of all such workers in the Singapore, say industry players. Hence if Indonesia stops sending its women overseas as maids, employment agencies here say the impact could be bad.

The president of the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), Ms K Jayaprema, said that for the employers, “if we were to lose this source, then we will have a very small pool of alternative workers we are looking at now – who come from Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India, and in the Philippines we are having our own set of problems at this point in time.”

“For the domestic workers themselves, what is going to happen is they’re going to lose whatever protection that they have been receiving from the Indonesian government and they will become undocumented workers. They will continue to come in – because there are just too many exit points which they can freely move in from – we’re looking at Jakarta, we’re looking at Batam and we’re looking at Semarang,” she added.

The employment agencies added that competing with other countries for a limited pool of domestic workers could also spell higher costs and a longer processing time for employers. The agencies also noted that traditional sources are imposing restrictions to protect their workers. For example, the Philippines plans to introduce a quota system on domestic workers coming to Singapore.

The agencies said finding alternative sources to hire domestic workers will also be a challenge. The owner of Best Home Employment Agency, Mr Tay Khoon Beng, said: “All the traditional sources of supply are thinking of how to better protect their women. At the moment, for example, Myanmar has a ban on all licensed recruiters to send domestic helpers to Singapore. The Philippines has got a quota system now for Singapore, due to unresolved placement fee issues.

“For non-traditional sources, it’s very difficult to open up a new market. For example, the Ministry of Manpower has piloted a two-year project on the Cambodian market. In the two years, we are supposed to bring in 600 Cambodian helpers.

“18 months has passed and the pilot group only managed to bring in about 400 Cambodian workers. And I was told that as high as 50 per cent of these Cambodian workers have either left Singapore or changed employers.

“So it takes time to open up a new market and employers may not adapt to the new market as well.”

To mitigate the effects of a potential supply cut, Mr Tay suggested implementing a mandatory professional course for these workers. He said: “For Indonesia specifically, they wish to train their helpers to meet the standard we require before exporting them. However, I also see at the moment, they may have difficulties to train their helpers to meet our standard.

“So instead of a bottleneck and allowing the ban to happen, why not they continue to export the unskilled helpers to us and we being an education hub will then work out with the employer to upgrade the skill of all these women so that at the end of the contract, they are fully trained, skillful and can go back to being a better skilled person.

“I think we need employers to understand that this is a new reality. Definitely there will be inconvenience caused to them, in terms of the helpers having to take time off to take courses, and at the same time they have to subsidise many of these skilled courses.”

Agencies said other issues like high placement fees also need to be addressed. Currently, the placement fee can range from zero to S$3,000 or S$4,000 – which is equivalent to about eight months of a domestic worker’s monthly pay.

Ms Jayaprema said: “We should only recognise the two-month fees that Singapore agencies are allowed to collect from the domestic workers as service fees. So we do not want to allow any of the source cost to be brought to Singapore as placement fee and allow the agencies to collect this on behalf of the foreign agencies, because that’s what makes the whole figure looks very large. This will be a better solution.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 23, 2015
Tin Pei Ling Expecting First Child

Marine Parade GRC MP Tin Pei Ling has revealed that she is expecting her first child. But she will continue to keep up with her parliamentary duties and constituency work for as long as she is able to do so.

“This is my first baby and my hubby and I are looking forward to welcoming this new member to our family. I am excited and a bit nervous, given that it is a whole new experience for me,” the 31-year-old wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

She decided to make the announcement after several recent enquiries from a number of people, she explained.

“I have been blessed to have the full support of my fellow MPs in the Marine Parade GRC team and my team in MacPherson. They have both pledged to help support and cover me if and when I need to slow down.

“We will continue to put in our best efforts to serve the needs of MacPherson residents,” added Ms Tin, a first-term MP who entered politics in the 2011 General Election

She had said in recent interviews that she hoped to soon start a family with her husband – Mr Ng How Yue, who is Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Law.

On Facebook, she added: “Looking forward to meeting the little one. Hope to have your blessings too!”

Dozens of netizens congratulated her, with some encouraging her to take care and not to overwork herself.

She will be the third MP to give birth while in office. Ms Sim Ann, Minister of State for Education and Communications and Information, gave birth to her third child in 2011. Punggol East MP Lee Li Lian gave birth to her first child in July 2014.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

February 23, 2015
Budget Should Look To Future, Help Middle Class

Sandwiched between raising a family and caring for their ageing parents as the costs of living rise, the middle class could receive more attention in the Budget this year, which will be delivered by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam this afternoon.

