Casino Gambling

Changi Simei, Singapore, 26 Sep 2010

While attending the annual Asian Shared Service and Outsourcing Week Conference this week, during one of the networking dinner, I was asked by two foreign delegates on gambling problems in Singapore and my view on the two casinos from the societal and moral perspective.

I told them that I have supported the casino operations from the economic perspective as it doesn’t make economic sense to get the casino a miss. It does not mean that by giving the casino a miss, it will be the end of gambling and we are happy ever after like the ending of a fairy tale? These big time casino “enterprises” with their huge financial resources could still negotiate to build their casinos elsewhere. There are neighbouring countries who may be craving for this lucrative pie. In addition, there are the casino ships docking in Singapore and operating casino in international waters. How do we stop such operations in international waters?  Gamblers can also travel up north to Genting Highland in Malaysia to try their lucks.

In every society, there is some form of gambling. There are many forms of legal gambling in many countries like national lotteries, sport gambling etc.  In Malaysia, there is Da Ma Cai, Magnum & Toto, horse racing etc besides casino and international cruise ships. In United States, gambling activities generated gross revenue of over 90 billion dollars in 2006. In United Kingdom, there is a national lottery set up under government licence and other forms of gambling activities. With the advent of technology, there are also on-line casinos being set up for people to place bet without living their homes. There are many forms of gamblings that I may not know off.

Though I acknowledged the social costs of gambling, the issue is how to control irresponsible gambling. It will be a great challenge to control gambling if it goes underground. Between the two evils of a sanctioned gambling and an underground gambling, I guess, it is a better choice to opt for sanction gambling and putting rules to control gambling. Otherwise, it will be all hell breaks loose in underground gambling where no one will know the extent of its social problems.

Since our casinos have started their operations, it is still too early to conclude that there is a serious gambling problem in Singapore. I had not wanted to pre-judge the seriousness of gambling in view of the lack of details and data on gambling. Perhaps, the full effects of gambling may be known one year after the opening of the casino.  Though, the media may publish the plight of gamblers in isolated cases, I think these news are calculated to create awareness of social responsibility instead of the negative societal impacts. The recent case highlighted in the media of a Singapore businessman who gambled away 26 million dollars in one such example. Well, how many of us are high rollers?    

Recently, I paid the $100 levy to enter the casino. The purpose of my visit was not to gamble. I went into the casino to get a first-hand feel and experience on what was there to entice people to go in and to gamble to benefit the casino. I also wanted to see for myself whether the casino’s visitors are senior folks or retirees and whether it was really having “fun and excitement” in the casino. To find out the answer, a trip was necessary in which I just treated the $100 levy as my personal donation to the state coffer.  

The brightly lit casino and its many games of choices were simply tempting. I saw many placing bets, some with many chips. There were also many senior folks and as well as younger folks. There was a “big and small” table with many bets and every time the croupier opened her cards, there would be a commotion where either “big” or “small”. Many were placing their bets because this croupier ran out of her luck. But when she won, she just picked up all the chips on the table. This table was extremely “vibrant”. I moved around the casino and soon I felt bored as such gambling which the odd was with the house was against gamblers.  

I had kept extremely “clean” during my trip at the casino. I had not spent a single cent while in the casino. Gambling is not in my blood.

Perhaps the trip prepared me better if and when I see my client who is a gambling addict. Perhaps, I will be able to apply the cognitive behavioural therapy to reduce symptoms and gambling related urges better. Hopefully, I don’t have to deal with pathological gamblers as part of social works.

One Strategy for Success….Estate Upgrading at East View Garden

Changi Simei, Singapore, 18 Sep 2010

In early Sep 2006, the Ministry of National Development (MND) wrote to respective Members of Parliament seeking them to nominate eligible landed estates for the 5^th Batch of Estate Upgrading. The Estate Upgrading Project (EUP) is part of the government’s continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in the private estate through physical rejuvenation of common areas and to recognise the needs and aspirations of private home dwellers.  What was most “attractive” was that the government would fully fund the upgrading of the common areas through the allocation of a fixed sum of money to each dwelling unit. I could not recall any other governments in my memory who would fund upgrading in private estates and in that matter also HDB estates.  

With a fully funded upgrading project by our government, many residents looked forward to their estates being selected for the upgrading.  But there were criterion to fulfill and even after meeting them, there was another huge hurdle ie MND to select the estates in view of the many nominations from the other constituencies vying for the allocation of limited fund.  

Therefore, to stand out from the rest, Changi Simei Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) developed a calculated strategy to “catch” the attention of MND.  The CCC decided to include photographs on the maintenance status our three private estates, East View Garden, Sunbird-Apollo Garden and Sea Breeze Garden in our written submission.  In addition, the CCC also wrote a short paragraph on our thoughts and aspirations of the residents to accompany our submission on the need to upgrade the estate. These two requirements were not required by MND. As picture would worth thousand words, no harm trying especially when all our estates may not have fulfilled all the criterion. We were fortunate. East View Garden was selected for the EUP.  Upon its selection, MND informed Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo, our Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC that East View Garden qualified after MND reviewed our photographs and our one paragraph which created awareness on the poor condition of the estate. MND was impressed with the efforts put in by the CCC to justify for the upgrade to benefit the residents. 

