Guilin tour (18 Jun - 25 Jun) I returned to Singapore on 25 June 2008 from Guilin and fell ill. I am since almost recovered. As mentioned in my earlier posting, the places that we were supposed to visit were affected by storms and floods but the weather turned humid and were hot on most of the days (around 34 to 37 degrees Celsius) in the week we are there. I would say this trip to Guilin was rather disappointing because the scenery my friends and parents described were not as beautiful as what I imagined it to be or saw from Google. According to the tour guide, Guilin has become more commercialised since 1998 and there are now more buildings. Perhaps this was why the scenery has been ruined and does not look as natural anymore. But looking the development, China has indeed been progressing very fast and they are more developed than what I had expected. Nevertheless, this was a rather good trip too because the 27 of us mingled well during these 8 days together and I could see that everyone enjoyed themselves despite the frequent long bus journeys. There was one unpleasant incident though. We visited a “Tong Ren Tang” but it turned out that it was not the real, famous Beijing Tong Ren Tang although the physicians and staff claimed they are. About 5 of us spent our money buying their medication after seeing their physician. These medication most of us bought were expensive. Later, when we returned to Singapore, we checked and discovered that the “Tong Ren Tang” was faked and the medication they sold us were not value for the cost. The tour agency, being good and responsible, agreed to take it back and got the China agency to refund those affected. Although I expect a lot of shops in China to imitate international famous brands, I never thought that they could go to extreme of imitating their own famous house brands. Does this smack of poor governance? Here are some photos I took during the 8-day trip... China, here I come... again I will be leaving Singapore for Guangxi Nanning and Guilin, China, tomorrow (18 June '08) for 8 days.This will be my second trip to China. What is different this time is that I am not going with family members but a group of Hougang Residents instead. 27 of us will be boarding Flight ZH9074 at 1815 hours to Nanning and we should arrive there by 2200 hours.China is a country my late grandfather often used to go but sad to say, I had never been there with him. I still remember that he will always share a lot of stories with us whenever he comes back from his trips. I believe he had covered at least half of China.My first trip to China was to Shanghai to visit my friend who is from there and used to work in Singapore. But I think the biggest problem I will face during the 8 days there is the FOOD. I admit I am a fussy eater.I heard from my parents and friends who have been to Guilin that the place has very beautiful sceneries. But recently, there was a storm and floods at the areas that we will be going. The famous show “Liu San Jie” was also cancelled due to this.Hopefully, the weather will be better when we are there and the itinerary can proceed smoothly.I will try to take some nice photographs and upload them here when I am back. Life Life is just like a piece of glass - it is transparent and breaks easily. Nobody knows when our journey will end and what will happen to us tomorrow. 30 May 2003, at the Singapore General Hospital, was where it marked an end of my grandfather’s journey. This was his second stay in hospital during the whole 85 years of his life and no one, I believe including himself, expected that he will leave us from there. When he passed away, he was all by himself for nearly a week as no one was allowed to step into the ward due to SARS at that time. For the whole morning of that fateful day, I felt uneasy and couldn’t fathom the reason for the feeling. Eventually, the news broke at 1 pm when I received a call from my mother informing me that my grandfather had passed away. Was that my sixth sense? Till today, I don’t know. My grandfather’s journey has become a part of our memories while our own journey carries on. During this five years, I would say I am living my life in a more fulfilling and meaningfully way than compared to my younger days. I started to accept all kinds of challenges that come my way rather than my former self of escaping challenges all the time. I learnt that we should be accustomed to things that come into our way than choosing things that we like and escaping from things that we do not. There is no easy way out in life. We shouldn’t give up just because the barriers are difficult