Tag: Singapore

Martyn See’s 10 Ways To Pay Tribute To Lee Kuan Yew’s Legacy

So there are now calls to pay tribute to LKY by conducting our lives in a manner befitting his legacy. What a noble idea. Here are 10 things you should do.

1. If you’re a graduate, you are only to marry a graduate. If you’re not a graduate, do not contaminate our gene pool by courting graduates. LKY wouldn’t like it.

2. If you’re a succe$$ful man, spread your seeds to as many women as you can financially afford. This will fulfil LKY’s wish to reverse monogamy and reintroduce polygamy.

3. If you have voted in the Workers’ Party in Aljunied GRC, please repent. And repeat this repentance on a daily basis.

4. If you’re Malay, you are to decline any military posting that puts you in charge of a machine-gun unit. LKY will not be pleased if you didn’t.

5. If you ever notice that the population of the Chinese majority has fallen below the 75% mark, you are to immediately raise this issue with the government. LKY said Singapore will not work if the ratio is not maintained.

6. If you’re a young voter, please don’t think that you can change the government. The idea that the PAP can be replaced is heresy. Get that dangerous thought out of your brain now.

7. If ever you feel any resentment against a foreign talent, you are to immediately banish that thought. LKY had said the economy will go into tailspin if not for these foreigners. Offer your thanks to all FTs, without exception.

8. You are to strive hard and work your ass off every day. The spurs are to be permanently stuck on your hide. LKY was disappointed that we haven’t been working hard in recent years. Do not disappoint him again.

9. Do not begrudge the high salaries of our ministers. In fact, you should campaign for ministers to be paid even more, as Singapore cannot afford a dose of bad governance.

10. Do not take the words of the National Pledge literally. It is just a load of highfalutin’ ideals, which should not go undemolished. LKY said we are only in nation in transition.

Source: Martyn See

April 6, 2015
88 Year Old Faced With Possibility Of Never Walking Again After Leg Amputated Following Bus Accident

Despite her 88 years, Madam Ting Lan Kin lived an active lifestyle, taking the bus from her Woodlands Circle home to the market daily and going to Toa Payoh thrice a week to meet her friends.

That routine may well change after the retired widow met with a horrific accident on Friday at a bus stop on Woodlands Centre Road.

As she was alighting from SMRT service 913, the bus suddenly moved off and she fell. The rear wheel of the bus then rolled over her left foot, crushing it.

Doctors later had to amputate part of her foot, including the toes.

Madam Ting and her family are now worried sick that she may never walk again.

Source: www.tnp.sg

April 6, 2015
Food For Thought: World Street Food Congress 2015

The second World Street Food Congress (WSFC) rolls into town this week and it won’t be offering only food, but food for thought.

Following this year’s theme, Engage, Empower and Enterprise, one of the highlights will be the special two-day Dialogue-Hackathon on Wednesday and Thursday, which will feature panel discussions and presentations by renowned street-food advocates, media and street-food vendors.

“They will talk about stuff that will make people think, act and react,” said WSFC creator and Singapore food ambassador KF Seetoh. “For instance, Top Chef Season Nine winner Paul Qui will detail his journey from cooking fine food to becoming the owner of East Side King, a group of Asian-inspired street-food trailers and restaurants in Austin, Texas. I think his story will inspire young cooks to continue Singapore’s street-food culture.

“Then you have Thai (celebrity) chef Ian Kittichai, who is a fine example of how far you can go and what you can do with a bit of knowledge of street food,” he added. “We also have a City Food panel from New York University. Because they are academics, they think about food in a very different way. What they have to say on the subject will really open your mind.”

Other personalities include Claus Meyer, co-founder of top restaurant Noma and founder of an organisation that runs food schools in Danish prisons, and Sangeeta Singh, who works with an organisation that protects the livelihood of street vendors in India.

During the Dialogue-Hackathon, participants will also hear about plans for Anthony Bourdain’s much-anticipated Singapore-style hawker centre Bourdain Market in Manhattan.