In view of us setting a new benchmark in our submission, from 2007 onwards, MND now requires photographs to accompany upgrading submissions. We were lucky to past the post in view of us being the first constituency to have decided to do things differently from the rest and mosre importantly we dared to be different.  In the CCC, we believe in the “first mover” principle and to do our best as we could for our residents. Not being successful at times was not due to any slack but it was a matter of the stringent selection process.

Once the approval was given, Ms Jessica Tan sent a note to inform residents in East View Garden about the good news in early 2007.  The CCC followed by sending an invitation note inviting residents to come forward to form the Estate Working Committee. The CCC believes that our residents know best and they should be included in the decision making process. A handful came forward to form the working committee with the CCC under the direction of Ms Jessica Tan  co-ordinated and harnessed resources and requirements from the relevant government agencies.

Soon, I found out that not all residents were excited about the upgrading plan which would create a better living environment and an enhanced value of their home. When Ms Jessica Tan made visits during the routine house to house visit, there were residents who told her that they did not know about the upgrading plan. What peeved me was residents said that they told Ms Jessica Tan that they did not receive any letters on the upgrading.  My immediate thought was could this be a reality? Probably not as together with my grassroots leaders, we delivered the notification letter door to door. Later, I learned from one resident that any letter which did not carry the resident’s would be treated as gabbage and thrown away. That was a valuable lesson for my team on the psyche of private estate residents at least for some of them.  For those who were interested, they were delighted.     

Upon the formation of the working committee, we met the architect, the project consultant and government agencies like LTA, NEA, PUB, NPark, MND and Town Council (who land borders the private estate) to work on what we want the estate to be. Our approach was any suggestions and proposals must benefit the mass and members should not join the working committee with self interests.  I was glad that these residents contributed their thoughts and ideas and we had vibrant discussions for the good of the estate. We also collected feedback and conduct survey to solicit ideas for the upgrading. I remembered a couple of “great” feedback requesting for an underground tunnel linking the estate to Singapore Expo, building a hawker centre like “Chomps Chomps” in Serangoon Garden at the former Changkat Changi Secondary School, a basketball court at the Pelatok Park. I must admit that these were constructive but they could not be implemented in view of budegetary constraints,  practicability especially disrupting the quality of life in the neighbourhood.  The working committee needed to balance these suggestions with due diligence. For those ideas we incorporated into our plan, they were implementable and benefit the residents. We also get brickbated for not accepting ideas which did not benefit residents like building a basketball court which from our experience would result in continuous noise level affecting the homes located beside the court. 

Our draft plan for the estate was finally ready for consultation with residents. We selected 27 Jul 2008 to convene a dialogue session with residents. We sent out our invitations, this time through drop mail service by Singpost.  On the day of dialogue, less than one-third of the entire population attended the session. We had about 100 residents in the dialogue where they went through the design and plan. We did not have a 100% convergence of the plan although the majority did agree to the design of the upgrading. We also picked up a couple of good ideas and included our plan.

After the dialogue, it was time to see to through our upgrading plan. Considering the amount of fund given for the upgrading project, we would not be able to do much to enhance for the estate that the working desired. We therefore met with PUB, LTA and NPark to request that they reviewed their future plans for the estate. PUB agreed to cover the drain, NPark decided to enhance the streetscape and LTA would do up the internal roads and the pedestrians’ path along Upper Changi Road East. These were big-ticket items and cost considerably to these agencies, but they obliged to our requests for the benefits of residents. With these agencies on board, we would be able to see a more complete upgrading works in the estate. 

The current drainage covering works is now at its tail end. It commenced in Jan 2009. In the last one year or so, we had also received negative feedback on the works being carried from affected residents. When possible, the Secretary of the Upgrading Working Committee, Dr Ong who lives in East View Garden, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Committee Mr Laurence Chin and I went on site to try to mitigate these negative feedback as much as we could. We were able to help out on these differences.

In early August 2010, MND had selected the upgrading contractor to commence with the upgrading works. The selected contractor is now submitting documents to the relevant agencies for approval. Once approvals are received, works would be completed within a year.

To mark the milestone, the working committee e organised a ground breaking ceremony at Jalan Pelatok Park. Ms Jessica Tan was invited to initiate the ceremony by operating the excavator to symbolise the start of the upgrading works. The beginning of the upgrading works would bring dusts and the generation of noises. We would try to reduce these as much as we could and also minimise the disruption the routines of residents.

It is now beyond planning and it is time to see our fruits of labour from the last two years of planning and talking. With a shared vision, we developed the concept together with the architect. It is now beyond planning and we look forward to turn our concept into reality by next year.

中秋節@Changi Simei

Changi Simei, Singapore, 18 Sep 2010

The Mid-Autumn or Moon Cake Festival or the Lantern Festival  or Zhongqiujie  中秋節 , falls on the 15^th day of the 8^th Lunar month.  On this day, the moon is at is perfectly round and luminous. Besides the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year or commonly known as the Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival ranks as one of the important Chinese festivals as far as I understand.  In Singapore, we too celebrate the festival which falls on 22 Sep 2010.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one rich in poetic significance, there are many poems relating to the moon. I remembered a poem written by the great Chinese poet, Li Bai on “Quiet Night Thoughts” which I was taught many years in school.  The 3 liners with 5 words each poem is about the poet reflecting the nostalgia away from home. 

The origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival are very unclear. Nonetheless, many Chinese festivals are connected to legends. The most commonly and popular legend or tale connected to the Mid Autumn Festival is that of Chang Er  嫦娥 and the story of the rabbit. But the earliest records indicated that celebration existed as early as the Han Dynasty and it evolved through the years till today. Though many of us may not know the motivation of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in the past, we continue to celebrate the festival year after year as part of the Chinese culture and our heritage. We continue to relate the stories of Chang Er to our next generation.   For how long our Chinese culture, traditions and roots will survive the generations to come especially with the advent of technology and new knowledge and “undue” influence from the western culture remain a mystery. I am optimistic that our culture will survive provided we continue to celebrate these celebrations instead of succumbing to the pressure of seeing these celebrations as things from the past and thus superseded with time.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most celebrated traditions in Singapore every year besides the Lunar New Year. In recent years, other races also joined in the celebration to understand the Chinese tradition and for the fun of it as there are games associated to the festival like riddles solving, pealing of pomelo etc.  Yesterday at Sea Breeze estate, a gentleman from the United Kingdom took part in the celebration with his children. This gentleman joined the pomelo pealing contest competing with his neighbours including Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo, the Member of Parliament of East Coast Group Representation Constituency.

Besides Sea Breeze estate, there were another 5 concurrent locations organising the celebrations.  Ms Jessica Tan, visited all the locations spending time interacting with residents, the young children who looked forward to carry their lanterns in a procession and the seniors who drank Chinese tea, eat moon cakes and enjoying the company of their neighbours.

The celebration started as early as 6.30 pm. Our first stop was at the Changi Simei Community Club. I arrived at the community club at about 6 pm. The crowd was beginning to build up. There were traditional games, lantern making competition, Chinese Orchestra performance etc and activities catered to different ages. The Chairman of the Community Club and I judged the lanterns entered by residents in the contest. I particularly liked the bird nest design lantern in view of the resident’s creativity. Other lanterns were too creative too using recycled materials.

Our next stop was at Residents Committee (RC) Zone 2.  Residents took part in the Chinese riddle contest. Though these riddles had few words which served as clues, there was a need to think in depth to derive the answers.  It was definitely not an easy task for many to unravel the riddles despite of the cues in view of language competency. The children also played with sparklers and the much waited lantern procession. We were treated with traditional moon cakes, yam, sweet potatoes, Chinese Tea and pinkish flesh pomelo from Thailand. The pomelo was sweet and perhaps it was its sweetness that the fruits were being featured significantly in Chinese festivals.  There were many lucky draw prizes awaiting for its lucky owners.

We proceeded to RC Zone 3 and on arrival Ms Jessica Tan was greeted by residents who had already gathered to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.  Prior to the celebration, residents were treated to dinner and each received goodie bags. Residents were also treated to a performance of Zapinrobics, a Malay form of aerobic exercise. A couple of residents were also dressed up in traditional Chinese dresses to participate in the karaoke. Perhaps these residents chose their dressing appropriate to their song titles.  A group of youngsters was responsible for the image projection. These youngsters were children of grassroots leaders or residents who were keen to contribute their time for a good cause. I also saw a new innovation ie turning milk tetra pack into wallets by residents.

The turnout of residents at RC Zone 4 was good. The emcee of Zone 4 was very energetic and much liked by the young children. These children treated her liked their elder sister when she conducted games for them. At one corner sat a balloon sculptor who patiently listened to the request s made by those young children on what they would like for their balloon sculptures. One girl requested for a butterfly while a boy requested for a sword and another asked for a balloon lantern. Their requests were all fulfilled by the balloon sculptor. Ms Jessica Tan joined in the lantern procession. I too joined the procession carrying a lantern. During the procession, it was time to reminisce how we celebrate our time years ago.  It was re-living our younger days.

Next we arrived at Sea Breeze garden. The festival at Harvey Avenue was organised by the newly formed Sea Breeze Neighbourhood Committee (NC).  Last year as a pro tem NC, they organised a similar event at Sea Breeze Avenue. The mood at Harvey Avenue was joyous where adults and children played games together after having their dinner as one big family together earlier. The emcee was entertaining and he knew how to pamper his audience with his sweet talks.  A pomelo pealing contest was organised with residents and Ms Jessica Tan taking part. It was a friendly contest with laughter and encouragement of “go…go…go” for every contestant. It was encouraging to see residents from the private estate coming together to have fun together.

By the time we reached RC Zone 1, it was almost 9 pm. It was heartwarming to see the friendship and enthusiasm these residents display on the arrival of Ms Jessica Tan.  On stage, there was an acrobatic performance. The performer was balancing 5 set of flower vases with all her limbs and one on her mouth with residents exclaiming “wow”.  Next she performed the hula loop. It was not one loop but I think more than 10 at one go. At the end of the acrobatic display, a lantern procession was organised for the many children who had stayed behind waiting for the procession to start. Parents also joined in the procession.  When we arrived at the start point, the emcee belted out one song related to the Mid-autumn Festival. It was followed by a lucky draw before the emcee bided till we see again next year.

