Tag: Singaporeans

SCDF NSF – A Rant On National Service
Let’s tell a story.

I’m working my 24 hr (work 24 hours, off 48 hours) duty. It’s 1100 and I just finished morning lecture (equipment drill and familiarisation) in the engine bay of my fire station. It’s a Saturday so our rota (platoon-ish) orders nasi lemak. Coding comes in over the loudspeaker and we turn out to a case of locked door, suspected DOA (decomposing body). Traffic doesn’t give way to our LF (red rhino), as per usual (smh). We arrive at the HDB unit and instantly we smell the dead body. The knowledge of smell will come with experience. The niece, who called 995, asks me if her uncle will be ok. I already know the body is decomposing but I reply “We’re unsure, but we’ll try our best”. I lie to her face. My pump operator (PO, and the only regular in the crew) looks at me and grimaces. We’ve been in this situation together many times before. We easily break the door and the smell intensifies. I go in first, followed by the ambulance (alpha) paramedic. We find the body on the bed in the master bedroom. The paramedic tells me, “About two weeks”. The body is severely bloated, skin green and black. The face is unrecognizable as it has bloated too much. Bile attempts to escape from between the discolored lips creating bubbles. The smell is sweet but rotten and my fireman gags. I get the relevant information I need and step out for a breather. The niece looks at me and asks what is going on. I look at her and I know she knows he’s dead. “You uncle… has passed away”. I turn away to avoid the emotions. Emotions are killers in this line of work.

We get back in time for nasi lemak lunch. The chicken is a bit soggy this week. The smell of rotten flesh lingers in my nostrils. I watch the Malay romantic drama that my enciks chose on the TV. It’s ok, the girl is cute.

Before dinner we get another call – unit fire confirm case. We race there and reach before the fire engine (pumper). They’re caught in traffic and will take another few minutes. Two firefighters and I proceed to the unit. Instantly the thick black smoke chokes my throat and waters my eyes. I struggle with my breathing cylinder because the air hose delivery tool is stuck between my backplate and my back. I say fuck it, neighbours are already screaming for us to hurry. The pressure escalates but I close myself off from the members of public, just like normal. We all focus. The only things I listen to are my matra (radio) and my fireman. I just wear my facemask for minimal protection and crawl in. The fire is well alight on the stove and I shoot at it. The smoke limits my visibility to 0, I now can’t see my fingers as I stretch out my arm. I crawl back out and get stuck on a fallen wire. I panic as I think of my family. Emotions are dangerous. A fire biker crawls in and frees me. We step out and I tell the crew the fire is almost finished but our CAF backpacks are finished (water foam sprayers). I send the firefighters down to set up water supply from hydrant and crawl back in with the firebiker. The smoke makes it feel like someone just threw hot ash down my throat. We extinguish the fire using an ass-washing hose from the kitchen toilet. I am coughing badly but he sprays my face with the hose. The kitchen is badly burnt. I can feel the smoke damage in my lungs. The owner and neighbours pat me on the back and thank me for saving their home as I walk out. I smile but I know I took another step closer to death.

We get back at 2200 and order McDonalds. It is the best Double McSpicy I’ve eaten in a while.

At lunch the next day my friend (SAF LTA) tells me how stressful being an instructor at SAFTI has been recently. I remember as my cylinder got trapped on the fallen wire, and how I thought of my family in those few struggling seconds. I nod my head and grunt. ” SAF has it tough with JCC and everything huh?” I joke. He agrees enthusiastically.

All in a day’s work for the NSFs in SPF/SCDF. If we fail, someone dies from our direct actions. Welcome to NS. No second chances or semula. Just death. I wish the public knew the risks that some NSFs take each day. We might not be as fit as NDU or as garang as commandos, but we put our lives on the line literally every day.

As an NSF I can say I have saved many lives, fought many fires and contributed to Singapore. No play acting or training for a war that will never happen (though I understand the incredible need for an armed military). I love my job, I love NS and wouldn’t trade it for anything else (maybe an EMT vocation).

I am still amazed that many members of public still associate NS with army. I wish people would know. There’s no greater feeling in this world than knowing some uncle I helped rescue on my first duty at 0200 will live to eat his favourite mee pok or talk cock with his kakis because of my direct actions. Pride and care right?

At least I get paid $1400 a month (;

UPDATE: Thanks for overwhelming suppourt. If I knew how big this would get I would have proofread my writing more ? (some might say it spread like fire in dry grass during lalang season). I would tell more stories but I know that it would compromise my anonymity so I’ll just shut my mouth, and unfortunately since this is a throw away you guys probably won’t be hearing from me again.

