Playing host to the Ship for South East Asia Youth Programme (SSEAYP) Participating Youths (PYs) had given me a memorable experience. What better ways are there to forge friendship with friends from other countries besides staying together under one roof?
In the weeks leading to the hosting period, I was hesitant in whether to bring them around Singapore. That was the study week right before the school exams. The decision to host them was made just a day before meeting the PYs. It was a decision well made.
Over the course of 2 days and 2 nights, I learnt much about Cambodia and Myanmar as much as they learnt about Singapore. The following are some of my take-home points after the hosting.
Alex (Cambodian) shared that MediaCorp TV soap operas are screened everyday during the prime period in Cambodia. Cambodians adore Singaporean celebrities and Alex even calls Zoe Tay as "Bobo" (the name of the character in one of her popular shows). Interestingly, Alex said that one reason why Cambodians love Singapore shows is that our productions usually promote family values and good moral values.
When Alex and Thu Yein heard that Singapore politicians meet their constituents once a week during Meet-the-People sessions, they were amazed. They don't have any channels to meet their local political leaders when they want to.
Thu Yein (Myanmar) shared that he likes our Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong because SM Goh frequently travels to his country. The friendship fostered by our political leaders with their counterparts built over the years is valuable. The efforts to build ties with other nations are consistent.
The Ship for South East Asia Youth Programme (SSEAYP) is a 52-day programme, which sees youths from 11 countries (Japan, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, The Phillipines, and Vietnam) gather on board a ship and travel to different countries. The whole trip is sponsored by Japan. Youth participants fly to Tokyo for their first stop, before departing to other countries. During each visit, they would be hosted by locals in the homestay programme.
My senior Chee Wei was selected for the 36th SSEAYP this year, thus he sought my help to host 2 Participating Youths (PYs). And I agreed.
So after my RT IPPT at Bedok Camp, I rushed over to Buona Vista Community Club. There I met my PYs - Alex from the Kingdom of Cambodia and Thu Yein from the Union of Myanmar. As we took the cab back to my place, Alex kept asking questions about Singapore while Thu Yein dozed off from motion sickness.
Alex (Kem Sithipanha) is in the education business and currently teaches English and elementary Japanese. Phyo Thu Yein is a government administrative officer under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Once we reached home, I introduced them to Mother and Brother. Alex affectionately addressed me as Gor Gor, and Mother as Ma Ma.
How could anyone miss the beauty of Singapore's night scene. While Thu Yein turned in for the night, I brought Alex to take a look at the skyline of Singapore. From City Hall, we went to see the St Andrew Cathedral, Supreme Court, Parliament House, Old Supreme Court, City Hall, Padang, and Esplanade.
Alex was crazy about the "durian", so I brought him up to the roof and enjoyed the breathtaking skyline.
On our way back, Hock Rong joined us for supper at the famous Bedok 85 market.
We ordered sugar cane drink (Alex said it's real expensive here), satays (Alex's favourite), oyster omelette, and barbeque stingray! According to Alex, Cambodians love spicy, sour and sweet food but not salty ones.
We reached home, with a satisfied stomach, at about 2 am.
The next morning, Thu Yein was feeling much better. We visited the wet market, a unique heritage of Singapore. We settled our brunch at the Pasar Makan @ Bedok Reservoir food centre. For their first time, they tried Mee Rebus and Mee Siam.
After brunch, they learnt about our local grassroots network, with the first visit to Eunos Community Club.
And my Residents' Committee centre.
Hock Rong and I also briefed them about Singapore politics, stopping by the PAP Eunos Branch, where I collected the party magazine, Petir, as their souvenirs. They were fortunate that the current edition of the magazine featured the party's 50 years in power, so they could learn much about Singapore from the readings.
Both Alex and Thu Yein were surprised to hear that Singaporeans can see their Members of Parliament every week at the Meet-the-People Session. In their countries, they don't usually get to see their political leaders.
We also went to the PCF Kindergarten and share with them how the Party created the Community Foundation to provide affordable early childhood education to Singaporeans.
