A 24-year-old domestic helper who was accidentally locked inside a room while cleaning climbed out onto the window ledge in hopes of returning via the main door of the fifth-floor flat.
The incident happened at Block 241, Bukit Panjang Ring Road on Wednesday (Dec 6) at around 7am.
The daring escapade of the maid was captured on a viral video which Stomp contributor Bugatti alerted Stomp to.
In the video, the maid could be seen walking on the ledge, holding onto window grills.
She then moves onto a smaller ledge, before grabbing hold of the corridor railings.
By then, she was dangling from the parapet.
About three minutes into the video, a woman shows up on the corridor to help.
After assistance from another woman and Singapore Police Force (SPF) officers, the maid was finally pulled to safety.
Reporters visited the scene after the incident and spoke to one of the women who was involved in the rescue attempt.
The woman identified herself as Jane, 35, who rents a room in the same unit as the maid.
She told Shin Min Daily News that the maid had just started working in the unit about a month back.
Jane recalled that she was in the bathroom when she suddenly heard a series of rushed knockings.
A resident who first saw maid on the ledge quickly alerted her to the situation.
She said: “I wrapped myself in a towel and came out to see.
“I found the maid standing on the ledge outside the room.”
Jane quickly changed and ran to the windows to help.
“I kept gesturing for her to walk towards the windows of the bedroom.
“Perhaps it was the language barrier, but she kept going towards the corridors instead.”
Jane added that the ledge was very narrow – about as wide as a foot – and she grew increasingly anxious with every step the maid took.
“When she finally reached the corridor, there wasn’t a ledge where she could stand on, so she grabbed onto the corridor railings with her hands.
“She was dangling in midair.
“During the rescue, her life was hanging by a thread, and I grabbed onto both her hands.
“She suddenly went limp and her whole body weight was pulling me down.”
It is understood that the maid weighs about 70kg.
Hard as she tried, Jane could not pull the maid up by herself and shouted for help.
She lamented: “I was worried that I might too be dragged down by her weight, but I was also afraid that she might lose her grip and fall.”
Reporters spoke to the maid after, who recounted the side of her story.
She said: “I suddenly realised how dangerous it was when both my feet were dangling in the air.
“I thought I was dead for sure!”
She revealed that she was from Myanmar, and converses with her employer in Tamil.
Through her employer, Mr Raj, she told reporters that she was cleaning in a room when she suddenly found that she had been locked inside.
She was shocked and wanted to go back to the living room,
In her moment of desperation, she climbed out of the windows and onto the ledge, thinking that she would be able to enter the house again via the main door if she got back on the corridor.
Said the maid: “At first I didn’t feel afraid.
“Only when my feet were dangling off the parapet did I realise the danger.
“I thought I was dead for sure.”
In response to media queries by Stomp, the police said they received a call about the incident at 7.58am.
After arriving at the scene, officers, along with two members of the public, pulled her to safety.
SINGAPORE: The scene at Bugis MRT station did not look promising.
It was 10.50pm on Friday (Dec 8), and the last train heading west to Tuas Link had just departed. Despite the repeated announcements blaring through the station, some commuters were still left scratching their heads, looking blankly at signs on the platform that stated clearly: Train Service Ended.
A group of teenagers started looking up alternative travel arrangements, debating if they should get out and look for a taxi, while a tourist peered at the paper signs put up around the station which indicated the times of the last train to Tuas Link from the station. Then the announcement blared again: Trains will only go to Outram Park.
The early closure of 17 East-West Line and two North-South Line MRT stations – announced last month by train operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority – had just begun, and for the rest of the evening, the stations from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, as well as Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak on the North-South Line would be closed. Four shuttle bus services would ply the affected routes along the MRT stations, and would follow the same fare structure as trains.
Ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber were well-prepared for the projected increased demand from commuters seeking an alternative way home. A Grab spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that steps are being taken to ensure “drivers and passengers have the best possible experience despite the closures, and to minimise any inconveniences.” Grab also encouraged passengers to schedule rides in advance, if they knew their travel schedule ahead of time.
