New Privacy Laws to protect data of research participants

The Straits times 8th may

Information such as name and age will be out of bounds to researchers. i personally agree to this only to an extent, i agree to the terms of not showing photographs but restricting the name and age is a little bit over board. People may say that its a form of protecting the applicant, but over doing it to an extent may make things even worse .
Haven't Singaporeans ever learnt their lesson that over doing things may lead to undesired outcomes? But overall i hope that when this law comes into play it does yield positive results if not it'll just be another waste of space in our thick gook of rules and regulations.

Myanmar to provide Singapore with sand and granite

The straits times 4 april 2007

Recently cargo ships full of sand and granite due for Singapore from indonesia were withdrawn , as the Indonesian government refused to provide Singapore with sand and granite, this put Singapore in a dilema. Being a country with no natural resources the only choice of obtaining such resources is to buy them from neighbouring countries willing to provide them .

Thankfully Myanmar stepped up to the play and is now trying out a long term basis of providing Singapore with both sand and granite, with this we will be able to continue construction on various key points in Singapore with were halted due to the withdrawal of sand and granite from Indonesia.

This would definitely further strenghten ties between Myanmar and Singapore , and also help to build inter country relationships between Singapore and Myanmar. As when the time comes when Myanmar requires assistance that Singapore is able to provide, Singapore will definitely try its best to assist.

Changes to improve elder shield proposed

The Straits Times 4 april 2007

Not long ago the government finally decided to improve the elder shield , this is a scheme that provides assistance to senior citizens by reducing their medical fees which normaly cost quite a large sum of money.

Now the government has proposed a more elaborate scheme that helps to further reduce medical costs for senior citizens.

I think that this is a very good move by the government , as it shows that the government is still very well in line with the citizens , and at the same time the government is still constantly trying to improve the living standards of its people.

As some of the elderly are less capable to pay for thwir medical expenses, the elder shield will be in place to "protect" them financially. Thus overall this is a smooth move by the government.

RI class of 64 relives good old days

The straits times 4 april 2007.

Why have i picked this article ? this is because down the road after we have all left our own schools and entered the busy world of jobs and bussineses will we ever still remember the times we had in our school ?
What the RI class of 64 have done is they compilled all their stories of their time as a rafflesian and squeezed them all into one book , the book titled "under the Banyan tree" contains memoires and events of the past rafflesians during their school days, adding their own history into the many libraries and archives tha6t we have.
i personally think that it is a very good idea to do such a thing and i would encourage others to do the same, as we would be able to relive our pasts times in school in the books that we write in the present ! and share these books with the world !

Out-Classed by foreign students ?

The Strits Times 1st April 2007

Ri was beaten by UWC, Hwa Chong had the same fate. So are foreign students really out-classing our very own home grown students. I personally think this is not the case, its just that foreign speakers have a more natural edge on speaking as compared to us native speakers.
Nevertheless with abit of training and practice , i think that we will be able to win the debating competition.
Touching on the point that foreign students have better grades then local students. This at points of time are inevitable. Picture this, you are a foreign student who stays in Singapore, your parents are not with you neither anyone elso you know, your parents send you to a school and tell you to study. Compare that to a Singapore child, obviously the foreign child with 10 times more free time as compared to the Singapore chld would have so much more extra hours to study study study .
overall i feel that maybe , yes at this point of time foreign students may be better then Singaporeans in terms of language and results, but if we push on and work hard, we will without a doubt be better then te foreign students.

Super clubs for the Super rich

The straits times 1st April .

Ever dreamt of being able to drive cars like the Aston Martin DB9 coupe and the Lamborghini Murcielago and have private jets and yatchs at your fingertips ?
Well now a selected few in Singapore have that privilege. MillionaireAsia Private jet card is whats behind all these jaw dropping perks . It boasts of a fleet of super cars in various countries, luxury yatchs , high end exclusive holidays , and many other impossible feets such as getting a reservation at a perpetually full restaurant or getting tickets to a SOLD OUT concert .
The reason for the exclusive club coming to Singapore was that out of the 4 million people in singapore, 55000 or 1.48 percent of the singaporeans are millionaires, the highest percentage of millionaires in any country in Asia.
So the next time you become a millionaire make sure you get an invitation to this Super club

Bread + watery porridge + water = 250 calories ............................................. Which is all some maids get to eat a day.

The Straits Times April 1st 2007

I was apalled and disgusted when i came across this article, to think gthat SINGAPOREAN employers have been starving their maids was just a sight for soar eyes.
In the article it stated that everyday people reuire at Least 2100 calories a day adding up to a balanced diet. Living on 250 calories a day would virtually kill the person.
Why do Singaporeans resort to such inhuman acts ? are they so poor that they are unable to afford even a proper meal for their maids ? it is just wrong to hear that people have been treating maids in such a way, and on the other hand treat their dogs like kings. If thats the case people should just hire dogs to be their maids.
All in all i feel that we should give more respect to maids, although we pay them to work for us, they are 100% human exactly like us. What gives us the right to deprive someone else from food ?
So please 250 calories? you got to be kidding !

"Study Causes of floods before blaming Singapore"

The Straits times 1 Febuary 2007

Recently Datuk Abdul Ghani of Malaysia has blamed Singapores land reclaimation for being the cause of massive floods in Kota Tinggi, he said that the land reclaimation done in pulau Tekong were the cause, as the reclaimed land pushed excess rain watcer into Malaysia.
Sadly many investigations had been done even by the Malaysian government and universities which concluded that there was no link between the land reclaimation and the floods that have been causing much problem in Kota Tinggi.
I felt appalled that Singapore was blamed for the floods even though we were not the cause of it, i think that such nonsensical statements made by the authorities of Malaysia are not necessary , because they only cause trouble between the two countries, there is no need to blame Singapore for something that they did not do because it would put a bad impression on the other country for blaming another country wrongly for no reason .
I hink that Prime Minister Najib is working and thinking smartly . ensuring that everything is proven before making remarks.