By the time we completed the circuit of celebrations, it was past 9.30 pm. My thought was that it was worth the travelling from one location to another as it was an excellent approach to decentralise the celebrations to be held at as many location as possible. Judging from the numbers of residents who came out from their homes to join the celebration at the 6 locations was an indication of the strong support for the grassroots events to bridge the communities together. 

Next year, perhaps we should continue to decentralise the celebration but the lantern procession could be centralised to meet at a central location for a larger community celebration. Till we meet again next year.

Running my Own Race…Army Half Marathon 2010

Changi Simei, Singapore, 12 Sep 2010

My alarm clock rang at 3.30 am this morning and it was time to get ready for the Army Half Marathon. I  slept at about 2359 hrs the night before. Applying the Army Training Safety Regulation, I would probably be barred from taking part in view of lack of proper sleep for my own personal safety.  Nonetheless,  I listened to my body’s signals and assessed that I was physically fit to run the half marathon and to keep my pulse beats to below 25 pulses per 10 seconds.

By 3.45 am, I was out of my home to pick up Jason Ong. We arrived at Parliament House at 4 am. There were plenty of car lots for me to choose. Once I had my car parked, I changed into my Brooks running shoes which I had bought on the eve of the half marathon.  The “Trance” model cost me $164. Many would have thought that it was a “bad” idea to run with a pair of unseasoned running shoes. Well, this was not the first time of wearing unseasoned shoes for long distance run. I wore new shoes for almost every long distance run. Perhaps putting on new running shoes gave me the psychological advantage that my knees were better protected.  As I transit from one stage of my physical life to another, I am always thinking of how to preserve my knees in tip top condition to do what I like to do. The new investment was a worth the value.        

We  strolled to the starting point. It was about 4.15 am. It was still early and there were not many marathoners at the starting point. At the entrance, a marshal gave direction, “yellow tag there, purple tag here”. I was wearing the yellow tag which was for “man open” and the purple tag was for “man master”. I asked for the different and was told that those with yellow tag were qualified to line up in front of the start line. It was then that I realised that I had entered a category to compete the race with invitation runners from other armies and fast runners.  Never mind about the yellow tag, just to run my own race and to complete the 21 km. I thought to myself that if I was younger by 30 yrs, perhaps I would compete with these runners but time wait for no man and my aim was to challenge myself to complete the 21 km with a constant speed of 8 km per hour.  I did kept my speed constant to reach the finishing line although I had not run past 11 km during my pre half marathon preparatory run. I was amazed on my stamina after the 21 km.  In the Yellow Ribbon Run last week, I completed the 10 km with a speed of 10 km per hr. Perhaps I had build a good “running fundamentals” over the years to jog on endurance.

By late 4 am, many half marathoners began to assemble at the Esplanade Bridge. The speakers were blaring and I wondered how it would affect the hotel guests just a stone throw away at the Fullerton. The speakers were positioned facing the hotel and perhaps these hotel guests were also equally excited and eager to see the flag off by Major General Chan Chun Seng, the Chief of Army. 

At 5.15 am, the siren of the horn signified the start of the competitive 21 Km run. The non competitive 21 km run was flaged off at 5.30 am with the fun runs being flagged off at 8 am. The hotel guests must also be wondering on why were there so many flag offs in one half marathon. That ‘s the Singapore way…to maxmise the already closed roads and all the preparations already in place.   

Upon hearing the siren, I started my stop watch and joined the open category marathoners. It was a forgone conclusion that the open category runners were super-fit, they did not run but dash. They deserve a “ticket” for speeding recklessly.  As the Esplanade Bridge was packed with runners, flagging off mean those behind would have to walk until they were able to squeeze through the funnel at the start line. Even Jason ran in front of me for a distance and I used him as my marker to keep going. Eventually, I lost Jason which I thought had run far ahead of me leaving me to run my own race. We agreed to run our own race and to meet at the finishing line.

The year running route was revised which included the stretch of road in front of Marina Bay Sands. Since its opening, I had not been anywhere near it….thanks to the Army Half Marathon. The rest of the route was similar to last year. The known route created familiarity and thus I was able to strategise to run my own race. At the Marina Bay Sands, I was wondering how much longer to exit to Benjamin Sheares Bridge? It was a nearly straight road without turning point in sight.

As I crossed the 8 km mark, I checked on my timing. It read 1 hr which was according to my plan. I ran towards Fort Road and onto East Coast Parkway Road and still feeling fresh. I had not felt so fresh before. I jogged towards the 10 km mark, 12 km mark still without visible signs of physical strains. That was good news for me. Unfortunately as I crossed the 12 km mark, my toe began to present trouble as each step was taken with excruciating pain. I took smaller steps and at times clenched my right toe to relieve the pain. The pain at the toe was not new. It occured in 2006 and I endured the pain in almost every long distance run. 

Though I had sought medical intervention but the problem with my both toes continued. The sports consultant who saw me told me that the pain was attributed to my high arch on both feet. Even the orthopedic’s  consultant diagnosed the problem as “wear and tear” there was nothing to correct the high arch unless to correct the high arch through an invasive operation. Well, to lessen the pain, I had an in sole customised for me. Perhaps, I should bound my toes before the run to see what would happen in the next run.