Leaving my neighbourhood, we went to Bugis Village for simple souvenir shopping. We met quite a lot of hosts and PYs there.
We also visited the Kwan Im Thong Hood Temple and an Indian temple beside it, before going to Illuma for window shopping.
Time is the essence. 2D2N is really not enough to discover Singapore. On foot, we headed towards Dhoby Ghaut, where we wanted to show our guests the official residence of our President - the Istana.
Along the way, we checked out the National Library.
The Singapore Art Musuem.
Singapore Management University.
We took a rest at Plaza Singapura, the most popular hangout place for local youths. Just as we were leaving the shopping mall, Kung Fu Panda appeared! We playfully lined up among the crowd of children. We were the only non-parent adults in the queue!
Alex and Thu Yein took a photo with the Istana as their backdrop. Then we headed to the Singapore River, where we walked around the shophouses, across the Cavenagh bridge to the Merlion Park at One Fullerton.
Alex finally had his dream come true - for having the splurting water photos.
Along the way back to City Hall, we found ourselves at Parliament House (for Thu Yein who missed it).At night, they presented souvenirs from their countries to my family.
From Myanmar: a scroll and a traditional puppet
From Cambodia: An Angkor Wat plate, keychain, hand-woven scarf and a postcard (drawn by the handicapped)
Before they slept, I too surprised them with some local goodies, which included: a copy of the Petir, PAYM wristband, a copy of the Army magazine, a book titled "Things that make us Singaporean", Uniquely Singapore postcards (which I collected and kept for years!), PUB notepads, Singapore's 40th NDP caps (which they proudly wore on their way back to ship the next day), as well as my secondary school's camp tshirt and my junior college orientation shirt (which they were so touched, they immediately wore it till they reached their ship). While presenting the souvenirs to them, I talked about the background information of each souvenir. That took a whole hour, and we found ourselves turning in at about 1am.
In the morning, all of us, including Mother and Hock Rong, ate at the Kopitiam. We bought half-boiled eggs and toasts for them to savour the local breakfast.
We reached Vivocity at about 11.30am. Their ship proudly stood at the harbour. It was great to hear Singapore songs like "This is Home", "Uniquely You" and various NDP songs being played.
Note the NDP caps and their tshirts in this picture!
At noon, the PYs went up to ship for a change of clothes. When they returned, they were dressed in their smart attire, with name tags bearing their respective state flags and their names.
The Kingdom of Cambodia (Kingdom of Wonder):
The Union of Myanmar:
The Republic of Singapore (Uniquely Singapore)!
And the rest:
At about 1.30pm, we boarded the ship for a tour.
This is where the PYs dine. When they stop at different countries, they get to sample the local food specially prepared by the chefs on board.
3 PYs are housed in one bunk.
While on board, the PYs have a packed schedule. In the morning, there is physical exercise. During the day, they discuss various issues in their designated themed groups. Alex is in the group that discusses educational issues. They would need to develop a plan that can be executed. This is one of the place where they discuss:
They even have a hall and a theatre:
So this is how the Snowman looks from a ship!
The sending off ceremony was supposed to commence on the ground, but due to the sudden heavy downpour, it was carried out inside the ship instead.
We were rather disappointed when we were told that we could wait but we won't be able to see our PYs. Alex had routinely requested us to stay until the ship leaves, as there would be a ceremony where the PYs would throw a roll of paper tape down from their deck and the hosts would hold on to them until the paper breaks.
Fortunately, the rain went off just as the ship is setting sail!
Perhaps due to the rain, there were only about 3 PYs throwing the paper tape down, and Alex was one of them!
Shouts of "I Love You" came to and fro. Alex and Thu Yein did their part too. At one point, Alex turned emotional and wept. That was really touching. It was just 2 days ago that we met.
The ship left the berth but the waiving of farewell didn't stop, until the ship vanished from sight.
I wonder what's the probability that 2 people living in another side of the world would actually get to stay at my place and spend time together for days. It is really a fruitful experience and a very memorable one too.
The organising committee for Make a Wish this X'mas met on Saturday morning and conducted a site recce. Many interesting ideas were mooted and I really look forward to the party!
