People eat at a hawker centre while observing social distancing in Singapore on June 19, 2020, as restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus are eased. - Restaurants, retail shops and most other businesses reopened in Singapore on June 19 as the virus-hit city-state eased curbs, but the city-state's leader cautioned residents "not to go overboard celebrating". (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore — With Singapore seeing about 30 new community Covid-19 cases almost every day now, some netizens have started calling for another circuit breaker.
However, disagreeing in an anonymous Facebook post on the popular page NUSWhispers, one netizen said people calling for another lockdown are just “plain ignorant and selfish”.
The incensed netizen wrote: “What you don’t see are the hawkers in ulu areas closing their stalls after the entire day of selling only a few miserable bowls of noodles, barely making the rental let alone commissions for Grab or Foodpanda. What you don’t see are taxi uncles driving around the city from one end to the other frantically searching for customers and ending up trying to fight against one another for customers. What you don’t see are the retrenched retail staffs who are applying for 50 jobs a day while scrimp (sic) and save on their retrenchment package”.
The writer added that it was indeed unfortunate to have gone back to Phase 2 measures to deal with the pandemic, but said that instead of pushing for “draconian measures”, others should try to reduce the spread themselves.
To those clamouring to close Singapore’s borders to high-risk countries instead of to all countries, the netizen said this is a “strawman fallacy” and added: “You mean we rather suffer the economic losses from implementing lockdown than subsidizing cost of foreign workers from other lower risk countries? Why?”
Many hard hit by the crisis are not poor enough to beg, but are not earning enough, the netizen added.“Those who have fallen through the cracks are hit the worst.” /TISG
Hong Kong — Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai are named the Four Heavenly Kings who were very popular back in the ’90s. All of them have successful music careers as well as acting careers. It was not surprising then that comparisons were made between them.
Cheung and Lau were often pitted against each other the most. Cheung was named the “God of Songs” and in an interview, he once shared that he was often left playing second fiddle to Lau when it came to acting.
According to Cheung, “We are friends who are competing with each other. [I have] no issues working [with Lau], but when it comes to movies, he will always play the lead. Most of the time, when he’s around, I’ll play the supporting role.” Cheung worked with Lau in a number of films such as 1988 action flick As Tears Go By, 2004 crime drama Jiang Hu, and 2016’s From Vegas To Macau III.
Cheung did not mind as he thought that it was more crucial for an actor to interpret a role well rather than bother about who got top billing. Cheung was more concerned by how the media would purposely make them out to be rivals.
“They made it seem as though [Lau] really has something against me. So in our hearts, there was a little distance between us. It could be a personality issue too,” said Jacky.
Andy Lau was being compared to with Jacky Cheung. Picture: Instagram
It appears the sentiment is mutual, as reported by 8days.sg.
In another old interview, Lau once admitted that he cares a lot about what the public thinks of his singing and the reason he is not particularly good at it still is because he could not put down his pride and approach Cheung aka the God of Songs for advice.
Born on July 10, 1961, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor. With more than 25 million records sold as of 2003, he is regarded as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” and has been deemed the “God of Songs” of Hong Kong.
Cheung is known for his lengthy, sell-out tours, his best-selling album The Goodbye Kiss and his personal Private Corner album project, for which he coined the phrase ‘Canto-jazz’./TISG
India — Nearly a year and a half since Sars-CoV-2 was first discovered, scientists have learnt a lot about how Sars-CoV-2 spreads, and how it doesn’t. A look at how masks, distance, and ventilation play a key role, according to the Centre’s newest guidelines.
