Silent Protests – a look into the living conditions of foreign workers

By Chu Wen Shen

Liu Guang sat cross-legged on his rickety wooden plank bed, resting his head against the grimy walls of the dormitory trying to shake the weariness out of him.

His dormitory mates shuffled through the narrow corridor to make their way to the toilet. He stood up finally, and grabbed toiletries from the rusty cupboard. Most of the cupboard doors were spoilt, hanging barely on their hinges. Luggages were strewn untidily in the middle of the room. Sneezing under the suffocating smell of sweat and mothballs in the poorly-ventilated room, he joined the impatient queue to use the toilets.

This humid and stuffy room is where 50 construction workers, live, eat and sleep, 7 days a week. This is their “home.”

This is a far cry from how people normally define “home” To us; home is a comfortable place where we can relax in privacy. However, many foreign workers, like Liu, live in dormitories which lack the basic functions of a place for eating, showering and sleeping.

For the past few years, there have been many cases of foreign workers complaining about ill-treatment from their employers, particularly the poor living conditions they have to endure.

These tales of exploitation and unjust treatment at Cairnhill Rise’s Hilltops condominium development surfaced two weeks ago with the circulation of a YouTube video, documenting the living conditions in the dormitory. The clip showed murky flooded drains, algae-lined sinks and squatting toilets choked with human excretion.

A coordinated investigation by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the National Environment Agency conducted investigations on the dormitory after a tip-off from Lianhe ZaoBao,. Fines were issued to the contractors of the development project.

When interviewed about their dormitory condition, the foreign workers shake their head and sigh, a sign of resignation to their fate.

Zhang, 30, a construction worker from Zhe Jiang, describes his dormitory as a slum.

“Electronic appliances like fans are not allowed in the rooms to prevent short-circuiting. The rooms do not have any windows at all. Therefore, the whole place is like an oven, no ventilation and very stuffy,” said Zhang.

Pests in the dormitory are a big nuisance to the workers.

“We are already living in such a crammed place,” jokes Zhang, “But, we still have cockroaches, rats and mosquitoes as our extra room-mates. Sometimes, they keep me awake the whole night with the noises they make.”

Many feel that foreign workers should be accustomed to the living conditions in dormitories since they are mainly from poorly-developed countries with bad living conditions.

However the workers disagree.

When interviewed about the issue, Deng, 32, construction worker from LiaoNing, took out his handphone to show photographs of his living quarters when he worked as a shipyard worker in China.

The rooms were spacious. Beds were lined neatly against the walls, with clean white bed-sheets pulled over them. Overhead fans and wooden-barred windows provided adequate ventilation. This sight is a stark contrast from the cramped and humid basketball court-sized room housing more than 50 workers.

Responding to the issue, Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a migrant worker welfare group volunteer, Mr Yeo Jun Bao, 22, feels that this is an injustice on the migrant workers.

“They contribute to building the foundation of our economy, and yet they are discriminated .They are living in slum-like conditions, it is definitely unfair for them,” said Mr Yeo.

Miss Chua Jing Xian, 21, student, agrees and adds:” Most of them are afraid to speak up because they are afraid of possible repercussions from their employers. Therefore, they choose to remain silent.”

Prominent civic activist Alex Au feels that the root of the problem points to the liberal governmental policies when employing foreign workers. Employers house their foreign workers in poor condition in their bid to cut costs, to keep up their economic competitiveness in the market.

“Foreign workers are seen as economic digits,” explains Au on his blog, yawningbread.org.

“And the government is highly conscious about keeping unit costs down so that Singapore’s economic competitiveness is not hurt.”

Despite the plight they are in, foreign workers remain optimistic about their future outlook.

“My friends cheer me up after I have a hard day at work. The stuffy room is almost like home when laughter fills the whole place,” jokes Liu Guang.

 

Telecom Wars

By Lim Ziwei Paul

*Note: Mr Tan Guong Ching’s quote was taken from a 14 July 2009 StarHub press release

As he clutched his iPhone 3G in exasperation, Mr. Eugene Leong stared disgruntledly at the news report that filled the screen of his phone.

“If I had known that M1 was bringing in the iPhone, I wouldn’t have switched my mobile service provider to SingTel just to get one,” he said.

The 23-year-old multimedia trainer is an Apple Computer fan. He had just read an online news announcing that telecommunications service provider Mobile One (M1) would be bringing in the iPhone3G to Singapore by the end of the year.

“Besides, SingTel’s customer service isn’t very good either. I’ve called them more times in the past 6 months than I have ever called M1 in the past 6 years. SingTel is an absolute joke masquerading as a national telco,” he said.

