Tag: Singaporean

  • Employer Forces Maid To Clean Canal Behind Home And Polish Leaves Of Trees In Nearby Park

    Employer Forces Maid To Clean Canal Behind Home And Polish Leaves Of Trees In Nearby Park

    Residents at a private estate Colchester Grove were shocked to find a foreign domestic worker cleaning up rubbish, debris and leaves at a nearby canal just behind her owner’s property.

    The same worker has also been seen carrying a pail of water and a cloth to a nearby park in the estate in an attempt to “polish” the leaves of the trees and bushes in the park.

    A resident of the estate, who did not want to be named, said that when asked about what she was doing, the worker said that she was being asked to do these chores because she had finished what she needed to do in her employer’s home. As her employer felt that she did not have enough to do, she was sent out to do extra cleaning.

    Residents in the estate have expressed concern about the foreign domestic worker’s safety. It was observed that every time there is rain, the canal’s water level rises swiftly and brings with it strong currents, which could easily sweep a person away.

    One resident said that the owner should not even be assigning the maid to work outside of the home as anything outside of the owner’s home was not within the maid’s job scope.

    When approached, the worker refused to comment.

    The employer however did not deny making his worker clean the canal behind his home as he had wanted to prevent any potential dengue breeding. He explained that the canal in the back of his home was often clogged with fallen branches and leaves, which could become potential mosquito breeding spots.

    The employer added that he approached his estate’s conservancy services vendor in the past, but they would only perform cleaning duties in the canal once every month.

    He did not deny asking the maid to polish the leaves of a nearby park as he did not see anything wrong with doing so.

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Voice Of One Meets Hindu Endowment Board For Showdown

    Voice Of One Meets Hindu Endowment Board For Showdown

    The ‘Voice of One’ with a team of 6 spokespersons from the public attended the meeting with HEB on 6 Mar 2015 from 11:30 am to 13:30 pm .The main agenda of ‘Voice of One’ (VOO) for this meeting is to feedback the voices of many with regards to the restrictions imposed on the musical instruments to be played during Thaipusam procession in Singapore. Along with this, few other issues pertaining to Thaipusam was raised by VOO. The following are the main questions and feedbacks by VOO to HEB:

    1. The condition by HEB for Kavadi bearers to leave the temple by 5pm.

    2. The shortening of this time frame; from 7pm to 6pm and now to 5pm.

    3. The quota being placed for devotees to participate while it deprives others to participate and fulfil their vows.

    4. The condition on Kavadi participants to stop playing music at the temple by 3pm.

    5. The ambiguity in HEB’s guidelines for Thaipusam 2015, clause number 3 with regards to the restrictions imposed on singing and music.

    6. The underlying reasons for the banning of musical instruments.

    7. The lack of music support by HEB on the roads during the procession.

    8. The significance of music throughout the entire procession.

    9. To conduct research and survey before making certain important decisions that can affect the devotees.

    10. To uplift restrictions on musical instruments such as portable radios so that everyone has the opportunity to have music on equal footing.

    11. To better train and counsel HEB volunteers and members to improve their standards in managing the crowds.

    12. To stop stereotyping of Indians with rowdyism by using that as a reason for many of their rules and regulations.

    13. To support and encourage religious tolerance by relaxing their rules.

    14. To advocate better for the Hindu community by considering feedback from participants

    We will soon update the responses from HEB after finalizing our minutes. Stay tuned for more updates

    Regards
    Voice of ONE

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Local Undergraduates Expect $4,000 As Starting Salary

    Local Undergraduates Expect $4,000 As Starting Salary

    According to a poll by STJobs, one in five local under/graduates expects no less than $4,000 as their starting pay.

    This contrasts sharply with the average starting pay for a bachelor’s degree (without honours) at $2,741, according to an earlier report last month.

    In view of realistic market payouts, some soon-to-be graduates seem to be asking for the sky.

    In February, STJobs.sg conducted a survey among close to 200 fresh graduates and undergraduates across a wide variety of academic disciplines in local tertiary institutes to find out what their salary expectations are.

    12 per cent of all respondents expected to receive less than $2,500 per month while 70 per cent of them expected to be paid up to $4,000 per month. The remaining 18 per cent felt they should receive more than $4,000 in remuneration.

    When asked why they felt they deserved their expected salary, half of the respondents said it was because they would be graduating from a recognised university.

    This reasoning seems to align with an earlier mypaper report whose survey findings – conducted and compiled by a HR consultant firm – found that one in five employers placed an average premium of $214 per month for local university graduates over those with degrees from overseas.

    Jerry Wee, Director of JRT Recruitment, agrees that employers tend to prefer fresh graduates from a recognised local university compared to private tertiary institutions, and would even be willing to pay them 10 to 15 per cent more.

    “The tightening of EPs for employment, coupled with rising costs and difficulty of hiring experienced qualified locals will put fresh grads in good stead to compete in the job market,” he said. However, he also cautioned that fresh grads need to be realistic in their expectation on remuneration.

    Yu Lan, 26, a student from Nanyang Technological University, is one of them who thinks that her starting salary should be at least $4,000 as she has “strong analysis skills and trouble-shooting ability”.

    On the other hand, 25-year-old Samuel Tan expects to be paid up to $4,000 in starting salary as other jobs he has applied to offer similar payouts. Other reasons cited include “I have the required abilities and good work ethics and experience from my part-time jobs”.

