Should maids get a day off every week?

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have been considering if they should make it compulsory for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to be given a rest day every week.

However, there are its pros and cons.

Maids are human, they should not be treated like slaves. They need a break after working long hours everyday. Also, with rest days, maids will then put in more effort in taking care of the household chores.

However, many will be worried that during employers' rest days, they do not have their helpers around to help them. Also, they may fear that their maids would abuse their break , and would not return home on time, thus affecting their work the next day as they would not be able to concentrate and do their chores properly with the lack of sleep. Moreover, there have been cases of maids getting pregnant. Employers tends to be worried of giving their maids too much freedom as they will be worried that their maids will do indecent acts and get themselves pregnant.

I personally think that maids should be given a day off once in a while, instead of given a day off once a week. This will not spoil the maid and would encourage the maid to work harder. Moreover, employers can make use of the chance to see if the maid is responsible and if the maid will abuse their freedom. This not only will allow maids to gain the trust of the employers, but also improve the relationship between the maid and employer.

Done by: Chua Qing Ling

Source : http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110622-0000548/Should-maids-get-a-day-off-every-week?

Teens get taste of life as top chef

A culinary apprenticeship programme at Resorts World Sentosa allowed 30 teenagers of low-income families to spend a few days under the guidance and teaching of professional chefs, learning to prepare dishes. "Becoming a top chef takes commitment, willingness and, most of all, passion" said the Resorts World Sentosa executive chef, Edmund Toh.

These 30 teenagers were chosen by youth charities and volunteer welfare organisations, as they showed potential. From this programme, the teenagers learned skills and tips on how to make dishes, also, they learnt to follow safety precautions.

In my opinion, having such programmes should be more encouraged. This helps individuals to persue their passion, and also, do well in what they are talented in. Especially for people from low-income families, they could not afford to attend classes outside school to pick up skills that they are really interested in learning. Thus, not only does this helps individuals, it also helps the society. It brings new talents and can contribute to our society, making our society a better place.

Schools can conduct workshops such as dancing classes, singing classes, cooking classes, and even IT classes. Teachers can make use of these opportunities and nurture students with potentials.

Done By: Chua Qing Ling

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC110624-0000249/Teens-get-taste-of-life-as-top-chef

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/woman-roasted-puppy-alive-061603091.html

Woman in China roasts puppy alive

By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – Thu, Jun 16, 2011

            According to the news, there is a china Chinese woman who roasts a puppy in a small market in front of the small crowd. It was so cruel and scary, how can she tough enough to see a puppy being roasted and scream out so pity scream and waiting for rescue. We really don’t understand how a animal feel but I can sure that the puppy is unnecessary to be treated like that. I think the woman must had what reason to do that, but no matter what her reason she still must be fined by the World Society for the Protection of Animals which head office set at London

By Pang Ting Poh(115291N)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319804/Afghan-girl-Bibi-Aisha-nose-ears-hacked-Taliban-rule-gets-new-face.html

The smile that defies the Taliban: Afghan teenager whose mutilated face shocked the world unveils her new image

By Claire Bates

My review of this news is the husband is too cruel for her wife. In this world, everyone is saying that we are a men and women fair world, but there is a lot of countries still look down women. This woman was being given to his Taliban’s family as a wife of a Taliban to settle her family debt.  She has a tough life during those years living in that family and due to that she try to escaped but she failed and her husband cut off her nose and ears as punishment, according to the news, cutting down the nose or ears from a person no matter he or she is dead or alive is prohibited in Islamic laws. We were been told that Taliban is follows the Islamic laws so his husband has against the laws, but the Taliban has released a statement the rejecting that what they had done to this pity girl. Maybe before we think about how to improve all the world to reach Venus or else we should need to help these poor family and country to make sure all people been respected and live fairly. Before we discussing about the cruel thing people has done for animal, we should think about the humanity.

