TR EMERITUS

             Wake for late Mr JBJ will be held from tonight Tuesday 30 Sept 2008 at Mount Vernon Complex - Funeral Parlour One - off Upper Aljunied Road. (see map). For those brothers driving, exit by Braddell from CTE, turn right and drive straight and turn right into Upper Seranganoon Road. Turn left at the first junction into Upper Aljunied Road when you drive pass the Woodleigh MRT station. Funeral will be on Saturday 4.Oct.2008 from Mount Vernon to Mandai Crematorium at 3pm (1500hr). We will keep you up to date with any other changes. Please spread the message around.  Read More →

By Cheng Siew Peng China imports have hogged the headlines lately from tainted milk formula, candies, yoghurt bars, chocolates and now its women, not that it is the first time. A gruesome murder occured last Friday at Yishun involving China nationals residing in Singapore (read CNA report here). Three women, purportedly flat mates, were murdered in cold blood by a middle-aged China man. One whose body was found in a rubbish chute, was thrown down from the flat while the other two died from multiple stab wounds. The sole survivor is a 14 year old girl who is now fighting for her life in TTSH ICU. While the motives for the murder are unclear as of now, reports carried by the Chinese evening dailies Shin Ming and Wanbao revealed that the women are two Peidu Mamas and their daughters. Yang Jie, described as a "stunning beauty" by reporters,  apparently had 4 lovers in Singapore while her 2nd husband lives with the younger daughter in Dalian, China. The latest high-profile murder cases involving China women has again put the spotlight back on plight of Peidu mamas in Singapore, a term used to described single China women who come to Singapore to take care of their children who are studying here. A quick check on the ICA website show that it is relatively easy for Peidu Mamas to obtain a social pass to stay with their children in Singapore, the caveat being that they are not employable during their time in Singapore. They are required to renew their pass on a yearly basis, otherwise they can stay indefinitely here as long they do not break the laws of the land. This special provision for Peidu mamas is unique in the developed world. Foreign children studying here can be taken care of by a guardian. While the mother should be allowed frequent visits, there is really no need for them to stay in Singapore to accompany their children. Now, tell me how many women who have a happy family are willing to leave for another country with their children for a prolonged period of time without their husbands by their sides ? Needless to say, the majority of these Peidu mamas come from a complicated family background - either divorced, separated or estranged from their husbands in China. Have the ICA authorities ever considered how these Peidu mamas are going to support themselves and their children in Singapore whose cost of living is much higher than in China ? Unless they are already quite well-off in China, they are probably not going to survive here for long if they are unable to find any work. Being alone, vulnerable and penniless in a foreign country, a few of them turned to vice such as prostitution, KTV hostress and masseurs to earn a living while others prey on Singapore men to be become their mistresses or sex toys in return for financial support. Given the fact that long-term social passes are given almost indiscriminately to these Peidu mamas with little consideration for their social and family circumstances, it leaves one to wonder if this is an insidious "procreativity" policy introduced by the authorities concerned to boost Singapore's flagging birth rate, especially of the Chinese population. Nubile, fertile and hapless young mothers are an attractive and easy target for both horny single men, mostly blue collar workers who are unable to find a Singapore wife and dirty old men flushed with cash seeking fresh and exotic pleasures of the flesh which their greying wives are unable to provide. While we must admit that some of these "liaisons" did lead to the production of new recruits for our army in the future, there is a hidden unspoken social cost which most of us have heard of and yet seldom highlighted by the mainstream media. Being brought up in a highly materialistic, competitive and atheist society in China, many of these China women have no qualms trading their bodies in exchange for material wealth and possessions if solely out of maternal instinct to give their children a bright future. I would like to relate two cases in real life which has happened to somebody I know: 1. M is a very successful business woman who runs a fashion chain. She has been married for more than 20 years, but has no children. Her husband who works in the civil service, earn less than her. Being a career driven woman, M spends long hours at work in order to pay for the apartment, car and other household expenses. A few months ago, her husband started borrowing money from her to "invest" in stocks. Unwittingly, she lent him ten of thousands of dollars until she found out that he has been supporting a Peidu mama and her daughter behind her back. She was shocked, depressed and suicidal. However, she still wanted to salvage the marriage. Her husband filed for divorce, claiming that the China woman knows how to "please him better" in bed. 2. J is a retired dentist with 3 children who are married and living with their own families. His wife of 40 years is a homemaker. During a visit to a massage salon in Chinatown, he came to know this