KUALA LUMPUR: One Singaporean has died and 13 people were injured in a bus crash on the Karak-Kuala Lumpur Expressway in Malaysia on Saturday (Apr 7).

A spokesman at the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department said it received a distress call at about 3.30 pm on an accident involving a bus and a lorry.

He said an engine from the Selayang Fire and Rescue station was then sent to the scene.

“The accident involved 12 Singapore nationals and two locals. All the injured were sent to Selayang Hospital for treatment,” he told Bernama.

The tour bus was on its way back to Singapore from Genting Highlands, Malaysia media reported. 

Astro Radio Traffic said at about 6.30pm that the accident was “causing a bad jam in both directions”.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. 

SINGAPORE: The first batch of Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage elements has been unveiled, and the list of 50 items includes Malay weddings, Indian classical dance, xinyao and the hawker culture.

The list is “an important step” towards the possible listing of a Singapore element on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, said Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu at the opening of the Singapore Heritage Festival in Jurong Town Hall on Saturday (Apr 7).

UNESCO requires submitting countries to create an inventory of intangible cultural heritage elements, and to ensure that the submission is a popular one that all stakeholders agree on.

The 50 elements are grouped into six categories, five of which are largely based on UNESCO’s categories of intangible heritage. These are oral traditions and expressions; the performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices about nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship. The sixth category on food heritage is dedicated to Singapore’s food culture.

While some of the elements may also be found in other countries, the inventory will highlight how they are practised or expressed in Singapore to show how they have evolved to suit the local context. 

The list of elements can be found at www.roots.sg with a description of each, and more will be added progressively. Singaporeans can contribute photographs and information of the elements, or suggest additional elements, at the website.

OUR SG HERITAGE PLAN LAUNCHED

A master plan for the heritage and museum sector was also launched on Saturday. The five-year, S$66 million Our SG Heritage Plan was announced by Ms Fu during her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate last month.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the plan includes an inventory for tangible building site structures that will be created and launched by end-2019. Apart from national monuments, the inventory will also consider other sites of heritage interest such as the Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre and Paya Lebar Airbase (formerly Singapore International Airport).

And for intangible cultural heritage, a recognition scheme is in the works for practitioners who are masters of their craft and are committed to transmitting their skills and knowledge to the next generation.

The Our SG Heritage Plan was developed after 30 focus group sessions involving more than 730 participants including heritage experts, non-governmental organisations, practitioners, museum-goers and academics.

Views from the wider public were also sought through the oursgheritage.sg website and an exhibition in January and February. About 34,000 people visited the website and exhibition, and 7,300 provided their views and feedback.

The Singapore Heritage Festival will run until Apr 22 at different cultural districts. It is taking place in Jurong this weekend, will head to Chinatown and Jalan Besar next weekend, then Bras Basah, Bugis and Toa Payoh for the final weekend.

Events at Jurong include a recreation of the old Yuan Ching Road drive-in cinema. The recreation will be at Jurong Town Hall and will screen local films Cleopatra Wong and Chicken Rice Wars.

“Heritage is more than our history. It is what every one of us, within our families, in our communities, experiences in our daily lives and on special occasions,” said Ms Fu.

“Our heritage is diverse and complex, reflecting our multiculturalism, and enriched by the interactions between different ethnicities and religions. It is borne out of everyone’s life, and each and every one of us has a part in shaping it.”

SINGAPORE: Two major events in as many weeks have jolted Singaporeans into realising they are truly vulnerable to the machinations of the ride-hailing giants.

The first event being Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asian operations that panicked millions of commuters and drivers across the region into a frenzy about whether Grab would abuse its now dominant market position.

The second event was Grab’s app outage in Singapore on Tuesday (Apr 3) that felt almost as disruptive as an MRT breakdown, with commuters shocked by Uber fares spiking as much as four times in some areas, and countless Grab drivers frustrated with lost earnings.

Grab experienced another outage for the second time in the same week on Friday (Apr 6).

Suddenly, the date Uber has announced its app will stop working in Singapore (Apr 15) began to feel much more ominous.

SWIFT INTERVENTION, BUT MEASURES LIMITED

To the credit of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), it acted within days and was the first Southeast Asian regulator to start investigations into the Grab-Uber merger and propose interim measures to preserve competition in the ride-hailing industry.

The CCCS is giving Grab and Uber the chance to defend themselves before it decides on the deal. For most industries, this approach seems well-balanced and effective but when facts are self-evident, the regulator should be able to take action immediately.

Even within the freewheeling tech industry, ride-hailing companies are regarded as mavericks. Its most infamous ambassador, Uber is both greatly admired and reviled. That quality was on full display when the Grab-Uber merger was announced.

