Why she quit
Weekend • April 18, 2009
Ms Claire Nazar told Today, it became clear after the exco’s first meeting that they “were not going to follow my direction”. “The exco and I didn’t see eye to eye. It was unfortunate. It was pointless for me to carry on as I didn’t want to waste time in politicking.”
For instance, she wanted the current sub-committee chairs to retain their posts; the others felt differently. And, when she wanted to release a statement saying she would focus on working mothers during her one-year term, the exco “wanted to deliberate another week”.
Ms Nazar said she wished Ms Josie Lau all the best and remains an Aware member.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27340.6
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Values coached at Anglican Church of Our Saviour
Values coached at Anglican Church of Our Saviour
Quoting the
resource on Anglican Church of Our Saviour at Margaret Drive :
Under “Take
first the family”
“The husband is the head, and
as such has to act as God’s vice-regent, to govern not according to his, but
according to the divine will.”
“The wife is in subjection to her
husband, even as the Church is subject to Christ,…”
“Divine order is an order of authority and
responsibility that is spelled out in the Bible
1. Head of every man is Christ
2. Head of every woman is the man
3. … “
Under “God’s Order for Wives”
“Regardless of what we think, God has declared
to us that His will for a young woman is to do four things:
1. marry
2. bear children
3. guide the house
4. not be a reproach to her husband”
…
“A wife’s primary responsibility is to
give of herself her time, and her energy to her husband, children, and home.”
Perhaps, we now have a good idea of what may be implemented by the new
AWARE team, who attend Anglican Church of Our Saviour, which subscribed to the
above values.
Let’s repeat after me…. “a young woman is to do four things: (1) marry (2)
bear children (3) guide the house (4) not be a reproach to her husband”
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27361.1
1 clash settled, 1 heats up
1 clash settled, 1 heats up
Job safe, but future of Aware chief will be known on May 2
Weekend • April 18, 2009
Alicia Wong and Loh Chee Kong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg
MS JOSIE Lau’s fate as a vice-president at DBS Bank appears settled for now, after a lengthy meeting with her employer on Friday night — but the future of the Association of Women for Action and Research’s (Aware) new president, and her executive committee, will yet be determined on May 2.
The date for an extraordinary general meeting of the women’s advocacy group has finally been set to address the rift between the old guard and the new leadership.
This came even as Ms Lau and her employer were locked in a meeting on Friday from 5pm to past 9pm, to settle their own differences after DBS had publicly rebuked her for going against its wishes to take up the top Aware post.
As of press time, both parties were tight-lipped on the discussions — but Aware vice-president Charlotte Lim told Today that Ms Lau,who heads DBS’ consumer banking group cards and unsecured loans division, had said the situation with her employers was “business as usual”.
The pair met up with some exco members for last-minute drinks at about 10pm, and those present said Ms Lau was “cheerful and relieved” after her meeting.
She was also touched by the “outpouring of support and the well-wishes from colleagues and members of the public”, said Ms Lim.“People were giving her the thumbs-up all the time. So that encouraged her a lot.”
While Ms Lau and DBS appear to have come to an understanding for now, this was far from the case with the opposing groups in Aware, who locked horns in a strong exchange of words on Friday.
It started with a press statement fromMs Lau on behalf of the exco at 1.30pm, asking “why have some people cast aspersions on our good intentions?” Turning the tables on Aware’s long-time members, she asked if “the old guard harbour an alternative agenda”.
“If so, they should disclose their motives and objectives fully and honestly,” she said, noting that 120 of the 160 signatories to a requisition for an EGM seemed to have been recruited very recently “to swell support for the requisition”.
The new exco itself had been the target of similar allegations, after nine new faces were voted to the 12-member committee at the March 28 annual general meeting.
In a retort sent to the media at about 7.40pm, the old guard said they were “astonished”. “Our motives and objectives have been fully visible for nearly 25 years in (Aware’s) policies and programmes,” they said in the statement. “What do you (the new exco) want to do in Aware that is fundamentally different from what was already being done? ... Why the need to muscle your way into the exco? Such tactics suggest a hidden agenda that may be contrary to the stance and ethos of Aware.”
