Tag: Singaporeans

DPM Teo Sokong Penubuhan Kolej Islam Bagi Bangun Keupayaan Asatizah

Sekarang ini menjadi lebih penting bagi warga Singapura mengambil langkah-langkah menggalak keharmonian antara agama dan menangkis ideologi radikal.

Ini lebih-lebih lagi dengan beberapa penangkapan dan serangan pengganas di rantau ini dan merata dunia.

Ia termasuk penangkapan enam orang di Batam yang dipercayai merancang melakukan serangan roket ke Marina Bay Sands.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri Teo Chee Hean berkata demikian di majlis jamuan Hari Kebangsaan di Pasir Ris-Punggol, malam semalam (7 Ogos).

Berucap di majlis jamuan Hari Kebangsaan ini, DPM Teo berkata masyarakat Islam Singapura sedang mengambil langkah melindungi diri mereka daripada pengaruh radikal dan keganasan pelampau.

DPM Teo turut memberi jaminan kepada warga Islam Singapura, mereka akan dilayan dengan adil dan saksama.

“Pemerintah menghargai usaha-usaha masyarakat Melayu-Islam untuk menentang idea-idea pelampau. Sebagai contoh, pemimpin agama Islam dan asatizah melangkah ke hadapan untuk memulakan Kumpulan Pemulihan Keagamaan (RRG) pada tahun 2003. Pada Mei lalu, mereka melancarkan aplikasi untuk memerangi radikalisasi.

“RRG juga mempunyai telefon hotline dan laman web untuk menentang ajaran salah yang disebarkan oleh kumpulan pelampau. Kita mesti membina daya tahan sosial kita, supaya kita dapat bangkit semula sebagai sebuah masyarakat yang bersatu padu sekiranya serangan berlaku,” menurut DPM Teo.

DPM Teo juga berkata beliau menyokong aspirasi masyarakat Melayu/Islam untuk menubuhkan sebuah kolej Islam di negara ini.

“Saya menyokong cadangan-cadangan ini demi membangunkan kepupayaan asatizah dan para pemimpin kita. Dengan memahami dan menghargai konteks pelbagai bangsa dan agama di negara kita, mereka boleh membantu mengekalkan keharmonian sosial yang kita nikmati hari ini,” tambah beliau.

Beralih ke isu-isu lain, DPM Teo menarik perhatian ekonomi sejagat sedang mengalami kesulitan.

Pemerintah, katanya, akan memainkan peranan membantu syarikat-syarikat dan warga Singapura.

Di peringkat akar umbi, DPM Teo berkata pasukannya sedang berusaha menjadikan Paris Ris-Punggol sebuah kediaman lebih baik dengan kemudahan baru dan peningkatan sistem pengangkutannya.

Encik Teo menambah banyak kemajuan dicapai sejak pilihan raya yang lalu tetapi masa depan seterusnya adalah mencabar.

Singapura, kata beliau, bernasib baik dapat menghadapi cabaran-cabaran itu sebagai sebuah negara yang bersatu dengan pemerintah yang kukuh.

Beliau menyeru warga Singapura agar terus bekerjasama.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

August 8, 2016
Work At McDonald’s? I’m Loving It

Parents often warn their children that when they misbehave, “mata” (slang for police) will get them.

And if they don’t study hard, they will end up working in a fast-food restaurant.

But there’s nothing wrong with a career in the fast-food business, Mr Mohamed Hilmi tells The New Paper on Sunday.

In fact, it can be a lifelong career.

Commenting on the oft-used warnings, he says: “Yes, I have heard of this. People are always curious about why I chose to work in McDonald’s when I have a degree.”

The unmarried 30-year-old has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Tasmania and has more than a decade of experience in the company, first working as a barista and then as a trainer for the fast-food chain.

Mr Hilmi says: “They don’t know that a career in McDonald’s is not just about serving and cleaning tables. There are many opportunities to succeed.”

Like many others, he started working in the chain as a temporary job, joining McDonald’s pioneer batch of nine baristas in 2004.

This was when the McCafé concept was first launched here.

“Initially, I saw it as a temporary way to make money while studying at the polytechnic,” recalls Mr Hilmi.

“I had no experience making or drinking coffee. I wasn’t even a fan of coffee at the start, but it grew on me.”

He toiled in the restaurant at Parkway Parade, balancing work and school and was eventually promoted to barista leader.

Then in 2009, he left McDonald’s to pursue his degree.

He returned to the company as soon as he graduated in 2012.

Mr Hilmi says: “There were always times when I thought of switching careers and doing something else, but this is my happy place and my second home.”

Over the years, he has grown fond of his colleagues, whom he calls his McFamily.

It was because of them that he decided to make McDonald’s a serious career choice, despite his peers’ scepticism.

He explains: “It is not prestigious but they don’t understand how I feel. There are aunties who have worked here for more than 30 years.

“It motivates me that even though some of them are old, they try hard.

“We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, what we can or cannot do. The McFamily is what keeps me attached and grounded.”

He declines to share how much he earns, but says that even though he could not fulfil his childhood dream of being a teacher, McDonald’s still gave him the opportunity to teach.

HIRING

As a master trainer at the McDonald’s in Marine Cove today, he oversees operations at its McCafé and dessert kiosk, including hiring and training crew members and ensuring they are equipped with the right skills for the job.

This means he is responsible for the 100 hours of training and on-job experience each barista is required to undergo.

Mr Hilmi confesses that he has had his fair share of mistakes on the job too, having caused several accidents with “milk explosions” while steaming milk for coffee orders.

His proudest moment was when he was asked to design food items for the menu – the cheesy mushroom, tomato and onion sandwich, which is exclusive to Marine Cove, was developed by Mr Hilmi.