Uber, meanwhile, will be extending a discount code to riders in affected areas on Sunday (Dec 10), when the stations close for a whole day.
But with taxis in short supply and prices for Uber and Grab still experiencing a surge due to higher than average demand, I decided to put my faith in the train system, get off at Outram Park and brave the shuttle buses in order to continue my journey. But as the platform filled up slowly and the “Train Service Ended” sign continued to flash with no train in sight, I found myself questioning my decision.
Crowds of commuters waiting to board a shuttle bus at Outram Park MRT station. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
Thankfully, a train pulled into the station within 10 minutes, and we all squeezed in. It was more crowded than usual, but the ride was, at least, a short one before we reached Outram Park and we were informed – by garbled announcements – that we would have to get off the train here.
FRAYED TEMPERS AND RAISED VOICES
It was here that I saw tempers starting to fray. Marshals in luminous vests were out in full force, directing commuters to walk out of the station and towards the bus stop where they could board the designated shuttle buses.
But perhaps due to the large crowd of people and the station’s many different exits, some made wrong turns and ended up at a different bus stop with no shuttle buses in sight. Shuttle buses, we had been told by the marshals, would be marked as such. But while there was no shortage of buses at this bus stop, it turned out that none of them were the shuttle buses, as some commuters found out to their chagrin.
“This is not the shuttle bus!” I could hear a bus driver exclaiming loudly to commuters trying to flag him down. “You’ll have to go back to the station and go to the right exit!”
Signs had been put up at Outram Park MRT station, directing commuters to the shuttle buses. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
There were complaints and grunts of frustration aplenty, given that the bus stop was a good distance out of the station. Some gave up and started searching for taxis to flag down, while others opened the trusty ride-hailing apps on their phones. But a larger group of us decided to make the trek for it and began to retrace our steps. Along the way, we passed more confused-looking people and others venting their frustration on station staff, who did their best to calm them down and send them on the right track.
The scene inside the station, however, seemed to be under control. Clear announcements were now being made, directing commuters to Exit F. Knowing what we should be looking out for, it was easy to follow the signs to the right exit, where barricades and station staff were in place to handle the crowd.
“Guys, please wait awhile!”
My walk was interrupted by a marshal who motioned for us to wait behind the barricades in the station. A human jam had formed, and crowd control had to be carried out.
A human jam had formed at Exit F of the station, as commuters waited to board the shuttle buses. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
But one elderly lady had reached her limit. Pushing her way to the front, she began to complain to the marshal, asking him why this was taking so long.
“It’s already so difficult for us to get around, why do you need to make this harder?”
He shrugged and apologised for the inconvenience, telling her it would not be much longer.
JOURNEY LONGER THAN USUAL, BUT PLEASANT NONETHELESS
And indeed, barely five minutes later, we were allowed to go past the barricades and exit the station. Double decker shuttle buses – clearly marked as “Shuttle 1” to Jurong East – were lined up and commuters were quickly ushered into the buses.
Before we knew it, we were off.
It was a relatively uneventful ride, largely due to the clear roads. The bus was also pleasantly empty, and there were ample seats available for everyone. Passengers chatted with each other in low voices, while others dozed off in the back of the bus.
The scene on board a shuttle bus en route to Jurong East. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
It took about 45 minutes for the bus I boarded at Outram Park to arrive at Jurong East Interchange, which was where my journey ended. A longer journey than if I were to have stayed on the train, but after being stuck on the crowded train, it was a nice change to get a seat and stare out of the bus window for a bit. A fair trade-off, I felt, given that these early closures were well publicised and indeed, deemed necessary for engineers to accelerate re-signalling works on the East-West Line.
And indeed, commuters I spoke to were understanding and did not seem to mind the added inconvenience.
“I waited quite long for a bus, so more frequent shuttle bus services would have been good,” said one commuter, who wished to be known only as Ms Chan. “But the signs on the platforms were clear and the people at Outram Park did quite a good job in directing us to the shuttle bus stops.”
