What are the people doing?

          More than hundreds of visitors swamped the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station on its last day of operations. They are standing shoulder to shoulder on the platform of the station. The visitors consist mostly shutterbugs who are holding either compact camera or Digital Single-lensed Reflection camera. They are well-prepared to snap the last memories of the train. They hold their hands high to get the perfect shot.

          The train which travelled between Singapore and Malaysia is soon to be a history. The seventy-nine-years old train is old and rusty. The station as well is old. The signboard in the station is printed in Malay, which mean café and the washroom.

          A small Malay boy at the middle of the picture who is wearing a yellow shirt and a pair of jeans most probably followed his mother to the place. The lady who is wearing yellow Baju Kebaya is his mother. The Malay boy must be thinking, “Why are so many people including mother taking picture of this old train? I don’t find it attractive at all. Does it mean something to them?” The malay boy is curious about the train. His mother who brought her son along must be elated but sad at the same time. She is able to send off the train for its last operation but yes, it is going to be the last one!

          Before this event, the newspaper and other Medias are reporting news about the terminating of operation. Therefore, it attracts a lot of visitors. This is definitely a candid shot. The photographer uses a different angle, not to only take the train, but other people taking the train to make this photo more memorable. After looking at the last sight of the train, all the visitors left happily and are eager to share their photos with their loved one.

September - Singapore XXX

2011 is an important year and is very different for me. I moved to Singapore from Malaysia! Fortunately, I do not have really big problems with it. I find myself comfortable staying here. Perhaps, it is because the culture, people and language in Singapore are very close to Malaysia. In Malaysia, some of us speak Malish, something similar to Singlish.

          I think I am easy going and talkative. I get along well with all my friends. They are very friendly. Some of them knew that I am new to the environment so they talk to me and offer me to join them for recess. The main reason I came to Singapore is the better educational system. At first, I thought that I will struggle but luckily I managed to keep up with my studies. Thanks to all the kind and dedicated teachers!

          I love to live in Singapore. Everywhere is accessible to me as there are buses and MRTs. It is safe here, so I can stay out until late night. I am proud to be a Malaysian. I am proud that I lived in Singapore. SO, stop asking me if I prefer Malaysia or Singapore. BOTH. Both of them are my homes that I love very much. I would not consider living and working in any other country except for Malaysia and Singapore. I am simply too used to them and love them.

          My plan is to complete my university overseas, perhaps in United Kingdom or United State. After that, I will live and work in Singapore until I reach the age to retire. At the end stage of my life, I would prefer to stay in Malaysia. After all, there is where I was born.

Racial Harmony

In Singapore, people from different ethnic background and religious groups live peacefully together. It is very common to see people who are from different races hanging out together. I do enjoy living in this country. We can have greater exposure to different races of people, and we will be more knowledgeable.  

There are four main races in Singapore, namely Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian. We are in the same piece of land, and striving for the same aim. However, there are still people who are ignorant of each other's customs and cultures. In order to create a sense of oneness and to promote integration, there must be a willingness to learn, understand and have mutual respect for one another's culture and customs.

There is a good way to understand more about different races. On 21 July each year, schools in Singapore commemorate Racial Harmony Day. Students celebrate Singapore as a harmonious society built on a rich diversity of cultures. In fact, this is my first year taking part in Racial Harmony Day! I was excited and could not wait for that day.

Majority of my classmates wore ethnic costumes on that day. Mainly, we followed the rule that if you are a Chinese, you do not wear Chinese ethnic costume but other races’. We looked gorgeous in the costumes. I lent a Punjabi suit from one of my best friends who is an Indian, Bhairavi. During recess, we had the chance to expose to the languages, culture and traditional game of all the main races. 

We enjoyed our day and hoped to have more events like this. Only if the four races are united, we can make Singapore prosperous.