and progress is slow. We should take every step of our life as a challenge and with this, life will eventually become easier and we become more mature.Let’s not waste our life but let our life be more challenging and fulfilling!Below are Chinese phrases I use to spur myself ahead all the time: 经一事 长一智，不要退缩 得饶人处 且饶人， 心灵清澈，万事皆顺畅 YW President’s statement on Vote@18 8 May 2008 by WPYWThe Workers’ Party Youth Wing (WPYW) wishes to thank, once again, all participants who attended the inaugural YouthQuake forum on voting@18 on Saturday, 3rd May 2008.A full house with many new and youthful faces is testament to the timeliness and impact of this matter but more so an editorial by Andy Ho of the Straits Times (8 May 2008) perhaps alluding to the WPYW forum (as a public forum - which is factually accurate).We agree with the arguments raised in Mr. Ho’s editorial, since virtually all of these arguments were raised by the speakers at the above event and duly recorded by Mediacorp, and urge that this matter be debated in Parliament regardless of partisan standing.We stand united for the betterment of the nation.Watch this space for the next forum coming up on issues of national importance and their impact on Singaporean Youth!Perry TongPresident, WPYW WP Children’s Day Celebration at Grace Haven Homespacer 29 September 2007 This year, WP went for a different Children’s Day celebration. Last year, it held a public outreach to distribution to children members of the public. Today, it decided to organise a charity bazaar for a children’s welfare home at Grace Haven Homespacer.The organising committee consisted of Eng Huat, Lilian, Joy Seng, Aaron and myself and there was a group of 15 who turned up at the above-mentioned home. At 9 am, we gathered for a briefing and set up the place for a funfair.At 10 am, we kicked off the funfair with team-building games. The children in the Home were split into 4 groups, each with 2 teams leaders from our volunteers. We played Tug-of-war, Hula Hoop Pass, Ping Pong Challenge and Dog & Bone for about one-and-half hours.Finally, the champion team was Team 1, led by GIANT Perry, our Youth Wing President, and his wife Diane. Hampers were awarded to all 4 teams.At 11.30 am, the carnival began with 7 stalls, Goodies bags and balloons were given to the children. In the booths, we had Tic-Tac-Toe, Shooting Cans, Rings & Cones, Water Alphabets and Art & Craft. There was also a display for free food and drinks.The carnival lasted about one and half-hours. By 12.45 pm, most of us were exhausted under the hot sun but had fun. We ended the celebration at 1 pm and the volunteers took a few group photos.Personally, I felt that the little contributions we made brought happiness to lots of children today and it was worthwhile and fruitful spending this time. And any political agenda was definitely not part of today’s agenda…A BIG thank you to all the helpers - Eng Huat, Lilian, Joy Seng, Aaron, Perry, Diane, David, Veronica, Grace, Huiying, Julia, Rykel, Winnie, Charissa, Thuan Tong, Melvin, Choong Yong, Aunt Yizhi, Siew Mee, Song Han and Eng Huat’s wife and friends. Not forgetting myself... THANK YOU!Last but not least, HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY to all the boys and girls!P/S: The children in the home gave us feedback saying that they hoped to see us back next year. A Little History of WP Welfare Com WP Welfare Committee was formed by Mr Low Thia Khiang, the Organising Secretary, at that time in 1986 at Boat Quay WP HQ. That year was a down period because Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, a.k.a. JBJ, was out of parliament and WP was at the fringe of disintegration. Welfare Committee served to unite the party and hold WP together. Today is Ah Lian's Birthday Today is one of TCSS Ah Lian's birthday! I would like to take this opportunity to wish herA VERY VERY VERY Happy 29th Birthday!!!May all your wish comes true...and stay young and funky forever! The Secrets of Autism This article refers to a boy named Tommy Barrett who has a condition known as Asperger Syndrome, a form of mild autism. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002364,00.html?internalid=ACATommy is a boy with above-average intelligence, with a normal family background, and they keep some pets. However, he has an obsession with toys to the extent of imitating them when he is at school without them. He also avoided looking at people in the eyes and was often unfocused.When he turned 8, his disturbing behaviour continued and his parents brought him to a psychologist. They discovered that he had Asperger Syndrome. Apparently, Tommy’s elder twin siblings also had autism.Autism or its related conditions were first suspected to be rare and affect one out of 10,000 children in US but more recent studies have shown that the ratio stood close to 1 out of 150 children 10 years of age and below. In California alone, where Tommy and his family resides in, social studies saw autism cases rise from an estimated 4,000 in 1987 to 18,000 in 2002.Scientists are still exploring this phenomenon. They continue to research on the link between autism and genes or hereditary causes. Toxic substances, the environment and even technological advances are also speculated to have attributed to this. Due to the surge in number of cases, more efforts and funds are increasingly poured into research and some significant progress has reportedly been made.It is quite disturbing to learn that autism is affecting many children in the world and more than expected as stated in the US studies. To make matters worse, the numbers are increasing by the years.If we were to hear that the same is happening to the children in our own Singapore, it would be scary. Already, I have encountered cases of autistic children, including the children of some friends of mine. This makes a career in taking care of special-needs children worth pursuing and even if it is not financially rewarding, it is emotionally.BIG SALUTE to all autistic children's parents, you are great and strong! The support that you had given to your child will help to change their life.A happy parent is a wonderful gift for any child. Does PASSION come with a PRICE? After a month’s break, the “Hammer Team” is out again in different constituencies for their public outreach to promote The Hammer, the Workers’ Party’s organ.More than 20 WP members gathered at Block 2 of Hougang Avenue 3 on a warm Sunday morning, waiting to kick off the new issue.After a short briefing by the Organizing Department, everyone headed to the nearby market to start the outreach. As with usual practice, the Secretary-General Mr Low and Chairman Sylvia each led a team to the hawker center, market and coffee shops and stationary teams were formed at high human traffic areas.After the first location, we proceeded to Hougang Central under Aljunied GRC. Again, we were split into different teams. I was one of the stationary team members at Hougang Bus Interchange. Half an hour later, a lady at her 40s approached us shouting, “I support the raise of the ministers’ pay” in Mandarin and as she walked pass us she turned around and repeated in a louder tone this time, “I live in a three-room flat and support the raise of ministers’ pay! You people do not appreciate what you have!” We thanked her for her feedback as she walked away.In my heart, I believe we should not oppose for the sake of opposing. We do not take Singapore’s progress for granted. But we are concerned for our next generation. What kind of message are we sending to them? That every little ounce of work we do must be highly rewarded? That traits like passion are not realistic and therefore, money counts when it comes to contribution to the country? That patriotism is nothing?I remember Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew previously justified why it was not feasible to have foreign talent in our political leadership. He said that political leadership should “have passion, the commitment and share the same dreams as the people”. (ST, 4 Nov 2006). I fully agree. But is this the message our ministers are sending to us now? That passion can now fetch higher financial returns?I feel it is time for us as Singaporeans think about what mindsets and thoughts do we want to pass on to our next generation. HGCC Muar Tour - 1 July 2007 Today is the first wedding anniversary of Melvin and me. We did not celebrate but instead, we did some meaningful things together. HGCC organized the annual Malaysia tour to Muar and Batu Pahat today. I was the overall coordinator and Melvin was one of the bus leaders.This morning at 6 am, when most of us would be still in bed, all the bus leaders reported at their respective locations to meet up with the participants and buses. Around 6.30 am, we left Hougang and headed to Woodlands Checkpoint and then to Muar for breakfast. We visited a famous temple in Muar, San Chye Ye Temple, and most of us had wonderful durians there. Later, we proceeded to local shops for shopping and lunch at a Chinese restaurant, then to Batu Pahat’s famous temple Da Pek Gong Temple, Summit Shopping Centre, more local shops and last but not least, dinner at 88 Restaurant…It was a long, tiring day for