THE BASICS: HOW SARS-COV-2 SPREADS
As aerosol- Can be carried in the air to up to 10m. The risk is significantly high if someone is without a mask
As droplets- Someone speaking or coughing can spew larger droplets that fall within 2m
Via surfaces- Though rare and not established beyond doubt, it can potentially spread from surfaces contaminated with viral droplets
Source: Office of PSA
WHAT CAN HELP
1) VENTILATE ALL SHARED SPACES
Keep door and windows open as much as possible for open flow of air
Let outdoor air flow in to displace indoor air
Use an exhaust system or a fan placed near a window to increase air exchange
Keep exhaust fans running if windows, doors are shut
Windows and doors must be kept ajar if the workplace has multiple air conditioning units
This also applies for offices with centralised AC, which should add HEPA filters
In both kinds of spaces, unidirectional fans can expel air, helping draw in outside air from doors
2) RIGOROUS MASK DISCIPLINE
At the very least, people should wear a double-layer mask, if not wear two masks
N-95 masks (without a respirator) offer maximum protection
People should ensure masks fit snugly and cloth masks are washed every day
They should wear a mask when outside or at home with outsiders
WHAT MAKES IT HARDER TO STOP
Asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic threat: People can be contagious without showing any symptoms
Unventilated spaces: In closed areas, such as homes and offices with no cross-ventilation, virus particles can keep accumulating in the air
WIDESPREAD TESTING AND ISOLATION
Rapid antigen tests can help improve surveillance in rural and semi-urban areas
Asha, anganwadi and health care workers can be trained to carry out these tests
These workers should be given oximeters to better monitor mild/asymptomatic cases
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat wants Singaporeans to avoid having a narrow definition of “the Singapore core”. It does not matter whether someone is Singapore-born, a new citizen or a foreigner who is helming a company, he said: “That test for us must be the commitment to Singapore, the commitment to the well-being of Singapore and of Singaporeans.”
The Straits Times reported:
“Drawing on his own experiences running the Monetary Authority of Singapore during the 2008 to 2009 global financial crisis, Heng said many chief executives of international banks in Singapore had given him outstanding advice on how to deal with the crisis – demonstrating that they had Singapore’s interests at heart.
“Some of the CEOs from these banks are as Singaporean as Singaporeans who were born in Singapore and went through national service… in fact, some of them, whom I knew personally, had become Singapore citizens,” said the minister, without elaborating.”
You, yes, you, the Singapore core reader: Do you (1) Agree (2) Disagree. Whichever your answer, I suggest you send it to the REACH WHATSAPP CHAT GROUP.
Quote from REACH’s website: “As part of REACH’s engagement efforts, we invite you to participate in a REACH WhatsApp Chat Group and share your views on national policies. Our chat group will be open for feedback when the opportunity arises for us to discuss hot-button issues and national policies.”
Heng is leading the Emerging Stronger Taskforce and would certainly welcome feedback, I think.
If you agree with him and believe he is on the right track re the Singapore core, then all you have to do is send him an encouraging message which may go something like this:
“Dear DPM,
I hope you are fine. I wholeheartedly support you in the firm stand that you are taking once and for all to silence Singaporeans who must be kicked in the butt for being so nativist, so short-sighted and unable to see the big picture. We are a global city. We must welcome all talents, not just to work here and add to our small pool but also to settle down and become new citizens. It is not enough to say welcome. If possible, let’s bend over backwards to accommodate such foreign talents as our own.”
With such a message to the DPM and the EST, the chances are bo beh chau (Hokkien for no horse run, meaning, odds-on) that you will be invited to a conversation among like-minded pro-estab admirers or at worst, survivalist neutrals hoping for a piece of the action.
But, if you disagree, this is what you should say:
“Dear DPM,
I hope you are fine. Now that you have decided to opt out of the all too short runway to the Istana, you seem to have emerged fitter and stronger and ready to take on all the true-blue naysayers. I saw you on YouTube the other day. Wow. You really gave NCMP Leong Mun Wai a wallop in Parliament. Ta kasi chance, you and Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin. You were very angry, very firm and truly exasperated with him. In the exchange, viewers could see a different DPM who appeared a tad intolerant of someone who had every right to ask questions and offer his dissenting views.
Is this your true self? Many people thought you were one of the more acceptable faces of the establishment. And now, apart from giving an NCMP the mini hair dryer treatment, you suddenly come out with guns blazing at true-blue Singaporeans in staunch defence of new citizens.
You practically wave your fist at Singaporeans: “As a multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious society, Singapore must not end up like some other countries and territories in the world, where the fear of losing jobs leads to a protectionist instinct where people as well as goods and services from other places are kept out.”
From where have you got the impression that Singaporeans are anti-foreigners? Being, as you say, multi-everything, being able to live with people of different races and religions has been part of the national DNA. It still is. You have thrown a non-starter accusation, meant to somehow mislead and to lump the perfectly legitimate misgivings that Singaporeans are having about their future and place in their country into some kind of xenophobia.