Poem sharing :

Chinese, Indian, Malay, Eurasian

Skin colour not very important

They are all of different race

But they can live in the same place

Making friends is the key

To becoming a racial harmony community

As long as we understand each other’s culture

There is no reason for getting into a lecture

As long as we stand hand in hand

Racial Harmony will be in our land

Which is what makes us unique

And strong, definitely not weak

Which candidate would you have voted for the presidential election 2011?

Perhaps, 2011 is the watershed year for Singapore, after the exciting General Election, here comes a four tans presidential election by the candidacy of four people, all surnamed Tan, who are Tan Kin Lian, Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock and Tan Jee Say. Ex- President S.R. Nathan had been undertaking indefinitely the heavy responsibilities and physical demands of the position of Head of State for 12 years. The 86 years old ex-president cited age as the main reason and stepped down as President of Singapore. President Nathan was first elected unopposed in 1999 and became the sixth president of Singapore. In 2005, he was re-elected, again unopposed. I would want a president at the end of the day to feel morally empowered, and has the gumption and courage and conviction to speak up for the people. Therefore, the pair of glasses which Dr Tony Tan wears has my vote.

Firstly, the main reason I would vote for Dr Tony Tan is his experiences and knowledge in different sectors. A wise, experienced and steady president is needed to help Singapore get through the economical and the other difficulties now. As an example, he has experiences in helming five ministries, including education and defence, and private sector organisation such as OCBC bank and Singapore press holding. This background enables him to share views, insights and make suggestion to the prime minister and the cabinet minister so that they will make better decision. The challenges Singapore is facing in this global economic uncertainty are clear. For this reason, I would believe his financial capabilities and experiences to make contribution.

          Secondly, Dr Tony Tan has the right temperament to be a good president. He is always steady and clear thinking. The mathematician in him will work things out. His solutions were always thorough and imaginative. Most importantly, Dr Tan has the clarity of visions towards things and the quiet confidence to make the right decisions for Singapore. One of his far-sighted decisions is he helped to formalise defence and intelligence agreements with several countries, including Australia, France, Indonesia, South Africa and the United States while he was the Defence Minister. He spearheaded the Singapore Armed Forces modernisation that greatly increased the fighting capabilities of the SAF. Thus, the leadership characteristics win my support.

Lastly, the reason is his relationship with the government. He has a good relationship with the government as he used to be part of the cabinet which enables him to work with the government to the fullest to serve us. People may think that he is not neutral as he is too close with the People’s Action Party. It is not true. He does have an independence of mind; he opposed to the formation of the "integrated resorts" with their attached casinos and debated with the government. Therefore, I would trust a potential president who has the ability to cooperate with the government effectively.

The general youngster in Singapore think that the role of a president in Singapore is enjoying in the luxury palace, and wave his hand once a year during national day and receive the highest paid of president in the World which in amount of $4,267,500.  No! First thing first, anyone who wishes to run in the elections to be the President of Singapore will need to meet very strict requirements specified in the Singapore Constitution. Safeguarding Singapore’s massive wealth with his power to block attempts by the current government to use past reserves that it did not saved is one of his main role. In a nutshell, the President hold important role in Singapore as he has important custodial, diplomatic, ceremonial and community responsibilities

I like his glasses :D

Picture Discussions 1

What are the people doing?

          The people are attending a second hand textbooks sale. We can see it from the books which are not in the best condition. The customers are mostly middle aged women, buying textbook for their child. The sale is seemed to hold in morning under a HBD flat. They are probably financial needy and are not able afford new textbooks. The books are laid untidily on the table and in the boxes. After choosing the books, the customers did not put them properly back to their original positions. The untidiness may cause inconvenience for the customer. The alternative is to tidy up the places after certain timing, such as once an hour. The organizer should also encourage the customers to place the books tidily after taking a look.

          On the right side of the table, there is a lady who is in black singlet. She is already holding several books. She is attentively and carefully choosing more books. She thinks, “There are so many books. The books are all at discounted price which can help me to save money. Which books should I buy? I still need to use my money wisely.” She must be very grateful towards the donators who have hearts of gold and appreciate she is able to buy used textbooks for her child to continue his study.