By Pang Ting Poh(115291N)

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/05/26/oscar-winning-director-kathryn-bigelow-is-making-osama-bin-laden-the-movie-115875-23157063/

Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow is making Osama bin Laden: The Movie

by Mark Jefferies, Daily Mirror 26/05/2011

After reading, I think agree with the title, we cannot think that the terrorist threats or revenge will come to the end after the Osama died. Because I think that the terrorist will went red in the face because the person they respect has been killed. Recently there is break news talking about Hollywood is going to shoot a movies about how the Osama killed by the American soldier. I think this will make them wanted to take revenge of their shame. I think that we should be careful and high awareness because it is our responsible to take care ourselves away from danger. Other than that I also think that the movies should not been shoot, because the I think that we should let the death news of Osama passed quietly rather than showed how the story how the American soldier killed the Osama and we all don’t know the truth of the Osama death and the terrorist will think that the movie is the show of thing of the American soldier and will be very angry about that. So this will only make the things become worst.

By Pang Ting Poh(115291N)

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/5-000-thai-girl-goodwill-not-compensation-smrt-010545321.html

S$5,000 to Thai girl for goodwill, not compensation: SMRT

By Fann Sim | SingaporeScene – Tue, Jun 21, 2011

SMRT clarified the $5,000 given to Nitcharee's family to be a gesture of good will. (YouTube screen grab)Transport operator SMRT has clarified that the S$5,000 offered to the 15-year-old Thai girl who fell onto the tracks at Ang Mo Kio station was a gesture of goodwill and not compensation as said by her father. The girl, Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, lost both her legs when she fell onto the tracks in April this year. According to Nitcharee's father, Kittanesh Peneakchanasak claimed that the initial S$5,000 offered by SMRT was a compensation sum in late May. However, SMRT said that the S$5,000 was a gesture of goodwill and not compensation. SMRT added that the gesture was made known to Nitcharee's father through the Thai Embassy. According to Channel NewsAsia, SMRT revealed that another S$10,000 was offered to the victim's family as 'initial financial support' to travel to Singapore when Nitcharee was in hospital. Kittanesh is currently suing SMRT of S$3.4 million to pay for Nitcharee's prosthetic legs. The large sum is said to be equivalent to the price of 20 pairs of prosthetic legs that Nitcharee will need in her lifetime.

My review

                After reading the article, I think that the girl is careless, we always been told to be careful and stand behind the yellow line when we are at the MRT station. So, is our responsible for being careful there. Recently, got a few case about people fell onto the tracks and lost their life or part of body. I know that Nitcharee  need a lot of money for her prosthetic legs but I think that the SMRT has no responsible to pay full amount of $3.4million. I think the father if cannot afford then he may turn to seek for the welfare to help him. At the end, I think the SMRT need to build the border to all the MRT station especially those crowded station for prohibited people fell onto the tracks.

By Pang Ting Poh(115291N)

More than 2 million affected by China flooding

In recent news , Beijing capital of China has been deeply affected by the recent flooding in eastern province China , where prices has increase steeply by about 15% over the past few weeks. Causing inflammation within the country. Prices of basic necessity has risen over the past few weeks.

A heavy downpour and thunderstorms and left many huge areas of china's relatively wealthy areas flooded, with at least 422,500 acres of farmland underwater. Causing extreme losses to farmers and suppliers. The astonishing fact is that one standard soccer field is about 2acres. Imagine 422,500 acres of crops and wheat. The damage done has left more than 2million people affected from business man to farmers and even blue collar workers. About 1000 businesses are forced to close down for the time being due to the heavy flooding in eastern china.

Damages occurred from the flooding is approximately 5billion yuan which is equivalent to 772million. Flooding has also caused transportation of goods around China to be blocked and unable to supply goods to those in need. 170 people were said to be missing or even dead. This flooding was the worst in 20 years as quoted by one of the farmers. It reduces vegetable output by 20percent and prices of fruits were increased by 40 percent. The main factor was the major jump in food prices of about 11.7percent from the previous month. Since then the economic of China has been dropping ever since , including the stock prices which mainly depended on natural resources and shipping.

