H1N1 & Social Responsibility

The H1N1 flu outbreak is currently very widespread and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it as a pandemic. It is a concern because this has cause many deaths in Mexico, however, elsewhere the deaths due to the flu is not much different from other flu. The world is interconnected due to commercial flights. The spread can be very rapid measures have to be taken. The Singapore government is concerned as Singapore is a major trading hub and if the flu outbreak becomes serious, this would drive foreign investors away. Hence, the government are taking serious measures such as advising the citizens. However, I feel that we all have to take upon ourselves to be socially responsible and take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of H1N1 virus. For example, one should not go to countries which are affected with H1N1 virus. If one is not feeling well, he should not go to crowded places. I feel that people should not be socially responsible during an outbreak but instead, at all times. In this way Singapore would be a safer place for every one to live in.

The part I like the most Village by the Sea

The part which I like the most in the novel, Village by the sea, is the ending. It shows how Hari returned form Bombay and celebrates Diwali together with his family. The story had a happy ending. Hari brought back some money from Bombay and even planned to set up a poultry farm in Thul. His father also stopped drinking. He then went to Alibagh to fetch his mother who recovered and was discharged from the hospital while his sisters prepared for Diwali. On Hindu New Year's Day, Hari visited the sahib who likes to study birds. When Hari learnt that he fell into a creek and his watch was not working, he put his watch mending skills into use and mended the Sahib's watch. He told Hari that he had to adapt in order to survive. The story ended with Hari seeing his mother scattering flowers onto the three rocks that stood in the sea.

I rather be a city rat than a country rat

I disagree with this statement because I feel that the city rat's life is filled with danger unlike that of the country rat's. In the story The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, the city mouse brought the country mouse to the town he lived in and entered a house to search for food. However, while they were eating, the owner of the house returned and the two mice had no choice but to run. In the end the country mouse returned to his home in the country which was free from danger. In our modern city living, life appears to be very good because our material needs can easily be satisfied such as good jobs, good food, housing and medical care. However, the satisfaction of our material needs has resulted in hidden dangers. Building of more factories, building, roads, and etc causes significant amount of pollution. The stress level in city living is also very high be it at work, school and play due to competition and congestion. The high availability of 'good' food in the city leads to unhealthy diet. Convenience in terms of transportation and home entertainment also cause people to have a sedentary lifestyle. Crime in the city is also higher. All these pose a great amount of danger to our health and life. On the other hand, the food the country may be bland but at least it s healthy, the air is fresh, the stress level is low, crime level is lower, and without modern conveniences, people would be forced to lead a more active lifestyle. Hence life in the country is certainly healthier, happier and more peaceful. Therefore, in my opinion, I would rather be a country rat because I feel that, better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.

My favourite character in "Village by the sea"

My favorite character in the story Village by the Sea is Hari. Hari is a very hardworking and responsible person. This could be seen when Hari's father was permanently drunk and his mother became ill, he took over the responsibility of providing for his family. Hari and his sister had to take care of the family. As he knew that working in the fields and bringing down coconuts to sell was not enough, Hari was on a constant lookout for better job to improve himself. For example, when he heard that a factory was going to be built, he thought about getting a job there. When he heard that there were job opportunities in Bombay, he decided to go there to look for a better job. He was always willing to learn more and even learnt how to mend watches from Mr Panwallah when he was at Bombay. Hari also had entrepreneurship and this could be seen when Hari planned to set up a poultry farm as well as a watch mending shop with the money he earned in Bombay.

Is progress necessarily benificial for society?

I feel that progress could be beneficial as well as harmful. In the novel, Village by the sea, the government decided to build large-scale fertiliser factories in the village of Thul. This would mean more job opportunities for the people and hence an increase in income level. People from other parts of the country would also be attracted to the region because of the job opportunities leading to an increase in population. Amenities such as schools, hospitals and other services would have to be built leading to an increase in the standard of living. However, such progress has its flip side. The fertiliser factories would cause serious pollution of the sea at Thul and fishermen would be deprived of their livelihoods as the marine life would be destroyed. Furthermore, pollution of the beautiful beach would deprive the local population of a major recreation area leading to a lower quality of life. Such progress may not result in equal opportunities as the boys in the village would not be able to get jobs because they are poorly educated and would lose out to educated people from the cities. The villagers would also lose out in terms of giving up their land to built the factories that would result in much discontent. I feel that progress in society is inevitable and is generally beneficial. On the other hand, I feel that such progress should be managed so that our environment is not damaged and there must be equal opportunities for all.

Sorry guys, these lots are not for you

This article appeared in the home page of the Straits Times on 30 March 2009.

It is about parking lots at shopping malls and hotels being reserved for ladies only. There are at least four commercial buildings with such parking lots. This include shopping malls such as Century Square in Tampines which has six lots reserved for ladies. This privilege comes along with facilities such as hotel-standard restrooms.