M1’s introduction of the iPhone is yet another episode in the long and intense rivalry among Singapore’s three major telecommunications operators. The competition is not simply over mobile phones and customer service; it extends to broadband networks, cable TV content and soon, in 2012, the Next-Generation Nationwide Broadband Network.

Competition has been heating up even more in the recent recession. The three telecom operators have come up with various pricing plans, bundled 3G services and discounts on cable TV content in a bid to encourage consumers to switch service providers.

SingTel handles over 99 percent of landlines in Singapore and has made use of this to bundle home fixed lines with cable TV content and broadband subscription in an affordable package. M1, though lagging behind in the cable TV scene, has pioneered mobile broadband services and offers pre-paid mobile broadband subscriptions.

The third player in the market, StarHub, seems to be losing out the most recently. First, their promise to bring in the iPhone by the end of 2008 did not materialise. Just a month ago, they lost the Barclays English Premier League broadcasting rights to SingTel.

Mr. Foong King Yew, Research Director of Gartner, said: “Starhub has to recover from the recent losses. New strategies and approaches are needed against a resurgent incumbent.”

Football fans waited with bated breath on SingTel’s pricing of EPL matches. When the pricing was revealed, everyone was shocked at how cheap it was – more than 60 percent decrease from previous subscription rates by StarHub. In the very same deal, major sports network ESPN STAR Sports had also abandoned StarHub.

“SingTel has clearly taken over the initiative recently, gaining market share from competitors and moving quickly into new, non traditional areas such as media and entertainment,” Mr. Foong added.

However, experts say that StarHub’s outlook is not all gloomy. The recent appointment of ex-M1 CEO Neil Montefiore as StarHub’s new chief executive is expected to turn things around in the company.

Mr. Tan Guong Ching, Chairman of Starhub, said: “These are exciting times for the info-communications and media industries. While challenges are plentiful, and competition remains dynamic, I am confident that Neil will further strengthen and entrench StarHub’s position together with the StarHub team.”

Many consumers expressed delight in M1’s bringing in of the iPhone3G, as well as SingTel’s winning of the sports broadcasting rights as this would mean one thing: cheaper price plans and more attractive packages as a result of greater competition amongst the service providers.

Tertiary student Mohammed Shahid, 24, said: “I think all this competition is a good thing, because now the companies have to think of better ways to retain their customers. As a soccer fan, I hope to see lower prices for more programs in the future because I watch a lot of prime-time football.”

However, experts who have been observing the roller-coaster trends of technological competitions have different opinions.

“It all depends on what each provider can bring to the consumer in terms of content and services, before we see whether there will be a clear cut market winner in the future,” said Jane Lim, an Account Supervisor at Weber Shandwick Singapore. The organisation studies technological trends.

“There may be no obvious winner, because each company will think of other options to stay in competition. The hype could just die down,” she continued.

Such competition poses another problem: the oversaturated telecom market in Singapore makes it difficult for new players penetrate. New players will be unable to negotiate favourable deals with content providers, or offer competitive services to households and businesses that are already contracted.

Consumers who wish to switch service providers will also be frustrated by the many hidden binds that tie them to their operators. Issues such as rigid number portability and forced bundling of services have arise.

The continuous price war among the telecommunications industry continues, causing some companies to struggle while others flounder. The question of who wins the battle is left unanswered for now. Perhaps the ultimate winner will be the users themselves.

Curtains Drawing on S. League

By Chin Chia Hwee

SINGAPORE- The performance was impeccable. The audience quietly admired the act while applauding and nodding in appraisal. This is not the latest play at the Esplanade’s theatre. This was the crowd at a S. League soccer match. However, it was not like that years ago.

The S. League had grown to include foreign teams from Japan and Korea to increase the playing level of the league had since got itself into the top ten of the Asian league standing. However, the S. League had seen a huge fall in match attendance instead and many national players are following the footsteps of the local star striker, Noh Alam Shah, to play in Indonesian Super League.

Several reasons for the drop in attendance came into light.

“It’s tiring to come support your team on a weekday! I won’t be here if I hadn’t got my off day today!” said Albert Tan, a 42 year-old mechanic who used to bring his kids to the watch the S. League matches.

His sentiments were not unreasonable. After a tiring day at work, not everyone has the energy to spend the rest of the time cheering or booing in a match. To avoid competing with the telecast of the highly popular English Premier League (EPL) matches, the S. League had shifted its matches to the weekdays to get their local share of audiences a few years ago. However, viewership never seemed to pick up. From the average attendance of 2500 over the past years, many matches now barely exceed 1000, according to the S. League website.

While some blamed the clash of timings for the matches, others simply refused to be entertained by mediocre level of playing in the field.

“ I don’t come very often as the level of the football is quite bad at times,” said Julian Beh, a 21 year-old student who is a hardcore fan of the EPL.