22 November 2009
Eunos Zone '3' Residents' Committee launched its Basketball Interest Group with a friendly multiracial basketball match. The Guest-of-Honour was Mr Lin Tze Kin PBM, Chairman of Eunos CC Management Committee.
Students from Telok Kurau Primary School also participated in the match.
Halfway through the match, Mother, Brother and I went to a restaurant at Defu Lane to celebrate Uncle's birthday.
I thought the playing of Yo-Yo had died out after my secondary school days, until I saw more and more children and teens playing them in my neighbourhood. The best way to confirm a trend is to take a look at the shops they frequent, and yes, they are selling more and more Yo-Yos.
Hence, the idea of a Yo-Yo interest group under the charge of the Eunos Community Club Youth Executive Committee is formed. Slightly a month ago, recruitment banners to the interest group were strategically placed near Eunos Community Club as well as around Telok Kurau Primary School.
The response was overwhelming. In less than a month, we had more than 35 names. The participants were so eager that they kept asking the Eunos Constituency Office about the details for the first gathering.
For our first gathering, we met at Eunos CC basketball court. In attendance were Chairman of the YEC Hock Rong and Children's Programme Secretary Diana. The age of the participants varied from as young as 7 years old (!!!) to 22. After understanding the objective of the interest group, everyone introduced themselves and did their own signature Yo-Yo trick.
They were then grouped according to their proficiency levels, picked their own leader and named their own groups.
The experts then coached their peers.
It is fruitful to provide a platform for people living around one another to gather and foster bonds.
Edmund, Hock Rong and I attended the inaugural PAYM Service-Learning Festival 2009. The festival comes 4 years after the inception of PAYM Service Learning Clubs (SLCs) in secondary schools. The SLCs partner their respective Community Club/Centre's Youth Executive Committees (YECs), leveraging on the existing grassroots resources to organise projects that benefit the community.
The event was graced by Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of National Development, MP for Sembawang GRC & Adviser to Central Youth Council.
Outside the Brickworks Auditorium, the meritorious award winners of the Project Accolade displayed booths featuring their winning projects.
Bedok North Secondary School SLC, which partners Eunos CC YEC, won 2 meritorious awards, 1 in the school-level category (Project Care) and 1 in the community-level category ("Are Youths Stressed?" forum). I was excited when I heard that the SLC students that I mentored for the forum won. It was a lot of hard work and effort put in.
I was the Master of Ceremony for the Deepavali & Loy Krathong cum Block Party celebrations, organised by Eunos Zone '2' Residents' Committee. Before the commencement of the event proper, I went around to learn about the significance of these two festivals.
Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated by the Thais. During the celebration, water lanterns would be released. The release signifies the expulsion of bad luck, and to get a refreshing start.
Deepavali is celebrated by Indians. This festival marks the triumph of good over evil. To them, darkness is evil, and candles and oil lamps are lit to brighten away darkness.
During registration, participants were sprinkled holy water (rosewater) and added the "dot" on their forehead in the Indian tradition. Ladies used the red powder made from sephron flower while men use the powder made from sandlewood.
The celebration begun with the lighting up ceremony by grassroots leaders. The special Deepavali stand is constructed by the RC members.
Dinner was Indian-style Nasi Briyani, prepared by Velu's Family Restaurant. The restaurant is located at Eunos Community Club and is well-known for its curry fish head.
After a sumptuous dinner, participants started praying for a better year ahead and released the water lanterns. Regardless of religion, everyone prayed on the same platform. Such is the uniqueness of multiracial Singapore.
The lanterns were made by the RC members as well. They are made from styrofoam bowls.
The event title is really a mouthful but the long text of the title represents the importance of this event to the residents of Eunos Zone '2' and '3'. The Housing Development Board (HDB) Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) is finally here for the residents!
Preparation for the HDB LUP took months of liaison between grassroots leaders and HDB. In order for the LUP to kick off, 75% residents of the block must cast their votes, out of which there must be a majority that want the lifts.