News reports highlight that Uber staff were given two hours to leave, a move executed by Uber with such speed and single-mindedness that it somehow forgot to give the contact details of its employees to Grab. Uber seemed happy to leave Southeast Asia and dismantle operations as soon as possible for a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab, a company valued at over US$6.5 billion (US$8.6 billion).

So what can regulators’ objections do? Even if Grab complies with interim measures proposed by the CCCS, such as for Uber and Grab platforms to maintain independent pricing, pricing policies and products, how much competition can be preserved when only one competitor is left and the other competitor does not want to compete?

The CCCS may try to make the case that the move represents a collusion on the parts of Grab and Uber that undermines competition to delay the deal, but that would involve a lengthy, uncertain trial which still would not restore competition.

Where the other goal of authorities is ostensibly not to put Grab out of business because that would throw the ride-hailing industry into chaos to the detriment of consumers, the CCCS will have to walk a fine balance.

In building its case, Grab will likely point out that commuters and drivers have benefited greatly ever since the ride-hailing giants came into Singapore. And it would also not be realistic to expect Grab and Uber to continue losing millions or even billions of dollars on ride subsidies to compete with each other indefinitely until one of them leaves.  

There lies the problem – in regulating these ride-hailing giants in an industry with a market structure that naturally leads to less competition, how do authorities ensure they continue to deliver benefits to consumers?

MOVE FASTER

For a start, the CCCS has to move faster. Due process is important but is there really a need to prove that the Grab-Uber merger has given Grab a dominant position in Singapore’s ride-hailing industry? Did the CCCS not anticipate that one would exit sooner or later?

The disruption from Grab’s outages this week has more than proven that point and surely we shouldn’t be beholden to gathering data to have to prove this. Few would think the CCCS hasty if it had declared Grab a monopoly once the Grab-Uber merger was announced.

Furthermore, the CCCS has to better understand the ride-hailing giants. Its interim measures try to mitigate effects of the integration of Grab and Uber’s businesses but in reality, that will not change anything.

The Grab-Uber merger is very asset-light even when compared to Uber’s previous mergers with DiDi in China and Yandex in Russia, and is not dependent on the transfer of assets. If the Grab-Uber merger is a merger only in name, what is there for regulators to block?

Grab’s main goal is to push Uber out of Southeast Asia before other rivals gain strength. Grab needs the crucial breathing space to launch other products and services so as to consolidate its position. 

Since Grab wants a speedy resolution to its regulator troubles, the CCCS should use that as a bargaining chip.

BEWARE PREDATORY PRICING

Then there is the issue of market contestability. Grab will try to depict the ride-hailing market as having low barriers of entry and argue regulators are worrying unnecessarily since new competition will emerge.

After all, homegrown carpooling app Ryde has already announced it will be launching a new private-hire car service two days after Grab confirmed the merger with Uber.

This notwithstanding, new competitors will have to tread carefully for fear of triggering a subsidy war that they cannot win. Grab has raised a US$2.5 billion war chest and long cultivated a fearsome reputation of being unafraid of losing money to protect its market share.

Even as it benefits passengers in the short run, the CCCS has to prevent the ride-hailing giants from using ride subsidies as a form of predatory pricing to eliminate nascent competition.

IMPLEMENT A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK TO PRESERVE SERVICE STANDARDS

The CCCS was on the right track when it tried to get Grab to maintain pre-merger pricing. But it should go further in demanding that Grab provides ride-trip data such as availability rates, waiting times, driver compensation to ensure service standards are not falling and there should be penalties if Grab fails to meet those standards.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has implemented an Airport Economic Regulatory framework to ensure competitive pricing and high service levels at Changi Airport. That can offer a blueprint to work off from.

Ride-hailing giants have become an integral part of our transportation systems and like any systematically important companies, they should be regulated as such.

Another example is the excellent job done by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in regulating banks and financial institutions. Perhaps some lessons can be drawn from MAS’s expertise.

While these temporary solutions are imperfect and treat the symptoms rather than the root cause, they’re probably more achievable than wishing Uber come back to compete with Grab or empty threats to put Grab out of business.

So long as consumers continue to benefit, this is a decent starting point until a better solution presents itself. 

Corrine Png is CEO of Crucial Perspective, an independent transport equities research firm. She was formerly Head of Asia-Pacific Transportation Research at J.P. Morgan and her research coverage included thirteen countries in the Asia Pacific over the past seventeen years.

SINGAPORE: In 1962, Goh Thiam Hoon had only been digging in the heavy, damp soil for a short while when he found what he was looking for.