Comments about the sub-standard of local football were abundant, especially after the lacklustre display by the National team against an EPL side, Liverpool, earlier this year.

Ernest Luis, a sports reporter, commented in the Electric New paper on 19^th September: “Only better quality might draw in 5,000 fans per match, and over time, convince the media to cover it with greater interest or even pay for broadcast rights in future.”

Winston Lee, chief executive of S. League, said in an earlier interview with The New Paper: “One of the key areas is to bring in players of greater quality.”

While it might be right to attribute the fall in attendance to the poor standards of the S. League, an avid follower of the S. League for over 10 years had a different opinion.

Gary Lim, a 60-year-old retiree, who had been following the S. League since its inaguration, commented: “Yes, people are complaining about the lack of quality but the S. League had improved over the past few years by bringing in more foreign players and clubs.”

He added: “The S. League used to be worst but still drew more people!”

It is interesting to note that the higher football standards now have translated to a decline in attendance instead. Better players have been brought in but the fans are still not pouring into the stadiums.

Truth be told, the S. League is struggling to promote the local football scene. Getting 45,000 Singaporeans to flood the stadium like how Liverpool did is a herculean task for the S. League. Having players with the charisma and star qualities like those in the EPL would take years of training, cultivation and most importantly support from the fans. Having a wage cap of $72,000, clubs are not able to take the shortcut and hire quality “ready-made” soccer stars either. The situation is not made better in the light of Singtel’s recent winning bid for the EPL rights, which will make subscription fees affordable for more.

The S. League needs to get its fans back and bring back the yesteryears of the local football scene to the time when the names Fandi Ahmad and Malek Awab resonates talent, hardwork and tumultuous support from the community. Engage the community. Have more activities before, after and during the break of the matches.

Gary Lim added: “We have to make the fans feel connected to the club!”

Make it a first choice venue for football enthusiasts to bring their family to for a day off and turn those nods and applause into cheers and boos.

Most importantly, have it early on the weekends.

Shell’s Promotion Causes Traffic Jams

By Tan Christine

His usual cab fare would cost him $15, but Lim Wei Ming, a marketing consultant, ended up paying $23 and was an hour late for his scheduled meeting.

“I should just have taken the MRT if I had known that they were launching such promotions again,” Lim said after being stuck for more than 40 minutes at Serangoon Gardens.

Lim was one of the commuters stuck in jams at Shell petrol stations islandwide. This was due to petrol company Shell’s promotion on October 24^th from 10am to 6pm. During the promotion period, cars queued in line to await their turn for at least 40% off petrol – Shell’s cheapest promotion in a decade.

The promotion was part of a publicity stunt for Shell’s newest range of petrol FuelSave 95 and 98, which was going for $1 per litre for both types of petrol. This was about 40% down from the respective $1.767 and $1.9 per litre. Shell’s aim of the promotion was to educate drivers on the importance of fuel saving, since Fuelsave claims to help in fuel efficiency.

Despite the overwhelming outcome, Shell’s promotional aim seemed to have gone unnoticed. Not many customers knew about Fuelsave nor were they aware of the exact purpose of the promotion.

Construction manager Tan Lian Long, who queued for half an hour said: “I don’t know what’s the promotion for, but it’s a really good deal.”

Queueing behind him, sales manager Peter Goh added: “I had to wait close to an hour, but it was worth it because I saved more than $30 on my full pump”. Neither did Goh know of any Fuelsave fuel.

Furthermore, the wastage of engine and fuel during the traffic jam caused by the promotion makes futile Shell’s attempt at encouraging drivers to go fuel efficient.

This is not the first time Shell has offered promotions that ended up in traffic jams. A previous event held in August this year, offered a 44% off fuel as part of the National Day celebrations, also led to jams during the one-hour promotion.

Some commuters and drivers who did not benefit from the promotion are therefore unhappy at Shell given the traffic disturbance the first promotion caused.

“Shell deserves to be boycotted for being so inconsiderate,” said a 46 year old taxi driver, who declined to be named. He also said that being caught in the jam deprived him of his chance to seek for customers, especially when the promotion fell on a Saturday.

“The previous National Day discount already caused traffic jams, yet Shell did not even learn from their previous mistake,” he added.

Other dissatisfied commuters also expressed their displeasure on blogs and online forums such as the Straits Times forum, complaining about the islandwide inconvenience Shell’s promotion had caused. Some commuters suggested that such a promotion should only be held during midnight when there is less traffic, but Shell told AsiaOne that such a promotion might be seen as insincere to its consumers.

In response, Shell said that they had decided to increase the promotional period to 8 hours due to traffic congestion caused in the one hour-promotion in August.