all bus leaders. But after seeing the residents with their happy faces, I think everyone of us felt contented and happy.Once again, a BIG thank you to all the bus leaders for making this event a successful one. And although we did not celebrate our wedding anniversary, I believe we did something special. Words That Your Dog Should Know - Part 3 Article taken from Westie Secrets:Enough (Whatever you are doing was Ok, but I've just changed my mind and now I want you to stop it, as opposed to “No,” which means whatever you are doing is unacceptable and should never be done). The command “Enough” is taught mainly, believe it or not, by tone of voice. It is usually learned rapidly and can stop excessive barking, a game of roughhousing that has gotten out of hand, or any activity that is usually ok but cannot, for whatever reason, continue at this point. It can calm a dog instantly. It can give you the full attention of a dog who was, up until a moment ago, acting up or acting out. Out. This word can mean as in “Do you want to go out?” It is also used for getting the dog to give up what he has retrieved. In addition, “Go Out” by itself means leave this room and go to any other place in the house.Biscuit or Cookie (Dog biscuit). The two words offer the fun of anticipating a treat. Therefore, when you say “Do you want a cookie?” he gets more than a dog biscuit. He gets to salivate a little imagining a dog biscuit.Speak (Bark). This word should be taught verbally and then as a hand signal.Take It (Take this in your mouth). As long as you are going to play with your dog, to toss a ball for him to bring back or to encourage him to carry small packages or help pick up his toys, you might as well add the phrase for that skill to his vocabulary. “Take It” is commonly used as a fetch or pick up command. Young puppies love to chase a toy or a ball and sometimes bring it back. If you keep retrieving fun for the dog, and if you name this activity, you have a nice game plus the option of tightening play retrieving into reliable retrieving on command later on.Wait. Some dog owners do not like to use the command “Stay” except in the formal sense, the freeze on command. When letting the dog know he is not going on an excursion or not getting out of the car just then, they say “Wait” instead of “Stay.” This can also communicate something important to the dog who is off-leash trained. It would make more sense to say “Wait” as your dog bounds toward the corner or toward the exit of the park than to say “Stay” which would be asking him to freeze in mid-leap. “Wait” tells him not to cross the street, leave the park, rush out the door, until you tell him to. But it allows him to be at ease while waiting. It's worth teaching. Words That Your Dog Should Know - Part 2 Article taken from Westie Secrets:The following is a list of words that are crucial to training your dog:Stay (Freeze). Actually, the “Sit, Stay” is the way to teach vocabulary to a dog. It is through this initial discipline, which can be done very gently and without a choke collar on a very young puppy, that the dog learns how to listen and then how to learn.What you request in the “Sit, Stay” is clear and comprehensible to the dog. Therefore, in the initial teaching of the command, he can absorb the concepts of both words. He will, for example, try to move from the spot. When you return him to it, he gets the “Stay” part. Now he'll lie down, figuring if he's going to be stuck in the spot, he might as well get comfortable. When he is returned to the “Sit” position by you (gently and with patience), he learns the exact definition of the word “Sit.”Your dog therefore learns two vocabulary words that stand for two separate concepts. In addition, he learns how to learn. You will readily see the difference in the intelligent look on his face. Furthermore, the “Stay” command, once added to your dog's vocabulary, not only covers a multitude of situations, but it is the beginning of teaching your dog long sentences and important concepts. It is a great aid in keeping the dog from harm.Heel (Walk at my side). “Heel” is a great command for a dog to know for two reasons. First, sometime he must leave home to see the vet, go visiting, or go to the boarding kennel. Second, he needs to be out. He should see the world beyond your yard, for his pleasure and to keep him from getting scared of new things, of strangers, of other dogs. He needs variety in order to be well socialized.Many dogs who are raised in an ideal country setting, who are fed well, who are groomed and loved and cared for, get weird when they are outside their