I met my boss at Fort Road flyover. He ran ahead. At Nicoll Highway near the National Stadium, I met Tan Ying. We paced each other passing the belly dancers till the next water point which was like F1’s Pit Stop. I stopped at every pit stops to dehydrate and using mineral water to cool down to keep the body temperature low. I did not stop enroute to another water point.

With the last 3 km to go, I felt a strain on my “energy tank”. There were no more bananas to be distributed. My regret was that I should have taken and ate one earlier. But never mind, it was only 3 km and I could still tap on my “reserve tank”, determination and perseverance to pull through the final 3 km. As I reached Esplanade/ Marina Square, I met familiar faces and I decided to up my speed a little at times with clenched toes with 1 km to go. It was then go, go, go without looking back. 500m, 200m and after the turn at Singapore Cricket Club, the finishing line was in sight…. 100m, 50m, 30m, 20m, 10m and finally crossed the finishing line and the clock indicated 2 hrs 42 minutes. I had made it again as I targeted to complete i 2 hrs 45 mins.

I was greeted by my wife and daughter who took the MRT to support me at the finishing line. I went to collect the finishing medal, down a 100 Plus and mineral water. I then made my way to join my family at the former Supreme Court Building for recovery and to wait for Jason.

My recovery after the half marathon was fast. There were no sore feet or wobbly legs unlike the Sundown Marathon. I received a sms from Ms Jessica Tan, my Member of Parliament who also ran the half marathon checking on my progress. I told her that Jason was still on the route and his wife and children was waiting for him at the finishing line. 

Finally, I saw Jason coming in on his final leg. I called his wife to alert her that Jason was coming in. They linked up and came to join me at the Supreme Court Building. Jason related his experience of muscular cramp at the 16 km mark and enduring the pain to complete the race.

After his recovery, we made our way to my car and we proceed home. After a much needed warm shower, something of a luxury, I drove to my elder daughter’s home to fetch my one year old granddaughter. Together with my wife, we went for a breakfast while my youngest daughter preferred to stay home to prepare for her prelim examination the following day.

This half marathon would be the last competitive run for me in this year’s calendar as I have not registered for the Real Run and the Singapore Marathon in December. However, I would register for the 10 km “Run for Hope” to raise fund for the National Cancer Research Foundation.

Nonetheless, not engaging in long distance run does not mean I would sit and relax. I still need to continue with the jogging regimen to maintain my health and  physical well being and hopefully, I can live to an old ripe age and still continue to jog.

An Icon in 3″R”…reduce, reuse and recycle

Changi Simei, Singapore, 11 Sep 2010

The initial objective of the project in 2006 was to “go green to save the earth” through the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3 “R”) project. Residents’ Committee (RC) Zone 2 was the lead grassroots organisations to spearhead the project for the whole community in Changi Simei in collaboration with Veolia Environmental Services.For being the lead, RC Zone 2 led by Douglas Ng had won a couple of award relating to environment in the past three years.

With its wide acceptance by residents, the once a month manning of the 3”R” station at RC Zone 2 became inadequate to meet the high demands of residents. In 2008, the project was proliferated to all the RCs in Changi Simei and now each RC is being rotated to set up a half a day collection point for residents to deposit their unwanted items for recycling purpose. The current collection stations are manned for residents convenient as follows.

      RC Zone 1 (Blk 108) – morning (10.30 am to 1.30 pm) on last Saturday of the month

      RC Zone 2 (Blk 133) – afternoon (9 am to 12 pm) on last Sunday of the month

      RC Zone 3 (Blk 155) – afternoon (2.30 pm to 5 pm) on first Saturday of the month

      RC Zone 4 (Blk 231) – morning ( 10.30 to 12 pm) on third Saturday of the month

In our first year of the project from 2006/2007, RC Zone 2 managed only 5.3 tons of recyclable materials. This figure was a respectable and an encouraging figure as we had at least succeeded to create an awareness of going green in Changi Simei.  In our 2^nd year of the project, from  2007/ 2008, RC Zone 2 collected a total of 25 tons of recycle materials. This was a 367% increase compared to 2006.

The message of “don’t throw away your unwanted items” eventually began to sink into the thoughts of residents. It was spread through words of mouths and the 102 outreach programmes on resource conversation to minimise wastage. To encourage and motivate residents to take the first step, unwanted items brought in by them were converted into usable items for their home use. For those who do not require usable items, many gladly donated to their financially strapped neighbours living in the estate. Besides the 3’R” practise by them, these residents also do their part to care for the needy neighbours. From 2008/2009, we collected 68 tons and last year, 2009/2010, we collected 204 tons of recycle materials.

From a humble beginning of merely wanting to do our part to contribute to a greener environment, we have exceeded our aspiration. If the amount of unwanted items deposited at the collection centres is a proxy indication of the 3”R” message in Changi Simei, we have achieved our targets.

Since 2006, Changi Simei is the leading division in East Coast GRC and SE District in the recyclable project. This is only possible through the efforts of the 4 RCs whose members have volunteered to man the collection station during weekends. Their high energy level since we started the initiative in 2006 has not dissipated but on the contrary it gains momentum to move to the next level of competency in promoting a greener environment.    

