In that case, i would like to suggest that MUIS and Madrasah Al Arabiah request that they be allowed to lease the premise of one of these abandoned JCs instead of wasting public money to build a new building for Madrasah Al Arabiah on a limited leasehold arrangement. For all the monies that the Government have spent on SAP schools, this should be a reasonable request to make on behalf of the Malay community. At last a Madrasah can have a full facility educational building which for many years the students of Madrasah could not enjoy. Thank you in advance. – from a concerned parent of Madrasah Al-Arabiah.
By: Quora user Tan Peng An (a former Army Investigator, Special Investigation Branch at Singapore Armed Forces)
During my army days, we had the occasional duty whereby we had to go and try to arrest deserters. Fast forward to this incident:
One Friday night, all of us were recalled (we used pagers then and usually cursed when they sounded) back to our unit for an operation. When we arrived, we were told that we would be doing a midnight surprise arrest of a particular deserter. Now this guy was the “Houdini” of deserters and had evaded many arrests in as many years and we had a tip off he would be at a certain location.
Dragon lights, batons, PC shields, P226 pistols were drawn (My tip if in the SAF: don’t carry the firearm if possible) & issued and everyone loaded up onto the 3 tonners. It was a joint operation and we had the canine unit come along too.
The trucks drove a short way (I am censoring the location) and we debussed and surrounded a particular dilapidated spooky old villa at about midnight. There were no street lamps in the area and it was as dark as a monkey’s behind…
A couple of unlucky dudes were asked to go in the front door (me included since I had that big ass dragon light)…now the dragon light is one mother of a flashlight, heavy too.
Upon entering the house, we found it empty so we got the canine unit to bring the dogs in to check it out. Strangely enough, the dogs were very reluctant to go in and once inside, did not want to do their usual sniffing and searching. So we decided to do a perimeter search instead and luckily, the dogs (now outside, were back to usual) found a scent leading to the property at the back.
All jumped into the 3 tonners and we made our way to the property at the back to resume the search at about 2 am. This property at the back looked even spookier than the building we just went to and everyone kinda got the evil vibe. Me and 3 other guys were standing in front of the building just looking at it when (not sure if it was fatigue or the late hour playing tricks) I saw a white shadow sliding to one window on the top left floor, then slowly sliding out of view. I turned to the other guys and asked them if they saw it… four of us looked at each other and just agreed to “Get the Fuck outta there” and so we legged it back to base…. The Op report said – search done, deserter not found…
I was soon discharged from the army but heard from friends back at the unit that “Houdini” was found a couple of weeks later mad as a hatter….
What happened to the actual properties? I went back a few years ago to try and find the buildings but I think they have all been torn down, and the area is now a famous hippie location with pubs and bars…. make a guess…
Fourteen primary schools and six secondary schools will merge in 2019, due to smaller cohort sizes and changing demographics across housing estates, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Thursday (Apr 20).
The changing demographics have resulted in an uneven distribution of students across primary and secondary schools, the ministry said at a briefing.
Demand for Primary 1 places in mature estates has fallen, resulting in surplus places and low enrolment in some schools. But at younger estates, new schools may need to be built to accommodate a higher demand for school places there, MOE said.
The primary schools being merged are:
– East View and Junyuan Primary, to be located on the site of Junyuan Primary.
– Balestier Hill and Bendemeer Primary, to be located on the site of Bendemeer Primary.
– Da Qiao and Jing Shan Primary, to be located on the site of Jing Shan Primary.
– Damai and East Coast Primary, to be located on the site of Damai Primary.
– Coral and White Sands Primary, to be located on the site of White Sands Primary.
– Casuarina and Loyang Primary, to be located on the site of Casuarina Primary.
– Cedar and MacPherson Primary, to be located on the site of Cedar Primary.
A new primary school in Sengkang, Fern Green Primary, will begin operations in 2018. MOE said this is to meet the high demand for school places in the estate.
The secondary schools to be merged are:
– Yuhua and Shuqun Secondary, to be located on the site of Yuhua Secondary.