middle-aged Peidu mama whom he soon become bescotted with. Not surprisingly, he got into a rendezvous with her and began traveling with her frequently back to her hometown in China. A year into the affair, the Peidu mama requested for a loan of S$300,000 from J to build a "love-nest" in China for both of them to retire "happily" in. After J transferred the sum to her bank account in China, the woman vanished into thin air together with her child. Even her family in China had relocated en masse. I am pretty sure this represents only the tip of the iceberg and readers here will have many similar stories to share too. There has never been any proper study conducted to analyze the social impact of this unregulated influx of Peidu mamas into Singapore - the number of strayed husbands, estranged couples, and divorces which are caused directly or indirectly by them, not to mention the number of sleepless nights, broken hearts and lonely lives our poor Singapore women have to endure. Does the Singapore education system really need so many China students to boost their coffers ? And do these students need the constant presence of their mothers by their side in order to excel in their studies ? Will there be any supervision or guidance at all if their mothers are busy "earning" a living outside ? It is high time the relevant authorities review the positions of Peidu mamas in Singapore to assess their long-term impact and contributions if any, to both our society and economy.  Read More →

By Lim Yii Tong, Guest Columnist During our usual weekend get-together at my mother-in-law's place at Yong Peng (Malaysia), there will invariably be heated discussions on politics by relatives from both sides of the causeway. The usual Singaporean complaint about rising costs, ERPs and influx of foreigners seems more of a minor irritant than an important concern to the Malaysians. "At least your government functions" quipped Chin, my brother-in-law. "Over here, the politicians just talk, NATO only. They have been saying they will renovate the Chinese schools since the 1980s during every election, but once it is over, they disappear as well !" Another brother-in-law is trying to get his two kids enrol in a primary school in Singapore. "Never mind what school, as long it is in Singapore, it will surely be better here !", he acclaimed. I almost want to dissuade him from doing so as I am not keen for my kids to be educated in the Singapore school system. I am a true blue Singaporean, born here, receive my education from primary to university level here, serve national service, work, married and settled down here in the land of my birth. I am in my mid 30s, have 2 wonderful kids (a third one coming in December), earn a comfortable working as a system engineer in an IT consultancy film and lives in a private apartment still being paid for by my CPF - a typical middle class Singaporean. Yet, I still do not feel satisfied or secure about my present life. Will I be able to maintain the same standard of living and qualify of life in the future ? The Singapore I live in now is so different from the Singapore I grew up in. I received my primary education at a neighborhood school in Toa Payoh, right in the middle of the HDB heartland. I had fond memories of the time I spent playing hip-hop, "tor ka" (one-legged catch up), "gor li" (marble), ti-kam and catching frogs and spiders with my friends from all races. There were few foreigners then and life is so much simpler. Now, I see mainland Chinese and Indians almost everywhere speaking in their native tongues with an unmistakable foreign accent. My company just employed two Chinese IT engineers. My boss likes them - they are "cheap", good, doesn't complain as much as Singaporeans and more importantly, they do not need to serve reservist ! I can understand the need for us to import more foreigners in to keep Singapore competitive, but not at the expense of citizens who are born and bred here. It is true that we are a land of immigrants. However, we are the descendents of immigrants who have made Singapore our home compared to those foreigners who just come here and make a living. During the last economic downturn, a few of my seniors were retrenched with little or no compensation. Their places were replaced by foreigners. I shudder at the thought whether I will end up like them in the future. Why not ? After all, it does make economic sense for the company to recruit a foreign Masters graduate with less pay than a local one. How am I going to start afresh at the age of 40 ? Who is going to employ me ? Can I support my family ? There is a new security guard in my office building in his mid-50s. He used to be a Warrant Officer in the SAF. Asked why he has taken up this job, he readily admits given a choice, he rather retire and look after his grandchildren, but at his age, he still have to earn a living to support himself as his children are all tied up with their own families. "The government wants us to work till the age of 85 and now wants us to buy what 'death insurance' (annuity) ! Who will know when we will kick the bucket !" he laments. When will I ever see my CPF monies ? Do I have to wait till I am 85,  frail, sick and dying before I can "enjoy" the fruits of my years of hard labor? My eldest boy is 3 years old currently under the care of my parents. I am still pondering whether to send him to a special school for pre-schoolers where they are given "special" education to give them a headstart to life.  