    Interestingly, 1 in 5 fresh graduates admitted that they had no clue about the usual starting pay of the job they are looking for and thought up a random figure for their expected remuneration.

    Most of them said they decided on their expected salary after consulting with friends who worked in a similar industry (46 per cent) or assumed that the industry or organisation they wanted to work in would be willing to pay them their expected salary (23 per cent).

    Among those surveyed, 79 per cent are from local universities, 11 per cent from local polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and the remaining from private institutions.

    The fresh grads also comprised of Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Residents (61 per cent) and foreigners (39 per cent), and 9 in 10 fresh grads are aged between 20 to 27 years old.

     

    Source: http://business.asiaone.com

  • 21 Year Old Arrested For Criminial Trespass, Attempting To Peep At Female Student In Toilet

    21 Year Old Arrested For Criminial Trespass, Attempting To Peep At Female Student In Toilet

    Police have arrested a man who allegedly dressed up as a woman to peep inside the toilet at ITE College West in Choa Chu Kang.

    Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a police spokesman said it received a call at about noon on Monday requesting for assistance at an educational institute along Choa Chu Kang Grove. A 21-year-old man was arrested for criminal tresspass.

    Dr Yek Tiew Ming, the principal for ITE College West, said he was aware of the incident. “Students had alerted our security officers to the breach and assisted the police in the arrest. Students’ security is our priority and we are assisting the police in their investigation,” he added.

    Twitter user Norrick Nolesta (@Noyyick) posted three photos of the incident at 1.23pm on Monday, which were later removed, with the caption: “This guy dressed as a girl went into my school girl’s toilet and tried to peep at my friend.”

    A tall bespectacled man wearing a wig and dressed in a black T-shirt, short grey skirt and slippers could be seen being interrogated by a police officer.

    He was also wearing a cap and carrying a blue backpack.

    The photos were also posted on popular local forum Hardwarezone, where his actions were widely ridiculed by netizens.

    In a video put up on YouTube on the same day, angry students were seen confronting the man, who later went down on his knees and appeared to be begging for forgiveness.

    Police said investigations are ongoing.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Be Grateful For Lee Kuan Yew

    Be Grateful For Lee Kuan Yew

    Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) is at the gun sight of his detractors and enemies again, taking in potshots from all directions in the social media, simply because he was in the news for being hospitalised. The criticisms, condemnations, curses and swearing is gathering storm again.  Even anyone who speaks up for him becomes the target. Who are these hateful ingrates? Mainly his political opponents, past and present. The social media has allowed them to amplify their hates. I will try to balance these with the good things that LKY has done for ordinary people. I will look at them from an ordinary, layman perspective.

    No fear of starvation. Food aplenty, in quantities and varieties. Clothing aplenty, in quantities, varieties, styles and fashions. Don’t have to sleep in the streets. Roof over my head which I can call my own. Good sanitation system. You flush the toilet and walk away without looking back, without worrying if it will work. Home has uninterrupted supplies of water, gas and electricity. The water can be drunk straight out of the tap. Can walk from a residential block to bus-stops, MRT stations, markets, other residential blocks, etc., rain or shine, because of sheltered walkways. Good waste disposal. No unsightly and stinking piles of rubbish lying around. Cleanliness. Few litters found on the ground, though this is changing for the worse as more foreigners come in. No unsightly sticky chewing gum in public places. No fear of stepping or sitting on one.

    Good education and training, leading to good jobs. Can continually upgrade. The limit is myself. Good quality and affordable health care. Public and private medical institutions aplenty. Infectious and communicable diseases are well under control. Good public sports facilities. Stadiums, swimming pools, exercise stations are available. Individual or group can exercise in the nature parks.

    Good transportation; land, sea and air. Public land transportation is well-integrated. Air-conditioned bus stations are built close-by to air-conditioned MRT station. The buses and MRT coaches are all air-conditioned. Its air-conditioned comfort all the way. Combine this with the sheltered walkways, it means you can start from your living quarter and travel to a destination without a drop of sweat or a drop of rain.

    Good communication system which enables the country to be well linked to the rest of the world with the latest in communication technology. Good physical environment. The rivers and reservoirs have clean water, The air quality is good, except when smog blows over from neighboring countries. The whole country is like a garden, with green grass, colorful flowers and tall healthy trees everywhere, all well maintained.

    Good financial control. Never heard of a run on a bank. No one has ever lost money because a bank has gone bust. The nation’s currency is one of the strongest in the world. Good internal security. Low crime rate. Can walk the streets safely at night. Can walk and jog safely in the parks at night. No gunfights on the streets. No school children ever get shot in schools.

    Strong defence backed by an advanced and well-equipped military. We have been able sleep soundly since the last external threat during the Confrontation. Good international diplomacy. We don’t make enemies, only friends. Good political stability. Govt does not change like I change shirt
    everyday. This allows big, long term projects to be realised from planning to completion.

    Good social order. No serious racial or religious conflicts despite being a multi-racial and multi-religious nation. Strong economy. Good quality foreign investments continue to flow in. Unemployment is low. Not satisfied with being good, things are continually being improved to make them better.

    If this is not paradise, what is? How does it come about? Strong government with sound values. And that’s the PAP, under LKY.

    begrateful

    Submitted by TRE reader.

     

    Source: www.tremeritus.com