Tag: Singapore

By-Election The Latest Stop In Political Journey, Says Chee

Eight months after contesting his first election in 14 years last September, Dr Chee Soon Juan, 53, finds himself contesting his second.

While some political pundits had suggested that the Bukit Batok by-election was effectively last chance saloon for Dr Chee and as good an opportunity as it gets for him to enter Parliament, the man himself disagrees — opting to see the latest contest as simply one stop in the ongoing political process.

“It’s like an MRT station. You come to one stop, it doesn’t end there. You go on. I don’t think it’s ever an end goal in that sense. I’ve always seen it as a journey and not just for me personally — for the party, for the country as well,” said Dr Chee, who has parked himself at the MRT station many mornings and evenings leading up to the Bukit Batok by-election this Saturday, cycled and walked with his team around the Single-Member Constituency, and shaken hands with numerous patrons of the coffee shops there.

Political analysts have weighed in on what is at stake this time for Dr Chee, who first entered politics in 1992. They said that the by-election offered Dr Chee the best shot at winning a parliamentary seat in his colourful political career so far — due to factors such as the by-election effect and the ignominy of former People’s Action Party Member of Parliament David Ong’s resignation over an alleged extramarital affair.

Any result lower than 35 per cent would raise questions on his electability, an analyst said.

In response, Dr Chee pointed to the lack of a democratic system and media freedom here.

“Let’s put that in context and then we can start talking about electability … We don’t analyse the system first. Before you do that, let’s not start throwing words like you would in a democratic system,” Dr Chee told TODAY in an interview last Saturday.

When reminded of how opposition parties have made breakthroughs in the current system, Dr Chee called for “even-handed” media coverage and said his team would just have to continue to appeal to voters.

The tentative and sometimes tetchy relationship between the SDP and the mainstream media came to the fore in the past week as several speakers at its rallies criticised a front-page headline used by Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao after an interview with him, which the newspaper later corrected online.

SDP central executive committee member Dr Paul Tambyah also disagreed that this by-election spells the best opportunity for Dr Chee to get elected. Many in the opposition believe Bukit Batok SMC was carved out of Jurong Group Representation Constituency in the 2015 General Election because it was a PAP stronghold, said Dr Tambyah.

Other challenges include what Dr Tambyah called attempts by the ruling party to smear the SDP and Dr Chee, and distortion of statements they made.

Dr Tambyah — who was part of the SDP Holland-Bukit Timah team with Dr Chee and two others that won 33.4 per cent of the vote last September — also took a longer-term view of the SDP’s efforts to get into Parliament.

“We hope that by running a clean and fair campaign and focusing on the issues, we have moved the cause of democracy forward so hopefully Dr Chee will be in Parliament, if not this time, perhaps in the next GE,” he said.

Dr Chee said the response from Bukit Batok residents has been encouraging.

He has come to know many residents, who are beginning to feel “very comfortable with us around”. But he said: “How can you tell until the final poll comes around (on) Saturday?”

TODAY tagged along twice when Dr Chee was at Bukit Batok MRT Station and once as he walked around several coffee shops. Some commuters resolutely kept their earphones plugged in and refused to be distracted from their journey home, some politely smiled and accepted the brochures he gave out. Others stopped for a chat, wished him well and requested photos and autographs. One man stuffed a S$50 note into his hands.

The SDP is trying a more nuanced and gradated approach in reaching out to voters this time around and has covered all the residential blocks in Bukit Batok, said Dr Chee, who has pledged to be a full-time MP.

“For example, you come across a pro-PAP supporter or Residents’ Committee supporter, you say thank you and if they don’t want to support you, they don’t want to support you,” he said. “For those people who say, ‘I’d like to meet Dr Chee’, (my activists) will let me know and I’ll go visit them.”

Whatever the outcome on May 7, Dr Chee said he will keep at his cause. “Life is a journey. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And change takes persistence, takes perseverance, but we’ll get there,” he said.

Source: TODAY Online

May 7, 2016
Diabetes: The Rice You Eat Is Worse Than Sugary Drinks

The health authorities have identified one of their top concerns as they wage war on diabetes: white rice. It is even more potent than sweet soda drinks in causing the disease.

Sharing his battle plan to reduce the risk of diabetes, Health Promotion Board chief executive Zee Yoong Kang said that obesity and sugary drinks are the major causes of the condition in the West.