My neighbour's child is in such a school. During the weekend, she has to attend "special" arithmetic, piano and ballet classes. A few weeks ago, there is a furore in the papers over the number of Singaporeans who have to pursue their tertiary education overseas because they are not "good" enough for local universities. At a cousin's convocation at NTU 2 months ago, almost half the cohort of graduates are foreigners. Do I really want to send my children to a tough, rigorous and in a way merciless education system where they will be under tremendous stress to perform and excel ? What if they are unable to pursue their interests in life here or their grades are not good enough to qualify for a local university ? Do I have the means to send them overseas for their tertiary education ? My wife has been persuading me to emigrate to Australia. Her parents are living in Melbourne and apparently according to her, are enjoying the best years of their lives there. "They don't have to work at all, healthcare is free and the state government even pays them a monthly stipend ! Now every weekend, they just travel around in the countryside, you know Australia is so huge !", she will whisper repeatedly like a tape recorder into my ears every night before we sleep. "But the aussie taxes are high too !" I retort. "Yeah, but that is the price to pay for security, my dear, security for the future. And the kids, their education is completely free too, we do not have to worry about anything !" Is the grass really greener on the other side ? I keep asking myself. Life is not too bad for me now. To the Malaysians, Singapore is like a paradise. Why should I forsake my land of birth which has nurtured me all these years ? Though I have occasional grouses against the government, I must admit that the PAP is a good government which truly take care of its people and have the foresight to plan far ahead into the future when politicians in a neighboring country are still squabbling over who to become the Prime Minister. We Singaporeans do not realize how fortunate we are to have everything running so smoothly in the country. While I do not doubt the capability of the government, I have little affliation or feelings for them. I cannot claim I support or love them. The only time I hear about our leaders is from the media when they will exhort Singaporeans to do this or that.   I have never voted in my entire life. I do not know which constituency I am in. I can't even recognize my MPs if I were to meet them down the street. Yet I was told again and again during every election that I gave them the "mandate" to govern my life when I was never given a choice to choose ! Can anybody tell me what is being debated now in Parliament ? Does it matter at all ? Are my opinions ever sought out by the lawmakers ? There was a report lately that Singapore has the 2nd highest migration rate (26 per 1,000) in the world after Timor Leste (51 per 1,000). The government doesn't seem to understand why Singaporeans are leaving in droves. From their speeches, it is obvious they have lost touch completely with the ordinary people on the ground. When they keep urging Singaporeans to continue working for as long as they can, they fail to realize that a majority of us just want to retire and enjoy life in our golden years. They harp on how far Singapore has progressed in terms of facts and figures to convince us that Singapore is the place to be - we have the 2nd highest GDP in Asia after Japan, the most business-friendly country, the best judiciary after Hong Kong etc, but these mean little to me and far less to those old folks you encounter picking card boards and cans from the rubbish heap for a living. The government cannot blame Singaporeans for being self-centred, unpatriotic and selfish. Human nature is such that we always want the best for ourselves and our familes. Though we live for the 5Cs, we are in fact suckers for 3 simple Ss - serenity, stability and security. A future with little security is a major push factor for many Singaporeans. To those ministers, MPs and top civil servants who are earning an astronomical five to six-figure monthly salary and guaranteed a pension for life upon retirement, it may be too much to ask of them to understand what "security" means for a Singaporean bringing home only a few thousand dollars at the end of the month. During my NS days, I was a guards officer. I still feel proud of my guards tag on my No 4 when I go for my reservist training. However, I do not feel my contributions to the nation all these years are recognized at the place where I work. My boss treasures the PRC engineers more because in a way, they are "better qualified" than the locals. After all, Singapore is a meritocracy, it doesn't matter whether you are a citizen or not, the system rewards those who perform best though these high-flyers may only be making use of Singapore as a transit point to greener pastures. A PRC colleague of mine has got a job in Perth. He just received Singaporean his citizenship last year and now he is making preparations to relocate his entire family to Australia. We got along together quite well. Unlike other foreigners who keep to their own cliques, he mingles around with the locals and appears to be well integrated into our society. Why does he want to leave Singapore after barely settling down here ? "Well, the truth is, Singapore is only a spring board for me. I never want to live here. It's not too bad a place, but it is too small for me." he volunteers readily when asked. "Why not you come over to Australia too ? The grass is definitely greener over there." Tell me, is this really true ?  Read More →