Tag: Singapore

“Singapura: The Musical” Is A Cringe-Worthy Attempt At Encapsulating Singapore Culture

Though most Singaporeans are still uncertain about what constitutes our identity, we can immediately call out what a Singaporean identity is not.

At the Gala Premiere of Singapura: The Musical on 23 May at theCapitol Theatre, many Singaporeans found themselves cringing at Philippine company 4th Wall Theatre Co. in their attempts to understand Singapore culture, including their attempts to speak Singlish.

Despite expected extensive preparations and rehearsals, the cast of Singapura: The Musical were still unconvincing in their Singlish words and accent on stage, still very much laced with their own Filipino articulation of words. This attempt to be Singaporean by a Filipino company would have been entirely awful, if not for their saving grace of having accurate costumes and props that well represented pre-independence Singapore visually.

Throughout the musical, it just felt like they were trying to recreate Miss Saigon and Les Misérables while squeezing so much in, at the expense of character and plot development. We expected a lot more when they said during the press conference that they were using Singapore history just as a backdrop for people’s life stories, but the whole plot (or lack thereof) just fell short.

Peace threatened by chaos, check. Disobedient daughter who doubles as an excuse for feminist girl power heroine, check. Asian woman getting into a relationship with Caucasian soldier against the wishes of everyone around her, check x 2. Said Asian-Caucasian couple becoming estranged, check x 2; one of the white men dies in duty, the other gets sent to the same assignment as the previous man.

Sad Asian sidekick man having his affections repeatedly ignored until the end when Caucasian man gets sent to north Borneo and then the story ends and we see sad Asian sidekick man holding hands with the girl, check.

The strangest part was when the heroine’s mother dies, and suddenly we seeLee Kuan Yew’s world-famous crying scene at the backdrop. It was so random and it felt like they were trying to squeeze a metaphor out, as the sad Asian sidekick does repeatedly throughout the musical (heroine even gets blatantly compared to Singapore but the link was so tenuous).

However, despite arguable visual and cultural-interpretative letdowns, the musical numbers in Singapura: The Musical were undeniably lovely. Composed by Ed Gatchalian, songs like “Another Day in Singapore“, “At The Kopitiam“, “Be With Me” and “Tomorrow Begins Today” will leave audiences humming its tunes while leaving the theatre. Catchy and emotional, the original scores and talented vocals from the cast effortlessly stole our hearts.

Overall, we still applaud the efforts made by 4th Wall in this production. It definitely is not easy to encapsulate so much of Singapore’s culture and history in just one show. Unfortunately, we do not give gold stars for effort, for the reality is that the quality of a theatre production is judged in the end product – where Singapura: The Musical fell short.

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All Photos: Singapura: The Musical

Dates: 23 May through 7 June 2015
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes (with 15-minute intermission)
Venue: Capitol Theatre
Tickets: singapurathemusical.eventclique.com

Source: http://popspoken.com

May 26, 2015
12,000 Households Receive Financial Help But 360,000 Still Live In Poverty?

According to GOH LI SIAN, RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY COORDINATOR, AWARE’s letter ”Most govt reports do not deal with policies’ budgetary impact” (Today, May 21) – “While these (Government) reports provide some helpful information, they do not tend to address the impact of budgetary policies per se. The statistics referenced in most of these reports relate to the social phenomena within these ministries’ remit, such as the level of crime or number of workplace accidents, rather than the allocation of expenditure under specific initiatives and policies.

ComCare – no applications’ statistics

The ComCare Annual Report is a welcome exception, as it shows how much money is given out under the various ComCare schemes. However, these statistics could be more comprehensive, since figures on the number of applications received are not released.”

My curiousity was aroused by the above, as the ComCare statistics did give the number of applications for financial assistance and the success rate in the past – which apparently has disappeared, according to AWARE’s above letter.

As I had just wrote “1 million living in poverty?” – I looked at the ComCare statistics to see how many needy families actually received financial assistance.

15,699 households received ComCare financial assistance

According to Social Statistics 2014 – the number of families that received ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance was 12,535 in 2013.