There were 2 blocks of flats in Eunos Zone '3' that only had 15 eligible voters each. With the small number of voters, it meant that if a good 6 families did not turn up, there will be no lift upgrading for those blocks. As such, grassroots leaders from the Residents' Committee (RC) visited the residents, house-to-house, to encourage them to participate in the voting.
So much for the controversy whether the Opposition MP or the grassroots Adviser should announce the LUP in the recent Hougang case. My personal opinion is that the Adviser should be the one to do the announcement, since it is the grassroots volunteers who are doing the groundwork, from informing residents of the LUP to organising the launching ceremony. The successes of so many LUPs could not be possible without the support from the grassroots Advisers and the many volunteers.
The Guest-of-Honour was Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and MP for Aljunied GRC (Eunos Division). Also present was HDB Deputy CEO (Building), Mr Sng Cheng Keh and Eunos Citizens' Consultative Committee Chairman Mr Sim Wai Chin BBM.
Mr Zainul officiated the launch of the LUP and then the voting commenced.
Eunos Zone '3' RC prepared a series of entertaining programme for the residents who were waiting for their turn to vote.
In my course of helping out at this LUP, I learnt a lot about this programme by the HDB. HDB provides heavy subsidy to the LUP. The Town Council also pays a sum equal to what the HDB dweller pays. So for a 5-room flat, the owner of a unit just pays $900+. This payment can be made on an instalment basis, for up to two years.
However, not all flats are eligible for LUP, if the costs were deemed to be too high (cost per unit). That's when the Town Council's LUP comes in. That night, Aljunied Town Council also held its Lift Upgrading Programme voting for Blk 620 Bedok Reservoir Road, which was not eligible for the HDB LUP scheme.
I was surprised to see Ley Boon at the launch, since she was there despite assuming no duties.
To mark the end of a wonderful night, Mr Zainul, together with grassroots leaders and residents, sang the Eunos Song - Ai Pia Jia Eh Yia 要拼才会赢 (which I prefer to call 可以起不能落, listen and you'll know why)
I initally wanted to join the SLC students in the sponsored trip to Malaysia. The trip was from 10 Nov - 14 Nov and that meant I had to skip Lin Qiang's Passing out Parade. Without second thoughts, I chose to attend the POP.
Mother, Uncle, Aunt, Shi Hui and I had breakfast before going to the Naval Diving Unit at Sembawang Camp. About 9 months ago, Mother, Uncle and myself sent Lin Qiang to the camp. From then on, the 31st batch of Combat Diver Course trainees (tadpoles) grew and became frogmen.
We took the shuttle bus in and stayed at the hall while waiting for the programme to commence. A photo montage was screened. There was a photo display booth at the back of the hall where eager parents and family members tried hard to spot their frogman.
There was a handful of soldiers that proactively explained to us the activities in the photos as well as the use of diving equipment.
Everyone then gathered at the parade square, awaiting for a good show.
Special guests present included Minister of State for Defence, A/Prof Koo Tsai Kee, Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs members -Michael Palmer (Chairman), Ellen Lee (Vice-Chairperson), Indranee Rajah (who is also Deputy Speaker of Parliament) and Dr Fatimah Lateef.
Amidst a gush of smoke, ran in the frogmen carrying their boats up above their heads. As the emcee narrates the training details, the frogmen performed them to the applause and enthusiasm of family members.
Next, there was an underwater performance. I was wowed by how the frogmen can actually hold their breaths for so long and yet remain calm underwater. Lin Qiang was one of the underwater performer who dived in and swam a distance before donning the breathing equipment underwater.
Later on, after the commander presented the diver badges to the 31st batch of Combat Diver Course graduates, who had already donned their No. 3 uniform, we watched in curiously as they mounted the 10m HMS Terror tower.
There, one by one, the frogmen jumped down, yelling "Hooya!"
Here comes our Mr. Hellweeker, who'll be posted out to Air Force for pilot training, after 9 months in water...
I wonder who founded the concept of "birthdays". Whoever did it developed a flawed way of celebrating it. Have you wondered why isn't the focus of celebration on the Mother instead of on the child, given that the Mother conceived the child for 9 months and perhaps endured a few hours of pain during labour?