Due to this natural disasters more than 2million people are affected , in my opinion i feel that such natural disasters are unavoidable as scientist these days are still not able to predict the outcome of such impending mishaps. Hence China as a body should practice self awareness such as being prepared for rainy days , literally and mentally. China government should also put aside Funds for such natural disasters which are inevitable. In such cases i feel that the China citizen should work together to overcome this , so as not to bring down the economy as China plays a big part in the world economy's. China's Government should step up as i feel that they are not doing enough to ensure a speedy recovery from this flooding whereas taking matters with no urgency.

All in all , every country should be prepared for all kinds of natural disasters such as earthquakes , famine , floods and even tornadoes. Such mishaps have happened to many other country thus no one is spared or even safe from such disasters. Therefore in conclusion i think that we should all live life and be prepared always.

-Bryan Chong

Elderly woman killed by train at Yio Chu Kang

A woman in her 60s was hit by a south-bound train at Yio Chu Kang MRT Station on Wednesday night. The elderly woman was on the train tracks when the police arrived and was pronounced dead by paramedics at about 11.50pm.
The case has been classified as an unnatural death and investigations are underway.
The incident happened at about 11:20pm and south-bound train services between Yishun and Ang Mo Kio MRT Station were disrupted, reported TODAY newspaper.
The disruption affected about 680 commuters. Train services for south-bound trains resumed at 12.42am while north-bound trains remained unaffected the whole time.
Free bus-bridging services were provided by SMRT to ferry affected passengers from Yishun to Toa Payoh MRT stations. This service continued until the end of passenger service hours.

After reading this article, the first thing that came across my mind was that SMRT definitely needs to implement safety glass on the platform especially this incident of people killed by trains have been occuring during these few months. I was quite uphappy that why SMRT havent learnt from its lesson and still refuse to implement those safety glass. Its better to be safe than to be sorry as human life is precious and we ought to seek for proper safety in public transport especially for people staying around those areas with no safety glass are in a greater risk.

All in all,  I hope that SMRT would start to implement safety glass at every MRT station to protect the safety of the passengers to ensure a safe and enjoyable ride. I believe SMRT would have learnt from its lesson since once bitten twice shy. Its time for SMRT to do something about it.


- CLAIRE TEO

More than 8.5 million trees have been planted in Malaysia as of March in Petalling Jaya.

ARTICLE : http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_668837.html

When I came across this article, my attention was drawn to it as I am an environmentally conscious person.
After reading this article, I was elated that such an large number of trees have been planted and it shows a sign that more people are aware that global warming is getting serious. Just a side information,  It is estimated that rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 trees per minute. Just imagine, the number of trees being cut down in just 24 hours. This number is horrifying. The average American uses 7 trees a year in paper, wood, and other products. If there are about 275 million Americans, how many trees are used in a year?

Many people thought that global warming isn’t an serious issue, but have they realize that the weather is changing and natural disaster have been strucking us every then and fore?
Those are linked to global warming and global warming are caused by human beings . Therefore, since we started this global warming issue Im sure we will have a way to stop it too.
We do not need to travel to Malaysia to plant trees to save the earth, there are actually very simple ways for us to do our part to be environmentally friendly. Instead of buying normal products, we can always buy environmentally friendly products that are made from recycled materials and I believe it is worth it to spend a little more just to save the Earth.
Methane gas comes from all sorts of sources including wetlands, rice paddies, cow tummies, coal mines, garbage dumps and even termites. And Methane actually causes global warming too. In order to help to decrease the amount of Methane emitted to the atmosphere, we can always change our diet by being a Vegetarian or reduce the number of waste by recycling. Little things that we can do can help to save the Earth.

In a nutshell, Im glad that people all over the world are being more environmentally conscious and I hope that more trees will be planted , not only in Malaysia but spread over the world. Lastly, Never underestimate yourself of what you can do to help the earth. As a famous Chinese Taoist had said,

Great acts are made up of small deeds.

- CLAIRE TEO

Woman in China roasts puppy alive

A woman in China has been captured on photograph roasting a live puppy over an open fire, using what appears to be a portable stove.