The number that received ComCare long-term assistance was 3,164 (I understand that this figure has remained at around 3,000 for more than a decade!).

So, the total number on Short-to-Medium Term and Long-term Assistance was 15,699 (12,535 + 3,164).

But 107,490 households per capita income $494

Even if we do not talk about the bottom second and third deciles of employed households or the 3.4 per cent of non-retiree households with no working persons and 7 per cent of retiree households which may fall below the ComCare criteria of $650 household per capita income – the bottom decile alone had about 107,490 employed households with per capita monthly income of only $494 (including employer CPF).

Only 15% of bottom decile received ComCare financial assistance?

So, does it mean that only about 15 per cent (15,699 ComCare financial assistance divided by 107,490 bottom decile households) actually received ComCare financial assistance?

Only 4% of those in poverty received ComCare financial assistance?

If we relate this to the 360,000 (30 per cent) households) estimated to be in poverty – does it mean that only about 4 per cent (15,699 divided by 360,000) received ComCare financial assistance?

Short-term financial assistance less than $200?

According to the ComCare Annual Report FY2013 – $31.36 million was disbursed to 17,182 households on short-term assistance in FY2013 – with only 6,867 households remaining (still on) assistance as at 31 March 2014.

So, does it mean that the average monthly financial assistance per household was less than $200 ($31.36 million divided by 17,182 = $152)?

Medium-term financial assistance less than $250?

Similarly, $24.34 million was disbursed to 8,774 households on medium-term assistance – with only 5,520 households remaining as at 31 March 2014.

So, does it mean that the average monthly medium-term financial assistance was less than $250 ($24.34 million divided by 8,774 = $231)?

Please tell us more

Why can’t the ComCare annual report just disclose the average amount of monthly financial assistance per household?

Win battles lose war

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

May 26, 2015
P1 Registration: Child Must Live At Declared Address For At Least 30 Months From Jul 2015

A new rule requiring children to live for at least 21/2 years at the addresses they used to apply for primary school has been introduced, with parents largely supportive of the change.

Beginning this year, those who gain priority admission to schools based on distance need to live at the address for at least 30 months from the start of the Primary 1 registration exercise.

Those with a yet-to-be-completed property also have to live at the new address for as long, but this can start only from when they move in and not from the registration, subject to certain limits.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) did not set any specific time period previously. If this condition is not met, MOE may transfer the child to another school.

When asked, MOE said the distance priority has always been given with the expectation that the family will live at the address declared for Primary 1 registration.

While the MOE’s intent is that this should be for as long as the child is in primary school, it “recognised the practical challenges of imposing an explicit ‘minimum stay’ that would meet the policy intent while not making it overly onerous and rigid”.

The news, reported by Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao yesterday, has sparked a lot of discussion. Parents felt the rule would deter people from renting homes and moving away shortly after their children get spots in schools, and said it will not affect them as they do not plan to move soon.

But some who rented properties near schools may be stuck if their leases do not last 30 months.

For Primary 1 registration, schools conduct a ballot when the number of applicants exceeds available places. Those who live nearer the school – usually within 1km – get priority in the ballot.

A handful of parents have taken advantage of this to get their children into popular schools. A father who lied about where he lived to get his daughter into a top school in 2013 was given two weeks’ jail this year.

Property agents said the rule is unlikely to affect rental or home prices. One agent, Mr Jack Tam, said those who rent places near popular schools are rare.

Horizon Real Estates’ key executive officer Lena Low agreed, but said those who rent homes may need to get longer-term leases.

Some who just want the address get cheaper studio apartments without living there, she said. If they have to move in now, they need a bigger place, she said.

Housewife Shellin Tan, 38, who has a six-year-old son, said the rule is fair but “those who want brand-name schools will still find properties with longer leases or buy homes near them”.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, said the rule ensures families live near their kids’ schools. But the period may be too long as some may genuinely need to move, he added.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 26, 2015
Three-Day Operation Nabs 89 People For Vice And Immigration Offences

Law enforcement officers arrested 89 people for various offences in a three-day operation to weed out illegal activities, the police said on Monday.

These included voluntarily allowing their bank accounts to be utilised by unlicensed moneylenders, suspected involvement in vice, drug-related offences and immigration offences.