Shell’s General Manager, Mr. Henry Chu stated in a Channel News Asia interview that they had also increased security after reviewing the previous promotion caused in August. “Shell hired 150 Certis Cisco auxiliary policemen to help manage traffic, and stopped the promotion at three stations to help regulate vehicle flow after discussions with the Traffic Police”, said Chu.

Chu also added that “Shell will evaluate the promotion in totality and decide whether or not we will run a similar initiative in future.”

From the marketing perspective, the amount of awareness and publicity garnered from the campaign was certainly significant. However, with the amount of negative publicity that had arisen as a result, Shell should  carefully consider their future promotions to prevent further antagonising the public.

Save the Earth? But I still want my meat

By Tan Xiu Fang

SINGAPORE- Breakfast: ham sandwich. Lunch: fishball noodles. Tea: sausage rolls. Dinner: pork, chicken or fish with soup and rice. Yes, meat, meat, meat and more meat. This is what Finance and Economics student, Seow Yu Han, 21, eats in a day.

“No meat? I’ve nothing to eat… I don’t eat vegetables,” said the slightly-tanned basket-baller who finds it “absurd” and “hard” to go meat-free one day every week so as to save the environment.

She was responding to the MeatOut Thursdays, a movement organised by a student body in the National University of Singapore. Kicked off by the Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE), this voluntary observance in NUS sees students and staff abstaining from eating meat on Thursdays, so as to reduce the quantity of farm animals consumed.

The movement was inspired by the “Thursday Veggie Day” campaign in Ghent, a city in Belgium, where all the civil servants go meat-less every Thursday to reduce the quantity of greenhouse gases.

The United Nations pointed out that livestock accounts for 18 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for accelerating global climate change, reported the CNN.

Like Seow, most of the 18 students interviewed in NUS find it difficult to give up on meat even for just one day a week.

For Izarina Jupri, 21, going meat-less for a day is equivalent to “one day of fasting”. “In our Malay culture, we eat meat every day,” said the Social Work student. “I eat everything with meat, even bread with meat… It’s hard for me to avoid meat.”

Another student, Humairah Bte Zainal, 21, will “try to cut down on meat consumption on Thursdays”.

“Not consuming meat is a form of diet restriction,” she said.

However, four out of the eighteen interviewed students are willing to opt for meat-free dishes to save the Earth.

Law graduate, Li Fan, 29, hopes to “conserve the environment” by supporting the campaign. “I will choose meat-less dishes… it’s only one day… I’m ok with it,” she said.

One student even feels “sad” when she realised she had eaten meat on a Thursday. Nadia Abdul Samad, 22, Social Work student, said: “I believe the impact (on improving climate change) starts from individual effort… I will support the campaign as much as I can… and not eat meat next Thursday.”

Despite the mixed responses among students, some of the canteen stall operators are  giving their full support to the campaign.

Besides encouraging students to eat more vegetables, Jamilah Bte Ismail, 60, owner of the Arts canteen Muslim food stall, also offers a “3 veggies” promotion on Thursdays. “If they (the students) choose two veggies, we will tell them to take one more as a ‘package’ for $1.20,” said Ismail. Each vegetable dish usually costs 50 cents.

While  going meat-free is a personal choice,  whether this campaign will make Singaporeans change their diet to conserve the environment is a challenge. This is what Professor Tan Teck Koon, Dean of Office of Student Affairs, thinks.

“Changing mindsets is not simple and not something that can be done overnight… It takes more than a simple campaign to change mindsets,” said Prof Tan, who is currently lecturing a module on Food Security and Safety in NUS.

Indeed, there are some who do not believe that reducing meat intake will have a significant impact on the climate change.

“I don’t believe that food will have such a huge impact on climate change,” said Michelle Toh, 24, who works at The Thinking Corner café in the NUS Law campus. She feels that “pollution” and the chemicals released by certain “packaging materials” are more damaging to the environment.

Business student, Mohammad Ibrahim, 23, also doubts the effectiveness of the movement. “I don’t agree to  MeatOut Thursdays… Not eating meat is not as significant as other ways of cutting down the gases,” he said. “It (the campaign) won’t be of any help… everyone will continue to eat meat… it’s very difficult to carry out.”

Still, there are some local interviewees who are positive that Singaporeans will follow this movement if “they are convinced” by the rationale behind it.

Hariaty Md. Ismail, 37, a teacher of Westgrove Primary, feels that such a campaign is “possible to have an effect on people in the long term if it is highly publicised”.

“Generally, Singaporeans need to be convinced. If you can show them that there is a strong objective and it makes sense to them, people will follow,” she said.

 

PSLE Too Tough: Myth or Reality?

By Chew Yee Kiat

Jim bought some chocolates and gave half of it to Ken. Ken bought some sweets and gave half of it to Jim. Jim ate 12 sweets and Ken ate 18 chocolates. The ratio of Jim’s sweets to chocolates became 1:7 and the ratio of Ken’s sweets to chocolates became 1:4.

