'Come Together, Reaching Out, Reaching Up' It's our Nation's 44th Birthday and as a Singaporean I'm happy with what we have achieve thus far. Let us not forget that this is possible because our ancestors came together many years back as one.Yes, as one. That's the key message. Regardless of race, language and religion, they came together as one and that's how our Nation can prosper. May I also add in regardless of marital status in 'Sex is mutual, rape is violent'...I agree with this! In Singapore,Sections 375 (”Rape”) and 376A (”Sexual penetration of minor under 16″) share similar marital rape immunity: No man shall be guilty of an offence under [relevant 375 or 376A subsections], if his wife is not under 13 years of age, except where at the time of the offence – his wife was living apart from him – under an interim judgment of divorce not made final or a decree nisi for Breast Cancer, the TOP cancer for women in Singapore (This article was edited and first published in the 'Hammer', issue: 0902)Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths, women has a lower mortality rates because of their longer life span as compared to men. However, morbidity rates which refers to the prevalence rate of poor health, is higher for women. Statistics have shown that the reason behind higher morbidity rates for women is the 'Happy Mothers' Day!' This is going out to all mothers.Thank you for your selfless sacrifices, sleepless nights, patience and thank you so much for taking on the world's toughest job :) Mas Selamat CAPTURED! Alas! Mas Selamat is found and of course he did escape out of the country. Finally we can hear from the man at last! Hear from him how did he exactly escape from the supposedly highly secured detention centre.I believe this is 1 piece of information that the public would very much like to know. How did he manage to wear 2 layers of clothing without being suspected. How he climbed through the DBS publicly criticises AWARE's new Head DBS is doing more damage to themselves by releasing press releases voicing their unhappiness over Ms Josie Lau's new position in AWARE. Yes, Josie may have disregarded staff conduct but as one of the biggest employer in Singapore, DBS should not have publicly criticized her. In fact, they should have communicated with her through proper internal staff communication system not in the papers!As 1st Press Release Aware's new leadership 1st press release:New team pledges to work for full equality of the sexes'Aware, Singapore's leading women's advocacy organisation, is delighted to announce that its new president is Ms Josie Lau. She is joined by a dynamic, fresh and committed group of women forming the executive committee, who hail from diverse professional backgrounds drawn from the business, banking, Could this had been a conspiracy or pure coincidence? For those of you who are still not aware of what had recently happened to AWARE, allow me to explain briefly.AWARE held its Annual General Meeting on 28th March. Unknown to a lot of veterans, a large crowd which was made up of mainly new members, turned up. In the end, 9 out of 12 executive committee spots went to the newcomers.Implications such as the differences in objectives and beliefs due Chia Hui Keng explains passport fee hike This is the article published today on Straits Times Forum:I REFER to the letter by Mrs Ng Beng Choo, 'Passport renewal cost' (March 30).As with most other public services, the passport fee is determined based on a cost-recovery model. The cost of producing a passport cannot simply be linked to frequency or duration of use.The Singapore biometric passport is a more secure travel document and is Rare video footage of Singapore in the 1930s This is a very rare footage of Singapore in the 1930s. Looking at it, reminded me of the hardship that our fore-fathers went through in order for our country to thrive and strive. Let's not forget their contributions and sacrifices. When you see one that requires help sometime in your life, do lend a helping hand. 1st woman Minister Following the recent changes made to the cabinet, Lim Hwee Hua's new position caught my attention.Finally we have a woman Minister. Apart from sharing the same inspiration as me ie: to inspire more women to join politics, I also believe that it can bring about a more balanced views on issues raised as mentioned by Mrs. Singam, President of AWARE.Mrs Lim mentioned in the Straits Times report that After Jobs Credit Scheme was introduced... Jobs Credit Scheme which was introduced in the last Budget was aimed at preventing retrenchment.Unfortunately, since its announcement, companies that still opt for retrenchment includes:Panasonic, 18th March 2009Delphi Automative, 15th March 2009StatsChip, 11th Feb 2009Deutsche, 7th Feb 2009Chartered Semi-conductor, 30th Jan 2009and, possible to retrench; NokiaWhat I had listed above are some of Main stream media got facts wrong Abstracted from Straits Times, 14th March 2009, I was sort of impressed that they did their homework by being able to recognize Swee Bee and me. They even got our names spelt correctly...however, they got our positions wrong :)Opposition plans battle formation Opposition parties are starting to rally their troops amid talk of an earlier-than-scheduled election. Aaron Low, Jeremy Au Yong, I cannot help but cry when I read this... "Baby raped and sodomised" was the headline.... she was only 7 months old, yes, you did not see wrongly is 7 months old! I thought that the man should be made a EUNUCH in order to pay for his crimes!Read the report:KUALA LUMPUR: For seven months, a young couple entrusted a family friend to babysit their daughter, now a year old.However, their world came crashing down last Wednesday when they Have you checked out your details on 'Registers of