But achieving his goal on his first day on the job didn’t make him happy. Far from it. “I could not believe it,” he said, describing feelings of uneasiness. 

Mr Goh, who was aged 25 at the time, had just uncovered a mass grave filled with piles of bones belonging to victims of the Second World War. This was near Jalan Puay Poon in Bedok, close to where Temasek Junior College now sits.

The victims were killed in Operation Sook Ching, a “purge” campaign targeted at the Chinese in Singapore. Those suspected of being anti-Japanese were hauled into lorries and executed at remote locations across the island. Jalan Puay Poon was one of the killing grounds.

According to a National Library Board resource, the Japanese put the official Sook Ching death count at 5,000, although the actual figure is believed to be much higher.

Mr Goh, now 81, estimated that thousands were killed and buried at the Jalan Puay Poon site, which contained several mass graves. 

“We didn’t dare touch it, so we quickly covered it,” Mr Goh said of his discovery. Eventually the bones were dug out, washed with water and disinfectant, then dried in the sun. Once ready, they were put in 1m-tall funeral jars.

Mr Goh would also go on to scour at least 10 other sites in places like Punggol, Bukit Timah and Choa Chu Kang. The exhumations lasted at least six years, producing 681 jars of bones that were filled to the brim.

So how did Mr Goh, who was then helping out with his dad’s provision shop business, get the job?

When some bones were first exposed in February 1962 during sand washing operations near the Jalan Puay Poon site, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) ordered a full exhumation to give the victims a proper resting place.

During the housing boom in the 1960s, sand was washed before it was used in construction.

One of the three SCCCI members in charge of the project, Ng Aik Huan, knew the Goh family was living near Jalan Puay Poon. He asked them for help.

Mr Goh immediately said yes to the “worthwhile” cause. “I just kept thinking that these people were not soldiers, but they were killed just like that,” he said. “They didn’t even have coffins.”

The man was determined but he needed a team. Nobody else was willing to do it, he said, so the SCCCI had to pay well. In the end, three others signed up. The workers had to apply for a Government permit before digging. And if they found remains, they reported it to the SCCCI.

But the sheer size of the Jalan Puay Poon site meant the four-man squad was overwhelmed. Eventually, more than 50 people worked over a year to exhume the bones there.

The working conditions at the sites were terrible, Mr Goh said. Workers toiled in the sweltering heat from 9am to 6pm, six days a week. They would erect a canvas tent over the sites, but it wasn’t enough to shield them from the elements.

When conditions were muddy, like at Jalan Puay Poon, there was a foul smell. Till today, Mr Goh remembers the stench. At drier sites, like those at rubber plantations, digging was difficult. There, small bones would get entangled in roots.

“There was an elderly worker who was bitten by a snake,” Mr Goh said, adding that they used simple tools like shovels and hooks. “Workers would also hit themselves accidentally and get injured.”

Naturally, the media attention was huge. Others wrote in about other graves. Families who lost loved ones but could never bury them turned up. They would weep and wail. Some said they had waited years for this. But the bones were impossible to identify, Mr Goh said, because there were simply too many.

Mr Goh recounted one lady who came with her child. She was particularly inconsolable, and Mr Goh suspected her husband was a victim of Sook Ching. “The family members would cry at first, but I asked if they’d rather the bones stay in the mud or be at a memorial,” he said, adding that the latter appeased everyone.

The remains were transported by lorry to the Civilian War Memorial on Beach Road. Each truck could only carry 30 jars to avoid breaking them. “When we picked up and put down the jars, we had to be very careful,” Mr Goh said.

The jars were interred in chambers on either side of the memorial, which was completed in January 1967 at a cost of S$500,000.

Mr Goh’s job was done. If not for this, he said, their bones would have remained under the ground beneath future developments. “Inside my heart, I was very happy,” he said. “My parents were proud too.”

HORRORS OF THE WAR

But the story of his parents could have been a more tragic one. In 1942, Mr Goh’s father was almost killed. 

Through tales told by his dad, Mr Goh recounted the day when a group of Japanese soldiers turned up at his home and demanded water. His parents relented. When a second group came and demanded the same, they had nothing left to give.

“They thought that we were withholding water,” he said.

The soldiers were about to take his father away, Mr Goh said, but his mother knelt down and begged them to let him go. Afterwards, his rural kampung would remain fairly undisturbed, he added. The Japanese would target those who were more educated.

“Before they captured anyone, they would touch your hands,” he explained. “If they were rough, they we would let you go. If they were soft, they would bundle you up and throw you into the lorry.”