house. A well-balanced dog must be able to leave his own turf and be able to feel comfortable wherever he goes. Therefore, he should learn to “Heel” so that you can take him places neatly, easily, and frequently.Down (Lie down). This command, if enforced rapidly, can be a life saver. It can calm a dog. It can cover hours of waiting anywhere with your dog. It can also give you peace and quiet while you read a book, make dinner, or talking on the phone.Stand (Stand). Whether it's in the tub, in conformation or obedience competition, under the grooming brush, or to negate the automatic sit on a rainy day, “Stand” is a neat word to have in your dog's vocabulary.Go (Move away or move away in the direction in which I am pointing or accompany me somewhere). The command “Go” is a good word to teach dogs. Often, you can point and look forbidding and say “Go” and your dog will have learned it. Hougang Community Awareness Day On 16 June 2007, the Hougang Constituency Committee (HGCC) organised Community Awareness Day for residents in Hougang for the first time. The purpose of this event is to promote the awareness of the help-line in Singapore for needy families as well as to have parents and their children have fun with games and activities.At 10 am, volunteers from HGCC and WP Youth Wing gathered at Blk 310 Hougang Avenue 5 void deck to help decorate the place with colourful balloons and props.At 11 am, we were ready to welcome residents to participate in our event. We had an exhibition booth for registration to redeem free coupons for the games, balloons, goodie bags and more. There were a total of three games booth, namely tic tac toe, hula hoops and golf. Two other booths, an art & craft booth and a novelties booth were set up.Everyone present had lots of fun and volunteers also playing at different games booth with the residents.At 3.40 pm, we started to clear up the place. I managed to collect about 20 balloons that were used for decorating the place and released them into the sky to mark the end of the Awareness Day event.This might have been a tiring and long day but it was worthwhile. Our volunteers had done a great job and they sacrificed their Saturday to help out and make the residents’ day fruitful and happy.Thanks a brunch, volunteers! Words That Your Dog Should Know Article taken from Westie Secrets:Many dog owners are at a loss for words when they wish to communicate with their dogs. Of course, your choice of words is not the issue. What is important is that you pace your vocabulary lessons in such a way that your dog absorbs the first few definitions before you go on to the text. And, since dogs are learning English as his second language, you must be very consistent in your teaching. In fact, in time, your dog, once started on the road to a better, richer vocabulary, will understand long sentences and life-saving orders.Listed below is a sample of words to use on your dog. With these words, any dog can live in harmony with his human family, more or less.No (Permission denied). This is probably the first word a puppy hears, or at least that registers as a word. It is important for every dog to know a word that stops him from urinating on the carpet, hogging the bed, running out into traffic, nabbing that piece of chicken, and chewing on the sofa or your shoe. “No” is that magic word.Ok (Permission granted). In order to have a balanced, happy, obedient pet, approval is just as important as disapproval. You can give your pet permission to do something he'd do anyway, just to show him it's ok with you. This reinforces your position as the leader. It also increases the amount of positive reenforcement in your dog's life. You can use this release word to let him out of work, out of the house, into the car, at his dinner, and onto your bed. Dogs learn “Ok” instantly.Good Dog (Approval from the top). By saying “Good Dog” in the proper tone, you dog will give you everything. Saying “Good Dog” is the most important tool any owner has in training his pet.Bad Dog (Disapproval from the top). “Bad Dog,” from the right lips, can be more powerful and more effective than any leash correction, any shaking, any cold shoulder, any confining, any anything you would think of doing to your disobedient dog. He must have your approval.When you deny him that, you have already made a serious correction. No puppy grows to adulthood without hearing his share of “Bad Dogs.”Sit (Plant your rump). Even an untrained dog should know “Sit” and “Stay.” How else can you have any order or control? Your dog must sit while you wait at the vet, while getting his collar put on, while