The man who suggested that the Muslim be burned on their death because Singapore has a land shortage.
The man who kept quiet when Malay youth was not called for National Service and many become drug addict BecoS to find a job u must complete ur National service and many Malay man had no letter to say they were exempt .
YES THIS IS THE MAN.
Maybe we should burn his body as he was so into it
Source: Alias Bin Ismail commenting on ST video on Othman Wok
Pioneer Cabinet Minster Mr Othman had been warded at SGH since April 6 for a chest infection and stomach complications.
Madam Lily, 60, said she usually does the night duty in caring for him.
“I will read some prayers for him and pat him to sleep before I go off,” she recounted his final hours to The Straits Times on Monday (April 17), after Mr Othman died just after noon. He was 92.
“We hope that he will always be remembered as part of the Singapore Old Guard and a contributor to the harmony of Singapore,” she added.
“We tried our best to take care of him to the best of our ability, but I think God knows better, and you know we are quite happy to let him go. He passed away…peacefully, so we are happy with that,” Madam Lily told reporters during the wake for Mr Othman outside the family home in Kew Avenue in Bedok.
Madam Lily, a housewife, described him as a kind and loving father who was also devoted to his work when he was MP for Pasir Panjang constituency from 1963 to 1981.
“We know that we are more or less like his second family compared to his political work. We totally got it and we appreciated that as well,” she said with a laugh.
But he always made time for the family, especially when he returned from his overseas trips as Singapore’s first Minister for Social Affairs, a post he held from 1963 to 1977.
“Whenever he (came) back from his travels, he (spent) at least one night with us, sharing his overseas stories, souvenirs,” she said.
One lesson he often drummed into them was the importance of racial harmony as he lived through the 1964 race riots. He also emphasised humility, she said. “You could be the president’s daughter or the king’s daughter, but humility should be your middle name,” she recalled him saying.
Mr Othman had been in and out of hospital since last November, and his last message to his children was to live peacefully with each other and maintain good relationships with one another, she said.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
The late Mr Othman Wok will be given a state-assisted funeral on Tuesday (April 17), with a memorial service for invited guests to be held on Wednesday evening.
At a quarter past noon on Tuesday, a private hearse carrying the casket will make its way from his residence in Kew Avenue to the Sultan Mosque at North Bridge Road for funeral prayers.
After the prayers, the State Flag will be draped over the casket in the presence of Mr Othman’s family.
A statement issued on Monday by the State-assisted Funeral Organising Committee said the draping of the flag is “the highest State honour that can be accorded to a deceased person”.
It added: “The State flag is placed over the casket with the crescent and stars lying over the head and close to the heart. The Order of Nila Utama (2nd Class) that was awarded to the late Mr Othman Wok will accompany the casket.” Mr Othman was conferred the honour in 1983 for his contributions to Singapore and nation-building efforts.
At 2pm, the gun carriage carrying the casket will travel to the burial site at the Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery — passing through North Bridge Road, North Boat Quay, River Valley Road as well as the heartlands of Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 6.
On Tuesday, Mr Othman’s body will be moved to Sultan Mosque, which was closed to visitors on Monday. The mosque’s manager, Mr Zainal Abidin Omar, said regular prayers will start shortly after 1pm, followed by prayers for Mr Othman.
After that, Mr Othman will make his final journey to Pusara Aman at Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery. In a statement on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Mr Othman will be accorded the honour of being borne on the Ceremonial Gun Carriage for the journey to the cemetery.
The Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, will lead the last rites.
Source: www.todayonline.com
A new alliance is being formed to promote responsible drinking and raise standards in the nightlife sector, marking the first industry-wide effort to do so.
Helmed by operators and alcohol suppliers, it aims to train bar staff on how to spot and handle inebriated customers, for instance, and even how to react during a terror attack.
The Singapore Nightlife Business Association (SNBA), which represents 445 operators, and the European Chamber of Commerce’s (EuroCham) wine, spirits and beer committee here – composed of nine alcohol brands that make up the lion’s share of the local market – are joining forces, they revealed to The Straits Times.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is being finalised to form the Singapore Alliance for Responsible Drinking (Sard).
Also on the cards is a public engagement effort on responsible consumption and possibly an accreditation scheme to promote minimum standards for operators.
While both parties have previously worked together on ad hoc initiatives, they decided to pool their resources this time for a larger impact, said Mr Davide Besana, vice-chairman of EuroCham’s wine, spirits and beer committee. He is the Asia-Pacific corporate affairs manager for Edrington, which makes Scottish whiskies such as The Macallan and Highland Park.