Mr Goh said 38 lorries would pull in at the Jalan Puay Poon site. “At 9am they lined people up one by one and started shooting,” he recalled. “The gunshots were never-ending.” This would go on till the evening.

“I hate the war,” Mr Goh declared. “When digging up the bones, I understood the cruelty of what happened.” Besides bones, he would find hair combs and earrings that belonged to women and children.

Finally, Mr Goh stressed the importance of treasuring modern day Singapore. “I wouldn’t be recounting these stories if we didn’t have peace and equality for everyone.”

SINGAPORE: Over the last week, the story of 77-year-old petrol pump attendant Mohamed Yasin has captured the hearts of Channel NewsAsia’s readers.

His story is gut-wrenching. He works long hours, but needs the income to support his wife and mentally disabled son.

Netizens have called for the Government and unions to intervene, seeing that he earns well under S$2,000 a month including Workfare benefits.

Others have drawn lessons about being nicer to those in service jobs that may not pay well, particularly the working elderly. A few suggested tipping him.

In recent months, with the issue of inequality having already been in focus during Budget 2018 debates, it is reassuring that stories like his find traction among Singaporeans.

But while we are bothered by news about those from low-income households who struggle to support their families, what more can we do, apart from calling on authorities to step in, and voicing our sympathies online?

Is there space for constructive ideas and suggestions, which may or may not need to involve the authorities?

ADDRESSING INEQUALITY

Singapore’s income inequality has been falling since 2007 and is near its lowest in a decade. After including Government transfers and taxes, the Gini coefficient for 2017 was 0.401, according to Singstat.

But the slower pace of income growth for the bottom 50 per cent households hints at a widening gap between the rich and the poor, said Institute of Policy Studies research associate Leonard Lim. 

“It is a point of concern because … the income gap is widening between certain groups – the bottom half versus the 50th to 90th percentile – and it shows the increasing importance of the role of Government transfers to mitigate this,” he added. 

Addressing inequality must start by acknowledging that low-income households, particularly those with a sole breadwinner, suffer from intrinsic disadvantages. Indeed, this may be the case for Mr Yasin.

“BANDWITH-STRAPPED”

Harvard professors Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir use the term bandwidth tax to describe the additional cognitive challenges facing poorer households.

Managing scarce finances uses up much energy and emotion, leaving little behind to take actions that can improve their socio-economic situations.

Some Government schemes in Singapore aimed at relieving those in the low-income brackets already recognise this.

For example, the Workfare Income Supplement that Mr Yasin receives is an auto-inclusion scheme, based on one’s credited employer CPF contribution.

But there is also room for improvement. For example, social assistance schemes, such as those under ComCare, require applicants to head to the Social Service Office or Family Service Centre.

Most also require a long list of documents – including applicants’ latest payslip, service and conservancy charges, and power supply bills for instance.

The “compliance cost” for these schemes, requiring bandwidth-strapped low-income beneficiaries to reach out to agencies themselves is one area that can be addressed.

WE CAN ALL DO SOMETHING

It is also useful that the Government recognises the importance of targeted outreach for households with multiple needs – particularly those with seniors.

The repositioning of the Pioneer Generation Office as the Silver Generation Office is one such sign.

Under this programme, ambassadors proactively knock on doors to match households with relevant social assistance and health schemes.

It’s not a silver bullet but those of us concerned with the plight of someone like Mr Yasin could volunteer as ambassadors – and help poorer households access needed assistance, including aiding with necessary paperwork and administration.

It will require volunteers to build familiarity with schemes – meaning to say we’ll need to be able to tell ComCare apart from Medifund for instance – and dedicate time to do outreach.

If we think inequality is an issue that must be tackled – then our words must be matched with deeds. Volunteering a helping hand can be formalised, but many times, might involve just a knock on a neighbour’s door.

SOCIAL INCLUSION

In the book The Rich and the Rest of us, authors Tavis Smiley and Cornel West highlight that denial over the need to tackle inequality in the US, and its resulting paralysis forestalling constructive action, is a cautionary tale about moral failure.

Sorely lacking is a culture of empathy, they argue. Americans need to take personal responsibility in doing their part to combat income inequality.

There are parallels to be drawn in Singapore.

It is heartening to see Channel NewsAsia’s documentary Don’t Make Us Invincible, which feature unsung heroes like Mr Yasin, shine the spotlight on the uphill challenges those in the low-income bracket face.

Mr Yasin’s can-do attitude makes the story an uplifting one.

But sympathy should not be the only sentiment that viewers take away. It should lead to some inspiration, to more deeply understand his challenges, and generate action from each of us as individuals.