waiting for his bowl to be filled or the traffic light to change, and while being groomed.Come (Join me). The “Come” command is a crucial word in every dog's vocabulary. You need to be able to teach your dog to come quickly, cheerfully and willingly when he is off leash, out of doors, and playing with his friends.Off (Get off). The command “Off” is the proper word to say when you find your pet eating a greasy bone on your brand new white couch or shedding in your bed. It's also good for correcting jumping or any other situation in which the dog's big, hairy paws are on something they should be “Off.” Inside The Womb Scientists are slowly beginning to unveil the once-mysterious process of the growth and development of a foetus in a mother’s womb, thanks to the advancement of life sciences in the areas of MRI, sonograms and other technologies. Just 20 years ago, scientists believed that different species developed according to their own special set of “rules” and did not felt their development process was relevant to mankind.Later, they discovered that all species across the board were similar in the way they assembled embryos through molecular movements. This discovery became helpful to discovering potential diseases in humans as it could dispel the unwanted cells appearing during a foetus’ development that could lead to diseases later in life or maybe even deformity. There is growing evidence that many illnesses such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes begin from deficiency during the pregnancy stage. For example, an incomplete development of a heart may lead to a baby born with a hole in the heart.A human embryo, like the embryo of other species, is “programmed” to lay the body structure. This is done by a special set of genes called “hometic homobox” or HOX for short. HOX genes were first discovered in earlier 80s in fruit flies. Scientists noticed that without it, a fruit fly would be borne deformed, e.g. feet growing on head or extra pair of wings. The existence of HOX genes varies with different species - humans have 39 while fruit flies have 9 - but it exists in virtually every one of them. Still, it will still need to work with other genes like Hedgehog, Tinman and Miles Apart genes, for without doing so, signs of deformity will also manifest.Vitamin A is critical to the nervous system during a foetuses’ development as it serves to turn the embryo into retinoids. However, an over-supply can also be toxic. Foods like foie gras and cod liver oil contain much Vitamin A and it can cause damage to the skull, eyes, brain and spinal cord of a developing foetus. Folic acid is another form of nutrient to aid development of embryos and foetuses.A placenta is a temporary organ produced by a blastocyst, developed from a fertilised egg. It acts like a shield over the ovary and nutrients cross it to reach the embryo and foetus while keeping out harmful chemicals through natural killer cells that expel poison before they can destroy an embryo. However, the placenta is not totally invincible. Some microbes like rubella and cytomegalovirus, drugs like alcohol and thalidomide, organic pollutants like dioxin and PCBs can still penetrate it.Scientists also discovered that a tiny negative exposure during a certain process of a foetuses’ development might lead to a respective specific problem in a newborn baby. During the second month of pregnancy, when a foetuses’ heart forms, high exposure to air pollutants like carbon monoxide may lead to heart problems. Nerves are most susceptible when neurons are migrating from the brain to the final destinations in the body. Compared to a growing adult, the stages of growth of a foetus is much more vulnerable to damage at a bigger magnitude.In today’s environment, there are several existing and more growing threats to embryonic life. Not only does it hedge on what a mother eats, drinks or inhale, it also hedges on the hormones in her body. Diseases like diabetes can be passed on from generation to generation. Scientists continue to study ways to a safe passage throughout the months of pregnancy, especially during the first five months. If more evident and concrete results are achieved, they may be able to convince political powers to adopt it as a priority in the global agenda and reduce the probabilities of birth defects and adult illness. Understanding the Reasons for Children's Problem Behavior There are many definitions of “problem behaviour” but I will outline it in my own words as “behaviour that is undesirable, inappropriate and affects the environment negatively”. However, this is subjected