What were my goals for this post?
- To bring awareness to the nature and extent of NSF work in SCDF.
- To just get some words off my chest.
This post was NOT meant to:
- Bash SAF. I know the importance of a trained military (I believe I addressed this point in my initial post). If we didn’t have the National Service Scheme, invading Singapore as Indonesia or Malaysia would be easy af.
- Over-dramatise our work. I tried my hardest to write from a neutral stand point and deliver facts about incidents as cold, hard, and true as the Ben&Jerrys ice cream in my freezer however what we do on a daily sometimes makes me ask “Am I in a Michael Bay film?”. It happens to the best of us.
If you were offended, I apologise. My intentions were merely to raise awareness for the often overlooked and under-praised “little brother” NSFs in SCDF/SPF. So many of our kind deserve recognition for what they deal with.

One last short bit before signing off.

EMTs (medical assistants in ambulances) have some of the roughest calls out there, no contest. I was having dinner with my buddy from BRT who later became an EMT at a high volume station when he dropped Fat Man 2.0 on me. Traditionally he and I have always been tuned to similar wavelengths as the chaos-utopia nature of our jobs is only shared between a select few.

He’s an NSF like me — 18-22, male, horny. As per the norm we were sharing gossip about events or big incidents in the Force, latest happenings and where that one cute paramedic at 33 is now. We were just digging in to our chow when he told me “I had a casualty die in my hands for the first time”.

According to him it’s not common for that to happen. I nod my head as I spool my pasta. It’s has a thick green sauce and I can’t help but think of my last DOA. I throw the idea out of my mind. Work is work, recreation is recreation. Usually when EMS arrives the casualty has a high chance of surviving, albeit sometimes with long lasting or even permanent injuries, or the casualty is dead. “Case of fall from height. The skull was completely smashed,” he told me between mouthfuls of food, “I had the guy in a head grip but the harder I held his skull, the more my fingers just… pressed into his brain. There was no structural integrity left in the skull.” We continued eating, he had told me of a similar case before. It wasn’t new news to either of us. The pasta burns my tongue and I sip on my lemon tea. Too sweet. “Then he just stopped breathing. CPR AED didn’t work.” It was the first time witnessing the transition from alive to dead. They couldn’t resuscitate. We paid the bill and started chitchatting about soccer on the way to the MRT. It was one of eight calls on his 8 hour duty. The food place was way too expensive and I made a mental note to never go back (unless I’m with my parents). Who charges $5 for ice lemon tea? Christ.

There are many duties where I don’t get a call the whole 24 hours. If it’s a busy day we’ll get 3-4. 3-4 for him is a light day. Alpha (ambulance) guys really get it the hardest.

If you know someone who has a similar job, just listen to what they have to say. It’s not easy for everyone to transition from seeing a broken family outside a unit containing a dead body to eating breakfast with their fam at their favourite prata house while being all happy smiley. We all get desensitised to death and risking everything but desensitisation doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a mental toll on our minds and well-being. We don’t admit it because it’s not garang, but everyone needs to get their thoughts off their chest every once in a while. You can help them by lending a ear (or a hug).

Source: www.reddit.com
May 10, 2016
Mothers: Check, Don’t Feed Your Sons Raisins With Worms

Dear mummy friends, if you give this brand of raisins to your little ones beware of worms! My little boy was finishing one small box and towards the end I noticed the black specks and worms. Went home to check the rest in my pantry and also got worms. It still has almost 1 year before the expiration date. Now hoping he won’t get a stomachache.

Edited: someone suggested that even the sealed boxes need to be stored in an air tight container and maybe In fridge to prevent this from happening.

Source: Jamie Tang Chan

May 10, 2016
Bekas Pengurus Majlis Pusat, Gazaly Malek, Dipenjara 20 Minggu Kerana Menipu

BEKAS pengurus Majlis Pusat (MP), Gazaly Malek, semalam dijatuhi hukuman penjara 20 minggu atas tiga pertuduhan menipu tiga badan berkanun hampir $190,000 berhubung perbelanjaan bagi acara penyalaan lampu Hari Raya.

Gazaly, 60 tahun, telah mengaku bersalah pada minggu lalu bersubahat dengan tiga individu lain menipu agensi pemerintah bagi projek penyalaan lampu Hari Raya Geylang Serai pada 2011 dan 2012.

Tiga individu itu ialah bekas presiden MP, Saharudin Kassim; bekas setiausaha kewangan, Abdul Ghani Tahir; dan seorang vendor, Salleh Sam, yang mengendalikan projek itu.

Sebelum menjatuhkan hukuman, Hakim Daerah Encik Adam Nakhoda berkata walaupun Gazaly bukan dalangnya, beliau mendapati tertuduh menyedari apa yang dilakukannya itu menyalahi undang-undang.