How many sweets did Ken buy?

This is just one of the questions taken from the most recent PSLE Mathematics paper, which drew complaints from parents and students as they found the questions too difficult.

According to Channel News Asia, one parent Mrs Karen Sng reflected on her son’s experience: “When he was telling me about how he couldn’t answer some of the questions, he got very emotional and started crying. He said his hopes of getting an A* are dashed.”

One might then wonder what an A* in PSLE means?

It means a better chance of entering an elite school, which promises a more robust and challenging learning environment. The streaming process repeats itself in the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations as candidates strive to enter the best universities. Eventually, the survivor of the fittest will have a higher chance over his peers to secure a better-paying job.

Hence for most parents, PSLE carries a significant weightage in their children’s future. Whether their twelve-year-olds would grow up to become lawyers or technicians, it could all depend on that A*.

It is therefore not surprising that all the parents interviewed are lashing out on the Singapore Examination and Assessment Board (SEAB) which set the papers.

“This year PSLE math is like a competition between the (exam) setters and the P6 students. Even an adult take more than 10 minutes to solve some of the questions,” said one of the parents, who only wanted to be called Denise.

Another parent, Mr. Albert Lim, 34, said: “My son was complaining and worrying about the Maths paper the whole week.”

A more important question underlying the issue is: has SEAB lost touch with the education system?

SEAB did not think so. When asked by Channel News Asia, a spokesperson noted that the level of this year’s PSLE Maths paper is “pitched at the same level as that in the previous years.”

Furthermore, it was said that the panel responsible for setting questions ensures “there is a good coverage of syllabus and a judicious balance of easy, average and difficult questions.”

But if what the SEAB said was true, there should not be strong reactions like these from students and their parents.

“I don’t understand the rationale behind such a difficult exam paper,” said one parent Madam Yip Cai Ying, 36, whose son just took the PSLE this year.

“They are only twelve-year-olds. I am not sure if they are ready to handle the stress level that comes with the paper,” she added.

However, this is not the first time that parents and students are complaining about the difficulty of the PSLE exam paper. Two years ago, there were similar complaints from parents of the Maths paper being too difficult.

In preparation for the possibility of a difficult examination paper, many parents sent their children for tuition class.

“Many of my students told me that their parents sent them for tuition classes on top of their normal piano and ballet lessons,” said Miss Tiffany Cheong, 23, a recent university graduate teaching at the Raffles Girls’ Primary School.

The rising demands for young students, reflected by the level of difficulty of the PSLE Maths paper, means that they suffer a more-pressured childhood. As the competition intensifies, learning could turn into a painful process.

“I think that this year’s Maths paper is really difficult,” said Tommy Koh, 12, who just took the exam this year.

“I hope that I will still get my A* or my parents will be really upset,” the boy from Nan Hua Primary School added.

Perhaps SEAB should take the parents’ and students’ feedback into consideration when they set the papers in years to come.

Caught in the web of online gaming

By Faith Quek

SINGAPORE – Barely five minutes into the last lesson of the day, Nicholas’ mind is already wandering to the new quest that he will be undertaking after unlocking a new zone in World of Warcraft (WoW) yesterday. Unlocking new zones has just gotten easier these days, credit to the hours spent at the neighbourhood Internet café near his home.

He taps his left foot impatiently and begins counting down to the much-awaited bell which signals the end of the day.

“It is something I look forward to every day. [It is] just like getting something you really like and the novelty has yet to wear out. There is an unexplainable exhilaration in wanting to attain the highest level and eventually achieving it,” said Nicholas of his online game.

Nicholas represents a growing number of youths who engage in online gaming, a fast growing entertainment industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and second only in profitability to music, according to a study in Canada on online gaming.

The National Institute of Education (NIE) released preliminary findings earlier this month on the gaming habits of 3,000 primary and secondary students and revealed that students spend 27 hours a week playing video games like WoW and Maple Story.

The three-year study, to be completed at the end of the year, is the biggest of its kind in Singapore and is currently pending an analysis of results.

The findings suggest that youth gamers in Singapore trump their counterparts in Canada in terms of the time they spend playing video games. In a study of 3,000 Canadian children and teens, aged 13 and over, 15 per cent of 1,080 males surveyed, played more than 20 hours per week.

For WoW fans like Nicholas, 27 hours a week “cannot be compared” to his current playing habits.

Nicholas plays an average of six hours on weekdays and eight hours on weekends, justifying Mr Sven Rollenhagen of the Sweden’s Youth Foundation’s description of WoW “as addictive as the crack cocaine of the computer game world”, as users are unable to drag themselves away from WoW.

Rollenhagen’s comment came after a 15-year old Swedish boy collapsed from playing WoW for 24 hours straight.