The gruesome incident is reported to have taken place at Kengkou market in Guangzhou, according to an article carried on  Chinese website chinaSmack. The woman is seen grilling the live puppy with a pair of tongs, in front of a small crowd, including children. After a while, the dog's body appeared stiff and its skin slightly charred.
Respondents on the website were horrified by her actions.
One user known as VIP posted a comment, "Are you still human? Think for a moment, how would you feel if you were roasted alive/barbecued alive?"
Another who wanted to be known as Love, said, "What's wrong with people these days? They don't even seem like people/human anymore."
This abuse comes hot on the heels of another animal abuse case in Indonesia where live cattle exports were subjected to mistreatment.
On 31 May, it was reported the Australian government suspended live cattle exports to Indonesian abattoirs after a television program showed videos of cattles being unnecessarily whipped and left to bleed to death after their throats were cut using blunt knives.
The videos were recorded by Lyn White, a former police officer and campaign director of the animal welfare group Animals Australia. It is understood that the said abattoirs are located in Jakarta, Bogor, Bandar Lampung and Medan.
It's understood Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an investigation of slaughterhouses in the country, saying, "We have to highly respect animal welfare."  


After reading this article, I'm feeling infuriated and heavyhearted. I'm an animal lover and to add on, i have a pet dog at home therefore this article had a huge impact on me. Although those China women may not be educated, i do not think it gives them an excuse to be inhuman to animals as it should be part of human nature. Yes, i agree that selling puppy's meat could be their livelihood, however it is not necessary to roast the puppy alive. I strongly think that the least they could do is to give the puppy a fast death instead of torturing it till its death. In my opinion, i think those women should be sentenced to at least 3 years of jail to reflect on what they've done. Also, they should be volunteers of Animals organizations for a year to let them have a good understandings of animals and teach them to love animals.

In a nutshell, I hope that after this article is published , people in the society will realise the importance of animal welfare and learn that it is an unforgivable act to torture animals as they are living things and have feelings like all of the human beings do. Though animals are a source of food for us, i believe that we should minimize their pain when they are killed to be our food.

- CLAIRE TEO

Thai teen’s family sues SMRT for S$3.4 million

In this newspaper report i will be reporting about a recent incident regarding the Thai teenager who lost her legs during a unfortunate MRT incident.

The incident happened in April where the Thai teenager fell into the mrt tracks at Ang Mo Kio station. The Thai teenager named Peneakchanasak Nitcharee came to Singapore to study English and was bound to return to Thailand in 3 weeks. The thai teenager had a "dizzy spell" and fell into the MRT track. Medics said that her lower body limbs were severely injured and doctors had no choice but to amputate it. The Thai teenager was sent to tan tock seng hospital later in the afternoon and her father was called down and reunited. Even though the thai teenager lost both legs she was seen cheerful and happy when returning to Thailand to visit her family.

After the Thai teenager reached Thailand , she was funded by red cross society in Bangkok of $250,000 worth of medical expenses. The shocking news that struck me and the singaporeans citizens and the Thailand citizens was that the Thai teenager was only compensated of $5000 medical fee. This is totally "unacceptable" as spoken by the thai teenager's father. After such a horrify incident.

The Thai teenager's father then sued SMRT for a total of3.4million of compensation money for the girl's medical expenses. The doctors said that that will be the amount needed for the girl custom made legs which cost about $150000 per pair. And over the period of the next 50Years. The family said that they were asking for just enough and not an extra compensation for the girl. SMRT who had private discussions with the family has not come to a conclusion yet but was seen very reluctant to compensate the family.