But Asians are more predisposed to diabetes than Caucasians, so people do not have to be obese to be at risk. Starchy white rice can overload their bodies with blood sugar and heighten their risk of diabetes.

Mr Zee is armed with data. A meta- analysis of four major studies, involving more than 350,000 people followed for four to 20 years, by the Harvard School of Public Health – published in the British Medical Journal – threw up some sobering findings.

One, it showed each plate of white rice eaten in a day – on a regular basis – raises the risk of diabetes by 11 per cent in the overall population.

Two, it showed that while Asians, like the Chinese, had four servings a day of cooked rice, Americans and Australians ate just five a week.

But Mr Zee does not plan to ask Singaporeans to stop eating rice, a popular feature of meals here. What he would like is to see more people turn to healthier varieties.

Long grain white rice is also better than short grain when it comes to how it spikes blood sugar – a rise in sugar levels causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, and frequent spikes can lead to diabetes.

He would also like people to try adding 20 per cent of brown rice to their white rice. This amount is enough to reduce their risk of diabetes by 16 per cent.”There is no need to fully replace what they now eat. Just increase the quantity of whole grain and brown rice.”

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said last month that this disease is already costing the country more than $1 billion a year. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in Singapore.

Dr Stanley Liew, a diabetes expert at Raffles Hospital, advised people to eat less rice. He added that most junk food and sodas are just as bad and should be discouraged.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 6, 2016
SQ Girl Shows Why SIA Is The Only Way To Fly

*Updated: The kind lady is none other than Kren Choong Shi Qi !

Through a 12 hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt, I made a friend. ?

Draga is a 92 year old lady who grew up in Slovenia and moved to Australia with her husband in the 70’s. Ever since her husband passed on 5 years ago, she makes an annual pilgrimage to Slovenia to hang out with her sister for a couple of months.

Traveling alone at that age can be tough and while she is helped by the ground staff armed with a wheelchair, her entire ride on the plane can be quite challenging.

Unable to figure out any technology, she sits there without any movies or entertainment to pass time. Even to the point of being unable to turn on the light when she needed it desperately to inject insulin into herself or to prick her finger when checking her glucose level.

I befriended her when she needed help with unlocking the tray as the clip was a little stuck. Saw her rummaging through her bag to figure out the glucose count machine in the dark and that reminded me of a time when my late grandfather asked me to sit down on a bench with a strange old uncle at K-Mart who was about to inject his stomach with insulin.

With Draga, she reached a point in the flight where I noticed her visibly shaking. Concerned, I asked if she was alright. She mentioned that she had accidentally shot too much insulin and because of that, her blood sugar had dropped to a level where it could get dangerous.

Trying to give her as much diabetes-appropriate food to slowly bring up her sugar levels, a Singapore Airlines stewardess, Karen Choong, came by telling us to switch off the overhead lights and instead use the lights located by the tv screen. When I explained that we were trying to get Draga’s sugar levels up, Karen suggested eating an apple. Draga could not bite into the hard apple and I was touched when Karen excused herself to grab a pair of gloves and a knife to cut the apple into bite sized pieces.

On her knees in her SQ kebaya, she patiently assisted Draga even wanting to feed Draga. Draga shyly declined and was appreciative of Karen’s kind gesture.

Draga was happy that at least the crew cared for her well being. Caught by surprise by Karen’s care and concern for her, she felt embarrassed as she did not want to be seen as a liability to the crew. They had other passengers to care for and Draga didn’t want to take up any more of their time, especially Karen’s.

Knowing that I was helping Draga too, Karen came by my seat to tell me quietly that if I noticed Draga’s health deteriorating, please call for her immediately. She took note of our seats and I assumed it was to alert her to rush over if our call button lighted up.

Flying with other airlines in the past, I’m not so sure if other crews would have gone to such lengths to ensure the comfort of their passengers.

Karen did not have to do what she did. Yet, she took it upon herself to monitor Draga once in a while to see if there was anything else she could provide to make Draga’s flight experience a better one.

If anyone could share and tag Karen Choong who is seen in this picture, I would appreciate it. She has acted out of such kindness without expecting anything in return. She, at least, deserves to read about how her actions have affected Draga’s life and mine too. ??