Electors'? Yup, if you have not, this is how:Step 1Visit this website: Singapore Elections DepartmentStep 2Click onto 'e-services', and this is what you should see.Step 3Login into it either by using your singpass or the issue date of your NRIC (this can be found on your IC).Step 4Once you have login, verify the details of your name and address. If everything is right, logout and you are done.You may What an inhuman suggestion! Came across this letter by Mr. Siu Yow Wee in the ST forum on why the government should make surrogate motherhood legal.... which was absolutely absurd!In his letter, he listed down 4 benefits of legalizing surrogate motherhood:1) Women who cannot give birth or career women climbing the corporate ladder who do not want to give birth can fulfil their needs.Women who cannot give birth can still Work VS Making babies The article, Reconsider 5-day week?.... makes me see red!The first sentence,"MORE free time did not result in more babies, so people should go back to work on Saturdays. "What rational is that? No correlation at all!Implementing a 5-day work week has nothing to do with making babies! It is in my opinion , for work-life-balance. It is to encourage more family time. It is time-off for singles Singapore's TV license is world's lowest... That was what Ms. Pam Hu from MDA claimed in the Straits Times forum today.A comment from one of the user online, highlighted an interesting point that is, only 5 countries (including Singapore) in Asia charges TV license. And Singapore being the richest country in ASEAN is the only one that charges TV license.May I add on to the comments...It might be the lowest but it is not justifiable. The Debate on Jobs Credit Scheme - Budget 2009 Lively debate on jobs creditSIX MPs - five of whom were from the labour movement - took opposition MP Low Thia Khiang on Tuesday over his criticisms of the Jobs Credit scheme.In a lively exchange that was a highlight in the debate on the Budget Statement, the MPs took turns disputing the Hougang MP's critical comments of the wage-subsidy scheme.An abridged version of this was repeated a few hours By the students for the students! I would like to call upon readers of my blog to support this petition because it is a campaign by the students, for the students.That may not necessary means that if you are not a student you cannot participate. Because as parents or working adults, if your children are able to enjoy better transport fares that means lesser expenses for you.Read on to find out more about the upcoming event as 'The Budget'; from an Ordinary Singaporean As an ordinary Singaporean, my views and thoughts on the Budget:1) Rebates have to be passed on,For both Taxi operators as well as landlords. They will be receiving rebates from the government this year, the speech mentioned that these rebates will in turn be passed on to the taxi drivers as well as tenants.Question is will they do so or to what extent? Its good to know that Comfort is Prosperous New Year ! 'Wishing everyone sparkling happiness, good fortune and great health, in the new year.... Let's charge with the OX!!!!' Mas Selamat VS WKS Got the article below from:http://www.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20090116-114996.htmlMore likely Mas Selamat has fled What we can learn from the Japanese After my trip from Tokyo, I have only praises for their social upbringing in the following areas which I thought we are still not 'first-world' as compared to them....1) Clean toilets,The public toilets are remarkably clean, at least 85% of them. As compared to Singapore, we are a far cry from them. When I say clean, it means; the floor is dry, no stench, there is always toilet paper in every 44th President of the United States of America With humble beginnings, he rose to become the President of the United States of America. Obama gave the most ordinary person the courage to dream and believe. Watch the inauguration of the World's Biggest Job :) here: Obama's inauguration 20th Jan 2009 is the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America, Mr Barack Obama.The whole world waits in anticipation as the first African American President of the United States takes office. Right here in Singapore, catch it live on Channel News Asia at 11pm.Related links:Washington Awakens with Inauguration BuzzObama inauguration Theme: "A new birth of freedom"Obama Insure our country and our future! This article was first published in 'Hammer' issue 09/ 01.In the article “PM Lee says two-party political model cannot work in Singapore” , published on the Channel NewsAsia website, PM Lee Hsien Loong said, "The country is much better off with one dominant party, as long as the PAP provides clean and good government, and the lives of Singaporeans improve."It is true, the country will be in good First post for 2009 Had a great holiday and is back in Singapore feeling charged-up, hopefully :)My first post for 2009 is the attack on MP Seng Han Thong.Mr. Seng was poured some flammable liquid and seconds late set on fire. The result; 10-15% of his body burnt. This incident took place on Sunday during one of the community event in Yio Chu Kang.The culprit is a 70 year old man who had lost both his head and Away Notice This is to inform that I will be away on holiday to Tokyo, from 29th December 2008 to 12th January 2009.Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Looking Back at 2008 What are some of the interesting and worth to note incidents in 2008?1) Saddest moment:Death of a Singaporean in the terrorists attacks in Mumbai.2) Most unforgiving fumble:To me, it has to be the escape of Mas Selamat followed by this.3) Most assuming statement:A woman PM is unlikely in Singapore, to me its the most assuming statement.4) Most regrettable incident:Why did I procrastinate?5) Most