In her statement, Ms Lau sought to clarify events during the controversial March 28 election. Since the AGM, a point of distress among the older members has been that nine of the exco positions were filled by new faces.
But Ms Lau noted that Ms Claire Nazar, who had been nominated by outgoing president Constance Singam as her successor, had in turn nominated — with the old guard’s support — six of the 11 members who now make up the exco. When contacted, Ms Nazar told Today the six included two older members and Ms Lau.
The new team’s two-week silence on their intentions also worried the old guard.
Ms Lau explained, “the new exco members were eager to start work” but Mrs Nazar “kept re-scheduling” their first meeting. Then, one day after they finally met on April 7, Ms Nazar “abruptly and unilaterally resigned by email”.
Since Aware’s constitution required seven days’ notice to call exco meetings, the committee met on April 15 and issued a statement straight after, said Ms Lau, who was disappointed that the call for the EGM was issued a day earlier.
The old guard, however, have their own beef with recent events. For instance, past Aware president Braema Mathi had her term ended as chair of the subcommittee on the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. She told Today she was “unceremoniously dumped” without reason given.
In the statement, the older members also “noted with alarm” how Ms Lau had disregarded the DBS staff code twice, and drew attention to reports that her division was reportedly in charge of recommending a charity for DBS to support late last year — which was the “evangelical Christian organisation Focus on the Family”.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27547.1
Job safe, but future of Aware chief will be known on May 2
Weekend • April 18, 2009
Alicia Wong and Loh Chee Kong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg
MS JOSIE Lau’s fate as a vice-president at DBS Bank appears settled for now, after a lengthy meeting with her employer on Friday night — but the future of the Association of Women for Action and Research’s (Aware) new president, and her executive committee, will yet be determined on May 2.
The date for an extraordinary general meeting of the women’s advocacy group has finally been set to address the rift between the old guard and the new leadership.
This came even as Ms Lau and her employer were locked in a meeting on Friday from 5pm to past 9pm, to settle their own differences after DBS had publicly rebuked her for going against its wishes to take up the top Aware post.
As of press time, both parties were tight-lipped on the discussions — but Aware vice-president Charlotte Lim told Today that Ms Lau,who heads DBS’ consumer banking group cards and unsecured loans division, had said the situation with her employers was “business as usual”.
The pair met up with some exco members for last-minute drinks at about 10pm, and those present said Ms Lau was “cheerful and relieved” after her meeting.
She was also touched by the “outpouring of support and the well-wishes from colleagues and members of the public”, said Ms Lim.“People were giving her the thumbs-up all the time. So that encouraged her a lot.”
While Ms Lau and DBS appear to have come to an understanding for now, this was far from the case with the opposing groups in Aware, who locked horns in a strong exchange of words on Friday.
It started with a press statement fromMs Lau on behalf of the exco at 1.30pm, asking “why have some people cast aspersions on our good intentions?” Turning the tables on Aware’s long-time members, she asked if “the old guard harbour an alternative agenda”.
“If so, they should disclose their motives and objectives fully and honestly,” she said, noting that 120 of the 160 signatories to a requisition for an EGM seemed to have been recruited very recently “to swell support for the requisition”.
The new exco itself had been the target of similar allegations, after nine new faces were voted to the 12-member committee at the March 28 annual general meeting.
In a retort sent to the media at about 7.40pm, the old guard said they were “astonished”. “Our motives and objectives have been fully visible for nearly 25 years in (Aware’s) policies and programmes,” they said in the statement. “What do you (the new exco) want to do in Aware that is fundamentally different from what was already being done? ... Why the need to muscle your way into the exco? Such tactics suggest a hidden agenda that may be contrary to the stance and ethos of Aware.”
In her statement, Ms Lau sought to clarify events during the controversial March 28 election. Since the AGM, a point of distress among the older members has been that nine of the exco positions were filled by new faces.
