Tag: Singapore

Raffles Education Corporation Director Lists Multiple Fake Degrees On CV

Netizens are continuing to dig up people with questionable degrees following the scandal at IDA where a worker was found to have a fake degree and IDA, instead of taking action, defended the staff member.

See: IDA Defends Decision to Hire Foreigner with ‘Fake’ Degree; Dishonest People Must Never Work for the Government

Now, Netizens have dug up this “Dr” Terence Seet living and working in Singapore. Almost all of his degrees are from known and reported degree mills, yet he was still able to work as a Director at Raffles Education Corporation:

Templeton University is a degree mill.

Next, Sree Raghavendra Research Foundation University where he did his MBA is ALSO a fake university. It is listed here as a fake university in India.

Lastly, his phD from Open International University is a sham degree too. Open International University is also a known degree mill. And can you believe it? He earned his phD in just a year!

He even posted photos of his phD on facebook:

How on earth did a person with a whole string of fake qualifications get a job in Singapore?

What is MOM doing? I urge MOM and the Minister in charge to come clean.

He even had a photo with former President SR Nathan (https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/385161_10150466513543007_746855864_n.jpg?oh=79e995ed3ace5ade25aa7658f647520e&oe=559AB940&__gda__=1440947654_30a443fb604a44fe53a5a5af1683a579).

This is how lousy the system is. Even a former President of Singapore can’t detect a fake degree holder even if he is right in front of him. Terence Seet was also involved when a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Singapore and India. Proof is this album here: https://www.facebook.com/terenceseet/media_set?set=a.10150093780978007.284539.651563006&type=3

This Director of Raffles Education Corporation with the fake degrees, “Dr” Terence Seet, has represented Singapore in India at major events! Is that not a disgrace?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWG6vZohfQE

Source: www.therealsingapore.com

April 21, 2015
Teenager Who Assaulted Foreigners Out Of Boredom Sentenced To 10 Days’ Detention

A teenager who assaulted foreign workers with his friends because he was bored and thought they would not fight back was sentenced to 10 days’ detention yesterday.

Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of reformative training, which involves a minimum of 18 months in detention.

Daryl Lim Jun Liang, 18, was also ordered to report to a supervision officer every day for one year, during which he has to wear an electronic tag and observe a curfew from 10am to 6pm.

Lim, who was involved in four such incidents in September and October last year, also has to perform 150 hours of community service within the year. Youths aged 14 to 21 who are sentenced to reformative training undergo structured counselling as well as academic and vocational training for up to two-and-a-half years. In contrast, short detentions are more lenient community-based sentences.

Lim is now out on S$15,000 bail after the prosecution applied for a pause in the start of his sentence while it studies whether to appeal. It must file an appeal within two weeks.

Last month, Lim pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt, with another charge taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that Lim and three others met on Oct 3 last year, hoping to practise their fighting skills by assaulting foreign workers. At around 6am, they spotted 48-year-old Chinese national Zuo Yu Nian. Lim and a 15-year-old accomplice — who cannot be named because of a gag order — repeatedly punched Mr Zuo in the face and mouth before fleeing.

Pressing for reformative training as a deterrent sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai said the attack was “particularly heinous” as Lim and his accomplices had a clear intent to attack a specific group of people — foreign workers whom they deemed “physically weak and unlikely to fight back”.

Noting the rise in the number of youth crimes involving violence, the prosecutor said there is a “more-than-ever pressing need” to send a clear message to potential offenders that such acts cannot be tolerated and will be firmly dealt with by the law.

Last year, 322 youths were arrested for rioting, 13.8 per cent higher than the 283 cases in 2013. The total number of youths arrested also increased from 3,031 to 3,094 in the same period.

Mr Lai said placing Lim on probation will “offend public interest … (and send) the wrong signal … that such a serious offence will only be met with a slap on the wrist”.

He added that the Government’s “zero tolerance” of youth violence was also made plain in Parliament in 2013 when Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean reiterated that all young people who engage in violence will be brought to justice, regardless of their age.

Although he agreed that Lim’s offence was premeditated and targeted a vulnerable group, District Judge Lim Keng Yeow ruled that reformative training was unnecessary given Lim’s age and that it was his first offence. The judge also noted that probation officers had assessed Lim’s risk of re-offending to be low.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 21, 2015
Preschoolers Taught The Art Of Pottery And Meditation

To mould young minds, the Da Vinci Group advocates taking a hands-on approach to learning, getting preschoolers to use clay to illustrate what they have learnt. So rather than reading about sea creatures or colouring pictures of them, children get to make their own.

