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Family Escapes Fire Seconds Before Blast At Bukit Batok Flat

He was hungry after his night shift and wanted to eat some fries.

After leaving a pan of oil to heat on the stove the man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ali, stepped out of the kitchen and went to the living room to rest.

The civil servant in his mid 20s dozed off and the next thing he knew, his stove was on fire.

After his attempts to put out the growing fire failed, Mr Ali and his family fled the Bukit Batok HDB flat.

Seconds later, they heard what sounded like a gas cylinder exploding.

The fire happened just before 11.20am yesterday at Block 350, Bukit Batok Street 32.

Twenty-seven other residents living on the first to fourth floors of the block were also evacuated.

A man in his 20s was found with minor burn injuries but declined to be taken to hospital, said a spokesman for the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 6, 2015
Singaporean Helps Fight Indonesian Fires With Solutions

Many Singaporeans have taken to donning masks or staying indoors as the Pollutant Standards Index climbs to unhealthy levels.

But not Mr Judah Jay, 60.

Instead, he headed straight for the forest fires in Jambi, a province in Sumatra, to help firefighters put out the blaze that has been causing the haze.

The Singaporean owner of a company that manufacturers eco-friendly fire extinguishers also donated about 1,000 litres of a special fire-fighting solution to the Indonesian firefighters.

When asked why he chose to help Indonesia fight the fires for free, Mr Jay said he felt a sense of responsibility.

“It’s like I am a doctor and I see someone getting hit by a car. I won’t ask if he can pay me, I would help him immediately.

“In the same way, I have all this knowledge and resources, and it is my duty to help people who need it.”

The managing director of Fire Terminator International (FTI) and his team arrived in Indonesia three months ago to market a product called JN1010, a fire-fighting solution that not only extinguishes blazes, but also rapidly cools surfaces, removes oxygen, and stops combustible gases from igniting so that the fire does not start again.

Plans to meet potential clients were cut short two months in, after Mr Jay realised the severity of the haze and forest fires.  He then shifted his focus to helping the Indonesians deal with the fires, instead.

He said: “I knew that this was beyond earning money. People there needed help, and I had the means to help them.”

For four weeks, he donned fire-fighting gear and battled the fires shoulder-to-shoulder with others in Jambi, working day and night to extinguish the blaze.

Recounting his time there, Mr Jay said: “The heat from the fires was intense. Visibility was so bad that I could not see who was beside me. It was terrible.”

Although he shipped 1,000 litres of JN1010 for the fire fighting efforts, it took less than a month to use it up.

“Even though the firefighters were so busy and tired, they gave their all and kept on fighting, so I gave them what I could too,” Mr Jay said.

MEDIA ATTENTION

His efforts caught the attention of Indonesian media, with TV network TVRI interviewing Mr Jay and showing him putting out fires during a news clip.

He returned to Singapore about a week ago to attend the Fire and Disaster Asia 2015 exhibition, which was held at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.

When The New Paper spoke to Mr Jay at the exhibition last Thursday, he said that he was raring to return to Indonesia to help again.

“We only brought 10 per cent of our  supply that time. When I go back in three or four days, I am prepared to bring the remaining 9,000 litres to help fight the fires,” he said.

Mr Jay added that he would be heading to Kalimantan, in Borneo, this time, and would stay there for as long as he could.

His wife, Mrs Davina Jay, who is the director for FTI, will stay in Singapore to look after the business while her husband is in Indonesia.

She said: “I have confidence that he will exercise due caution there.

“He has been blessed with wisdom and know-how to help minimise human suffering. It must be shared for a good cause”.

10 firms declare no links to those causing fires in Indonesia

Ten companies which manufacture paper products sold in Singapore have pledged that they do not use raw materials from the five Indonesian firms believed to be responsible for the ongoing forest fires.

A joint press release by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday said that all 10 firms, which are certified under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS), have signed declarations forms.

SEC and Case also revealed that they were awaiting declaration forms from seven other third-party manufacturers.

The list of all the companies which have signed will be updated regularly on both agencies’ websites.

SEC is also encouraging other paper companies which have not participated in the SGLS to contact it for certification.

However, certified firms which are found purchasing wood, paper or pulp products from companies suspected to be involved in the haze pollution are bound by the declaration to inform SEC. They will then be removed from the list.

STRONG SIGNAL

Meanwhile, Case has issued a reminder urging consumers not to support companies using such products unless they have pledged to be socially responsible.

“This will send a strong signal to the errant companies that consumers’ goodwill should not be taken for granted and consumers will not support companies which are environmentally irresponsible and/or have contributed to the environmental disaster year after year,” it added.