to a wide range of debate and disagreements when examining the details.At the beginning, infants will have no idea about what kind of behaviour is acceptable or not until they go through a process called “socialisation”. Children act and think like children and their actions is termed as “problem behaviour”. However, children are not aware that adults see their behaviour as “mischievous” or “naughty”.A child may display curious or explorative inhibits when coming across with real ceramic plates that will break and cut him and start playing with them. The adult should be aware that the child does not know his action is inappropriate and better than to take the plate away, which will not stop the child, they can buy him toy plastic plates and utensils. This invariably turns problem behaviour into acceptable behaviour without having the child change any habits.Adults need to be mindful when expressing negative emotions against any problem behaviour. Children will be confused if they get negative reactions without understanding the reason for it. For example, if a child drops food or drinks on the floor and the adult quietly cleans it up. The next time, food and drinks are dropped on newly bought carpet and the adult gets angry and punishes the child. The child will not learn whether his carelessness is a normal or wrong action.Here, an adult’s perception of misbehaviour is often different from a child’s. The adult’s perception relies on the seriousness of the outcome rather than their actions whereas for a child, it is the consistency of the reward and punishment arising from an action that matters. To avoid mistakes instead of reinforcing a child’s involvement in daily life will discourage children from becoming active and end up meek and passive.In other words, an adult as a human being has emotions but should not let it take over when handling a child. Adults are also prone to misbehaviour, albeit in a smaller way. Much of moral development in a child stems from adult behaviour, such as the way he sits, talk and behave.Functional behaviour is when a child does a constructive action to obtain a result, whereas dysfunctional behaviour is when a child behaves in a destructive manner, also to obtain a result. In the former, a child will behave in a “right way” to get an adult’s attention and praise but in the latter, a child will intentionally break something or make a mess to attract the attention of an adult.Moral development is divided into three stages – pre-conditional morality, conditional morality and post-conditional morality. The first is when a child does something to gain reward and avoid punishment. Later, they may learn to negotiate to gain a desired out.The second stage, conditional morality, is when a child “do the correct” things or “follow the law” to get attention and approval from others. The final stage of post-conditional morality is when a child, moving towards the adult stage and coming of mature age, carries out actions based on moral beliefs. Later on, he will develop his own set on principles and opinions.The most common causes for problem behaviour is boredom, excitement, unhappiness, tiredness, lack of maturity or knowledge of ill consequences and desire for attention.To faciliate moral development, a child needs many input factors from an adult, such as guidance and nurturing, reasoning and correct communication, setting rules, understanding and empathy and proper encouragement and discouragement.There are certain areas of this article that I strongly concur with. One is to allow a child to remain curious and explorative in order for him to develop the instincts of distinguishing between right and wrong. The other is for the adult to exercise caution to his best ability in order not to send wrong or mixed signals to the child.In general, the part that I disagree with is setting too many rules that are restrictive and results in the stifling of a child’s behavioural development, which is contradictory to allow him to develop a sense of decision ownership. 面 包 之 思 一片面包，对许多人来说也许是微不足道的食物，轻而易举得来，丢弃时也毫不珍惜。不过，你可能很难相信，在我们社会中，还有一部分人是多么的珍视一片面包。三年前，我有幸成为一个与后港选区委员会协作的福利机构里的义工。我这才发现，在这个我们政府处处标榜为世界第一的国家里，还有着这一些被忽略的弱势群体。他们当中有一些被其成为精英的孩子置之不顾，成为孤独老龄人。不断在我心里打转的问题是：到底是什么原因造成这些高级知识分子可以连自己的父母也置之不顾。这些居民都很高兴我们到访，他们也很愿意告诉我们关于他们的故事。一些年长者还请我们到他们的屋里，只希望我们能多呆一会儿，和他们聊聊天。我相信因为长时间没有人倾听，使他们在那窄小的房子里变得越来越孤单寂寞。 在一次常年义务大扫除的活动中，发现一位90多岁的独居老人，他的身体非常虚弱，就算为我们开门这么简单的事，他也花了一段的时间才慢慢挪到门口。进到他的屋里，尽入眼帘的是满屋厚厚的油腻腻的尘埃和满地的纸皮。他的私人物件除了几件衣服和一个铺着木板的生锈了的床架外再没有什么了。义工团体准备了简单的食物分发给老人，老人在接过食物时十分感激我们。我只觉得心里酸酸的，眼里湿湿的。我相信，如果能选择的话，没有人愿意住在这样的环境里，谁不希望自己有一间宽敞明亮的屋子。但他没得选择。