“So everything was quite okay,” she added, noting that her trip this evening took an additional 20-25 minutes.
Shuttle buses arriving at Jurong East. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
Another commuter, Soe Min, also pointed out that his trip was “longer than usual”.
“It was quite a long trip and I had to walk quite a long distance to the bus stop at Outram Park,” he said. “But they do need to close the stations early, so I understand.”
SINGAPORE: “Aiyo,” he mutters, squirming in his chair. “Come out already.”
Panic flashing in his eyes, Mr K lets loose a string of Singlish, Hokkien and Malay exclamations. They are mostly inaudible over the tacky beats of a ‘90s Vengaboys hit playing in the background, but one word catches the room’s attention: “Berak”, or poop.
I follow the staff nurse over. As she helps up the nonagenarian, a mound of fecal matter slides down his pants and plops neatly onto the spotless vinyl floor.
The smell hits like a brick and I wince on reflex. Barely two hours into my stint as an assistant nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s (TTSH) Geriatric Monitoring Unit (GMU), and it is already a morning to remember.
There were more firsts to come over the next 48 hours, as I tiptoed around the nurses on shift, trying hard to be useful but failing miserably at the simplest things like putting on a disposable apron.
I was most nervous about causing discomfort to the GMU patients – who are typically admitted to the usual TTSH wards first, before being referred to the specialised five-bed unit to treat delirium caused by underlying medical conditions.
The reporter starts his shift by changing the bedsheet for a patient at the GMU (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
With its patients all above 85, the restraint-free ward – built in 2010 – is elder-friendly: The walls are decked with a traditional Chinese calendar and photos of a younger Singapore; the exit is a concealed door painted like a bookcase to prevent patients from wandering off; and bright light therapy is utilised at dusk to keep them awake so they sleep better later at night.
Along with the likes of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital’s Care for the Acute Mentally Infirm Elder Unit and the National University Hospital’s (NUH) Silver Unit, the GMU points to the increasing attention being paid to Singapore’s rapidly ageing population.
Official figures place the proportion of citizens aged 65 and older at 14.4 per cent this year, up from 13.7 in 2016 and 9.4 in 2007. A UN report this week projected that by 2050, nearly half of Singapore’s population will be at least 65 years old.
To tackle the demands of a greying populace, the Health Ministry (MOH) estimates 30,000 more healthcare workers will be needed by 2020. And nurses form the bulk of these – there were 40,561 of them as of 2016, compared to the next largest group of 12,967 doctors.
Yet according to the Manpower Ministry, over the last two years, nursing has held the dubious honour of having the most vacancies unfilled for at least six months – a statistic which may suggest the profession remains somewhat shunned by Singaporeans.
Frequent sanitisation of the hands is a must in the wards. Next to the reporter is the GMU’s concealed exit, which can only be opened with a hospital staff pass (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
“DIRTY WORK”?
One of the first things I learn at the GMU is the difference between hyper- and hypoactive delirium. The former condition – characterised by restlessness, agitation and at times, aggression – afflicts Mr K, although he has been on the mend.
On the other hand his neighbour across the room, Pakcik Y, is a classic hypoactive case: Withdrawn, inactive and perennially drowsy. The staff nurse tells me he often refuses to eat, and needs plenty of encouragement to do so.
I discover this for myself. Armed with a pathetic grasp of Malay, I attempt to entice him to the mouthwatering delights of a blended greenish mush – but not before plenty of gentle nudging and coaxing to stop him from dozing off in between each gulp from a tiny plastic teaspoon.
At times it seemed a better idea to touch the utensil to his lips, hoping it will rouse him from slumber (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Each meal takes him a gruelling 45 minutes or so to complete, but this is routine for the nurses. The same for diaper-changing – but helping the staff nurse remove Pakcik’s soiled nappy, and wiping up after him, was an especially grim moment for me, driving home the infant-like helplessness of the patient, and his utter reliance on being cared for.