Thank you

Source: Shazy Tan

May 6, 2016
Bangladeshi Workers Worried They Can’t Pray Together

Some Bangladeshi workers sporting a beard are perceived as terrorists.

Others are not allowed to have their meals together – a measure some companies have taken to prevent any sharing of propaganda material among workers, said Mr A.K.M. Mohsin (photo), editor of Banglar Kantha, Singapore’s only Bengali newspaper.

With Ramadan coming up next month, the workers are now worried they will not be able to pray together.

Such is the impact that the latest spate of arrests and detentions of Bangladeshi workers under the Internal Security Act has had on the community, said Mr Mohsin.

Late last year, 27 Bangladeshi men were arrested and deported for terror links and possession of material on terrorist propaganda.

Last month, another eight men were detained under the Internal Security Act. Five others were repatriated.

Mr Mohsin, 52, explained: “Ninety-five per cent of the Bangladeshi workers here are Muslim, and most are very pious.

“They grow beards to emulate the actions of Prophet Muhammad, who is believed to have had a beard. But now they feel that if they follow their religion closely, people here will think that they are terrorists.”

As someone who runs Dibashram – a space for migrant workers here to get together for cultural activities and fellowship – Mr Mohsin is concerned about the plight of the Bangladeshi workers after the high-profile arrests.

“We should allow them to spend their weekends on recreational activities so they don’t have time to do bad things, or be involved in ridiculous discussions (that are held to radicalise).

“We should think of migrant workers as human beings, not machines,” he said.

WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN

As a father of three daughters aged six, 16 and 18, he is also concerned about how his children will be affected by the news.

“Like other parents, I’m worried about how Singaporeans will look at my children in another way. Actually, (these arrests) bring a lot of shame to us,” he said quietly.

Mr Mohsin is expected to meet the Singapore Bangladesh Society today to come up with some measures to improve the situation.

“Today, I told some of them (in the society) that we come forward to do something only when an incident like this happens. After that, we stop. That is no good. We have to continue our efforts to the migrant workers here,” he said.

Singapore ‘not exempted’ from radicalisation sweeping world

The wave of radicalisation is sweeping through the world and our region – and Singapore is not exempted, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam (right) yesterday afternoon.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door event at Temasek Polytechnic.

On Tuesday, the Home Affairs Ministry revealed that eight radicalised Bangladeshi men were detained last month under the Internal Security Act for plotting terror attacks in their own country.

They would meet in parks or open fields, and share large amounts of radical propaganda and videos. (See report below)

Another five investigated under the ISA were repatriated.

“These people had wanted to go to the Middle East but they couldn’t and so they were looking at other means.

“We could have been a target because they were prepared to attack anywhere.

“If they had been directed to attack in Singapore, they would have attacked in Singapore.

“So it shows the seriousness. It brings home again Paris, Jakarta… (the threat) is here to stay,” said Mr Shanmugam.

Adding that material on bomb-making and sniper rifles were recovered on detainees, he said: “You and I don’t go do research on those… so yes, there is a concern.”

We could have been a target because they were prepared to attack anywhere. If they had been directed to attack in Singapore, they would have attacked in Singapore.

– Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam

5 things to know about the detainees

Eight Bangladeshis, who called themselves the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB), were detained last month under the Internal Security Act (ISA), and another five were repatriated, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Tuesday. Here are five things you need to know about the detainees:

1 ISB’s leader was radicalised in 2013

Rahman Mizanur, 31, had been working on and off in Singapore since 2007. When he last came to Singapore last December, the authorities had no information to suggest that Rahman had radicalised views.

At the time of his arrest, he was working as a draftsman in a construction firm.

The seeds of terrorism were first sown in Rahman in 2013 when he read radical material online. He became more radicalised after a fellow Bangladeshi shared the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda material with him last year in Bangladesh.

2 ISB was a structured organisation

Members were given specific roles, such as leader and deputy leader, and were assigned responsibilities like managing the finances.

They would usually meet at parks or open fields and would share large amounts of radical propaganda and videos.

ISB was the first group comprising all foreigners to be detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities in Singapore, said MHA.

3 Detainees had at least three years’ work experience here

When the eight detainees first came to work here, they were not known to be radicalised or involved in terrorism-related activities.