Melanie Lam, 21, a university student also shared the same sentiments. She said: “My brother is the epitome of youth gamers. He spends hours on the computer playing WoW. I’ve stopped talking to him when he is on his quests, lest he unleashes a slew of expletives when his character dies. But I’m always on the lookout for telltale signs as I wouldn’t want him to be another David Widjaja.”

Earlier this year, David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, a final-year Engineering student at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) stabbed his professor and eventually jumped to his death. According to reports, he was an “avid and skilled player” of WoW who played often “into the wee hours of the morning” in his room, justifying Rollenhagen’s comment on the effect of WoW.

Some gamers, however, shrugged off Widjaja’s case as a one-off incident.

Mr Malcolm Teo, 27, a professional gamer said: “There were other external circumstances like stress leading to Widjaja’s act. Gaming can be a healthy hobby if one knows how to play sparingly and differentiate between virtual and reality worlds.”

Dr Angeline Khoo, a social psychologist and Associate Professor of the NIE’s psychological studies academic group told The Straits Times that aggression like raising of voices or spouting vulgarities are “common manifestations” among gamers and tend to last for a short term. She added that extremely violent cases usually are a “convergence of multiple risk factors” like peer [pressure] and media violence.

Between April 2007 and December 2008, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) saw nine youths below the age of 21 who have a primary problem associated with computer addiction.

This raised concerns for parents, especially with the rise of the gaming industry in Singapore and its perceived potential implications on youths and gaming.

RADm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts addressed this issue in parliament and said that the government is “mindful of the detrimental effects of excessive gaming” and has thus, set up an Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Steering Committee (ICSC) earlier this year to coordinate with the government and private-sector organisations and implement a national strategy for cyber wellness public education in Singapore. The ICSC recently launched a call for proposals in developing and implementing a national strategy to promote cyber wellness among the youth.

However, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Education and Second Minister for Defence said in parliament that ultimately, “parents play a critical role in managing their children’s behaviour.” His response came after Ms Joscelin Yeo, a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) asked if current programmes assist parents in detecting and dealing with cyber-related issues of their children.

Mr Anson Liaw, 57, auditor and father of three boys, agreed: “My role as a parent entails me to step in when gaming starts taking a toll on my sons’ health and studies. The guidebook for parents on today’s cyberspace also has benefitted my approach in managing my sons’ gaming habits.”

The handbook which Mr Liaw referred to is a 28-page handbook titled “Cyber Wellness Handbook for Parents” produced by TOUCH Cyber Wellness and Sports (TC&S).

PlanetCRUSH, Singapore’s first cyber wellness resource centre was opened by TC&S in 2006, and offers counseling services. The centre has counselled more than 100 youths since its inception.

 

 

Hung out to dry, Bitten by ants: Abuse or discipline?

By Nadiah Md Shahjohan

The scorching sun pinched his skin as he quickened his barefoot steps to reach home after buying a pack of cigarettes from the mama (Indian manned) shop for his brother. Five minutes late and Othman Nor would find himself at the mercy of his eldest brother.

On one occasion, Othman Nor was tied to a cempaka tree outside their home because he could not answer the questions his brothers asked. It was infested with red-ants which Othman remembered clearly because he was there for more than 7 hours. The duration could have been longer but Othman could not tell the time then, and it felt like forever to him. Othman was only 8 years old.

But that was 48 years ago and now a father of 3, Othman recalls the cruel punishments his bully brothers gave him. “Once, I had to hold out (my elder brother’s) shoes on both my palms and stand in the hot sun because he wanted to dry his shoes,” the 56 year-old retiree said. His elder brothers often bullied him when their mother went out to work selling kuih- traditional pastries and cakes- in the kampong. His father died when Othman was only 4.

Back then, punishments like these were a common sight and neighbours in the kampong or village would close one eye when they saw such things being carried out.

Jamilah Buang, 57, a housewife who grew up in the same kampong as Othman said: “We don’t want to get involved in other people’s business. If that’s the way they discipline their children, then we pretend not to see.”

In the past, disciplining children meant executing harsh physical punishments. However the line between discipline and abuse draws thin.

Child abuse is still a pressing issue that social workers and human rights activists have to tackle. The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) define child abuse as dangerous acts by a parent or guardian which will impair the child’s physical or emotional well-being, or that are judged by a mixture of community values and professionals to be inappropriate.

According to MCYS, there are as many as 114 confirmed child abuse cases this year, excluding those without evidence. This is a worrying trend since as it grew from 56 cases in 2006.

Within the last year, at least 3 children have died at the violent hands of their biological fathers or mother’s boyfriend. In almost all the cases, the assailant is young and usually displays temper problems.