Our high level of energy was recognised on 4 Sep 2010 during the launch of the Recycling Week at Choa Chu Kang by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of Environment and Water Resources where  Changi Simei won the inaugural 3”R” Achiever Award. We have won the award in SE District in view of our works to conserve resources and reduce wastes.  On behalf of the Changi Simei, I was invited to collect the award from the minister.                                                                        

This morning, Changi Simei organised the SE District Recycling Week. Temasek Polytechnic, CHIJ, National Library, Veolia ES, NEA and many other partners also participated in the launch of the Recycling Week by Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo, Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC and Adviser to East Coast GRC GROs.                                                                              

Participation from residents was very encouraging. I saw many carting their unwanted items to the collection point man by Veolia Environmental Services. A resident Mr Anand told me that he had to make more than a trip to bring unwanted items to the centre. Among the items was e-waste like computer, monitor, CRT television, hi-fi set etc. As encouragement, residents who brought their unwanted items stood to win fabulous lucky draw prizes with the top prize of a micro oven.  

With the SE District, Ms Jessica Tan presented awards to Changi Simei RC Zone 1 for being the champion in this year recycling project. They collected 2.5 ton of recycle materials more than Changi Simei RC Zone 2 who was the last year champion. A distance third was a RC from Eunos under Marine Parade GRC.  Winning of awards is not our final objective to support a greener environment. We do what we have to do and in the process being recognised serves as strong motivation and will encourage us to do even better.

Children were not left out. They were engaged in what the 3”R” is all about when they participated in colouring and drawing contest.  Ngee Ann Secondary’s rock band performed their own brand of music to the delight of the audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Though my fellow grassroots colleagues teased me as being the new age “kurung guni” man, I thought we have succeeded to create awareness in getting residents to bring their unwanted items to our collection centres. Awareness therefore minimise the indiscriminate discarding of unwanted items around their estates thus keeping the environment clean and pleasant to our eyes.

Judging from our works, Changi Simei, we have set a new benchmark for others to emulate. In SE District, we are now an icon in 3”R”.

Community Celebrating our National Day….

Changi  Simei, Singapore, 8 Aug 2010

On 6 Aug 2010, residents of Changi Simei celebrated our nation’s 45^th National Day with a dinner. It was a Friday evening and by 7.30 pm, many residents had already arrived on time for us to start the celebration promptly at 7.45 pm. For many years, we have organised the celebration dinner on a Friday evening against the notion that Friday is a working day thus many residents will be late.  

Since coming on board the CCC in 2002 as its chairman, Changkat Changi Secondary School has been my ideal venue to hold the National Day Dinner (NDD) as the school offers a spacious courtyard sufficient to accommodate slightly more than 100 tables. The courtyard being at the centre of the school surrounded by the school buildings is a natural nodal point for close interaction and harmony activities. The barrier free facility facilitates the senior folks who are attending the dinner.  

Though hosting the dinner imposed inconveniences for the school especially the erection of tents and moving of equipment during school hours, Mrs Yow Lee Lin nonetheless allowed us to use the school despite the inconveniences and safety posed to her students. The grassroots organisations appreciated her kind gesture and we thanked her for her strong support given to us. 

Our preparation for the National Day dinner commenced months ago with recipients of National Day Award being appointed as the Chairman and Co-chairman the following year. It is a standard operating procedure in Changi Simei and the advantage is that award recipients are given one year to think on the concept of the next NDD.  So far, such rotation works well for us. As I was awarded the BBM and Low Eng Hoe the PBM (left photo), naturally it is our turns to organise the dinner regardless of whether I am the Chairman of the CCC or not as seniority in the grassroots organisations is not taken into consideration. 

In this year NDD, we adopted the National Day Theme of “Live our Dreams Fly our Flag” as the theme captures the collective hope for a better future for ourselves and for our families. With the theme, we designed our approach by drilling down the National Day Theme further to better understand its meaning through the words, “live, dreams, fly and flag”. Every one of us has dreams and every one of us also desires to achieve our dreams and to reflect our hopes and dreams, we decided to work our programme using  local talents instead of professionals. In this NDD, our grassroots leaders took charge of everything from planning, designing to co-ordinating the evening’s programme as stage manager.  

The programme started with the reciting of the national pledge led by 4 students from the Changkat Primary School. For them reciting the national pledge was like a breeze. It was followed by our national anthem where many stood solemnly and sang the anthem of Majullah Singapura. From the stage, I could our residents’ sense national loyalty and pride when the national anthem was sung. 

On stage, the student performers were great and they had brought out their best to live their dreams through their sterling performances. METTA School, a special school for the autistic students supported us with its Chinese Orchestra. They performed the Chinese drumming and a solo Yangqin (杨琴) piece. These students have practiced hard to present their works to us and I am glad that by performing in front of the more than a thousand residents will give them the confidence to live their dreams. 

Changkat Changi Secondary School contributed the modern and Malay dances  and Changkat Primary School Chinese and English Choirs were very impressive. These students danced and sang with their hearts reflecting their hopes for a better future.