Singaporeans have elected you into power to look after their interests. Whatever else that you consider may be important must be secondary to that.
It is about fairness and about not being short-changed.
I will end with reproducing what I wrote in 2019:
“In the end, at the heart of Singapore’s existence and survival must be the young man from MacPherson Lane.
“Not a skills-for-sale foreign talent from India or China in whom the government seems to have so much faith, frequently at the expense of locals who have to struggle to find a job and juggle their civilian existence with their heavy NS liabilities… And certainly not another PR citizen-pretender who would not wish to have his or her sons spend a second in conscription, probably looking down on all Singaporeans as suckers.
“Ultimately, the burden of national duty lies with men like the late Aloysius Pang who died on Wednesday Jan 23 from an accident during his reservist training in New Zealand. He was the true-blue son of Singapore. People like Pang are often taken for granted by a ruling regime who time and time again show a reluctance to categorically pledge their loyalty to true-blues as they open our gates to foreigners and fortune-hunters from around the world.”
Remember Aloysius Pang.
Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a local magazine publishing company.
Photo: YouTube screengrab, for illustrative purposes only
Singapore — Set up on a date by her friend, a 22-year-old woman walked out out after slapping the man for insulting her family and calling her a gold digger.
The incident occurred last week before in-person dining at restaurants was banned till June 13 to curb the spike in Covid-19.
The man, a 27-year-old working in a bank, started off by telling her that he planned to save S$1 million by the time he turned 30, and “explained how his father is so and so and has a PhD”.
The woman said the man treated the waitstaff poorly, without any manners.
When she told him that she was studying medicine and her parents were hawkers, he asked her: “So you are doing this degree (medicine) to get out of poverty, huh?”
He concluded that she was from a polytechnic and wanted to become a doctor because her “family probably doesn’t earn much…and… not so educated”.
Halfway through the date, he asked her if he could send her home. When she said that was not necessary, he added that he could drop her off in his Lamborghini.
He then said: “I bet you haven’t been in one cause your (sic) poor.”
She retorted it was probably his dad’s car.
Stung by her reply, he boasted he could probably buy her parents’ hawker stall, calling her a “gold-digging bi***”.
She then slapped him and walked off after paying the cashier S$30 for her order, she wrote in her anonymous post on the popular Facebook page NUSWhispers on Thursday (May 20).
She added that she was in shock and disbelief to learn that there were people like this who think their parents’ car and wealth is theirs.
Noting that her mother graduated from a top culinary school, she wrote that her father was also a university graduate.
In a parting shot, she wrote: “And please don’t look down at hawkers, having worked at my parents stall, I’ve seen uncles who are primary 3 dropouts who earn millions and yet they are humble and give out food to needy on weekends, and they take in like $5000 a day, selling drinks only.” /TISG
India — For Punit Renjen, the Indian-American chief executive officer (CEO) of the accounting giant, Deloitte, it is personal. Almost six per cent of his company’s 50,000 employees in India have been infected by Covid-19 at one time or the other, and some of them, tragically, did not make it. His own family has been hit. His 81-year-old mother was infected in mid-April. She has since recovered.
Deloitte is among 55 major companies that have stepped up in the United States (US) to help India during the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. US corporates have altogether pledged or already sent $400 million aid in cash or kind, in addition to the $100 million worth of assistance by the Joe Biden administration. Deloitte sent 12,000 oxygen concentrators as the first consignment shipped off by the Global Task Force set up the US Chamber of Commerce, a powerful lobbying group.
“Six per cent of my Deloitte family got infected, and we lost some very young people,” Renjen said. And then “my mother, my father and my chacha (uncle), aunt, a number of my cousins were infected as well. So this is a very personal, familial situation.”
It has been personal for many of the CEOs and leaders of Indian-descent, now helming major global companies. They have felt compelled to act by illnesses and fatalities among colleagues, close relatives and friends. Not all of those contacted agreed to speak but people who know many of them averred that there is nothing else that is driving them more than the harrowing accounts they are seeing and hearing of first-hand from people around them, at work and home.
In fact, the entire relief effort started on a very personal note, among three men who went to the same school, Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and MasterCard Executive Chairman Ajay Banga. One Sunday, in mid-April, when India was getting swept by the pandemic, they got talking – something had to be done. And they called Mukesh Aghi, CEO of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, an influential advocacy group representing major US companies invested in India.