But Ms Lau noted that Ms Claire Nazar, who had been nominated by outgoing president Constance Singam as her successor, had in turn nominated — with the old guard’s support — six of the 11 members who now make up the exco. When contacted, Ms Nazar told Today the six included two older members and Ms Lau.
The new team’s two-week silence on their intentions also worried the old guard.
Ms Lau explained, “the new exco members were eager to start work” but Mrs Nazar “kept re-scheduling” their first meeting. Then, one day after they finally met on April 7, Ms Nazar “abruptly and unilaterally resigned by email”.
Since Aware’s constitution required seven days’ notice to call exco meetings, the committee met on April 15 and issued a statement straight after, said Ms Lau, who was disappointed that the call for the EGM was issued a day earlier.
The old guard, however, have their own beef with recent events. For instance, past Aware president Braema Mathi had her term ended as chair of the subcommittee on the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. She told Today she was “unceremoniously dumped” without reason given.
In the statement, the older members also “noted with alarm” how Ms Lau had disregarded the DBS staff code twice, and drew attention to reports that her division was reportedly in charge of recommending a charity for DBS to support late last year — which was the “evangelical Christian organisation Focus on the Family”.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27547.1
Profiteering or justified? What is HDB’s stand?
Profiteering or justified? What is HDB’s stand?
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Ash Tong
As the recession might be hitting Singapore hard, I hope that the HDB will be transparent with how their market pricing model works.
I refer to the 4 room flats in Treetops@punggol project as an example. Treetop@punggol was released April 2008 and the indicative price range for a 4-room flat then was $208,000 to $254,000.
In the October 2008 half annual sale, the price range for Treetops was then listed between $235,000 -$309,000.
In The Half Annual Sale in April 2009, the same development is being sold between $276,000 and $298,000.
The difference translates to at least a 15% price increase. No amenities have been built nearby yet. Neither are there any differences from the master plan for Punggol 21.
I do understand that HDB now prices their flats by market value. Can HDB please address and justify that the market value in the vicinity has risen since April 2008?
The same reasoning should also apply to the higher prices in Punggol Acardia and Sapphire in relation to Treetops. These projects were all released within a year of each other.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27283.1
Bloggers, moderators can help ease public fears in crises
Bloggers, moderators can help ease public fears in crises
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 18 April 2009 1714 hrs
 | ||||||
 A person surfing the Internet. (file pic) | ||||||
| |
SINGAPORE: The Internet has made possible the rapid spread of fear in a crisis, said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng.
But he said bloggers and website moderators can help ease public concerns should a terrorist attack occur.
Radio deejays, too, have a role to play as they are the public's first source of information, comfort and advice in uncertain times.
Since October 2007, 75 of them have visited the Home Team Academy and the Civil Defence Academy to get an understanding of emergency preparedness and counter-terrorism activities.
On the ground, Mr Wong said grassroots networks are also important. Their roles include ensuring adequate emergency response plans within each constituency and training community leaders to cope with crises.
Terrorist experts have spoken of the need to engage youths to avoid the spread of radical ideas. Over the past year, special efforts have been made in Singapore to facilitate this through school camps, ambassador programmes and a student journalist club.
Mr Wong said: "We will not know for certain if all that we have done or are doing will work in a real crisis. We may well fail.
"But we must do our best to work out practical response plans and exercise them in a realistic way with the players who will be the mobilisers and participants in a real situation. If we do not, we will fail."
- CNA/so
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27282.1
A critical view of MP Ms Irene Ng’s advice
A critical view of MP Ms Irene Ng’s advice
SINGAPORE - In an article published April 14th in The New Paper, MP Miss Irene Ng exhorted broke professionals out there who dreamt of writing a book to transform it into a reality. Miss Ng cited the success story of JK Rowling, then a single, struggling mother who finished her first novel when she was out of a job. The rest, they say is the stuff of legends.