What does it mean for Singapore’s sense of social inclusion?

Where Singapore has made great strides over the last decade in strengthening the social safety net to aid those in need, it is imperative that we continue to examine how to finesse these schemes. 

Just as importantly, it is time we also look more deeply into how we can help low-income families, and see how each of us can take concrete action.

Lin Suling is executive editor at Channel NewsAsia Digital News where she oversees the Commentary section.

SINGAPORE: Outwardly, his wife and two young sons are his sources of joy. He seems a regular family man when he’s with them. What is less apparent is that Mr Mak Kean Loong struggles to feel emotions like happiness.

“In the past few years, I think I’ve never even felt that emotion,” said the bespectacled 38-year-old, who speaks with the numbed air of a tired man.

At first, they all thought he was “just becoming extra introverted”. It was, in fact, his descent into depression. And just a year ago, he came close to leaving them without a husband and father.

“I didn’t tell my wife,” he said. “If you want to end your life, why would you tell someone close to you, right?”

“The first part of the process was to bring my boys and my wife out for a good meal, for them to have something to remember me by. I felt nothing but pain.”

He didn’t go through with the suicide. But soon after, through a “mutual agreement” with his employer, he quit his job as an infrastructure engineer with a technology firm to focus on his recovery.

And it’s that loss of that part of him that sits bitterly.

It does hurt when I see people in office clothes. I know I’m currently not a part of that. That identity has been taken away.

About 7 per cent of Singapore’s workforce has a history of mental illness. The Singapore Mental Health Study 2010 found that Major Depressive Disorder affected about 159,000 adults here during their lifetime.

In cases like Mr Mak’s, the illness makes holding on to a career a stressful battle – one that for some necessitates putting on a mask at work, or facing rejection from employers. In the documentary Facing Depression, four Singaporeans candidly share their experiences. (Watch the episode here.)

PERCEIVED AS A ‘HEADACHE’ AND ‘WEAK’

One of the main battles they must fight is perceived stigma among employers.

This was illustrated to Mr Mak last year, when he went public with his illness by blogging and drawing comics online about depression.

He thought sharing his problems would get across a message about what depression is and how to help people suffering from it. But an ex-boss warned him that if his industry knew of his depression, he would be “marked”.

There are people who’ll say, ‘You have depression – are you sure it’s not going to come back? I don’t think I want to employ you.’

“Or, ‘you need to go and see the doctor more often – I think I’ll pay you less’,” said Mr Mak squarely.

Mr Lim Yufan, who has had depression for half of his life, knows what it is like to live in fear of judgement.

“Besides my first job, I didn’t tell my employers and colleagues in my subsequent jobs that I had depression,” said the 30-year-old. “I was afraid that it would lead to things like them not being able to trust me to do work.”

Even so, his depression did affect his work: He had to take leave frequently and was unable to stay in a job for long, some as briefly as a month.

Half of his bosses, he said, showed that they were not understanding of depression, his reason for resigning. “One of them said, ‘Yufan, you’re a total headache. You gave me such a headache because of this.'”

Underlining the effect bosses can have – whether or not they know an employee has depression – L P Clinic consultant psychiatrist Pauline Sim said: “If you have a demanding boss with a perfectionist trait who can only focus on negativity and cannot empathise, then it’s very difficult for the individuals.”

In Mr Mak’s case, his supervisors allowed him “time and space to recover” – a few months.

“But as a new hire and with the extended time that my recovery would take, we came to a mutual agreement that perhaps it would be better for me to quit,” he said.

Stigma does not start nor stop with employers, however. The national Mind Matters study in 2015 by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) found that people with Major Depressive Disorder are more likely to be perceived as “weak not sick”.

STRAIN OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS – AND DISAPPOINTMENT

Yet, even a strong person can succumb to depression. Take the example of Ignite Tennis Academy co-founder and head coach Jaime Wong.

At the age of 12, she was Singapore’s youngest tennis champion. She became the youngest member of its SEA Games team a year later.

“I didn’t handle losses very well. After I lost a tennis match, I could get upset for hours, and weeks even, and not talk. I think I was quite the embodiment of our culture of excellence and, sometimes, even perfection,” said Ms Wong, now 35.

I was so used to winning. All through my life, I was the best at almost everything I did. And I think that was a big part of how I could fall into depression.

It started from an accumulation of factors: She got hurt emotionally in a relationship; a chronic disease was causing inflammation and infection to her digestive system; and then the club her academy was based in closed for redevelopment.