One such case is the death of 3 year-old Muhammad Izzul Salihin who died on January 18 last year. He was punched continuously on his face before his head was slammed against a door frame by his mother’s boyfriend, Firdaus Abdullah. Firdaus also shook and bit the boy’s private parts. He claimed that his jealousy got the better of him as Izzul’s mother paid less attention to him. Firdaus is currently serving his sentence of 12 years of jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Dr. Brian Yeo, psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre told Berita Harian that abusers tend to have problems controlling their emotions. Two main factors –personality factors and external factors- can aggravate the situation. He said: “If they have problems at their workplace, relationship or financial problems, they will vent it out on the young children.”

In the past, many cases were not reported because of the same reason Mdm Jamilah cited – minding their own business. She also claimed to know children who died because of physical abuse but the matter was not probed because “the law system was not as advanced during my time”. According to her, poor health was a common excuse for the sudden deaths of the children. Being too young then, she was often minded by her parents not to poke her nose into neighbours’ business.

Now MCYS provides a helpline at its website so that reporting of suspected child abuse can help to prevent or stop the abuse. Appropriate investigation and intervention will be conducted to prevent further harm to the child. In some cases, professional assistance like counseling will also be provided to the abused child and the family.

Neighbours and relatives are now encouraged to be more vigilant for signs of abuse of a child especially when the situation seems suspicious. One call can prevent cases such as Othman Nor’s or Muhammad Izzul Salihin’s. Fortunately for Othman, he survived the torments although the experience left an emotional scar on him. Othman added: “I do not wish my children to go through what I did. We should protect our children.”

To Wii or not to Wii

By Lee Min Kok

He names his on-screen character “Nadal”.

Like his tennis superstar idol Rafael Nadal, 7-year-old Dominic Chan has all the moves, executing tennis strokes while wielding his motion-controlled remote with practiced ease.

Having completed a 25-minute tennis session on a Nintendo Wii video game console at North Vista Primary School, Dominic’s face is flushed with exertion as he approaches his Physical Education (PE) teacher.

“Mr. Zohri, can we go outside to play a real game of tennis now?’ asks the Primary 2 pupil.

The Nintendo Wii is the latest technological fad that has wowed the students of North Vista Primary School – one of the first schools in Singapore to incorporate the game console into its PE curriculum.

Part of a five week programme to teach students popular sports like tennis and bowling, the Wiis are used for the first two weeks.

The console’s unique gameplay requires players to complement arm actions while holding motion-controlled remotes with body movements to make their on-screen characters react accordingly.

“Wii allows our younger students to visualise and experience certain aspects of a sport better. They get to see how an actual tennis court looks like before they play the real thing,” says Mr. Ahmad Zohri, North Vista’s subject head for PE and co-curricular activities.

Far from satisfied with just wielding a remote and interacting with a TV screen, Dominic and his class-mates are eager to try out tennis on a real tennis court, and with proper tennis rackets.

Dominic’s father, Peter Chan, was suitably impressed after witnessing his son in action during one of his PE lessons.

“It’s a good way to supplement outdoor exercises. Now, Dominic is pestering me to buy a tennis racket for him,” says the 33-year-old accountant.

Mr. Zohri was also quick to point out that the Wii is not a substitute for actual physical outdoor activity.

“After experiencing a particular sport on Wii, the students become even more motivated to go outside and exercise,” he says.

The school spent an estimated $10,000 on eight Wii consoles and 32-inch high definition television sets in the first week of October, and Mr. Zohri maintains that it is money well-invested.

“The Wii holds so much potential in its application, not just in PE lessons. For example, I’m aware that Punggol Secondary School also has a Wii console which they use to teach physics concepts like acceleration,” he adds.

Since its launch in November 2006, the Nintendo Wii gaming system has been lauded for its ‘healthier’ approach to gaming, as compared to traditional gaming consoles like Sony’s Play-station and Microsoft’s Xbox where players adopt a more passive playing style.

To some families, the Wii provides a good opportunity to spend time together.

French businessman Jean Jacques, who brought his son to Nintendo’s Wii promotional event at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza on 25 October, was left red-faced and panting after an intense round of boxing,

“I’d much rather pay more to buy a Wii console and spend some quality time with my kids at home than allow them to sit in a couch all day long playing violent video games,” says Mr. Jacques.

Still considered somewhat of a novelty in Singapore, the Wii console has already been employed by many schools in the United Kingdom and United States in an attempt to involve students who often miss PE lessons.

The British government has recently endorsed the Wii for use in physical education classes, following a successful pilot project at five schools in the Worcestershire district– all of whom discovered that students displayed better behaviour and teamwork after using the console.

There are signs, however, that North Vista’s success might just kick-start a trend in Singapore.

According to Maxsoft, the sole distributor of the Nintendo Wii console in Singapore and Southeast Asia, some schools have already made enquiries about the Wii.