Edrington, together with other brands on the committee – Bacardi, Diageo, Moet Hennessy Diageo, Pernod Ricard, William Grant and Sons, Remy Cointreau, Carlsberg and Asia Pacific Breweries – make up an estimated 80 per cent of the alcohol market here.
The alliance will also provide a collective voice for the industry in its regular engagement with the authorities, such as over the proposed amendments to the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act introduced in Parliament earlier this month.
Among the proposals are a “lighter touch” and licences with longer validity periods for law-abiding licensees, but stiffer penalties for errant operators.
SNBA president and nightlife veteran Dennis Foo said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been more proactive in seeking industry input in recent years. “We are very supportive of (the Amendment Bill) – it recognises that proper operators should not be treated the same as bad ones,” he said.
The MOU to form the alliance will be signed within the next few months, and discussions have already begun on possible initiatives, said EuroCham executive director Lina Baechtiger.
Among these is the introduction of a voluntary accreditation scheme to raise standards in the industry by rewarding responsible operators, such as the Best Bar None scheme adopted in Britain.
The alliance is also looking to expand a programme to train bar staff to identify, intervene and prevent potential alcohol-related problems among customers.
Sard’s formation is timely as the definition and scope of nightlife has evolved, said Timbre Group’s managing director Edward Chia, who is vice-president of SNBA.
The lines between bars, clubs and restaurants have blurred, while a decentralisation of nightlife entertainment is expected to take place over the next decade as neighbourhood establishments continue to sprout, Mr Chia added.
Mr Foo, who is the chairman of CityBar Holdings, said: “There are a lot more restaurant-bars now, and a lot of young professionals joining the industry.”
The increasing threat of terrorism and overseas attacks on public entertainment establishments also present fresh challenges.
“We need to train our people to know what to do if something happens,” said Mr Chia, adding that the only way to do this is with an industry-wide move.
Mr Eugene Fung, owner of The Mad Men Attic Bar near Boat Quay, said that leveraging on the overseas experience of alcohol brands would be useful for the adoption of best practices here.
“Having a common voice will also help in our engagement with the authorities so we know better what we are doing wrong or right,” he said.
Rilek1Corner
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com
With a day to go before the 2G mobile network shuts down fully, construction worker M Rajesh, 29, is relieved that he had just migrated to 3G and had no loss of network.
Mr Rajesh, who has been working here for eight years, had heard about the shutdown but had no time to buy a 3G-enabled handset. Cost was also an issue, he told TODAY, and he needed to build up his savings to buy a new phone.
So on Saturday, he went to Little India and returned with an HTC smartphone for “around S$180”. Now he can take photos with his phone and make video calls back home to India.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said last month that the 2G network will be shut down from April 1 in stages, to be completed by tomorrow.
A TODAY straw poll of 20 migrant workers near their dormitories found that everyone had switched to 3G, some as early as eight months ago.
Price was a concern many of them shared; some of their smartphones cost as much as S$300. While some had bought 3G-enabled phones costing S$40, they said prices have risen following news of the 2G network closure.
Mr Motiurrahmen, a worker with a piling company who goes by one name, said his S$40 Samsung phone used to cost “only around S$18”.
The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) said in a media statement that it had ramped up outreach efforts over the weekend to ensure workers do not “risk losing contact with their loved ones in the coming days”.
MWC chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said: “Migrant workers seeking to migrate onto 3G network can do so at telco outlets in recreation centres or larger dormitories, as well as at the regular weekend telco roadshows in popular congregation spots. Our telco partners will continue to offer attractive migration packages.”
He added that outreach efforts so far by the telcos and non-governmental organisations have had an effect.
“Checks with our telco partners showed that 65 per cent of the 2G users have already migrated to the 3G network since the various outreach campaigns on 2G cessation started,” he said.
Mr Yeo noted that a large proportion of the remaining 2G users, estimated to be between 60,000 and 80,000 last week, held a dual-SIM smartphone. This means they will have mobile network access even after the 2G network shuts down for good.
The workers TODAY spoke to said largely that their transition to 3G was smooth. They have not encountered much issues, although Mr Kawsal, who goes by one name, said he had occasional problems accessing the Internet on his phone since the 2G network closure commenced.
The MWC said it had received feedback from users of certain dual-SIM smartphones that some had difficulties accessing 3G.
To this end, it has devised a graphic to provide clarification, and users experiencing technical issues can either troubleshoot their handsets themselves or approach their telco operator for assistance.
Still, despite the slightly higher costs and these slight hiccups, migrant workers said they appreciate the added benefits, including catching up on television shows online from back home.
Shipyard worker Khan Juwel said he was also able to catch up with friends from home via Facebook. “It’s very good. I like it,” he said with a smile.
Rilek1Corner
Source: http://www.todayonline.com