After reading this article on the newspaper i felt really disturbed by the fact that the thai teenager lost her both limbs to one of Singapore's best transport system. And only compensated $5000. If i was in her situation i would be fuming with anger and grief. Losing both limbs isn't a small matter. Try putting yourself into her shoes i would feel depressed and devastated and probably would want to end my life. The fact that the thai teenager had enough courage to face this terrible incident tells us how much we much cherish our life and live it to the fullest. I personally feel that 3.4million is exaggerating to a certain extent , but nevertheless i strongly agree that SMRT should bear all the girl's medical expenses in the years to come until she is able to support herself in future. As said , responsibility is one of the most important factors in our everyday lives, hence SMRT should be held responsible for this unfortunate mishap.

-Bryan

Dead Indonesian body found in water tank

About 168 residents of woodlands blk 168 were shocked and disgusted by what happened on a Saturday morning around 10.40am.

The dead woman is believed to be a 30-year old Indonesian maid living in the block. She had long hair and was wearing T-shirt and bermudas. The women was discovered after the water in the HDB Flats started turning yellow and tasted disgusting according to some residents. Some Blood stains were found in the lift and at the rooftop.

A few residents saw the couple quarreling at the 14th floor lift lobby that morning where the Bangladeshi worker murdered the Indonesian women. The victim and the Bangladeshi man were believed to have been in an intimate relationship. He was seen limping and had cuts on his legs when he was arrested by the police.

According to the police the residents were only informed several hours after the discovery, which means that many people had unknowingly used the water. Residents staying in the block revealed that some residents were afflicted by emotional trauma, and others by diarrhea.

Sembawang Town Council took swift action once it was informed of the incident: It isolated all the eight water tanks serving the block and began washing, flushing and sterilizing of the tanks and distribution pipes. Many residents were unable to access clean water for almost 2hours before water tanks came. Complains were over the sky as many residents were unhappy and disgusted by allowing this to happen.

Several Questions were raised such as "why is the Bangladeshi worker given access to the rooftop?"

Even though the case has settled down , i feel utterly disgusted by the situation and feel that such incidents should never happen again. I understand that some residents even used the water to boil soup and cook breakfast. This is repulsive and nauseating. I personally would be horrified and hence have a phobia of drinking the PUB water anymore. Security to the rooftop should be more secured , many other things many happen. Examples such as suicide and terrorism may strike easily in such a case.

All in all , Singapore town council should step up and take control of such incidents from happening again. Prevention is better than cure.

Osama Bin Laden Died.

One the most wanter terrorist Osama Bin Laden was died on 1st May of 2011 declared by US president Barrack Obama.

The hunt of Osama Bin Laden undergone for a decade of 10years since the incident of 9/11 happened.

In a Press Conference US President Barack Obama announced "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who`s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children."

Osama was found beside a big compound in a upscale town of Abbottabad, which is 60 km (35 miles) north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Obama hid in pakistani for almost a decade was accidentally found b US intelligence system , where an impromtu operation was imposed.

Obama said that there were no American soldier and civilian were injured
It is real celebrations for people who are against terrorism. Nevertheless we remorse the death of a great terrorist. Revenge has been taken for the thousands who died on the regretful day of the 9-11 attack in America. Many USA citizens are Glad and joyous for the death of such a sinful person indeed.

In my opinion , i think that Justice has been served for those many innocent lives lost on September 11. However such celebrations among the Americans are not meaningful. I feel that even though revenge is being taken , we should still know that Osama Bin Laden is still a human being and a life is a life. Even though he has commited many sins and evil doings , we still should cherish his life and not see it as nothing.

Osama's death is deeply regretted by many pakistani and rejoiced by many Americans.

40 arrested in China for child trafficking

More than 200 police were involved in the arresting of 40 people suspected of buying at least 22 children in coastal Fujian province, the nation's southwest and trafficking them to a wealthier region.

Human trafficking remains a serious problem in China. According to state press reports, about 20 children were forcibly taken away from families who were allegedly in violation of the birth control policy, and put up for adoption abroad. Under the "one-child" policy, aimed at controlling the world's largest population of 1.3 billion, people who live in urban areas are generally allowed one child, while rural families can have two if the first is a girl.

Is China's "one-child" policy effective or not? Couples who wants to carry on the family surname, they may abandon their daughters, so as to be able to continue giving birth until they give birth to a son. This leads to human trafficking due to the large number of children abandoned.