For industry players and young individuals and companies looking to enter the street food business, this conference is an invaluable opportunity to network and engage with a truly global group of movers and shakers. Tickets for the two-day event cost S$450, though students and start-ups have a chance to secure a limited number of subsidised tickets at S$100 and S$150, respectively, by writing to the organisers.

The latter group would probably benefit most from the Street Food Pitch Box segment, in which participants are encouraged to write down and submit their business ideas. Those with the best ideas will then be given three minutes to present their concepts and pitches to the panel of industry professionals and influencers.

“The Hackathon will be a town hall-style dialogue, where we want people to say what they really feel,” said Seetoh. “The best ideas come from the ground. We really want to hear what the younger generation want in order for street-food culture to thrive.”

The World Street Food Congress runs from Wednesday to Sunday at the open field at the intersection of Rochor Road and North Bridge Road. For more information about the Dialogue-Hackathon, visithttp://wsfcongress.com/about-dialogue/

DIALOGUE-HACKATHON WHO’S WHO

1. ANTON DIAZA. Founder of OurAwesomePlanet.com, the top food and travel blog in The Philippines and co-founder of successful weekend markets such as Cucina Andare, which is touted as the first food truck market in The Philippines.

2. CLAUS MEYER. Co-founder of Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, and founder of the Melting Pot Foundation, an organisation that runs food schools in Danish prisons.

3. IAN KITTICHAI. Thai celebrity chef and the first Asian Geographical Indication Ambassador by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property, and the Agence Francaise de Developpement.

4. KF SEETOH. Singapore’s food ambassador and founder of Makansutra.

5. DANIEL BENDER. Professor of History, Director of the Culinaria Research Centre and Canada Research Chair in Global Culture at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

6. DONNA GABACCIA. Author of We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food And The Making Of Americans.

7. KRISHNENDU RAY. Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University.

8. JEFFREY PILCHER. Leading figure in the scholarly field of food history, and author of Planet Taco: A Global History Of Mexican Food.

9. ODILIA WINEKE. Food editor of Detik.com and Femina Magazine in Indonesia.

10. PAUL QUI. Chef-owner of Qui restaurant and co-founder of East Side King, a group of Asian-inspired street food trailers and restaurants in Austin, Texas.

11. PETER LLOYD. Executive chef, Spice Market London.

12. SANGEETA SINGH. Street Food Programs Manager of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, an organisation that works to protect the livelihood rights of India’s street vendors.

13. SEAN BASINSKI. Founder and director of Street Vendor Project, a member-led worker centre for New York’s street food vendors.

14. STEPHEN WERTHER. Retail visionary who is working on the opening of the Bourdain Market with Anthony Bourdain.

15. WILLIAM WONGSO. Indonesia’s most prominent culinary expert, restaurateur, food consultant, critic, TV host and celebrity chef.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 6, 2015
Increased Religiosity In Asia-Pacific: Islam And Hinduism Projected To Make Greatest Gains In Singapore

A trend of increasing religiosity is taking hold in the Asia-Pacific region, while North America and Europe are experiencing the reverse with a projected spike in the proportion of people unaffiliated with any religion, showed a recent report by Washington-based think-tank Pew Research Centre.

In Singapore, Islam and Hinduism are projected to make the highest gains, with Muslims replacing Christians as the second-largest faith group by 2050. The report, The Future Of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050, was published on Thursday.

Pew’s researchers took six years to analyse information from about 2,500 data sources, including censuses, demographic surveys, general population surveys and other studies. Demographic projections made in the report were also based on the current size and geographic distribution of the world’s major religions, age differences, fertility and mortality rates, international migration and patterns in conversion between religions.

The report projected that in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of freethinkers is projected to decline from 21 per cent in 2010 to 17 per cent in 2050. Over the same period, the proportion of this group in Europe and North America is expected to increase from 19 per cent to 23 per cent, and from 17 per cent to almost 26 per cent, respectively.

“Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion — though increasing in countries such as the United States and France — will make up a declining share of the world’s total population,” it added.