“That’s how the whole concept started, and then we got other companies involved,” Aghi said, adding, “It did start because this is personal.” That Sunday conversation has snowballed into a $400 million effort, together with the US-India Business Council, an arm of the US Chamber of Commerce. Aghi says he expects the corporate assistance to go up to $1 billion.
It’s personal for them: Nadella, Banga, Narayen, Aghi and Renjen, who, by the way, talks with his mother twice every day. And if he doesn’t, he gets an earful: “Kya baat hai, phone kyon nahi kiya. Bade busy ho gaye ho? Bahut bade admi ban gaye ho?” (What is the matter, you didn’t call. You have become very busy? You have become a big person, is it?”) The call of loved ones has heralded an unprecedented effort by corporate America and its Indian-origin leaders.
Jeon Yeo Bin appears in Allure Korea. Picture: Instagram
Seoul — Vincenzo star Jeon Yeo Bin flaunted her natural good looks in a new pictorial for fashion magazine Allure. The actress showed a new side of herself with short hair and simple yet stylish outfits in the photoshoot. Jeon Yeo Bin portrayed elegance and charm with her unique poses and charismatic expressions.
During the interview after the photoshoot, Jeon Yeo Bin opened up about her recently wrapped-up drama, Vincenzo. The tvN drama sees Song Joong Ki playing the role of Vincenzo Cassano, an Italian lawyer and Mafia consigliere who is of Korean descent but was adopted by an Italian family at a young age.
Jeon Yeo Bin enjoyed working on Vincenzo. Picture: Instagram
He moves back to Korea because of a conflict within his organisation and ends up meeting the sharp-tongued lawyer Hong Cha Young, who is played by Jeon Yeo Bin. They team up to use villainous methods to bring down villains who cannot be punished by the court of law, as reported by Soompi.
The actress shared her love for Vincenzo, saying, “I learned a lot on the set of Vincenzo. Everyone believed in each other, and we worked hard with excitement.” When asked what she thought of coming across a wonderful project like Vincenzo, she smiled happily and replied, “It’s like a miracle and a gift.”
Born on July 26, 1989 Jeon Yeo Bin is a South Korean actress. Jeon rose to prominence after her performance in After My Death (2018), which earned her the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival and the Independent Star Award at the 2017 Seoul Independent Film Festival. She has been praised by the media and filmgoers for her strong performance as a newcomer.
Jeon studied broadcast entertainment at Dongduk Women’s University. She started acting five years later when actress and director Moon So-ri saw her in a trailer for the Seoul Women’s Film Festival and contacted her for the 2015 short film The Best Director./TISG
Singapore—STORM Magazine hosted a webchat about the PSLE system on Wednesday, May 19, with two PSLE parents Jason Chiam and Sharon Goh, and education entrepreneur and ex-NCMP from the Workers’ Party, Yee Jenn Jong, as panellists.
With STORM publisher Kannan Chandran facilitating, the three panellists discussed creativity, competition and the enormous pressure that PSLE takers face, especially in the time of the pandemic.
The PSLE, after all, determines where each student goes for the secondary level and greatly affects their education after that.
The webchat, entitled PSLE Still Pushing Students Hard?,took a look at the exam considered a rite of passage of sorts for every Singaporean.
This year, however, the PSLE underwent a major change. The Ministry of Education announced last month that the new system is part of the MOE’s “efforts to shift away from an over-emphasis on academic results by reducing fine differentiation of students’ examination results at a young age”.
Furthermore, MOE will be releasing the indicative PSLE score ranges for individual secondary schools.
The new scoring system means that each student will be scored by Achievement Levels based on their individual performance in PSLE subjects, regardless of how the other examinees have done.
Mr Chiam, whose younger daughter is sitting for the PSLE, commented on the new system, saying, “The revised PSLE scoring seems to have some elements of luck attached to it, where balloting is concerned.”
During the webchat, he said that he believes that while all schools are good schools, there are some primary schools that are more competitive than others, and therefore are more high-pressured.
In his child’s school, he said, families try to outdo one another, which is not necessarily a negative thing, as more activities end up being offered.
Ms Goh, who says that her 12-year-old son is “part of the guinea pig batch,” said that “regardless how the scoring system changes, stress and competition will never be totally eradicated from our system”.