我们尽最大的努力，帮助老人家把屋子打扫干净，看着这群和我们一起工作的义工，我心中充满了欣慰和感激，他们愿意牺牲自己宝贵的休闲时间来帮助这些不幸的人们。义工团体也收到各种各样的投诉，最多的投诉是关于没有得到有效和足够的帮助。慈善团体和福利事业是种吃力不讨好的工作，但无论如何我们不该因为那些不好的批评而不开心。尽管无法满足居民不同的要求，但我觉得居民的心里还是感激我们所给与的帮助的，有一些居民告诉我们有我们在他们身旁帮忙，他们感到很幸运，要不然他们也不知如何是好。听到这些话，我眼泪不由自主地从眼眶里流了出来。在此，我代表需要协助的后港区居民感谢义工们拨出宝贵的时间来帮助那些被忽略的人们。我也呼吁更多的新加坡人自动自发帮助身边需要帮助的人。请大家记住莫因善小而不为！别忘了，就算是一片面包，也能够让人温饱，使人感觉温馨。 Living and Serving in an Opposition Constituency At the age of 3, my family and I moved from our kampong in Lorong Napiri to a HDB flat. The government had bought over the farms owned by my late grandfather and arranged for us to relocate into a new block.The new “flat” as they call it - my new home - was located along Hougang Avenue 5. This stretch of blocks would later be carved out from Punggol constituency to form Hougang constituency. You can say that I have lived throughout the entire period of Hougang constituency under a Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP). I saw for myself that the quality of a constituency under a non-PAP MP is no worse off than one under a PAP MP.Initially, for someone who lives in this “special” constituency, I was neither particularly interested in politics nor bothered about national issues, much less join a political party. But later, I became inspired by my grandfather, who had always enjoyed helping his neighbours and friends. I felt that I had to continue his good work and so decided to join Hougang Constituency Committee (HGCC) with the aim of helping the elderly and needy people and families in Hougang.My activitism in HGCC and Hougang later spiralled onto the Party level and I joined the Workers’ Party in 2003. By then, I felt there is very thin line between politics and social work – both aim to serve and benefit the populace as a whole. Now, I strongly feel the importance of having more than a single party ruling Singapore. It is important to provide an alternative point of view in Parliament and competition during election time so as to remind the ruling party that it cannot have it easy, and that it has to work hard for the people.My opinion of “Opposition”I feel that a political party should not always be looked upon with suspicion. Through PAP propaganda, people tend to think that “the Opposition” politicises everything for political capital and opposes for the sake of opposing. I do not agree. I see that the Workers’ Party has a role to play in a pro-society and community capacity albeit it is not a welfare organisation.Making friendsThroughout the course of my involvement in Workers’ Party, I got to know a number of people and made many new friends.Among them is none other than Mr Low Thia Khiang himself, Secretary-General of the Party and Hougang MP. He may not be as “high-profile” as other past and present opposition leaders but I think his commitment speaks for itself. From the time he took over the Party till today, the Party has been considerably renewed.This debunks the belief that a political leader needs to be well-known in order for a party to grow. Instead, hard work on the ground is the major factor.Mr Low is also someone who leads by example and is prepared to accept criticism from members at all levels. From what I see, he prefers to convince by debate when it comes to deciding on the Party’s direction and future rather than putting his foot down on the Party Council to adopt his decision.The Chairman, Ms Sylvia Lim, joined the Party only two years before me but was quickly saddled with the responsibility of chairmanship in a male-dominated political environment. I admire the fact that she is able to contribute to the Party’s development in a challenging situation. However kudos also goes to the veterans who are open enough to accept her leadership.Despite having lost the election battle in Aljunied GRC and other constituencies at the 2006 General Elections, she and the other teams took the defeat in their stride and are determined to fight at the next one.Not forgetting the long-time Party members like Ee Ping, “Ah Luck”, Eng To, Ah Chwee and Encik Rahim, who are always willing to share their experience and are not selfish to impart knowledge and guide the youths along the course. Although these veterans are between 50 to 70 years of age and have been participating in Party activities for decades, they still turn up for the weekly public outreach sessions without fail. Even some of our youth members cannot match their enthusiasm. Their energy levels are indeed commendable.Overall, by joining the Workers’ Party, I have learnt many things and I am honoured to have a chance to serve the people and work with such committed people.