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.