Thus, the article’s title says it all:”During hard times, write”. I find there is nothing wrong with that advice because I believe in the freedom of creative expression. In fact, creative expression shouldn’t be limited to writing books alone. One can set up a web publication site like this one for instance. Even I write too, but that is for hobby purposes rather than a source of income.
There is no doubt that Miss Ng is trying to give her two cents worth in suggesting to Singaporeans a particular way of coping with the hard times. Given her background as a writer, I wasn’t surprised at her suggestion. While she has genuinely good intentions behind her suggestion, I find it lacking in substance.
From a pragmatic standpoint, a jobless professional would prefer to work in temporary positions for the short-term as opposed to writing a book. If the latter’s long-term goal is to land another permanent job, working in temporary positions would make more sense. A prospective employee who has proven his analytical and management skills in addition to an ability to integrate into a team in the temporary positions he has held would be more attractive in the eyes of an employer than someone who merely spent his days of unemployment writing a book. The employer would be more confident of the former who has demonstrated transferable skills in his temporary positions.
The obvious advantage of working in temporary positions is that the employee is at least guaranteed a source of income. The writer does not have any source of income whilst working on his manuscripts. His income will only come in after his published works hit the market. And for that to happen, he has to find a publisher in the first place. Another barrier to overcome is the public’s reception to the book, i.e. whether the book can sell.
What Miss Ng had also left out was elaborate details regarding publishing practices which may be informative to any budding writers out there. Any written work initially begins with the conceptualization phase. This may involve the author alone, or in certain cases, the editors at the publishers’ end might play a part too. The next stage would be the writing phase. This part can be very intensive and time-consuming, as the writers are required to research for relevant information and write their manuscripts at the same time.
What many budding writers take for granted is the role of the editors during the authoring phase. Good editors are able to come up with positive suggestions on how to better improve the manuscript so that the final written work will appeal to the general audience. Of course, there are editors who go on an overkill, chopping and changing large chunks of a writer’s work until the whole piece becomes unfamiliar to the latter. Most of the time, this will not go down well among the writers especially if the modified piece is a huge deviation away from the latter’s original contribution. Needless to say, the good editors are the ones who are able to exercise a fine balance between modifying the writer’s work and preserving the original contribution. It’s an editorial art to modify a piece of written work to appeal to the audience whilst preserving the original contribution by the writer. The role of an editor is under-estimated, but the latter can make a difference between the success or failure of a book.
It is a common publishing practice for writers to be issued what is known as “false deadlines” by their publishers. The “false deadline” is usually on an earlier date before the actual deadline. The main worry about “false dealines” is that writers have less time to write or correct the manuscripts. Less allocated time to work on the manuscripts will generally have negative effects on their quality. Thus, the onus is on the writers to negotiate with the publishers a series of deadlines that will not compromise the quality of the manuscripts.
Last, but not least, is a matter of paramount concern to the writer - renumeration. Writers are usually paid by royalties from the sales of their books. And this will only happen after their books have hit the market. Thus, before a budding writer decides to work on a book, he would have to keep careful track of his personal finances. He has to ensure that he has enough to sustain himself and his family during the time he is working on the book up till the day when it is finally released in the market.
Whilst it is good to encourage budding writers out there to fulfill their dreams of publishing their own books in the name of promoting freedom of creative expression, the latter should also be armed with detailed knowledge of the venture he is about to undertake.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27281.1
SINGAPORE - In an article published April 14th in The New Paper, MP Miss Irene Ng exhorted broke professionals out there who dreamt of writing a book to transform it into a reality. Miss Ng cited the success story of JK Rowling, then a single, struggling mother who finished her first novel when she was out of a job. The rest, they say is the stuff of legends.
Thus, the article’s title says it all:”During hard times, write”. I find there is nothing wrong with that advice because I believe in the freedom of creative expression. In fact, creative expression shouldn’t be limited to writing books alone. One can set up a web publication site like this one for instance. Even I write too, but that is for hobby purposes rather than a source of income.