“We had to move to Changi Beach Club, and we lost 90 per cent of our clientele,” she recounted. “Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Because of that, I fell to the lowest of lows.”

Mr Lim was also a high achiever when he was studying in a top secondary school, where “expectations were high, naturally so”.

In Secondary Three, he was a conductor in the school’s symphonic band and a “pretty good” trumpet player. It gave him “recognition, a sense of value and purpose”.

But when his grades fell below acceptable standards, his conductor position was at stake. “I was kind of pressurised, mainly from myself, to get my grades up,” he said.

He became increasingly anxious about his academic performance and suffered his first major depressive episode. “It included just the very thought of going to school.”

For Mr Mak, depression first struck in 2006, a year before his first child was born, and after disappointments and people issues at work.

“Whenever I end up doing things that seem to clash with my core values, I find myself slowly eroding away,” he said.

“One was when IT was used in company politics … Oftentimes, IT as a department is used to further the personal agendas of people within the company. Whenever that happens, I always struggle with myself.”

After three years, a period when he was “quite high-functioning”, he thought he had fought off depression. But he slipped into a mild depressive disorder known as dysthymia. This lasted far longer, marked by constantly low spirits and low self-esteem.

GOING UNTREATED AND UNRECOGNISED

Despite the negativity enveloping him, Mr Mak did not see his dysthymia symptoms as a problem. This is not uncommon – it is hard for people to recognise depression, noted Dr Sim.

Mr Chris Tan is another example. He had a stroke in 2005, which caused him to limp and lose agility in his left hand. He “kept crying” after he was discharged, but did not know that was a sign of depression.

After he was diagnosed, he realised that he might have been struggling with depression even since secondary school. “There was a lot of conflict between my parents over money,” explained the 45-year-old.

His father was a fishmonger, and “it was a very hard life”. “I never got to know him very well while growing up,” he said.  In 2003, his father was diagnosed with cancer. He died within a year, and Mr Tan still cannot forgive himself for what happened back then.

“I received a call from my mum, early in the morning. She said something was wrong with my dad,” he recounted.

“I told her not to exaggerate the matter. I just changed into my work clothes and drove onto the CTE. I was going to work, until the second call came. It was from the ambulance driver.”

Pausing to compose himself, he said: “I hate myself … This is an issue I’m still working out with my counsellors.”

He now makes appointments at the IMH whenever he feels “a big dip” coming, and also sees a peer support specialist who overcame depression. But few people seek treatment or think to do so in the first place.

When asked where clinically depressed patients should seek help, 54 per of respondents in the Mind Matters study said family and friends.

And of the 7 per cent of Singapore’s workforce with a history of mental illness, only two in 10 sought treatment, according to Professor Chong Siow Ann from the IMH, who shared this finding at the Regional World Health Summit 2013.

Ms Wong, for instance, “masked” her depression by pouring all her energy into work. But that backfired. “I was slave-driving the kids, pushing them really hard, and some of them were crying on the court,” she recalled.

“I used to say to parents: ‘These kids come here to improve, they don’t come here to have fun. If they want to have fun, then do it elsewhere.’

I was very hesitant and unwilling, for a long time, to seek professional help – and be labelled as someone who is crazy maybe, and unable to control herself.

TO THE BRINK AND BACK

Dr Sim is all too familiar with patients who “put up a front”. She said: “That’s sad because when they can’t cope, that’s when you hear of cases of people hanging themselves or jumping down.

“Under normal circumstances, most people would live and fight to live. But when you’re depressed, you just want the pain to stop.”

With nothing seeming to work for Ms Wong, the feeling that there was “no reason to live” set in until she “completely lost it” one night. She got into her car, and then along Dunearn Road, she floored the accelerator.

“I just stepped on it. Eventually, I reached Rochor, and I realised I was still alive, and it was just crazy,” she said.

I realised what I had done – that it was so selfish of me because I didn’t think of the consequences of my actions, not just for myself.

“If I didn’t go out with the big bang I had intended, what would’ve happened to the people who would have to look after me if I had got hurt or, what’s more, the people I could have potentially hurt?”

The Registry of Births and Deaths shows that about half of the suicides in 2016 occurred between the ages of 20 and 49. And more men than women committed suicide.

Mr Mak nearly did the same, after a severe depression hit him last July. His wife Tan Phay Shing saw that he was “really sinking”, as he was hardly talking and was “lost in his own world”.

But even she had no inkling of what he had planned when he took her and their sons out for a last meal. Tragedy was averted because Mr Mak promised himself one last chance: One phone call to the IMH emergency number, just before the end.