Last month, Singapore started legal action against five companies which it believes are among the culprits behind Indonesia’s pollution-causing fires. Four are Indonesian companies which have been told to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, not to start new ones and submit action plans on how they will prevent future fires.

The fifth one is Singapore-listed firm Asia Pulp and Paper. It has been served a legal notice to supply information on its subsidiaries in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires on their concessions. – The Straits Times.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 6, 2015
NUS Economics Graduate Chooses To Sell Crabs For A Living

Meet Fu Hai everyone, who I met this morning during my market visit. Fu Hai, 29, runs a stall selling fresh crabs at the Toa Payoh Market at Lorong 4.

His stall is simple – just a few styrofoam boxes with live crabs in them. His work day is long, starting at 4am and ending at night around 8pm. He and his parents have three such stalls.

Fu Hai graduated with an economics degree from NUS but decided to forge his own path. He has big dreams. He knows the network of crab suppliers from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China. He knows what his customers want – which crabs are best for their sweet meat, and others for the roe.

He thinks he can expand this business to semi-finished products working with our polytechnics.

Welcome to Singapore’s Future Economy. Whatever shape that comes in, we will need young people like Fu Hai to forge new paths.

The future belongs to people like him. Let’s all wish Fu Hai every success as he chases his dreams.

Source: Ng Eng Hen

October 6, 2015
Yaacob Ibrahim: Muslim Marriages Becoming More Resilient

Muslim marriages in Singapore are becoming more resilient, said Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim on Monday (Oct 5) at a seminar aimed at better understanding marriage trends and challenges among Malay-Muslim couples.

However, Dr Yaacob warned that marriages between young couples, as well as remarriages, remain vulnerable and called for a preventive and upstream approach to address the needs of these couples, both before and after marriage.

He encouraged a culture of lifelong learning, where couples seek marriage education and proactive support.

“New trends are emerging and therefore, we have to get for ourselves a new skill set in dealing with some of these new challenges that we are facing today,” said Dr Yaacob. “I always believe that information and awareness is important. I think we need to keep people informed. Such seminars are important for us to use this material to share with would-be couples.

“I always believe that marriages are not made in heaven, they are made on earth. You have to work at it. And I think by sharing information, people understand better, that … you need to be able to find the right level of engagement between you and your spouse.”

About 300 people, including social service practitioners, attended the seminar.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

October 6, 2015
Speed Dating Goes Halal In Malaysia

Dressed in a headscarf and full-length robe, 24 year-old Nurnadille Edlena takes notes intently as the man before her introduces himself.

The two are at Halal Speed Dating, a new matchmaking event in Kuala Lumpur that is helping Malaysian Muslims find partners in a largely conservative society where courtship is frowned upon and marriages are often arranged.

The dating service is halal, meaning permissible under Islamic law, as it is practiced with an Islamic twist: women speed daters must be chaperoned by a wali, or guardian until she gets married and who grants her the permission to do so.

“I brought my parents as they are the best people who can guide me to find someone,” said Nurnadille.

“I’m focusing on finding someone who can willingly accept me for who I am.”

Malaysia is a largely moderate Muslim country, where Islam is the official religion and ethnic Malay Muslims make up two thirds of the 30 million people.

Many young Malaysians meet as young people do in many places, including through the dating app Tinder and on Facebook, but dating is complicated for young Muslims in Malaysia, where public displays of affection and intimacy before marriage is strictly disapproved of.

Halal Speed Dating’s founders say most of their clients hope to find a spouse. A client can shortlist up to three possible partners but can only negotiate marriage with one at a time, in accordance with Islamic rules.

“Halal Speed Dating is the anti-Tinder,” co-founders Zuhri Yuhyi, 34, and Norhayati Ismail, 41, said in a release, referring to the U.S.-based dating app that has gained a reputation for free and easy match-making.

“Instead of casual hookups, Halal Speed Dating is about dignified and chaperoned meet-ups with the intention of marriage. In fact, we do not condone the modern dating that is commonly practiced.”

They say their system can prevent what they see as the social ills of premarital sex and adultery, which they believe are fostered by apps like Tinder.

Norhayati say it is not just Muslims who are interested in their system and making inquires.

“I can tell people are looking for something new,” she said.

The founders have organized the event twice in Kuala Lumpur. The first time in May when about 80 people joined, and the second time last week with 60 hopefuls.

About 2,300 people have signed up to attend a session, most of them urban professionals between the ages of 25 to 35.

Mohamad Fauzan, 26, who helps to run his family business in Kuala Lumpur, halal speed dating provides another option in his quest to find true love.

“I’ve done online dating and gone on blind dates, but in our religion, going halal is the better thing to do. It’s better to first get the permission of the parents, but I’m open to all options,” he said.

Source: www.reuters.com

October 6, 2015