There is no doubt that Miss Ng is trying to give her two cents worth in suggesting to Singaporeans a particular way of coping with the hard times. Given her background as a writer, I wasn’t surprised at her suggestion. While she has genuinely good intentions behind her suggestion, I find it lacking in substance.
From a pragmatic standpoint, a jobless professional would prefer to work in temporary positions for the short-term as opposed to writing a book. If the latter’s long-term goal is to land another permanent job, working in temporary positions would make more sense. A prospective employee who has proven his analytical and management skills in addition to an ability to integrate into a team in the temporary positions he has held would be more attractive in the eyes of an employer than someone who merely spent his days of unemployment writing a book. The employer would be more confident of the former who has demonstrated transferable skills in his temporary positions.
The obvious advantage of working in temporary positions is that the employee is at least guaranteed a source of income. The writer does not have any source of income whilst working on his manuscripts. His income will only come in after his published works hit the market. And for that to happen, he has to find a publisher in the first place. Another barrier to overcome is the public’s reception to the book, i.e. whether the book can sell.
What Miss Ng had also left out was elaborate details regarding publishing practices which may be informative to any budding writers out there. Any written work initially begins with the conceptualization phase. This may involve the author alone, or in certain cases, the editors at the publishers’ end might play a part too. The next stage would be the writing phase. This part can be very intensive and time-consuming, as the writers are required to research for relevant information and write their manuscripts at the same time.
What many budding writers take for granted is the role of the editors during the authoring phase. Good editors are able to come up with positive suggestions on how to better improve the manuscript so that the final written work will appeal to the general audience. Of course, there are editors who go on an overkill, chopping and changing large chunks of a writer’s work until the whole piece becomes unfamiliar to the latter. Most of the time, this will not go down well among the writers especially if the modified piece is a huge deviation away from the latter’s original contribution. Needless to say, the good editors are the ones who are able to exercise a fine balance between modifying the writer’s work and preserving the original contribution. It’s an editorial art to modify a piece of written work to appeal to the audience whilst preserving the original contribution by the writer. The role of an editor is under-estimated, but the latter can make a difference between the success or failure of a book.
It is a common publishing practice for writers to be issued what is known as “false deadlines” by their publishers. The “false deadline” is usually on an earlier date before the actual deadline. The main worry about “false dealines” is that writers have less time to write or correct the manuscripts. Less allocated time to work on the manuscripts will generally have negative effects on their quality. Thus, the onus is on the writers to negotiate with the publishers a series of deadlines that will not compromise the quality of the manuscripts.
Last, but not least, is a matter of paramount concern to the writer - renumeration. Writers are usually paid by royalties from the sales of their books. And this will only happen after their books have hit the market. Thus, before a budding writer decides to work on a book, he would have to keep careful track of his personal finances. He has to ensure that he has enough to sustain himself and his family during the time he is working on the book up till the day when it is finally released in the market.
Whilst it is good to encourage budding writers out there to fulfill their dreams of publishing their own books in the name of promoting freedom of creative expression, the latter should also be armed with detailed knowledge of the venture he is about to undertake.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=27281.1
Operation Leper
Operation Leper
With the outrageously illiberal, undemocratic, and unprincipled takeover of AWARE, the NGO is now headed by a group whose behaviour and modus operandi runs counter to the principles of civil society. No serious operator in Singapore civil society will see AWARE under its new, mysterious, unknown, sneakily-elected through a hostile takeover leadership, as part of civil society.
We do not know - though some are making the effort to guess - whose agenda the new AWARE exco is serving. We do not need to know, and we do not need to care.
Through their actions, they have declared war on the idea of civil society, preferring to teach us the lesson if you don't agree with your foes, you should just take them over instead of openly discussing your differences. And then pretending to be the aggrieved party while conducting a purge of the ranks during a communications lockdown in the organisation.
Civil society needs to send a clear and loud signal to these clowns that their behaviour is wrong, unacceptable, and intolerable.