And while there have been predictions from some quarters of an election Budget with goodies in the offing, some observers have cautioned against focusing too much on the short term, saying the Budget should be assessed on whether it delivers a convincing long-term plan for the Republic.

Employment and income insecurity, wage stagnation and inflation, as well as anxiety about their own and their children’s financial future are some of the chief concerns of middle-income earners — who are the largest stakeholders in the country, said Institute of Policy Studies sociologist Tan Ern Ser. “If Singapore aspires to be a middle-class society … then there are good reasons to address (the middle-income group’s) concerns,” he added.

Subsidies to help people look after their elderly parents or for childcare and their children’s education would go a long way for middle-income earners, because these are their heaviest burdens, said Mr Vishnu Varathan, a Singapore-based economist at Mizuho Bank. He added that more rebates could also be expected for middle-income households, with income earners taking on skills training or further education.

Earlier this month, Mr Tharman, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, indicated that this year’s Budget would focus on building Singapore’s future in terms of addressing retirement adequacy and helping Singaporeans, both those still in school and mid-career, have good careers.

Mr Tharman chairs the 25-member SkillsFuture Council, a national panel set up last September to develop a system of education, training and progression for Singaporeans. He also said the Government was putting the final touches to the Silver Support Scheme, along with other measures to help the low-income elderly.

The needs of the “sandwiched” class must be addressed as they do not qualify for schemes that help the poor, nor do they have the financial capability of upper-income earners, said Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University School of Law.

“If you talk about trying to ensure Singapore is ready for the future, it becomes critical to ensure this group is well equipped and has confidence in the future of the country. If the Budget can lift this broad middle class … who occupy the heartlands of Singapore … then the future of Singapore will become secure as well,” he said.

Associate Professor Bilveer Singh from NUS’ Department of Political Science said public expectations for this year’s Budget are high, given that it is Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and that there is talk of the elections looming. The next General Election must be held by January 2017.

“Partly, the Government created these expectations for itself … People will say, ‘Okay, what is there for me after 50 years?’” he said. “Budget is when people will see the political will from the Government — can this Government really deliver? Is the Government really caring?”

In a research note published last week, Barclays economists Leong Wai Ho and Bill Diviney pointed to previous incentives that had preceded elections, such as the S$3.2 billion Grow and Share package in 2011.

Dr Tan Ern Ser noted that, increasingly, Singaporeans expect the Government to provide support not only in weathering economic storms, but also in buffering them against risks of inflation, employment and income insecurity as well as wage stagnation. “In short, harping on self-reliance and focusing on job creation and skills training alone are not sufficient,” he said.

Assoc Prof Tan said the Government would have to show that the Budget would not be about short-term measures. “I hope we measure the worth of the Budget by looking at what it actually does to strengthen our capabilities and capacity to do even more and to do well in the years ahead,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 23, 2015
AVA Investigating Fish Deaths in Pasir Ris

SINGAPORE — Amid higher plankton levels, some fish farmers off Pasir Ris have seen their fish die in recent days and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is analysing samples to determine the cause of death.

The AVA said some fish deaths were reported by farmers in the East Johor Straits between Wednesday and Saturday. This came after the authority alerted the coastal fish farmers to elevated plankton levels in the area last Monday and Tuesday for them to take precautions.

Plankton are microorganisms and plankton bloom occurs when one species of the drifting marine organisms predominates over others and multiplies quickly, said the AVA. This can be triggered by unpredictable weather, a higher concentration of nutrients in the seawater and poor water exchange between the high and low tides, a spokesperson said.

The AVA did not provide an indication of the scale of deaths so far, but said it has been visiting the coastal fish farms since the farmers’ reports. The visits are to “ascertain the situation, offer advice to the farmers to mitigate the situation and collect fish samples from the affected farms for analysis on the cause of mortality”.

It will continue to monitor and work closely with the farmers, an AVA spokesperson added.

Blogger and environmentalist Ria Tan reported seeing dead fish, both wild and farmed, at Pasir Ris on Saturday. In a post on her Wild Shores website yesterday, Ms Tan noted that some algal blooms are harmful and said it was important to find out the exact cause of fish deaths this time.

The latest deaths occurred a year after farmers lost more than 160 tonnes of fish and suffered individual losses of up to several hundred thousand dollars.

Last year’s episode was due to plankton bloom and low levels of dissolved oxygen, said the AVA, which offered an assistance package to affected farmers.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 23, 2015