I suppose all these privileges are mainly to entice ladies who are avid shoppers to shop at these ladies-biased malls. Although it has been well-received by both females and males, I feel that parking lots should not be women-friendly but instead family-friendly. A family with young children needs these lots more than a lady does. Reserving lot for ladies are impractical because even on their heels, women still can sashay across the car park as comfortably as any other ordinary male.

To ensure the safety of all drivers, I feel that car parks should install CCTV cameras. In this way, lots would not be needed to be reserved anymore.

NTU death fall-Student ignored friends' message

This article was posted on the home page of the Straits Times on 5 March 2009.

It is about a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student called David Hartanto Widijaja, who slashed his professor and then commited suicide by jumping from a building. He was actually an ASEAN scholar whose scholarship has been terminated by the university because he has not been maintaning his grades. At the day or the incident, he was having a discussion with his final year project (FYP) supervisor, Prof Chan, when he carried out the attack.

I am deeply shocked that such an incident could happened in a Singapore university. It reminded me of the short story Adaline Ng Ai Choo in Ltiile Ironies. In this story a student also fell to her death when she was refused one mark by her teacher. Instead of opening up himself to his friends or teacher, he immersed himself in computer games to run away from his study problems. This has led to further deterioration in his studies and the breaking point when his FYP is due.

I suppose David was not in the proper state of mind where he is able to seek help. In this aspect, I feel that his friends or teachers should take a more proactive step by activating professional counsellors who are readily available in the university. His family members could be informed as family support is most important in such a situation.

An important lesson to all of us is to be very open about our problems and to seek help. Keeping problems to ourselves is mentally torturing. We must also be very proactive to lend a helping hand to friends in times of need.

Scaling one peak after another

This article appeared on the prime page in the Straits Times on 27 February 2009.

It is about a 38 year old woman called Miss Oh Siew May who is suffering from cerebral palsy. Unlike many others who are also suffering from the same disease, Miss Oh is still able to walk. Despite her disability, she chose not to wallow in self pity but to chase and live her dreams. In 2005, she succeed in scaling Mount Kinabalu in east Malaysia. Her friends also encouraged her to write a book about her life story and with their help she completed the book.

This is indeed a very inspiring article because even though she is disabled, she is able to do what many others are not able to do. It show that mental strength and self belief is very important in order for one to succeed in whatever one wants to do. This also shows that friend is very important as they will help you in times of need.

Another thing I admire about Miss Oh is that she is not afraid of being embarrassed and even published a book on her lifetime story. She is doing it so that others could benefit from her experience. I also learn the meaning of true friendship. Miss Oh succeeded because of her friends' help.

Another inspirational example is about a one arm female ballet dancer and a one leg male dancer dancing together. A youtube video is shown below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK29iPaQDbg

Malls keeps its I's on crimes

This article appeared on the Home page in the Straits Times on 2 March 2009.

This is an initiative called 'I3' which was started by the managements and tenants of Ang Mo Kio hub in conjunction with the police. It was set up because there had been many petty crimes which affected the tenants. The three I's stand for Information, Involvement and Institution. Under Information, security officers were given training last October on how to handle emergencies and prevent crimes. Under Involvement, the shop tenants built up ties with the police and Institution refers to the part played by shop tenants in putting what they learnt at the workshops into use. As a result, many shop tenants have taken the initiative to solve the problem.

I feel that there is a lot to learn from the proactive spirit of the management and shop tenants. They have taught us a valuable lesson that problems can be better solved through active participation and taking initiative instead of just relying on the police. I am sure that if they were to just make reports of the petty crimes, up till today and in the foreseeable future, this problem would not be solved.

This article has also taught us that everyone of us should exhibit active citizenry in preventing crime by reporting any crime or suspicious looking person to the police instead of inaction. If everyone were to do their part, then our society would be a much safer place to live in as it is impossible for the police to be everywhere.

Nuisance Callers dial up a 999 logjam

This article is published in the Straits Time dated 23 Feb 2009. It is about a problem faced by the police in handling 999 emergency calls. According to them 8 in 10 calls are nuisance and drop calls. For the other calls, they are trivial calls which include
1) complaints about noise pollution such as noisy neighbours and work sites during the night,
2) sighting of stray animals such as dogs snakes.
3) using 999 as round the clock information bureau.

Since this problem is causing a jam in handling 999 cases, I feel that the police should take action in solving this problem. Firstly, prank calls not only affects the police but also affects the public. For example, I myself have received prank SMSes before and this could be very irritating. I feel that the police should develop technology and track down these pranksters and punish them severely. This could also serve as a warning to potential pranksters.

"Trivial calls" can be very subjective. What is considered to be a trivial call to a policeman may not be one to the public. For example, when one sees a wild dog or snake he would naturally call the police but this may be considered as trivial to the police. If someone were to be disturbed when he is sleeping in the night, there would be no number to call except for 999 and this again would be considered trivial to the police. If someone needs to contact a ministry urgently, then again there would be no number to call except for 999. Therefore, I feel that the police should appreciate this problem and one possible solution is to create a non-emergency line such as "888". This should be followed up by public education in making non-emergency calls.