          School year is exciting, but it can be expensive. In a poor economy, many students are feeling the crunch with all the textbooks often costing more than $100. After the sales, the low-income families can have the textbooks without paying much money. The activity is a success as there is a large crowd. The organizer must have made advertisement like pasting posters in the HDB flats and notice the needy residents. After this meaningful event, the customers went back home satisfied with handful of books. The left books will be sold again for the next sale.



I can make a difference !

There is no doubt that water is important, not only for we humans, but every living thing needs it to live. Water is essential for all dimensions of life! However, over the past few decades, requirement of water has increased, and in many places, water availability is falling to crisis levels. More than eighty countries, with 40% of the world’s population, are already facing water shortages. The costs of water infrastructure have risen dramatically. The quality of water in rivers and underground has deteriorated, due to pollution by waste and contaminants from cities, industry and agriculture. It is pretty clear to us that we have to do our part to conserve water.

Here are some of my personal tips to conserve water and you can save money during the end of month on the water bill. I will never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it. As an example, the water you use to wash the rice before cooking can be used to water the plants or clean the toilet. You can even pad the water on your face like a toner. Therefore, we can save water by reusing it.

People tend to bathe for 30 minutes or even more than that especially the female. They like to relax in the bathroom and stay under the running cold water if the weather is boiling hot or the warm water if the weather is freezing cool. You can make the situation better by taking shorter showers. A good way to relax is to soak yourself in a bathtub which fills only 1/3 full, but not the whole tub.

You may ask, what is the government doing to conserve water? The Ministry of Environment is concerned about this matter as well and the officers are showing good roles model in Singapore. They use modern machines to clean up polluted rivers. They should do it in such a way that the public is not disturbed.  After that, the water in the rivers can be drank and used. Besides, I would like to suggest to government that ‘Save Water Campaigns’ should be organized more often to remind the public of the need to save water. The educators should also instill this good habit in young children.

When there is a reliable source of abundant water, a better life will come. You may think that water is basic necessities. What is it so special? People from remote community really need them. Water does make life better. Water is an essential luxury in lucky countries. Water is used by the home designers to create nice effects in and painters need water to carry out their job. Again, Water does make life better.

We never know the worth of water until the well is dry. This is true, isn’t it? Try to imagine our life without water. We are not even able to carry out basic routine! Save water…It doesn’t grow on trees.

PERSEVERANCE, is the way!

“No! I’m not going to give up! I’ll strive to the end no matter what!” I said to myself with a strong will in me, although I was exhausted and my sweat was constantly stinging my eyes.

I joined Outward Bound School in Malaysia last year when I was thirteen years old. It is a school cum camp, which provides outdoor education and adventure learning programmes to help people realise their full potential and train their physical abilities. There are many facilities such as wall climbing, rock climbing, and repelling.

“Girls and boys take all your back packs and run to the rock-climbing site, NOW! As the usual rule, the last five people will receive punishment!” Our instructor, Mr Wilson shouted and everyone started to run to the site with steady pace.

I was one of them. My stamina was never good. On the way to the site, I was so tired and my friends gradually became very far from my sight. I thought of giving up. I was becoming slower and slower. However, when I thought of the punishment that would be given, I willed myself and started to sprint for last few kilometres.

Although I was tired and my legs were no longer energetic, still, I ran with high speed to make sure I was not the last five. In the end, instead of getting the last five, I was in the average group! I was over the moon.

        After that, when I was doing rock climbing, I had no energy to climb upward the three metres vertical rocks. My hands were rubbed against the rough rocks. It hurt! Again, I wanted to give up. This time, Daryl, my friend who had already reached the top, encouraged me to climb further. I listened to him and used the little energy I left to complete the rock climbing!

        To serve, to strive but not to yield, is the motto of Outward Bound School. It is a lesson for me. I understand the road to success is filled with obstacles. To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must learn, and to learn you must first fail!