HK SMOG hits danger levels

The straits times Febuary 1 2007

Recently there has been much news about smog and haze affecting many countries, recently Hong Kong experienced dangerous levels of air pollution resulting in the stop of people with respiratory problems from going outdoors.

Singapore not long ago had also experienced such problems due to the forest fires in Indonesia , the air was so polluted that the sky was no longer blue and from afar the CBD looked blur.

I think that the world should do something to stop such air pollution from happening , even with the Kyoto protocol, there are still such problems, thus i think that the world and all its countries should come up with another plan to try and cut down the air pollution. As if we do not act fast , we may encounter dire consequences, global warming would be one of the consequences if do not act now and fast.

New plant ensures rain water does not go to waste

The Straits Times Febuary 1 2007

this new contraption will be able to treat rain water in small rivers , to push Singapore towards A final goal of self sufficiency. with the new water system already running , this new water treatment system will help to boost the amount of fresh water that Singapore can produce by itself, and with this , we would be less reliable on the water that we buy from Malaysia , furthermore if ever Malaysia decides to cut down on the water it supplies to us, we would not take such a heavy blow, as we would still be able to rely on our own ability to produce water for some period of time .

In my point of view i think that these steps are a positive sign showing that our government is doing something about the problems that we face now and in the future. Our ever ready attitude will help us when we start going through tough times. All in all i think that having more of such projects similar to that of the water treatment plant will benefit Singapore in the long run.

Will this day come ? " 0$ pay $ , No $ sell kidney

The Straits Times 18 January 2007

Try imagining a world described by Dr Lee Wei Ling , Mdm Lim Chiong Luan did and this was what she saw.
A young woman selling her kidney to bu her first branded bag. Her boyfriend selling his bone marrow to pay for his first car instalment.
A loan shark harrasing a man to pay up by selling off his organs.
people not working but instead getting money from selling their organs to other people.

These are just some of the senarios that would happen if there was no ban on organ trading, of course there would definitely be some who give or sell their organs out of love and kindness, but the majority would just want to sell thier organs for their own selfish needs. In this pragmatic world of ours, anyone would sell their organs with a little more temptation and a little less self control .

If only everyone could donate or sell their organs out of kindness and compassion, the world would be such a better off place, and no bans for organ trading would ever be needed. this is at this point of time unachievable, but in time as we educate more people about organ trading , and as we make people aware of the positive and negative points of organ trading, we may eventually be able to obtain that kind of world where people sell organs not out of greed or temptation , but out of kindness and love.

Ban on Organ Trading entirely irrational

The straits times16 January

Recently Dr lee Wei Ling of the National Neurological Institute touched on the topic of Organ trading and began to state that organ trading was a positive thing and should not be banned, she stated that If a person needing a transplant is willing to pay for it, what is wrong with allowing this, so as long as Singaporeans and Prs take priority over foreigners.

In my point of view, i think that there are two sides to the coin here , and whatever the final decision it will leave the loser with a bitter taste in their mouths, to ban or not to ban , many sceptics have commented on this and gave many reasons not to ban organ trading, such as it would save another persons life , and also expand a pool of organs just in case there is a need for one, they also gave reasons for banning it such as, people selling their organs out of greed and temptation , or seeing the sale of organs as compromising altruism .

In the end we may never come to a conclusion on whether to ban or not, but in my point of view i suggest that if it is beneficial for man-kind then why not have organ trading.

Number of jobs created last year in record high !

The straits Times Febuary 1 2007

Slightly over half of the 173,300 jobs created last year went to Singaporean's and PRs, much higher then last years record of 113,300 jobs created.
This has greatly benefitted Singaoire , especially after SARS and 9/11 which put many people out of a job. slowly and steadily, the economy is getting back into gear and everyone is starting to step up too.
Now as more jobs are created and we do not have to worry so much about the jobless, the country can now emphasize on building up other areas such a in terms of the life styles of Singaporeans, building up our cultures and love for the country.
I feel that the increase in jobs created is a very good thing , but we must not take things for granted, as if another ig event such as SARS or 9/11 happens again we have to be prepared to face challenges and overcome difficulties. In this world that is ever changing, i feek that no matter what the environment or situation , we always have to be prepared , as we will not be able to know whats coming beyond the bend .
Thus i feel that even in times of peace and harmony , we should always be wary and alert. Ready to react to whatever hardships we may have to face in the near future.

Singapore 2 Thailand 1

In the intense game of soccer, theres always the problem of sportsmanship. well in this recent case between our young lions and Thailand, a situation that caused much debate cropped up.
It was a fair and intense game the whole time with the score stuck to 1 a piece. Until the 82nd minute came , when a penaty was awarded to Singapore.
Incensed by the decision , Thai players staged a walk out, all 11 of them walked out the pitch in a protest against the refree. They held the whole match up for 15 minutes refusing to agree to the refree.
I feel that this incidient does not reflect very well on Thailand. In the past Thailand was well known for its people who were calm, considerate and polite, but after such an event, many people may change their looks towards the country.
In every single football match , no matter how bad the refree is, the refree always has the last say, all hands down . I feel thatt the Thais should have just let the decision be and play on, instead of creating such a big comosion.
In any case the next clash between the two teams will now be staged in Bangkok, and being the loyal supporter that i am , i say GO LIONS !