A local group of residents performed the Indian dance. Their performances attracted many and many favourable comments were received, one special comment from our special guests, Senior Minister, Professor S Jayakumar who thought that the evening programme and performance was excellent. Well done to these student performers.  

Our grassroots leaders, Mr Philip Kong and Mr Woo Kin also took the microphone to belt out their best song where they had practiced for quite some time. They sounded like professionals as in view of diction and their powerful voices. Prior to their performance, I had convinced them to sing for us as we want to showcase our local talents. They took the challenge and did their best. Feedback received was they may be the next champion in singing competition.     

In the spirit of showing local talents, Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo, our Member of Parliament was not spared so did the senior grassroots leaders. We had selected two songs which are NDP’s favourites. We sang “Home” by Kit Chan and 小人物的心声. We have practised the two songs twice and though we may not sound coherent it is our thought that counts as we too want to live our dreams. 

The evening ended with a national day song medley, the all time favourite, Stand up for Singapore. I could see the residents waving their mini flags and enjoying themselves. The medley was a perfect closing item to rally the residents before the end of the dinner. We did rally residents to Stand up for Singapore.   

The euphoria and excitement of the 45^th National Dinner may have been over. As I reflect on what our country has achieved over the last 45 years with its 2 generations plus of citizens, we have out performed our neighbours in many areas through our sheer attitude of “we can do it”. We have defied the odds and got to where we are today, a “First World” country. I marvel at the splendid skyline at Marina Bay and people dine alfresco along Singapore River, at Orchard Road, big cars etc.  

45 years ago, I may not have understood the meaning of being a sovereign country nor our survival but I have remembered the lack of basic necessities like water, electricity etc. In today context, we don’t have to worry about basic needs but focus on the 5 “C” of condominium, credit card, country club, car and cash and many other individualistic aspirations. We have also taken less to volunteerism preferring to leave others to take the lead. We tend to “not believe” in the systems and we make complaints and very often based on our own perceptions and self interests instead of for the benefit of the community. Perhaps, that is the new societal order. 

Fortunately, there are still people who volunteer to give back to the society. I am indebted to these volunteers who have come forward to serve the community beyond self and family. We may not change the world, but we can surely help to facilitate an environment where we live like an extended family with compassion and empathy.     

I have my hope for Singapore. I have my own dream.

I have written this blog on 8 Aug 2010 but posted the blog on 9 Sep 2010.

Winning the People’s Association Award 2010

Changi Simei, Singapore, 5 Sep 2010

The People’s Association (PA) Awards is an annual event that recognises the contributions of corporate and grassroots organisations in promoting community bonding, strengthening friendships and enriching the lives of resident through its activities and social support programmes. To win, there are criteria to be fulfilled and merely working on these criteria will be sufficient to win. However, winning for the sake of winning is hollow victory. It is just another trophy with little significance attached to make a difference in the community. To be the real winner, it goes beyond the physical accolades. It is about doing it from our hearts and sustaining the works despite of adversities. Winning is not about individual’s pride and glory but the team’s vision for a better tomorrow.          

On 3 Sep 2010, the various grassroots organisations under PA gathered at Meritus Mandarin Hotel to honour the winners of the 2010 Awards. The ceremony was presided by Minister Lim Boon Heng who is also the Deputy Chairman of People’s Association. The awards presented were the Excellence Award, The Constituency Achievement Award, The Special Community Spirit Award and the Employer’s Support Award.

This year, the honour in Changi Simei went to RC Zone 2, RC Zone 4 and Indian Activity Executive Committee for winning the Excellence Awards. The Excellence Award under the PA Awards Scheme is awarded to GROs that have achieved 4-Star Grade for three consecutive years. The will mean that the award can be won once in every 3 years. Therefore, the challenge is for winners to maintain their performances in the next 3 years in order to win again. In theory, having a straight 3 years of 4-Star Grade although seemingly easy to achieve but sustaining the ground works is a challenge. There are GROs that may not have won at all.  

The other award, the Constituency Achievement Award was won by our Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC). The CCC had made the cut this year having missed it last year by a nose.  The Constituency Achievement Award is an award presented to constituencies with all GROs achievig  4-Star Grade in the same year. This year, we achieved 36 Stars out of the possible 36 Stars. Last year we acheived 35 Stars out the 36 Stars thus was not in the honour list.

Mr Chua Soon Lee and I represented our CCC to collect the two awards from Minister. When Changi Simei CCC was announced, I felt proud of all the grassroots leaders who have dedicated their previous time to serve the community. Some of them have been serving the community for the last 40 years and they are still with us working hard to make a difference in the estate. The Constituency Award is a testimony of their efforts and the never say “cannot” attitude.

The never say “cannot” attitude has permeated into the ranks and files of grassroots leaders. Instead of relying on well tested approach and established activities, the grassroots leaders are now more prepared to adopt new management techniques and technologies to create opportunities to bring residents together to interact and bond with each other.

Going beyond what we are currently doing, as the Chairman of the CCC, I am thinking of what can we do more to bring people out of their homes to interact or to provide feedback on our local driven initiatives or government policies to serve the community better.

We aim to do our best with or without being conferred any award.