Mr Saravanan Manorkorum, Director of the Da Vinci Group, said this is a form of what is known as neuroeducation. “When you are learning something, what you are doing is you are only engaging one part of the brain. But when you are touching something, it fires up all the different sensory aspects, so you’re engaging multiple parts of the brain,” he said.

“When that happens, and you introduce a new idea or a new concept, it gets retained better because of the strengthening of neuro networks. What we are trying to do is we’re trying to incorporate a platform that is going to give the maximum amount of touch to brain activity,” he added.

Having tangible, finished products also helps the children remember what they have learnt. It is similar to how photographs can trigger memories, teachers said.

The Da Vinci Group started these pottery workshops in 2012. It offers them on its own premises, and has also partnered with various preschools and kindergartens to carry out enrichment classes off-site.

Mother of two, Nisha Mohammad Ibrahim, said her children respond well to this method.

“Especially when they see their art pieces at home, they try to relate whatever they’ve learnt in the class. They talk a lot about it. They incorporate or infuse themes into their work, so it’s very practical, and very creative as well,” she said.

Her daughter, five-year-old Deinara Deira Mahesh, proudly showed off her creations – including a starfish. “I learnt about other creatures, like a crab, starfish, great white shark and turtle,” she said.

LEARNING THE ART OF MEDITATION

At My Little Gems Preschool, students learn to take deep breaths to improve their concentration. It is part of the curriculum for the children to meditate with teachers every day. Sessions go on for about 15 minutes, and children keep their fingers on their lips to help them focus on their breathing.

Said Mr Sim Chong, a father of three: “We found that there was a remarkable improvement in their ability to focus and concentrate, even if it’s for a family meal or in the evenings, when we sit down to read story books.”

Mr Sim’s daughter, Kay Ann, said she practises meditation as it helps her to think faster and clearer. “When mummy and daddy read story books, I can pay attention,” she said.

“Those children with training in mindfulness and meditation would be able to be more perceptive of the environment, and hence have a choice in focusing their attention in what they need to do,” said Mr Ben Lim, the principal at My Little Gems Preschool.

Singaporeans we spoke with were generally in favour of such alternative teaching methods. Said Mr David Chia: “I hope my daughter will be able to access more of such choices. Different ways of learning would be good.”

Said Ms Adelyn Chan: “I think that’ll be very interesting, like having yoga activities to take their minds off just memory work.”

Others said even with less-conventional methods of teaching, traditional classroom lessons are still important to them.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

April 21, 2015
Asia-Pacific Breweries (Singapore) Trains Beer Promoters To Sell Alcohol Responsibly

As talks continue between industry players and the authorities over the conditions under which the retail hours of takeaway liquor may be extended, Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore) said it has trained most of its beer promoters how to sell alcohol responsibly.

It yesterday called for a press conference to announce this, after the company and other major alcohol suppliers had responded to the Government’s plan to impose curbs on alcohol sale and consumption in order to deal with alcohol-induced public disamenities, with the argument that such trouble is typically caused by only a minority of irresponsible drinkers.

Yesterday, APB, which owns and brews for a number of brands, including Tiger Beer, Heineken and Anchor, said more than eight in 10 of its 580 brand promoters, who work in over 500 coffee shops and hawker centres islandwide, are now better equipped to recognise drunk customers and underage drinkers, as well as handle alcohol-related situations, after they attended a three-hour session that included role playing.

Training began in January, and APB said it would train all its promoters by next month.

APB’s initiative does not directly relate to the liquor consumption and retail curbs that kicked in this month under new laws, though its head of corporate relations, Ms Shannen Fong, said: “What we’re trying to do and demonstrate to the government is that operators, largely, are responsible. We want to be able to sell, and we often do sell responsibly.” She added that when this does not happen, it is usually due to knowledge gaps.

Under the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act, public liquor consumption and sale of takeaway alcohol are no longer allowed from 10.30pm to 7am daily. Stricter rules apply in Geylang and Little India, which have been designated Liquor Control Zones.

Ms Fong said that while many promoters already have strategies to help them handle potentially troublesome clients, the training has added to their tool kits and given assurance to those who are using the right approach when dealing with such customers.

Turning away intoxicated customers at coffee shops is better in the long run, as liquor licences could be affected if alcohol is sold irresponsibly, she added.

She said the most common types of drinkers encountered by beer promoters are those who are noisy, those who are drunk but want to order more and those who get emotional after drinking.

Beer promoter Bang Yun, 26, who has worked three years at Lau Pa Sat, said promoters would try to distract tipsy drinkers and get them to eat something or drink water.

Promoters would tell drinkers that safety is paramount or ask the drinkers’ friends to persuade them to stop drinking, said Ms Ann Koh, 50, who also works at Lau Pa Sat.