“We have had about a dozen requests from schools expressing interest and seeking technical advice on how to install the consoles,” says Mr. Andrew Wong, Maxsoft’s marketing manager.

Mr. Wong also touts the Wii as an ideal ‘stepping stone’ for many young children to move on to real sports, especially in land-scarce Singapore.

He adds: “Wii allows people to enjoy a virtual slice of sports such as golf and tennis, which might not be readily accessible to them in real-life.”

While some schools might be ready to jump on the Wii bandwagon, others remain sceptical.

Nanyang Primary School’s subject head for PE, Mr. Lim Chee Min, expressed his reservations.

“I’m a bit concerned with the intensity of these Wii sessions being conducted. You only exercise certain parts of the body, and I would prefer young children to have a well-rounded workout,” Mr. Lim says.

Temasek Junior College student Tan Yuan Song, a competitive swimmer, was much more positive about the impact of the Wii.

“The Wii might not be the most effective way of working out, but it’s a great option given that different people have different preferences in terms of how they enjoy sports,” says the 17-year-old.

Blood Wanted

By Muhamad Farhan Abdul Hamid

When Jeremy Cheong walked past the big bustling tentage outside West Mall at Bukit Batok last week, he finally plucked up  the courage to do something he had  always wanted  to do, but  never did.

He donated blood.

Jeremy, 30, an agency development officer revealed: “I’ve always wanted to try donating blood, but I’ve always been worried about the pain.”

Jeremy’s fears are not unfounded, as the fear of pain and needles are the top two reasons why people avoid giving blood.

But on that fateful Saturday, Jeremy managed to shrug off his phobia and step up to the queue alone.

“Donating blood was one of the things I was supposed to do with my girlfriend, but she always procrastinates and since I’m already here, I might as well go ahead,” he recalled.

Jeremy was just one of the 343 people who had their blood taken at a “blood mobile”, last Saturday at West Mall.

The “blood mobile” was a joint effort between Exxon Mobil, the Singapore Red Cross Society and the Health Science Authority. The event was a success with 240 units of blood collected.

The need for blood drives   becomes all the more urgent as  Singapore prepares for  a dip in blood stocks during the upcoming December  period, given that it is    a notoriously slow period  for blood collection.

The Singapore Red Cross (SRC), the national blood donor recruiter, explained that many companies and schools are unable to organise blood donation drives as staff leave for vacations and students are on school holidays.

To make matters worse, space to conduct blood drives at shopping malls are also in short supply during the holiday period  as most malls   gear up to celebrate the end-of-year festivities.

The demand for blood meanwhile, does not dip during these periods. The expected return of the H1N1 virus during the festive season is also expected to increase the need for blood.

Elaine Soh, a Senior Manager with the SRC, says: “Singapore uses 15 units of blood every hour of the day. As such, the SRC needs to collect at least 350 units a day or 90,000 units in a year, just to meet the transfusion needs of patients.”

The blood collected is also needed during bone marrow transplant for leukaemia patients, patients whose red-blood cells are abnormal and need regular blood transfusion, as well as for daily surgeries and accident victims.

To ensure a steady supply of blood for public use, the Singapore Bloodbank maintains an amount of blood that meets the requirements of all hospitals for four to five days.

According to the SRC, only 70,000 people in Singapore are regular blood donors. This is only 1.5 per cent of the 4.68 million people currently residing in Singapore. In comparison, according to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service website, 3 per cent of Australians, or over 514,000 of 19.7 million give blood, on a regular basis.

There is precious little knowledge on blood donation, and some Singaporeans have attributed this to the lack of information made available to the public. Joe Ng, a resident in Bukit Batok, agrees.

“There was little news about the blood donation drive today. If I did not live nearby, I probably would not have donated blood today,” says the 27-year-old.

However, there are signs of improvement. Advertisements calling for blood donors have been placed at bus-stop around the island, where they are highly visible.

“Since SRC is a voluntary organisation, it has to work together with the government on a voluntary, non-remunerated basis. Naturally, we are sometimes restricted in our methods to attract donors,” says Ms Soh.

Although SRC sends out letters to previous donors to notify them of upcoming bloodmobiles, Ng suggests sending out an SMS blast to spread the word.

He adds: “People are more likely to keep the SMS in their phone and remember it. They would also be more likely to step forward if the location was convenient like in the heartlands.”

SRC states that an average adult has 4 to 5 litres of blood, and during a donation, only 450ml of blood is drawn. This amount is only about 10 per cent of the total volume in a person’s body, and the donated blood is replenished by the body within 3 days.

Interested donors can visit www.donorweb.org or call the Singapore Red Cross at 6336 00269 to find out the location of the nearest blood mobile.