The operation was led by Jurong Police Division and supported by the Traffic Police (TP), Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The officers checked 1,240 persons and 1,520 vehicles at the land checkpoints as well as multiple locations in the western part of Singapore, including karaoke lounges in Jurong.

During a raid at the Sun City karaoke lounge above the Jurong Superbowl bowling alley, police arrested eight Vietnamese women for working illegally at the establishment.

Shopkeeper Muhammad who runs a provisions stand near the karaoke lounge said that that some of these women were working.

“So many foreigners there, we can’t be sure that all of them have work passes,” he said.

The officers also busted prostitution activities in forested areas along Kranji and arrested suspects for drug peddling in Bukit Batok.

The commander of the Jurong Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Wilson Lim, said: “Police will continue to work closely with other Home Team agencies to deal with those who carry out such illicit activities.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 26, 2015
Singapore A Secular State? Think Again

By Michael Y.P. Ang

In recent years, there have been loud calls to exclude religion from the public sphere in Singapore.

Singapore is widely seen as a secular state because it has no official religion. But there’s more to secularism than the absence of a state religion.

Secularism also involves the strict separation of the state from religious institutions and the equal treatment of all citizens under the law, whatever their religion or belief.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reinforced the commonly held view of a secular Singapore: “To maintain harmony in Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious society, the government … has got to be neutral, secular in its approach, and pragmatic in solving problems.”

However, going by the definition of secular — not connected with religious or spiritual matters — it’s hard to see Singapore as a secular state.

Let’s consider two points.

1) Religion-based public holidays

Have you noticed that more than half of the 11 public holidays you enjoy every year are related to religion? Good Friday, Vesak Day, Hari Raya Puasa, and Deepavali are some of these religion-based holidays.

With the state giving official recognition to religious holidays, taxpayer money is used to pay public servants a full day’s worth of salary for taking a day off to celebrate a holiday related to a particular religion. Private companies too are legally bound to give their employees a paid day off.

Doesn’t sound secular, does it? Let’s face it, religion has always been a part of the public sphere in Singapore.

It’s baffling that Singaporeans who advocate secularism do not question state-sanctioned religious holidays. Perhaps they only believe in selective secularism, voicing their objections only when it is convenient.

Have true secularists ever considered suggesting Total Defence Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Youth Day, Remembrance Day, or any other non-religious day to be observed as a public holiday? They could even argue that the official observance of such days has nation-building value.

Personally, I like having the various religious holidays. In fact, I wish for more.

2) Religion-based government agencies

Another clear indication of Singapore being non-secular is the existence of religion-based statutory boards. Such bodies are government agencies under the care and budget of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

One of them is the Hindu Endowments Board. Set up under the Hindu Endowments Act in 1968, itmanages four temples, among other functions. Another is MUIS (the Malay acronym for the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore), established when the Administration of Muslim Law Act came into effect in 1968.

The mission of MUIS is “to work with the community in developing a profound religious life and dynamic institutions”, while its strategic priority is “to set the Islamic agenda, shape religious life and forge the Singaporean Muslim Identity”.

With government agencies performing religious functions, how can a country consider itself a secular state?

The lack of public opposition to religion-based statutory boards possibly means that Singaporeans, including secularists, either support or do not object to the allocation of taxpayers’ public resources for religious purposes. This is a positive sign.

But once again, secularists’ apparent lack of opposition to having religion in the public sphere may mean they are not really serious about secularism.

Proselytising isn’t only about religion

Besides emphasising state neutrality on religious matters recently, PM Lee also raised some concerns. He said religious fervour, although in itself positive, could make people “proselytise more aggressively, offending others”.

We should apply PM Lee’s statement to secular issues as well. Proselytising also means “trying to persuade someone to change their political beliefs to your own”.

Proselytising per se is perfectly fine, but when people excessively promote their way of life or political beliefs and practically demand others to accept their views or change the status quo, they are crossing the line.

Don’t cry foul just because others disagree with your beliefs or lifestyle. Social issues, whether they are of a religious or secular nature, are rarely simple and straightforward.

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

May 26, 2015