“I told myself I wouldn’t be the first to hang up. So if the line got cut or no one spoke to me, or if someone had hung up on me, then I’d have proceeded,” he said grimly.

He was on hold for 10 minutes. Finally, someone picked up. He was advised to check himself in at IMH, and was admitted that night.

This is one of the reasons people with psychological issues should not be stigmatised, noted Dr Sim. “If people get help, they can function as per normal,” she said.

“If they get help, there’d be fewer tragedies.”

LEARNING HOW TO COPE

Besides early intervention and medication, what Dr Sim advises is to “have a very balanced life” and get one’s priorities right. But this is easier said than done, in a country with the world’s longest working hours.

The average worker here clocked about 2,370 working hours in 2016 according to Manpower Ministry data, compared with 2,069 hours in South Korea and 1,713 hours in Japan.

Dr Sim thinks working adults should ask themselves this: If they should collapse, who would really miss them?

“Depending on how important you are at work, you may get three bows, some condolence money and maybe a wreath – if you’re more famous, perhaps an obituary or people sending you off, and that’s it,” she said.

But the people who continue to grieve and are affected are your loved ones.

Mr Tan, who was “consistently able to hit and exceed” his sales targets at work before his stroke, found that his depression acted up when he tried returning to corporate life. He was fired, and his career came to a standstill.

Now a freelance translator, he is struggling on but learning to cope, while living up to the responsibilities he feels at home, like giving his mother a monthly allowance. “It’s not the figure, but it’s a gesture,” he said.

“Whether I’m able to master the symptoms and live as productive a life as I can, to me, is a good definition of recovery. That means I don’t lose my personality and I’m still able to function as a son, brother or even an employee.”

For Ms Wong, who suffered from depression for over a year, embracing a faith has helped with her recovery. She has not been on antidepressants since 2014.

When people heal through spirituality, said Dr Sim, they realise “everything we have is loaned to us, that it’s not about I, me and myself”.

She added: “When you see that you’re part of a whole, you learn to view things differently.”

Help, and hope, can come in many forms as Mr Lim, too, has discovered. For example, his gym workouts make him “feel alive” and, sometimes, even forget that he has depression.

He now has an online store, selling collectable toys, so he does not face the “pressure of having to answer to somebody”. His figurines also give him a “set of ideals to cling to”, such as justice and equal treatment.

“These superhero origin stories begin with tragedy: Batman, when his parents died; Superman, when his planet was destroyed. It gives me a bit of hope that from my personal situation, I can come out stronger,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mak is reassessing what he wants out of work. “I don’t search for the highest-paying jobs. I just would like my work to make sense to me,” he said wistfully.

“But with the depression, I’ve come to realise simple things are fine. To put it bluntly, being alive right now is more important than anything else.”

He has been told not to set a timeline for his recovery. His wife, a baking instructor, is the family’s breadwinner for now. And he relies on his family as the reason to continue fighting depression.

“I make sure that she knows where I am and what I’m doing. I hold myself accountable to her also,” he said.

Watch this episode of Facing Depression here. The four-part series addresses misconceptions about how depression affects working adults, women, children and the elderly.

Where to find help:

Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222

Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1800 221 4444

Singapore Association of Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019

SINGAPORE: A total of 91 suspected drug offenders were arrested in a seven-day islandwide operation carried out from Mar 30 to Apr 6, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Friday (Apr 6). 

In its news release, it said the operation which was supported by the police took place in Bedok, Bukit Batok, Chai Chee, Clementi, Hougang, Jurong, Pasir Ris, Redhill and Tampines.

The drugs seized include 434g of cannabis, 335g of heroin, 54g of Ice, 114 ecstasy tablets, 64 Erimin-5 tablets, two pieces of LSD and a Yaba tablet. 

Among those arrested were two suspected traffickers – a man and a woman in their twenties – near the Downtown East entertainment hub in Pasir Ris on Monday evening. Both are Singaporeans, CNB said. 

Six ecstasy tablets and two Erimin-5 tablets were recovered from the woman while 97 ecstasy tablets were recovered from the man. 

A raid was later conducted at the woman’s rented apartment in Outram where more drugs were recovered. These include 315g of cannabis, 5g of Ice, 11 cstasy tablets and two Erimin-5 tablets. 

Investigations into the drug activities of all suspects are ongoing, CNB said. 

SINGAPORE: To usher in the shift to digital TV, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will offer a starter kit to all HDB households that do not have a pay-TV subscription with either Singtel or StarHub.

Some 400,000 households are expected to benefit.

Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announced this during an appreciation event organised by the IMDA for its partners on Friday (Apr 6).