Dia hanya mengikut arahan Saharudin.

Hakim turut mempertimbang faktor mitigasi lain dalam kes itu termasuk Gazaly tidak mendapat manfaat daripada konspirasi itu; tiada rekod jenayah; kerjasama yang diberi kepada Jabatan Ehwal Perniagaan (CAD) dalam siasatan dan dia awal mengaku bersalah.

Namun, hakim menambah bahawa Gazaly sedar perbuatannya salah dan apabila disuruh melakukan perbuatan itu, dia “harus menghentikannya dengan segera”.

Peguam Gazaly, Encik Amarjit Singh, meminta hukuman ditangguh dua minggu. Permintaan itu tidak dibangkang pihak pendakwa dan dipersetujui oleh hakim.

Gazaly akan menjalani hukuman penjara mulai 23 Mei.

Ketika diminta anak guamnya mengulas tentang hukuman itu, Encik Singh berkata Gazaly mendapati ia adil.

“Melihat keadaan keseluruhannya, Gazaly rasa hukuman itu adil kerana dia tahu apa yang sedang berlaku – bahawa jumlah perbelanjaan invois itu dinaikkan. Dan hukuman yang dijatuhkan adalah lingkungan yang dijangkakan,” kata Encik Amarjit.

Beliau berkata penangguhan itu diminta kerana anak guamnya perlu menyelesaikan perkara peribadi.

“Dia masih menjaga ibunya dan harus membuat rancangan bagi penjagaannya sementara dia menjalani hukuman,” kata Encik Amarjit.

Gazaly, seorang warga Canada, kembali ke Singapura enam tahun lalu kerana ingin meluangkan masa bersama ibunya yang berusia 86 tahun dan anggota keluarganya yang sakit teruk.

Disebabkan niatnya itu Gazaly menerima tawaran pekerjaan sebagai pengurus program di Majlis Pusat.

Di Majlis Pusat, dia bekerja di bawah arahan setiausaha agung MP ketika itu iaitu Saharudin.

Source: www.beritaharian.sg

May 10, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Murali’s Win Illustrates That Sinicization Important Pre-Requisite For Winning

I have seen opposition supporters trying to put a positive spin on the by-election.

Honestly, whichever way you look at it, it was quite a disaster (but not an unexpected one) for the SDP and Dr Chee. This was a by-election, not a general election, so there was a greater chance for him. He was up against a minority candidate. And it was an SMC.

If he could not get more than 40% of the votes considering these factors, honestly, he’d probably find it hard to win in any other contest.

Perhaps then it is time for Dr Chee Soon Juan to consider stepping down. He can help build the SDP, but maybe, his time with regards to contesting elections should be up.

Of course, it is easy for me to say all these. I am not the one who has fought my entire life against all odds, just for what i believe in. So i may not feel the need to hold on as much as him.

As for our friend Ah Mu, congratulations are due. But more than that: scrutiny should also be applied. His attendance record in Parliament, the amount of time he spends in his constituency (visiting homes just during election period is not ‘walking the ground’), the promises he made during hustings: all these should be looked at closely by Bukit Batok residents and Singaporeans in general.

And a word on race: Ah Mu, it is hard enough for minorities as it is, so when someone who is as successful as you feels a need to be known via a Chinese name, it really does tell the rest of us that perhaps, being sinicized is a prerequisite for success. So please, Ah Mu and future minority candidates, bear this in mind.

I want to say that elections should henceforth be based on contests of ideas, and not personal attacks, but Singaporeans have shown that personal attacks are rewarded. So my point on this would be moot.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

May 8, 2016
Heartbreaking Decision To Take Braindead Fiance Off Life Support

They were to be married today.

But instead of having cherished memories of her big day, Miss Khairunnisa Illyasha is left to reflect on what might have been – and to wonder about the circumstances in which her beloved was so cruelly taken away from her just days earlier.

Her fiance, Mr Noor Helmee Roslan, a 23-year-old Malaysian working in Singapore, suffered severe head injuries in an accident on the Seletar Expressway (SLE) last Friday.

A day later, Miss Khairunnisa, also a 23-year-old Malaysian, had the heart-shattering experience of seeing him being taken off life support and then laid to rest.

After The New Paper tracked Miss Khairunnisa down, she said in a phone interview from her family home in Johor Baru (JB): “I cannot believe that the love of my life was robbed from me mere days before the wedding. He is irreplaceable.”

Her first clue that something had gone very wrong was when one of Mr Helmee’s colleagues, whom she had never met, went looking for her at her mother’s food stall in JB at 5am that day.