– East Spring and East View Secondary, to be located on the site of East Spring Secondary.
– Hong Kah and Jurongville Secondary, to be located on the site of Jurongville Secondary.
For the first time, eight junior colleges will also be merged, making this is the largest school merging exercise in the past decade.
The eight government junior colleges that will be merged in 2019 were selected because of the need to ensure a good spread of JCs across the island, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) at a press briefing on Thursday (Apr 20).
This is partly why even schools with high entry requirements such as Anderson Junior College (AJC) – which had an entry score of eight and nine points for the science and arts courses respectively in 2016, lower than schools such as Catholic Junior College (CJC) – will have to be merged.
AJC will take in Serangoon JC, which has also steadily climbed up the ranks since it opened in 1988. In 2016, it had an entry score of 11 points for both science and arts courses, compared to 20 when it started out. The new school will be located at AJC’s Yio Chu Kang site to serve the north-east area.
In 2019, Jurong and Pioneer JCs will also be merged to form a JC in the west; Innova and Yishun JCs in the north; and Tampines and Meridian JCs in the east. These schools will be located at the latter-named sites. These sites were chosen based on the quality of infrastructure, and their accessibility to transport, said the MOE.
My name is Chek Ming. I am 46 years old. I want to tell you my story and ask for your help. My life has been a struggle for the past few years but I am consoled as I have a 5-year old son. He is my greatest pride and joy, and also the reason I’m asking for help.
I am a Stage 4 cancer patient (metastatic clear cell ovarian carcinoma) who desperately needs to raise over $139,000 annually to get access to immunotherapy, which is not a subsidised cancer treatment and it is out of reach for subsidised patients like me.
I am also fast running out of time, having endured 2 years of debilitating chemotherapy, using various other cancer drugs, to no avail, having now reached fourth-line treatment stage using the last available drug. Those conventional cancer drugs have failed to stop the rapid spread of the disease from Stage 1c to Stage 4. I am now suffering from incremental and severe stabbing pains in my right chest and arm due to inflamed axillary lymph nodes surrounding the front of my heart and embedded in my chest.
It all happened when I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer called “Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma”, that occurs in only 5% of ovarian cancer sufferers. As such, hardly any research has been done on this type of cancer.
I underwent major surgery on 6th April 2015 to remove a huge 12.5 cm ovarian cyst, my womb, ovaries, Fallopian tubes, cervix, omentum, appendix and 29 lymph nodes when ultrasound scans and CA125 cancer marker blood tests indicated high possibility of ovarian cancer. The diagnosis of ovarian cancer was confirmed when the diseased ovarian cyst was sent to the lab for frozen section.
Subsequently, I started chemotherapy on 21st May 2015, receiving Carboplatin and Paclitaxel chemotherapy for 6 cycles every 3 weeks as my medical oncologist said that it is an aggressive cancer (clear cell type) and is likely to come back despite surgery. At that time, I was told that I had Stage 1c ovarian clear cell cancer – i.e. the cancerous ovarian cyst had been leaking cancerous fluid into the surrounding tissues.
Despite the side effects, I persevered through this chemotherapy in the hope that I can survive to raise my son. I will do anything for him. Being 3 years old at the time, he did not know much. But, he saw me lose my hair, vomit, lying in bed unwell for hours and could not play with him – he could not comprehend or understand the reasons.
I thought it was all over and I can go back to lead a normal life. Then, the unthinkable happened. On the 21st September 2015, my medical oncologist suggested that I undergo another CT scan for a routine check-up after my chemotherapy (immediately after I finished my chemotherapy that same month).
The doctor told me it is now impossible to either operate or cure since the cancer has resurged aggressively to Stage 4 in such a short amount of time. My heart sank. I need more treatments but any treatment now is not curative. The doctor told me any treatment now is merely palliative.
I am a single parent and the sole-breadwinner. Oftentimes, I skip meals in order to save up enough money to feed my son proper meals, as he was born prematurely and underweight. I have met many kind people but the amount of help that I need is more than what my normal acquaintances can help.