She also credited the teachers for making the environment at her son’s school, Ngee Ann Primary, work well for him, saying that they have shown individualised concern for each child.
Ms Goh, however, admitted that her son has been “lacking sleep for the longest time” due to the added activities he has been tackling.
She never talks about stress, however, although she says her son manages his busy schedule well.
She said, “If the parent keeps perpetuating this notion of stress to the child, the child will say, ‘Yeah, I’m very stressed.’ But we can take an approach and we say, ‘You can do it, and if you cannot, as long as you have tried your very best, yeah, there’s nothing else we can say about it.”
“That’s a positive way of looking at it, right?” the host told her.
Ms Goh quipped back, “We have no choice in Singapore.”
As for the former NCMP, Mr Yee said that parents sometimes have to be realistic as to whether their child can not only get into a top school, but if they can end up staying there.
He said, “The trouble is that many people think ‘Oh I just need to get into the top school.’ I think this has been something conditioned into us.
“Sometimes we need to ask is it really good for the children? Will they be able to adjust inside?
“Some people in the top schools end up dropping out because they cannot cope with the IP programme.”
Singapore – Grab suspended and is investigating a GrabFood rider who allegedly hit a pedestrian on a shared path.
The rider crashed into a female pedestrian who was sharing the same footpath. The girl had earpieces in while walking, and was not able to hear the rider traveling near her.
A video of the dispute between the two was taken by the girl herself and then shared via the SG Kowpehkowbu Facebook page on May 20.
The recording showed the aftermath of the incident, when the pedestrian confronted the GrabFood rider.
As they were blocking the way, a passerby suggested that the rider ignore the girl’s accusations and move on.
When he moved to leave, the pedestrian stopped him, resulting in him swiping her camera and asking her to move.
Photo: FB screengrab/ SG Kowpehkowbu
The girl then threatened to call the police, but public members stepped in to calm her down.
In response to the event, Grab has temporarily suspended the rider and added that it would investigate further into the case.
The company also emphasized on road safety and reminded delivery partners to stick to regulations and requirements.
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s Code of Conduct, pedestrians and cyclists should keep left on public paths unless overtaking. Always staying alert is necessary to avoid possible danger.
In addition, LTA also wants to remind the public that all public path users should be careful, stay vigilant and be considerate of others when using the shared route.
As the clip did not show the full incident, Grab advised netizens not to make any assumptions or conclusions on the matter.
Phuong Le Ha is an intern at The Independent SG/TISG
Song Joong Ki is featured in June 2021's issue of GQ Korea. Picture: Instagram
Seoul — Song Joong Ki was recently interviewed and photographed for GQ magazine and the actor shared about Vincenzo and what he learned during the filming process. The successful series ended with the sixth-highest ratings in tvN history with Song Joong Ki humbly giving all the credit to director Kim Hee Won, writer Park Jae Bum and his co-stars. Looking back at his experience, Song Joong Ki revealed that he did approach the drama a bit differently from his previous projects.
The actor was inspired to assume a new mindset after a memorable conversation with a friend, director Kim Won Seok.
“Director Kim Won Seok, who knows me extremely well as a person after working with me on Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Arthdal Chronicles, suddenly said this to me one day,” he recalled. “‘Joong Ki, for your new drama, don’t try to act this time. Just act like you usually do. Don’t go out of your way to do something, and just go with the flow.’”
The actor continued, “So I set aside my thoughts and tried to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible during filming, and I was filled with gratitude for the fact that the atmosphere on set actually allowed for me to do that.”
Song Joong Ki opened up about his experience acting in Vincenzo. Picture: Instagram
Song Joong Ki went on to reveal that his experience filming Vincenzo had made him look at acting in a new light, reported Soompi.
“I realised that positive energy and enjoying the process [during filming] makes you incredibly happy with the result,” explained the actor. “I want to continue to have fun while acting in the future as well.”
Born on September 19, 1985, Song Joong Ki is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) and the variety show Running Man (2010–2011) as one of the original cast members. Since then, he has played a diverse spectrum of roles in the television series The Innocent Man (2012), Descendants of the Sun (2016), Arthdal Chronicles (2019) and Vincenzo (2021), as well as the box office hits A Werewolf Boy (2012) and The Battleship Island (2017)—both on the list of highest-grossing films in South Korea./TISG