Thinking of My Teachers….Teachers’ Day

Changi Simei, Singapore, 1 Sep 2010

Today, 1 Sep 2010 is dedicated to teachers in Singapore. It is a day where students send their gratitude and thanks their teachers who have worked hard to guide and teach them.

During my time in school some 40 years ago, the teachers may not have a day dedicated to them but I remembered two of my teachers who did not give up on us. On the contrary, they took up the challenge to continue to do their best to guide us to their best of their ability. Both teachers, Mr V G Kamal and Mr Ooi Hock Ann had left an indelible mark on me. Both teachers should be around 90 yrs and 80 yrs now.

Among my siblings, I was not the smart and bright perhaps ranked as average to below average. Though I worked hard…actually very hard, the time spent did not translate into “P1” grades (distinction) but likely to be “F9” grades (failed). My thought then was perhaps I was not cut out for school and thus why waste my time in school. I might as well stop going to school to find my hope elsewhere. I actually left school for a short time to work in a company assembling busses. I returned to the school to continue with my education after my late mother encouraged me to do so by painting a gloomypicture of me as a night soil man or a road sweeper which were jobs for the uneducated then.

I was in a class of champions .… a collection of all sorts of colourful characters.  Each week would not pass peacefully without an occurrence. With such a school’s environment and coupled with my poor academic aptitude, it was a challenge for me to see any lights from the dungeon. I failed in examinations almost every year but I was advanced to next level of standard. I was in the last class in most of my secondary school life.  

Though we may not be in a top notch schools, nonetheless, students in the best class would regard us as school’s “renegades” or “outcasts” and drew the line of “them and us”. I remembered even our English teacher who was our form teacher left a deep negative impression with me would scream and ridicule us. He called us “idiots” whenever we could not pronounce words or constructed grammatically erroneous sentences. There was also little or no support from some teachers and over time, many of us developed pessimism in our lives.                

Fortunately, Mr Ooi Hock Ann and Mr V G Kamal took over as our form teachers in Secondary 3 and 4 respectively. Mr Ooi was in his mid 40s or late 40s while Mr Kamal was in his late 50s or early 50s. Both teachers understood our academic challenges but they did not give up on us and tried to turn us around. Their efforts did not fail as slightly one third did turn around out of a class of 44. It was better than none. For the other two thirds, it was life as normal for them as they did not help themselves. 

My success today could be attributed to my two teachers in secondary 3 and 4. Both of them did not label us as hopeless or called us names. They harboured a ray of hope no matter how weak this ray was that we could change for the better. Both had coached us and encouraged us to break from our mindset that students in the last class were “retarded” and destined to be failures in the society.  I had benefited from their guidance and indebted to them for my current well-being.

Their encouragements and guidance had resulted in me passing my examinations. For the first time, I passed all my subjects ranging from P2 (current A2) to P6 (current C6) in my secondary 3 examinination. Mr Ooi had guided my weakest subject whom I had obtained 7 marks in previous year to a P4 (current B4). For the first time, I showed my late mother an “all blue” report card rather than an “all red” report card in the previous year. She was very happy for me.

At secondary 4, Mr Kamal was another teacher who helped us to prepare for my “O” level examination. Besides tutoring us after school hours, we were given many additional assignments to practice. I could not remember how many additional 10 years series given but in my memory, I completed and submit all these assignments the next day to Mr Kamal for marking. I became a model student in my class where Mr Kamal would asked me to solve the questions infront of the class.

I did not disappoint Mr Ooi and Mr Kamal in my “O” level results. I obtained 5 “O” level passes, the highest numbers of “O” levels recorded for the last class in school. I found out later that of the 40,000 students taking the “O” level examination, I was among the 5000 odd students obtaining 5 “O” levels and above. It was a sweet achievement for me considering my poor academic results two years ago. I was the only one who proceeded to pre-university class instead of junior college as there were only two JCs then, National Junior College and Hwa Chong Junior college.   

I still talked fondly about the two teachers to my children and perhaps to my grandchildren one day. When I showed my youngest daughter my secondary report book, she was surprised on my academic challenges in my early years of life. I have told her that I was a late developer and I did give myself a chance when I returned to school again and the two teachers played a key part in what I am today. Therefore, respect her teachers although they may be a little “fierce” but their intentions are for the good of their students. I have also encouraged her that even when confronted with adversity, do not give up and press on. Ultimately, success is hers.

In this Teachers’ Day, I want to pay compliments to both my two teachers, Mr Ooi Hock Ann and Mr V G Kamal. Thank you for your encouragements, supports, understanding and compassion towards us. Your works to turn us around had succeeded. Many of us whom you had once guided through the “trash” are doing well in their respective careers. These once “hopeless” students still meet after 37 years to catch up with each other. Every time when we re-live our past during our gathering,  we remember the difficult time and our teachers.

My son’s girlfriend is now a full time teacher in a secondary school after her graduation from NIE. My son is an allied educator teaching music in schools after graduating with a Bachelor in Music. Perhaps, they understood that being an educator is a calling to transform the lives of individuals.

Though I may not be an educator in school, today, I provide counseling which is another form of education to transform lives of those who are mired in their personal challenges. I will continue to help others to make a difference just like the two teachers who make a difference in my life.