This can be stressful as McDonald’s food is something that is often discussed by the public.

Mr Hilmi says: “Thankfully, we have focus group studies and menu teams to brainstorm and pore over every detail before rolling it out, so it’s not so bad.

“My dream is to see the food I created offered everywhere. It will be quite an honour.”

Source: The New Paper

August 7, 2016
China Asks Singapore To “Respect” Its Position On South China Sea Ruling

The Chinese government has asked Singapore to “respect” China’s position on the outcome of a recent ruling by an international tribunal and the consensus it has reached with Asean.

In a statement on Friday (Aug 5), the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said China had made its position on the issue “very clearly”.

“The related ruling is illegal, invalid and has no binding force,” she said.

“China hopes that Singapore…can maintain an objective and fair position as the coordinator of China and Asean dialogue relations, so as to advance Sino-Singapore relations and healthy and stable China-Asean ties.”

Ms Hua was responding to queries from Chinese media regarding Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s comments at a reception hosted by the United States Chamber of Commerce and US-Asean Business Council in Washington on Tuesday, Singapore time. The Chinese media had reported PM Lee’s comments.

PM Lee had said that he did not think China has changed its policy on its claims in the South China Sea after the ruling on July 12 by an international tribunal.

He said very few countries would “walk back” from the positions that they have taken to say “well, it’s not quite so absolute and it wasn’t so clearly mine after all”.

But PM Lee said he did not think that any of the claimants , which include China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, would want to “push it to the brink.”

“They have interests, they have claims, they would want to maintain them, but nobody wants to go to war,” he had told US officials and business leaders.

A recent international tribunal has ruled that China’s claims to a number of reefs and features in the Spratly island chain in the South China Sea has no legal basis, in a case brought by the Philippines.

The 10-member Asean put out a joint communique that referred to maritime disputes after a meeting of its foreign ministers in Vientiane, Laos last month.

The communique did not specifically mention the tribunal’s ruling. But it stated, in its second paragraph, that the ministers reaffirm their commitment to maintaining regional peace and stability “as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes… in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”. The tribunal was held under the auspices of Unclos.

Ms Hua on Friday said Asean had also clearly stated its position saying that it, as a collective entity, did not hold a position on the tribunal ruling in the recently concluded Asean foreign minister’s meeting.

The ministers’ joint communique, however, did not state explicitly that Asean did not hold a position on the ruling.

Asean and China had separately in Vientiane issued a joint statement on the “full and effective” implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed in 2002.

Source: The Straits Times

August 7, 2016
Abang On Pokemon Hunt Stumbled Across Floating Corpse At Woodlands Waterfront Jetty

Early morning finding Pokemon.

Suddenly find dead body.

Rest in peace whoever you are.

Seems like an old lady.

Dont think it is due to Pokemon Go

Source: Azmi Suarez

August 7, 2016
Singapore Rower Saiyidah Aisyah Advances To Quarter-Finals

Faced with choppy waters she had never competed in before, Saiyidah Aisyah had to improvise, adapt and most of all, row like she had never done before.

The Singaporean was already the country’s first Olympic rower and the trailblazer continued her remarkable journey by reaching the quarter-finals of the women’s singles sculls at the Rio Games.

Her time of 8min 44.71sec might have been almost a minute slower than her personal best but the only number that mattered was three, the position she finished in heat 4 under the scorching sun at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Copacabana.

It was good enough to see her join the heat winner, China’s Duan Jingli (8:18.57), and Swiss Jeanine Gmelin (8:28.10) in the quarter-finals where the top three from the six heats will square off on Tuesday.

Saiyidah, who dropped her hands in exhaustion and looked skywards after crossing the finishing line of the 2,000m race, said: “This was one of the toughest races of my life. The water was so choppy, especially at the halfway mark. I had to row using only one side to make sure I didn’t cross into the other lane on my left.”

The waters were so rough that she even had to think out of the box and use her spare socks to remove water from her craft – soaking up the water and squeezing it on the side – minutes before her race.

The sight of capsized Serbian men’s pair Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik in a later race further illustrated the testing circumstances.

She clung to the last-minute words of encouragement from her Australian coach Alan Bennett, particularly in the final 500m when Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yi-ting was threatening to overtake her.

She said: “He told me I’ve come this far and there’s no reason why I can’t finish in the top three. I kept repeating that to myself throughout the race.”

The 2013 SEA Games champion is used to adversity. Her form dipped in 2014 and she moved to Sydney last year to train full time with faint hopes of qualifying for the Games.

The 28-year-old, who left her job as a Student Development Officer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in August last year, even took to crowd-funding earlier this year to fund her training expenses after using up most of her life savings.

Flashing the widest of grins, she told The Sunday Times: “It’s been an amazing experience and I’m so proud to represent Singapore and I really hope this (her participation in the Olympics) will inspire others.”

She was equally pleased about beating the other two participants in her heat, Huang (8:51.74) and Kazak Svetlana Germanovich (9:34.15).

Saiyidah had lost to both women at April’s Asia and Oceania Continental Olympic Qualification Regatta but earned her Olympic spot after winning the B final.

She remains on track for her goal in Brazil, a top-24 ranking among 32 participants. She has progressed to the next round as the 16th fastest competitor.

The top three from the four quarter-finals will advance to the semi-final while the rest proceed to the C and D division alongside winners from the repechage stage to decide the rankings from 13-24th.

Such complex permutations will have to wait though. Sayidah had attended Friday’s opening ceremony and returned to the Games Village only at 1am. Her bus to the rowing venue left five hours later.

She said with a chuckle: “I’ll return to training tomorrow morning and get myself ready for the next race. But all I want to do now is go back and sleep.”

After a performance like that, it is a richly deserved nap. And chances are, the dreams would be especially sweet.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 7, 2016