One-quarter of households in Singapore are still watching television on analogue. This means they will be cut off from local free-to-air programming come Dec 31, when analogue transmission is switched off for good.

The TV channels include Channel NewsAsia, Channel 5, Channel 8, Suria, Vasantham, Okto and Channel U.

Eligible households will be able to redeem a free set-top box and antenna package, and can opt for free delivery and installation as well.

Alternatively, they can choose to redeem S$100 for selected digital TV equipment purchases – such as an antenna, a set-top box, or an integrated digital TV – from participating electronics retailers including Best Denki, Courts, Gain City, and Harvey Norman.

A digital antenna and set-top box bundle retails at S$98 at Best Denki.

The antenna is the most important element of the package as it receives the digital transmission signal. It should be placed in an upright position near a window so it can best receive the signal.

Digital broadcasting uses fewer frequencies than analogue broadcasting and the scarce radio spectrum will be freed up after the digital switchover for high-speed mobile broadband services, said IMDA.

Viewers will know they are watching TV on analogue if they see the word “analogue” under the channel’s logo on the top right corner of their TV screen.

Beginning with Clementi and Tampines, letters will be sent out to eligible households between April and June. All redemptions must be made before Dec 31.

The programme is an enhancement of an earlier assistance scheme targeted at lower-income households, which benefited some 70,000 households.

SINGAPORE: Finance ministers and central bank governors of ASEAN on Friday (Apr 6) reaffirmed their commitment to international trade and investment as they remain “vigilant against risks”, according to a joint statement released after the 4th Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting.

Singapore, which is ASEAN chair this year, is hosting the meeting.

The finance ministers and central bank governors said they are encouraged by ASEAN’s strong economic growth last year and expect the growth momentum to be sustained into 2018. This is due to broad-based global economic recovery, expansion in global trade, sustained private consumption and growing infrastructure investment.

Still, they remain “vigilant against risks” and have reaffirmed their commitment to international trade and investment, which are “important engines of growth and development”, said the joint statement.

The group also reaffirmed their commitment to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025, including its strategic objectives of financial integration, financial stability and financial inclusion.

Southeast Asia’s finance ministers and central bank governors are gathered in Singapore this week for the 4th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meetings. Singapore is the ASEAN chair this year.

Under Singapore’s chairmanship, the overarching theme for the ASEAN meetings this year is a “Resilient and Innovative ASEAN”. For the finance track, the focus will be on sustaining growth, boosting resilience and fostering innovation, while building on the key themes from Philippines’ chairmanship last year.

Under the three areas of focus, key topics include efforts to better mobile private capital to plug the gap between ASEAN’s infrastructure development and financing needs, enhancing the region’s disaster resilience and cyber resilience capabilities, as well as support for digital innovations like financial technology (fintech).

On infrastructure, the finance ministers and central bank governors said they are committed to “accelerating infrastructure development and financing in ASEAN through mobilising private capital” – an “important” area of discussion during the meetings, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat during the media conference.

Among other things, this will be done by showcasing ASEAN’s pipeline of investable projects and raising investors’ understanding of investment opportunities in the region.

When it comes to boosting resiliency, there is commitment to implement appropriate monetary, macro-prudential and supervisory policies to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability.

The ministers and central bankers also recognise the importance of strengthening resiliency against natural disasters. When it comes to cyber resiliency, they will facilitate the sharing of information on cyber threat and incidents within ASEAN to enhance the region’s awareness and strengthen cyber resilience in the financial sectors.

SINGAPORE: A total of 91 suspected drug offenders were arrested in a seven-day islandwide operation carried out from Mar 30 to Apr 6, said the Central Narcotics Bureau on Friday (Apr 6). 

In its news release, it said the operation which was supported by the police had taken place in Bedok, Bukit Batok, Chai Chee, Clementi, Hougang, Jurong, Pasir Ris, Redhill and Tampines.

The drugs seized include about 434g of cannabis, 335g of heroin, 54g of Ice, 114 ecstasy tablets, 64 Erimin-5 tablets, two pieces of LSD and a Yaba tablet. 

Among those arrested were two suspected traffickers – a man and a woman in their twenties – near the Downtown East entertainment hub in Pasir Ris on Monday evening. Both are Singaporeans, CNB said. 

Six ecstasy tablets and two Erimin-5 tablets were recovered from the woman while 97 ecstasy tablets were recovered from the man. 

A raid was later conducted at the woman’s rented apartment in Outram where more drugs were recovered. These include about 315g of cannabis, 5g of Ice, 11 ecstasy tablets and two Erimin-5 tablets. 

Investigations into the drug activities of all suspects are ongoing, CNB said.