Anyway, I refused to celebrate my birthday this year, given the many grievous events. Mother, Baohui and I went to MacDonald's for a simple dinner (also to earn some Monopoly stickers for Boahui).
Mother bought my favourite cake from Four Leaves. The chocolate sensation with the foamy cream and the crispy base would easily entice anyone.
And I'm holding to a gigantic pod, plucked by my Mother from our beanstalk.
Thanks to Baohui for constructing a red hot plane model & Hock Rong for giving me my first horizontally striped polo-tee.
No! Don't focus on the wrong use of the paddles. Instead, focus on the serenity of the Bedok Reservoir in the background.
We were at the Aljunied Dragonboat House at Bedok Reservoir, gearing ourselves up for the annual Aljunied Dragonboat Challenge. Participating teams come from the various divisions of Aljunied GRC, namely Aljunied-Hougang, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Eunos, Paya Lebar-Kovan and Serangoon. Each division sent in teams to compete in the 6 categories - Residents' Committee (RC), Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC), Constituency Sports Club (CSC), Youth, Women, and the Aljunied Dragonboat Challenge.
Teams arrived as early as 7.30am on the bright Sunday morning. Luckily, there are quite a few morale-boosters: the Old Chang Kee truck, the Red Bull redemption counter and the occasional servings of Red Bull by attractive ladies and last but not least, the camaraderie among contesting teams.
The Guest-of-Honour was Mr George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs. Special guests included Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Singapore's first Woman Minister (Minister, PMO & 2nd Minister for Finance & Transport) as well as Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
The first race was the RC category, flagged off by Minister George Yeo. Lin Qiang did the drum well, despite this being his first attempt. I got a great taste of Bedok Reservoir water through this race. With our concentrated effort, we managed to achieve 2nd-runner up position. (Note: There are only 3 teams competing)
Team Eunos (Youth) had been practising dragonboating for 3 sessions since more than a month ago. Last year, we rowed in last (and we were wearing polo tees). This year, all of us were confident that history will not repeat itself!
The 21-strong Team Eunos (Youth) came in 4th position, out of 5 teams. That was a vast improvement for the team and team members were generally keen in meeting regularly as an interest group.
The Eunos spirit was displayed in our cheer. A simple "Huat" could also be made into an impressive team cheer. The "huats" were so consistent that the emcee said that Eunos must be a prosperous area.
Just check out this video on the cheering for Team Eunos (led by Mr Zainul) for the Aljunied Dragonboat Challenge. We came in 2nd runner-up position!
Dragonboat is really a very fun sport that unites people together. Team spirit is paramount to everything else in the sport. It just takes one to slacken down and the whole boat would slow. Therefore, 100% commitment (a Damai Secondary School's value) is required from every team member.
And I learnt that one should not drink 3 cans of Red Bull in one go...
The PAP Party Convention 2009 was held at the D'Marquee, Downtown East on a Sunday morning. The PAP Policy Forum and the Young PAP jointly organised the convention. For the first time ever, this year's convention is wired up to the internet - there is live commentaries, live photo uploads, twitter, facebook and videos viewable on the convention website @ http://convention09.pap.org.sg/.
The New Media team started setting up their gadgets as early as 7am (event starts at 9am). No matter which corner on earth you were, you would be able to find out what is happening live, with just internet access.
The theme for this year's convention is "Turning Challenges into Opportunities". Year 2009 marks the 50-year rule of Singapore by the People's Action Party. Comrade Ellen Lee, MP for Sembawang GRC, was the Master of the Ceremony.
Party Chairman Lim Boon Heng led the recital of the party pledge before delivering his opening remarks. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of the strong links between the PAP and the unions. Several NTUC brothers and sisters were also present in the convention.
Several party activists spoke on various issues revolving around the theme in English, Mandarin and Malay languages.
The Young PAP recruitment video was screened for the first time. Videos can be viewed at the Young PAP Youtube Channel.
Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong delivered his speech and the dialogue session began. Party activists can SMS their questions to the panel, which consisted of Sec-Gen Lee Hsien Loong, Assistant Sec-Gens Wong Kan Seng and Teo Chee Hean, PAP Policy Forum Chairman Satwant Singh, Women's Wing Chairperson Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and Young PAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck. All the dialogue questions and responses were also recorded on youtube.
I was quite excited when my SMS appeared on screen. Fellow comrades raised many critical questions. Some were even emotional when posing questions. Party activists volunteer their time and service to the residents during Meet-the-People sessions and they know the ground issues concerning the people.
As Sec-Gen pointed out, the party is able to be in government all this while, thanks to all the dedicated party activists serving at the individual branches. These are the people that garner support from Singaporeans and channel their feedback up to the government, ensuring that policies are for Singaporeans.
PAP Party Awards 2009 was held at D'Marquee, Downtown East. The event is held annually to appreciate the dedication and efforts of party activists and branches.
There was a thunderstorm and lightning was striking when activists were making their way there. Anyway, the red lightning in the PAP logo represents Action. The award recipients had taken action and dedicated their effort and time to the community.
It's like one big family inside the D'Marquee. Everyone seized the opportunity to catch up with fellow activists before the ceremony begins.
PAP Chairman Lim Boon Heng addressed the audience and led fellow activists in reciting the party pledge. I like the pledge because it's simple but yet very meaningful.
"We, the members of the PAP, pledge ourselves to build a strong united Party, to create a vibrant, just and equal society, through achieving excellence by all, so that every citizen, regardless of race, language or religion, can enjoy a full and happy life."
Many awards were given. They are the Commendation Medals, Dedicated Service Medals, Long Service Medals, Youth Medals, Women's Medals, Outstanding Branch Awards and Sustained Performance Awards. The citations for the respective awards were presented by Assistant Secretary General Teo Chee Hean.
The award recipients are proudly cheered by their fellow comrades, who brought party poppers, clappers, whistles, drums and banners to show their appreciation.
During the entire ceremony, the MPs and Ministers, all of whom are also Branch Chairmen, cheered alongside their branch activists. Managed to photograph SM Goh Chok Tong and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam cheering along.
Everyone rose and sang "Stand Up for Singapore!" together and took shouted the Party Cheer.
Refreshments were served after the Party Awards. Some of us took the opportunity to speak with our MPs and Ministers and had some photographs with them.
Nursery and Kindergarten students danced to celebrate at the PCF Eunos Graduation Concert 2009, as the batch of K2 students graduates to enter Primary One next year. It was held at the Eunos Community Club Multipurpose Hall.
PCF stands for PAP Community Foundation, and is popularly known as "PAP Kindergarten".
Preparations for the concert started more than 6 months ago. The theme had to be chosen, dances have to be choreographed. For the first time ever, all the K2 students from the different centres performed together on stage together. Imagine the amount of coordination required!
As early as a month ago, PCF Eunos begun the concert rehearsals. I'm honoured to be the Master of Ceremony, working together with the 2 children emcees - Audrey and Mattheus.
On Saturday afternoon, the concert was to start at 2pm, but eager parents entered the hall as early as 12.45pm.
Mattheus checking out the Graduation certificates
Hip Hop dance team, Lil Fusion Crew, hyped up the tempo before the Adviser for the concert organising committee, Mr Abdul Aziz PBM, delivered his opening address. The Guest-of-Honour is Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Chairman for PCF Eunos. In his speech, he shared about how PCF Eunos places heavy importance on early childhood education. New centres would be built in the neighbourhood, including SparkleTots for pre-nursery children.
After the presentation of Graduation certificates and class photo-taking, the entire hall went through a time machine, Back to the '70s.
Featuring multiracial dances to the tunes of chinese, malay and indian songs, as well as songs from the movie Mama Mia!, parents were surprised and proud of their children's artistic expressions.
The climax was the K2 grand performance - "I have a dream" sung by all the K2 children from all the centres. It was so great that an encore was held, with PCF staff, PCF Management Committee members, led by Mr Zainul.
We stayed on stage and proceeded to the finale item, a dance along to the song Dancing Queen!