Outlet managers and supervisors of three companies, Kopitiam Investment, S-11 F&B Holdings and another that did not want to be named, have joined the training programme, but APB is trying to get more coffee shops and hawker centres to come on board.

Mr Vincent Cheong, Kopitiam’s corporate communications manager, said the training benefits the company’s staff and customers. Patrons who do not drink can enjoy a more conducive dining environment without disturbance from unruly drinkers, he said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs welcomed APB’s initiative and said the programme would help address public disorder and disamenities that arise from excessive drinking. “Liquor suppliers and retailers are encouraged to adopt measures towards responsible liquor sale, in accordance with the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act,” said a spokesperson.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 21, 2015
Shafiqah Othman Hamzah: Why I Am Against Institutionalised Religion

I think I have, on many occasions, explained that I do not like using the term “religion” all that much. I prefer to substitute it with “spirituality” for very personal reasons. But today, I’d like to explain some of the many reasons why the word “religion” plays little to no role in my life, and why I feel like it is irrelevant.

I can already hear people calling me blasphemous.

Please do not get me wrong, for what I am truly against is not religion, like Islam, Christianity, Buddhism etc. but in fact, “institutionalised religion.” And that does not mean that I am against institutions as well. I do believe that we need some systems of operations and governing in our lives in order to avoid chaos, but I feel like governance in religion is something that should not exist. Isn’t religion supposed to be personal?

All around me, I see people arguing who is right and who is wrong, who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell. There are Muslims vs. Christians, and to make things worse, even Muslims against other Muslims as well. The situation in Malaysia speaks for itself. The demonising of other religions, including other sects of Islam that is not Ahl Sunnah Wal Jamaah, or even Sunni Syafie for that matter, goes to show that our government is trying to dictate how we practise our religion.

There are far too many people in Malaysia (let alone the world) for us to try to advance one particular theology. Not only is this an offence to the diversity that God has bestowed upon us, but it creates a great divide between our citizens. The world wouldn’t be in peace if we all believed in the same thing; we would be in peace if we had a mutual understanding of our differences.

Which brings me to my next point. The moment someone thinks that their theology is the one and only infallible truth, they immediately hold a monopoly on God. This can be seen when Malaysia banned the use of “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia translated version of the Bibles. Yes, they banned it for theological reasons, but as you can see, this is where the problem comes in.

No matter how differently your theology or understanding of something may be, at the end of the day, we are all parts of the same whole. No one owns God. This is against the idea of a universalistic God. Islam does not own Allah, but Allah owns everything. And if the reason behind the ban is to prevent Muslims from getting confused, than you have to question the faith of your own followers instead of putting them in a bubble. You’re not protecting them, but rather, placing them in deeper ignorance.

Institutionalised religion also promotes blind belief through coercion and fear. You have to think a certain way because someone above you says so. You have to do a certain thing because someone above you says so. But you don’t really understand why you’re doing it. You were raised to not question, but to just follow. And out of fear of the consequences that may come, you blindly agree with everything that is being spoon-fed to you because you were taught to believe that questioning is a sin.

The most heart-breaking thing about institutionalised religion for me is that it also teaches us to judge a man not based on his character and how he treats others, but by the way he dresses. Spirituality has been taken over by superficiality. Institutionalised religion insists on playing God.

Religion is the act of believing in God, and institutions establish a systematic way of doing things. Institutionalising religion then ultimately means establishing a system of how to believe in God. How can this be possible when there are over 6 billion people on Earth? And how could anyone ever think that we are authorised to dictate the spirituality of Man as though we’re God Himself?

It should not come as a surprise to anyone at all that our world is filled with such diverse views. No two people think the same way and whoever thought that it was best to turn us into a monolith should understand that all their attempts are futile.

Why is it so hard for people to agree to disagree with each other without inflicting pain or harm towards the other? Are we that conceited and full of ourselves to think that our opinions and upbringing is the one and only infallible truth? To me, one of the best things to do to honour God is by honouring and respecting the diversity that He has given us on this Earth. We are, after all, a part of His creation.

It’s one thing to be against another religion for holding a different view, but institutionalised religion can cause even adherers from the same religion to go against each other. At the current rate of increasing Islamophobia that is happening across the globe, we need Muslims to unite more than ever now instead of merely denouncing each other for different opinions.

There is no systematic way to live, let alone believe in God. Personal matters of the heart aren’t something Man should meddle with. It is none of our business, and definitely not in our place to judge. This is the reason why it is so important for us to be kind to each other, because we don’t know each other’s stories.

We are all equal before the eyes of God. Just because I don’t think or dress like you, it does not make me more or less of a Muslim.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

Shafiqah Othman Hamzah

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

April 21, 2015