Thanks, friends, esp for the various PMs of support, encouragement and concern.
Just to let you know not to worry as I’m well.
Now is as good a time as any to spend some time on a couple of long standing things which I have wanted to do.
Good team in Temasek. Joked with them that I’m testing out what a sabbatical means.
Also to catch up on some sleep too! And do a lot more walking.
Thanks again and you all take care too!
Goodnite!
Source: Ho Ching
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singaporeans of all races and religions are able to live peacefully side by side despite the fact that the country’s racial and religious harmony is an “unusual and unnatural state of affairs”.
Mr Lee spoke at a Harmony Dinner at the Singapore Expo on Wednesday evening (Apr 15), an event organised by the Taoist Federation to celebrate its Silver Jubilee.
“There are studies of different societies and there was one study called a report on ‘Global Religious Diversity’ looking at how mixed different societies were – and in fact they ranked Singapore as the most religious diverse society out of 232 countries in the world, and we were the most religiously diverse,” said Mr Lee.
“The most different religions, the most intermingled, all the world’s major faiths are present in Singapore and many smaller faiths too. And yet we enjoy racial and religious harmony, and we live peacefully and happily side by side every day,” added the Prime Minister. It is something that should be continually worked on to be preserved, he said.
Mr Lee said building a multi-racial and multi-religious society is a key ideal that Singapore was founded upon.
Quoting the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister said Singapore does not belong to any single community, but to everyone. Mr Lee said the Taoist Federation worked hard to foster good relations between the different religious groups in Singapore.
All 10 constituent religions of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) were also present at the Harmony Dinner, and Mr Lee called on the religious leaders to lead by example.
Said Mr Lee: “Your communities look to you as role models. How you counsel and lead your congregations, your flocks, will shape religious relations in Singapore. So I am very happy that so many of our religious leaders are committed to building trust and friendships with other communities.”
“We also of course need to keep our society open and inclusive. We can be any race, any religion, but we are also – at the same time – all Singaporeans together. And we have learnt to trust and respect our different races and religions, and to live peacefully with one another,” he said.
The IRO said racial and religious harmony is also enhanced by having more dialogues between people of various faiths.
“It is educating everyone as to what another religion has and if you have better understanding of another religion besides your own, that’s when you have a better understanding and that’s where you will have peace and harmony,” said IRO President Gurmit Singh.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam today (April 15) called on more than 40 Singaporeans who are still living in war-torn Yemen to uphold “personal responsibility” by leaving the country immediately.
Speaking to the media today, he said: “The Government has a duty to try and help our citizens in situations like this. At the same time, people also have an individual, personal responsibility not to put themselves at risk.”
Despite “obvious risks” due to the increased fighting in Yemen and advisories issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), some have not heeded calls to leave, he added.
Drawing a parallel with the situation in Syria, Mr Shanmugam said: “Again, despite many advisories, some of our people did not leave Syria in time, and then they found that all the escape routes were cut off and leaving Syria became extremely difficult.”
Syria has been grappling with a civil war since 2011.
“So really, those who are (in Yemen) should leave immediately and if they don’t, they are putting themselves at serious risk. We will then be operating in a situation where our own ability to rescue them becomes very limited,” he added.
Tensions between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have escalated since the Houthis took control of Yemen’s capital Sana’a in September last year, five days after MFA issued the first advisory for Singaporeans to leave Yemen.
Since last month, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition has been targeting the Houthis and their allies—namely forces loyal to former Yemeni leader Ali Abdulla Saleh— in a series of air strikes.
Despite the MFA’s multiple appeals, more than 40 Singaporeans, including students, businessmen, homemakers and several young children, are still living in various Yemeni cities.
“We won’t know the full number, but that is our estimate,” said Mr Shanmugam.
TODAY understands that many have remained due to business and education obligations. Some, such as Mr Haykal Bafana, 43, told TODAY that he had lived through similar unrest in 2011.
As Singapore does not have an embassy in Yemen, it seeks assistance from other countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Oman, said Mr Shanmugam.
However, many embassies on the ground are winding down rescue operations, he noted, which “limits (the Government’s) ability to do much in Yemen any further”.
A total of 25 Singaporeans have left Yemen in the last two weeks, including a woman who was evacuated yesterday.
