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.