The report also projected that the number of Muslims, a comparatively youthful population with high fertility rates, will nearly equal the number of Christians by 2050, if current demographic trends continue. As of 2010, Christians made up nearly a third of all 6.9 billion people on Earth. Muslims were the next largest group, comprising about 23 per cent.

The report projected Singapore’s total population to reach 7.9 million in 2050. The proportion of Muslims is projected to increase from 14.3 per cent in 2010 to 21.4 per cent in 2050, overtaking Christians as the second-largest group behind Buddhists. Over the same period, Singapore’s proportion of Hindus is expected to rise from 5.2 to 10.0 per cent. The report said the increases were “mostly because of migration from India and Malaysia”.

By 2050, freethinkers will make up 16 per cent of the total population, down slightly from 16.4 per cent in 2010. Over the same period, the proportion of Christians and Buddhists here will decrease from 18.2 to 17 per cent, and 33.9 to 27 per cent, respectively.

Commenting on the report, observers here questioned the assumption that migration patterns will continue over the next few decades.

Dr Mathew Mathews, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), pointed out that the Government had previously said it wanted to preserve the current racial balance. “Muslims and Hindus in Singapore usually are Malays and Indians, and if their racial composition is supposed to stay the same as currently, it will be unlikely that Islam and Hinduism in Singapore will grow substantially considering the current population plans,” he said.

The Pew report acknowledged that estimating future migration is challenging because the movement of people across borders is dependent on government policies and international events that can change quickly. “And because many migrants follow economic opportunities, migration patterns are also dependent on changing economic conditions,” it added.

Nonetheless, Pew said it has developed a technique to estimate recent migration patterns and their religious breakdown, in collaboration with researchers at Austria’s International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

In Singapore’s case, IPS senior research fellow Leong Chan-Hoong and Chua Chu Kang GRC Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad said it cannot be assumed that people migrating from Malaysia are probably Muslims. Stressing the challenges of migration projections, Dr Leong said migrants could come from different countries or involve different races or religions within a particular country.

Mr Zaqy said any increase in the Muslim and Hindu populations could also be because of a higher number of interracial marriages.

Should the projections come to pass, Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said Singapore may also have to look into building more places of worship for Muslims and Hindus. Likewise, there would also be an impact on the relative influence each religious group has on changes, where bigger groups could feel their views should carry more weight, for instance, he added.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 6, 2015
Catherine Lim: If Only – To The Memory Of Lee Kuan Yew

You transformed little, obscure, resource-poor Singapore into one of the most successful economies in the world. If today Singapore is described in breathless superlatives—‘best’, ‘richest’, ‘cleanest’, ‘brightest’—it is all because of you.

If only you had done so without so much human cost. If only the high ranking of Singapore in international surveys on economic development were matched by a similar ranking in surveys on human rights.

Your ruling style was distinguished by its efficiency, purposefulness and determination. Once you had established your principles of governance, you followed them with relentless energy.

If only this single-mindedness had not blinded you to the need for change in the evolving political landscape of Singapore. It was extremely painful for concerned Singaporeans to see how the hard reality overtook you at the General Election in 2011, and you had to step down.

You have been described as a great leader. In the many tributes to you, your qualities of greatness were singled out for special mention—your courage, your strength, your vision, your fearlessness, your passion for doing the best for your people.

If only you had shown one more attribute of great leadership—the ability to acknowledge mistakes made and the humility to say sorry for policies that had caused pain and hardship to others.

You were such a wonderful husband and father, the consummate family man. Although you kept your family life private, Singaporeans got to know about it through many engaging anecdotes and family photographs, after your death.

If only this deep sense of family closeness and love had been paralleled by a sense of compassion for the families of those political dissidents who were jailed for decades or had to flee into permanent exile.

You are much admired for your immense love of and devotion to your wife. Singaporeans must have been very moved when they read about how you cared for her in her illness, how you read her favourite novels to her. You had once been reported as saying that if there were an afterlife, you would hope to meet her there.

It must be the wish of even non-believers like myself, that you have been granted this dear wish of yours, your ultimate reward.

Source: http://catherinelim.sg

April 2, 2015