As air travel in Yemen has ceased, current rescue operations are primarily conducted over land, and can take up more than 20 hours through rough terrain.
TODAY understands that the Singaporeans who managed to get out of Yemen also encountered challenges such as 10-hour bus delays and the lack of travel documents.
Source: www.todayonline.com
The distributor of Zara, RSH Limited, has apologised to a blind woman after she was prevented from entering a Zara store and was even hurled vulgarities at by a security guard, and has also fired him.
Counsellor Cassandra Chiu was with a friend who wanted to look at a dress in Zara, so she tried going into the store with her guide dog Esme.
However, the security scolded her and according to the Facebook posting under the name of Esme, “Security used the four-letter word twice on mama, and called her an animal.”
Ms Chiu tried explaining that she needed the help of her guide dog but the security guard “actually got more agitated and aggressive hurling abuses” at her.
Later, “A lady claiming to be the store manager confirmed that guide dogs were not allowed and that they were calling the police.”
Yesterday, RSH apologised to Cassandra.
“We sincerely apologise for the unpleasantness, disappointment and anger caused to Ms Cassandra Chiu, as well as members of the public,” it said in a statement.
RSH also said that guide dogs are welcomed at its stores and that there was an “unintentional misunderstanding regarding courtesy rules at our stores”.
Takashimaya Shopping Centre, where the shop is located, also explained that it is a a guide-dog friendly mall but said that it is up to its tenants to apply the policy accordingly.
However, Ms Chiu explained that she was not upset with being turned away but more shocked at the vulgarities that the security guard was using.
Source: http://therealsingapore.com
Bukan sahaja bekerja seorang diri, termasuk di bawah cahaya matahari yang terik, malah ada kalanya ditohmah dan dicemuh orang ramai.
Itulah antara pengalaman Cik Rukinah Gyat bekerja sebagai warden tempat letak kenderaan.
Biar begitu, beliau selesa melakukannya kerana ia tetap pekerjaan penting lagi halal dan sudah memberinya rezeki selama 40 tahun.
Cik Rukinah, 58 tahun, mula bekerja sebagai ‘mak cik saman’ – gelaran yang diberi sebahagian pemandu – pada 1975, setelah tamat sekolah menengah.
Beliau tidak pernah terfikir mahu mencari pekerjaan lain antara lain kerana kawasan ‘rondaan’ beliau berdekatan rumahnya di Bedok North.
Ini walaupun ada kalanya beliau terpaksa menangani pemandu bermasalah di lebih kurang lapan tempat letak kenderaan yang diawasinya setiap hari.
“Sejak saya mula bekerja pada umur 19 tahun, saya sudah jumpa semua jenis pemandu, yang berkelakuan baik dan yang biadab terhadap saya.
“Cik pernah dimarahi tanpa henti oleh seorang pemandu. Apabila cik cuba terangkan tentang kesalahannya dengan baik, abang si pemandu pula keluar dari kereta dan marah cik di depan orang awam di situ,” ujar ibu dua anak itu.
Bahkan, Cik Rukinah pernah menangis kerana insiden-insiden begitu. Beliau memujuk dirinya dengan berkata ia sebahagian daripada lumrah pekerjaannya.
Beliau yang bekerja lapan jam sehari, dari 3 petang hingga 11 malam, lima hari seminggu, membawa pulang sekitar $1,200 sebulan.
Kini, kata-kata kesat dan cemuhan tidak lagi dipedulikan sangat kerana pada Cik Rukinah, beliau hanya menjalankan amanah.
Namun, beliau pernah juga berjumpa pemandu yang bukan sahaja bersopan setelah disaman, malah memberinya kata-kata semangat.
“Beberapa kali saya menemui pemandu yang mendorong saya supaya melakukan kerja saya dengan penuh sabar walaupun mereka sendiri telah disaman saya,” ujarnya beliau sambil tertawa.
Biarpun umur semakin meningkat, Cik Rukinah tidak ada rancangan bersara, antara lain kerana pekerjaan itu juga memberi beliau peluang bersenam.
“Saya boleh bersenam sambil bekerja kerana perlu berjalan dan menaiki tangga. Badan saya tidak mudah letih dalam usia sebegini. Selagi saya kuat, saya akan terus bekerja untuk mendapatkan wang sendiri,” katanya.
Source: http://beritaharian.sg