Each of them had worked here for between three and 10 years in the construction and marine industries. The authorities found no significant concentration in any particular company or accommodation.

The workers were arrested between late March and early April and were issued with two-year Orders of Detention late last month.

Five other workers who were repatriated – Evan Galib Hassan Chowdhury, Rana Masud, Pailot Md Rana Miea, Islam Tanjemul and Alomgir Md – were not part of the ISB, said MHA. But they possessed or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause.

4 Funds raised by ISB were members’ own contributions

At the time of the arrests, money was seized from the detainees.

MHA said the funds raised were from the members’ own contributions. The members had intended to use the funds to buy firearms for their planned terror attacks, but are not known to have acted yet.

Several of them may be prosecuted for terrorism-financing, and investigations are ongoing.

5 There is no link between ISB and the Bangladeshi nationals arrested last year

Some of the eight detainees chanced upon members of the radical religious group who were deported for terror links last year, but there is no indication that the eight detainees from ISB were part of this group. The Bangladeshi nationals in both incidents were not known to have been targeting Singapore at the time of their arrests.

Source: www.tnp.sg

May 6, 2016
Yaacob Ibrahim: Perkuat Silaturahim, Sepadu Elak Pecah-Belah

SEMENTARA isu keselamatan negara ditangani oleh agensi relevan, warga Singapura boleh memainkan peranan secara peribadi bagi memastikan bahawa perpaduan masyarakat tidak berpecah-belah.

Menteri Perhubungan dan Penerangan, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, berkata demikian sebagai mengulas penahanan lapan warga Bangladesh Selasa lepas kepada media selepas sesi perbincangan bersama golongan belia pada malam hari yang sama.

“Di Singapura, sebagai masyarakat Melayu/Islam, kita harus pelihara perpaduan sosial yang ada di sini.

“Kita lihat bagaimana kita boleh berganding bahu dengan masyarakat lain bagi menentukan bahawa apa pun yang telah berlaku tidak akan memecah-belahkan negara kita.

“Ini salah satu perkara yang penting dan harus terus ditekankan,” ujar Dr Yaacob yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam.

Lapan warga Bangladesh yang ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) itu telah merancang melakukan serangan pengganasan di negara mereka.

Mereka berusia antara 26 dengan 34 tahun dan merupakan sebahagian daripada kumpulan yang dinamakan Negara Islam Bangladesh (ISB).

Dr Yaacob menambah bahawa masyarakat Melayu/Islam perlu “terus memperkuat tali silaturahim dalam masyarakat dan memelihara perpaduan sosial yang kita telah capai buat bertahun-tahun lamanya”.

Dalam pada itu, Ketua Pengajian Dasar, Sekolah Pengajian Antarabangsa S. Rajaratnam (RSIS), Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU), Profesor Madya Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, menekankan bahawa masyarakat Singapura tidak harus memulau pekerja asing.

“Sebahagian besar daripada mereka yang datang ke sini semata-mata mahu mendapat kerja dan menyara hidup mereka,” jelas Dr Kumar.

Beliau berkata penahanan lapan pekerja Bangladesh itu menunjukkan kerjasama antara Singapura dan pihak berkuasa Bangladesh perlu dipertingkat, lebih-lebih lagi ini kali kedua penahanan dibuat.

“Pendidikan mengenai cara mengesan sebarang kelakuan radikal boleh juga dianjurkan bagi pekerja asing agar mereka dapat berfungsi sebagai ‘mata’ dan ‘telinga’ tambahan’,” saran Dr Kumar.

Pengasas kumpulan penjagaan susulan antara agensi, Aftercare Group (ACG), Encik Abdul Halim Kader, yang juga Presiden Taman Bacaan, akur dengan pandangan bahawa masyarakat Singapura, tidak kira bangsa, tidak harus meminggirkan pekerja asing.

“Kita harus mendekati mereka terutama semasa waktu lapang mereka; jangan biarkan mereka terasing.

“Saya telah merancang dengan beberapa pihak tertentu bagi memperkenalkan sukan sepak takraw dan bola tampar kepada pekerja asing terutama warga Bangladesh pada minggu-minggu akan datang,” ujar Encik Abdul Halim yang juga Presiden Persekutuan Sepak Takraw Singapura (Perses).

Source: www.beritaharian.sg

May 6, 2016