He had photographs of Mr Helmee’s accident.

In between audible sobs, Miss Khairunnisa said: “Helmee would always message me once he reaches his workplace in Singapore – normally at about 4.30am. I waited and waited that morning, but there was no message from him.”

Mr Helmee, a bus driver with SBS Transit, lived in JB and was riding his motorcycle to work on the SLE when a car hit his bike from behind at about 3.40am, flinging him onto the road.

With little inkling how the collision had occurred, Miss Khairunnisa went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, accompanied by a friend, and was told that her fiance was unconscious in its intensive care unit (ICU).

“I was shocked when the receptionist told me that he was in the ICU. When I saw the pictures, I didn’t think the accident was that bad,” she said.

Miss Khairunnisa was then told that Mr Helmee had been taken to the operating theatre.

“I just sat outside and broke down, I was really afraid to lose my fiance,” she said.

Four hours later, she was finally allowed to see Mr Helmee.

SPEECHLESS

“I was speechless when I saw him. He was all wired up and his face was so swollen I could hardly recognise him.”

Doctors warned her that Mr Helmee’s chances of waking up were slim and that even then, he might have suffered full memory loss.

Clinging to hope, Miss Khairunnisa, Mr Helmee’s mother and his sister, 22, remained outside the ICU in case he woke up.

“I kept thinking about things I could do to refresh his memory. I thought of pictures that I could show him to remind him of our love when he woke up,” she said.

That moment never arrived.

They had met through her younger sister and were five days from their second anniversary of being together when the accident happened.

“We dreamed of having a big family. He wanted to have many sons, enough to form a soccer club.”

Hours later, doctors informed her and his family that he was brain dead.

“My mind went blank in that instant. I had been focusing on the possibility of him waking up. I would cry every time we spoke to doctors as it was never good news,” she said.

That night, Mr Helmee’s family decided to take him off life support so as not to prolong his suffering.

“I told his mother that the choice of whether to take him off life support is all hers and I’d respect her decision,” said Miss Khairunnisa, choking back tears.

“Hearing the long, dreadful beep of the heart monitor was the most difficult moment of my life.”

Mr Helmee’s body was taken back to JB and buried on Sunday.

Since then, Miss Khairunnisa has had to deal with the cancellation of their wedding and planned honeymoon. But she could not bear to call the 500 invited guests with the bad news and asked her mother to help her with that.

Miss Khairunnisa said she will eventually donate his bridal gifts to her – a watch, a pair of shoes and a prayer mat – to charity, but for now, they give her some solace.

She said: “Helmee was honest, loyal and compassionate. His last words to me, the day before the accident, were that I was his last love, and he could never love somebody else.”

About the case

Mr Noor Helmee Roslan, 23, was on his way to work when his motorcycle was involved in an accident with a car.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the accident on the Seletar Expressway at 3.40am last Friday.

Mr Helmee, a bus driver with SBS Transit, shuttles between Johor Baru and Singapore for work, and the journey takes an hour each way.

The rear tyre of his motorcycle was stuck under the car after the collision and he was flung onto the road, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

Mr Helmee’s body was covered in blood and he had severe head injuries. He was conscious when an ambulance took him to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said SCDF.

Police investigations are ongoing.

His fiancee, Miss Khairunnisa Illyasha, 23, told The New Paper that she has no idea how the collision that killed Mr Helmee could have happened.

She is hoping that witnesses will come forward.

“I just want to find out what happened. There is an empty hole in my heart now because we did everything together, including shopping for groceries,” she said, choking back her tears.

Anyone with information can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000.

His sister’s wedding supposed to be in 2 weeks

Mr Noor Helmee Roslan and his colleague would have been brothers-in-law had he not died after the accident.

The colleague, who wanted to be known only as Mr Arif, told The New Paper that he was supposed to marry Mr Helmee’s sister two weeks after Mr Helmee and Miss Khairunnisa Illyasha’s wedding.

He said: “My fiancee had insisted that we get married after her brother, none of us expected any of this to happen.

“Helmee’s family is still in shock. Our families are not discussing our wedding for the time being.”

“I lost a good friend and a future brother-in-law, but my grief is nothing compared to his family’s. I just want to do my part and be there for them.”

Ms Tammy Tan, the senior vice- president of corporate communications at SBS Transit, said that the company is “deeply saddened” by the death.

She said: “In the one year that he was with us, we have known him as a happy and joyful individual, who got on well with his colleagues.

“He was a good bus captain and we will miss him. We have extended our deepest condolences to his family and are rendering assistance as best we can.”

– See more at: http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/long-dreadful-beep-was-most-difficult-moment-my-life?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1462603901

May 8, 2016