I hereby announce OPERATION LEPER. Henceforth, we will constantly remind everyone about these people, monitor who they are working for, which organisations they join, and who hires them. These characters are poison to civil society. If they are hired or appointed by advocacy, voluntary, or political groups, we will oppose their employers. It is our intention to bar them from future roles in politics and civil society.
On the Operation Leper list are:
Josie Lau Meng-Lee (Vice-president of consumer banking group cards and unsecured loans, DBS)
Charlotte Wong Hock Soon (Principal, Renewal Organisation Effectiveness aka ROE, 61 Jalan Remaja, Bamboo Grove Park. phone: 6763 0312)
Jenica Chua Chor Ping (Management Consultant, SAP. hotline: 6890 1088)
Sally Ang Koon Hian (Partner, Sally Ang Ebenezer & Co, at 7 Temasek Blvd #06-03, phone: 68844146)
Maureen Ong Lee Keang (CPA, former SembCorp Logistics CFO)
Catherine Tan Ling Khim (CFA, exco member, CHIJ alumna organisation)
Irene Yee Khor Quin (CFA, Life Planning Associates, at 80 Marine Parade Road, #07-01 Parkway Parade. Phone: 6344 2781 email: service@lpa.com.sg)
Lois Ng (Entrepreneur, Studio You Pte Ltd, at 1 Lorong 23 Geylang, High Point Social Enterprise Ark, Blk 4 #01-11/12, Phone: 67477764)
Peggy Leong Pek Kay (Lecturer, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, School of Humanities)
Dr Alan Chin Yew Liang (General Practitioner, Lifeline Medical Clinic)
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=26499.12
With the outrageously illiberal, undemocratic, and unprincipled takeover of AWARE, the NGO is now headed by a group whose behaviour and modus operandi runs counter to the principles of civil society. No serious operator in Singapore civil society will see AWARE under its new, mysterious, unknown, sneakily-elected through a hostile takeover leadership, as part of civil society.
We do not know - though some are making the effort to guess - whose agenda the new AWARE exco is serving. We do not need to know, and we do not need to care.
Through their actions, they have declared war on the idea of civil society, preferring to teach us the lesson if you don't agree with your foes, you should just take them over instead of openly discussing your differences. And then pretending to be the aggrieved party while conducting a purge of the ranks during a communications lockdown in the organisation.
Civil society needs to send a clear and loud signal to these clowns that their behaviour is wrong, unacceptable, and intolerable.
I hereby announce OPERATION LEPER. Henceforth, we will constantly remind everyone about these people, monitor who they are working for, which organisations they join, and who hires them. These characters are poison to civil society. If they are hired or appointed by advocacy, voluntary, or political groups, we will oppose their employers. It is our intention to bar them from future roles in politics and civil society.
On the Operation Leper list are:
Josie Lau Meng-Lee (Vice-president of consumer banking group cards and unsecured loans, DBS)
Charlotte Wong Hock Soon (Principal, Renewal Organisation Effectiveness aka ROE, 61 Jalan Remaja, Bamboo Grove Park. phone: 6763 0312)
Jenica Chua Chor Ping (Management Consultant, SAP. hotline: 6890 1088)
Sally Ang Koon Hian (Partner, Sally Ang Ebenezer & Co, at 7 Temasek Blvd #06-03, phone: 68844146)
Maureen Ong Lee Keang (CPA, former SembCorp Logistics CFO)
Catherine Tan Ling Khim (CFA, exco member, CHIJ alumna organisation)
Irene Yee Khor Quin (CFA, Life Planning Associates, at 80 Marine Parade Road, #07-01 Parkway Parade. Phone: 6344 2781 email: service@lpa.com.sg)
Lois Ng (Entrepreneur, Studio You Pte Ltd, at 1 Lorong 23 Geylang, High Point Social Enterprise Ark, Blk 4 #01-11/12, Phone: 67477764)
Peggy Leong Pek Kay (Lecturer, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, School of Humanities)
Dr Alan Chin Yew Liang (General Practitioner, Lifeline Medical Clinic)
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=26499.12
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