The policy only manage to control the number of children living in a family, but it did not successfully control the number of children in the whole country. Moreover, this policy had caused many girls to grow up in a environment without love and care. In the future, when they get married, they may give up their daughters again, so as to carry on the family surname of their husband's.

People working in the primary industry (for example, farmers) needed more labour. Most of the time,especially the sons, were the ones who would be helping their fathers in farming. When a couple give birth to a daughter, they would tend to give up the daughter , so that they could try and conceive a son.

Most people chose not to abort their fetus as they felt that it has a life after all. However, upon giving birth to their baby, and abandoning them, the child would never be able to grow up in a healthy and complete family, and nobody would be able to teach them what is right and wrong, and the basic principles in life. Thus causing them to be unable to contribute anything to the society.

By introducing the "One-child" policy is a start to control the population in China. However, it has got its own pros and cons. Causing it only to be effective to a certain extent. If the government could come up with policies to prevent human trafficking in the country, it will benefit both the citizens and the country.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=china&id=1128605

Done by: Chua Qing Ling (Christina)

Untrained animal catchers a cause for concern

Often,we come across articles and photographs about animal abuse. Most of the times, we will see stray cats and dogs, be it at void decks, or roadside. To control the number of stray dogs and minimize the chances of the spread of diseases such as rabies, about 1800 dogs are put down to sleep annually.

In Singapore, there are animal catchers who make use of unconventional tools such as fishing lines and hooks which will indirectly led to the death of a stray dog. According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) , these animal catchers have no structured training programmes.

Mr Francis Lee, a dog catcher was fined by the AVA for his role in the death of the dog, which died from strangulation after being caught in a noose trap, after it fell into a drain next to the trap.

As animal catchers, they are supposed to work with police, parks and recreation departments, and health departments by confining animals or investigating animal bites to humans, and also to rescue animals so that they may be returned to their owners or transported to veterinary clinic or animal shelter. They should have love towards animals. They should be treated more humanely. We may not be able to understand what these animals are thinking, but if we put ourselves in its' shoes, we would never want to be treated the same way. Animals have feelings too. Can you imagine how its parents would feel? Would you ever let anyone bully your own child? I think that the penalty Mr Francis Lee should receive was not harsh enough. He should be sentenced to jail for a few years. If someone was murdered, the murderer was sentenced to death, then why is it that when animals get killed, the murderer was set free?

Done by: Chua Qing Ling (Christina)

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110416-0000344/Untrained-animal-catchers-a-cause-for-concern

China launches ban on smoking in public venues

China launches ban on smoking in public venues .
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1126037/1/.html



China launched a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars and other indoor public spaces on Sunday. After reading this article, I am truly glad that China finally realises the importance of baning smoking in indoor public venues. Firstly, I strongly believe that the majority of us are aware that China is the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco which causes serious health problems in China. Smoking harms the smokers by putting them at a risk of developing lungs and heart diseases that may result in fatality. Moreover, it also harms the people who inhale tobacco smoke. These people are known as the second hand smokers who are at an even higher risk of developing lungs and heart diseases. I think that these people are the ones that need to be protected from the smokers as the inhalation of smoke produced by the tobacco causes their health to deteriorate unknowingly. I also feel that smoking indoors should be strictly prohibited as air indoors are not as well ventilated in comparison to outdoors. Hence, smoking indoors results in an increased concentration of smoke in the air we inhale.

Putting a ban on smoking in indoor public areas; this may not produce instantaneous results as it is highly impossible to quell smoking indoors effectively. The mindset of the people thus, becomes the challenge. It is dubious that everyone is willing to abide strictly to the rule voluntarily. After all, whether one is willing to change his habit, again, falls back to the basic principle of his mindset.

All in all, this ban adopted by China may not be thoroughly effective. Although many people in China will still continue to smoke indoors, but at the very least, this serves as a good start for China to encourage her citizens to stop smoking.


- CLAIRE TEO