I live in a small, barebones, 45-sqm, HDB flat (1 bedroom, 1 hall). I have sold off everything that I can sell, in order to survive month-to-month.
Unfortunately, I have no private health insurance and I am not covered under the CPF Dependent Protection Scheme. Hence, I am thankful to all the NUH Doctors, Nurses, Radiologists, Therapists, Counter Staff, Support Staff and Medical Social Workers for their kindness and support. As a subsidised patient, I am grateful to the Singapore Government and the National University Hospital of Singapore for MediShield Life, the NUH medical assistance fund (for Avastin) and the medical bill subsidy by Medifund, which does not cover all bills.
I hope that your donation would be able to help me to pay for my family’s medical bills; basic necessities; household bills; journeys to/from hospital (because I am unsteady on my feet nowadays due to neuropathy and blood pressure is low); some nutritious fresh foods; bank debts left behind in my name by an abusive estranged spouse (who left the country several years ago and no contact); and daily living expenses, during these dark days, and even more so when my condition deteriorates and require hospice care; coming funeral expenses; and to set aside sufficient cash reserve for my poor mother to sustain herself and enable her to care for my young son when I pass on, as they will be in urgent need in the many years to come. Thank you in advance for all donations.
The cost for immunotherapy treatment amounts to approximately $139,000 a year. The medicine is administered every 3 weeks.
The medicine costs between $6,500 and $8,000 per dose, depending on the type administered. There are usually pre-medications that need to be administered too, prior to each dose of the immunotherapy medicine but I do not know the cost for these pre-medications at this point in time.
My doctor tells me that the 5-year survival rate for this cancer is not good and I am unlikely to survive very long given that this is an aggressive, chemo-resistant cancer and it is now at Stage 4. Yet, I need to survive this fight for my life, for at least another few more years in order to stay with my son. He is just too young to lose his mom.
I am appealing out of desperation as I have exhausted all my social connections and charity appeals. I have sold off anything that is of value in my small flat.
Please help me. Any help, no matter how big or small, will make a big difference to me and my son.
Thank you all kindly.
Besides GIVE, we have received SGD74,257.50 from other sources.
Madam Shireen is a 34 years old mother of 4 kids, 2 boys are her own, while the other 2 girls are left to her care due to their own broken family left behind by their own parents. She also has a mother whom she’s the only caregiver full time, and thus she’s unable to find work that’s too far away.
Her trouble arises when she’s unable to service her mortgage loan from the bank, which runs to arrears of $11k plus and she was issued with a Writ of Possession against her to vacant her one and only place call home.
Besides the housing loan, Madam Shireen still owes the Town Council about $500 plus, and PUB about $1000 plus.
Her husband walked out on the family last year, after being physically abusive towards her. She is currently on a Personal Protection Order against her husband, thus she can only fend for herself. She was left alone to work and support the family as a convenience store shift leader previously.
Madam Shireen had to stop working in 2012 when her mother had contracted high fever and was left in a coma. Her other siblings were not able to help and the role of the caregiver fell onto Madam Shireen’s shoulders. She still cares for her mother up till today, and constantly shuttles between her home and her mother’s place.
When they bought the flat previously, they have no clue that the loan was under bank loan and not HDB. Madam Shireen tried to seek assistance to refinance her home with HDB but was rejected due to eligibility.
It has come to a stage that her children are going to school without any pocket money, and she’s seeking help from Social Service Office, which they are still processing.
All Madam Shireen want is for her to tie through these tough times and she’s concurrently looking for home based job where she can earn some money for her to continue her life. She loves her children very much, and all she wants is to provide for them to have a shelter over their head. The children are innocent and they should not be suffering together with her. She’s feeling helpless and hopeless, and we hope to bring some light into her life by donating to her generously to help her tie through and no amount is too small. Please also help to share Madam Shireen’s story, as these are cases that’s fallen through the cracks in our society.