The reporter learning how to change diapers for an elderly individual (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Such duties have also unfortunately led to longstanding stereotypes of nursing as being made up of mindless, mundane tasks and the mere following of doctor’s orders, said Esther Chew, 24, a geography graduate who worked for a year before successfully applying for an MOH master’s scholarship in nursing.
“I knew (nurses) have to undertake to a certain extent, dirty work like cleaning people’s backsides, blood and vomit. It did definitely affect me a little prior to making my decision,” she admitted.
These “mundane tasks”, said TTSH’s chief nurse Yong Keng Kwang, are in fact essential to helping patients maintain bodily functions and dignity when they are weakest.
“More importantly, it empowers the nurse with the knowledge to independently assess daily care plans for a patient to regain full functions or adapt optimally to a disability,” he explained.
“These tasks, while seemingly ‘mundane’, are much appreciated by the patient in his most vulnerable moments, and often facilitate the formation of a trusting and meaningful bond between the nurse, the patient, and family.”
The ceiling at the GMU during bright light therapy (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
“NO LONGER HANDMAIDENS”
Chew added: “There’s a lot more work that goes on in the nursing profession than what we see on the surface. They have more autonomy than we tend to think. They do almost everything.
“If the wrong medicine or dosage is prescribed, nurses have to be aware and inform the doctor. They are first to notice behavioural changes as they spend the longest time with the patients. Most importantly, nurses are the main advocates for patients – they are the ones who have to speak up for the patient’s rights and welfare.
“Nurses can specialise in different areas such as gerontology and mental health and help advance the healthcare and medical sector in their own way – not any less significant than other healthcare professions.”
Hence a concerted push by authorities to show that nurses are “no longer handmaidens to doctors”, as described by one TTSH staff during an orientation session ahead of my time at the GMU.
“MOH has taken a serious effort to raise the perception of nursing,” said Dr Manav Saxena of global consultancy Oliver Wyman’s Asia Pacific health and life sciences division.
“In the 2020 Manpower Plan, it specially profiled the role of nurses and put in plans to attract more to the profession. There have been media advertisements as well, which sent very strong messages. Also, MOH is giving out scholarships and developing career paths for the nurses.”
Public sector nursing salaries have also increased by up to 10 per cent. Professor Emily Ang, head of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, pointed out that graduates from the programme start with median monthly salaries of at least S$3,400, higher than the S$3,360 median salary for most other degree-holders.
While higher salaries do “send a message”, a pivotal shift in public perception takes time, said Dr Saxena.
“As the public sees more nurses in a decision-making role in the care process in hospitals and nursing homes, the perception will definitely change.”
“YOU DON’T BE STUPID”
Outside of the GMU there are other aged patients also suffering from delirium and other behavioural issues – and that’s where TTSH’s sole Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN), Ong Poh Poh, comes in. I tail her for a few hours as she walks the wards engaging these elderly. It is an eye-opener.
There is the patient alternating between smiling sweetly and screaming her lungs out to be taken home; the one who gave Ong two bloodied scratches on her arm and neck for waking her from a nap; and an outwardly mild-mannered lady placed in restraints for continually pulling out her tube feeding apparatus.
Shadowing the TTSH GRN on her ward patrol. This was the patient who turned violent earlier (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
I attempt to interact with the latter, asking basic questions – but perhaps due to my poor Hokkien or unfamiliar face, she quickly turns furious, shouting in dialect: “You don’t be stupid. I don’t have to stay here, I have a big house…”
For Ong – who appears capable of conversing in every language and patois known to Singaporeans – this is just another day at the office, having spent the last three years as a GRN out of her decade-long nursing career.
“Everyone will get old one day,” said Ong, 32. “Geriatric care is a fulfilling job and provides me satisfaction when taking care of the elderly.”
“When you’re able to understand an elderly person’s needs, and participate in improving their care especially during their last few years of life, you will find the beauty of geriatric care.”
That her GRN role exists at TTSH is no surprise, given its proximity to mature estates like Ang Mo Kio and the resulting size of its elderly population: one in two patients are above 65, one in three above 75 and one in five above 85.
Mr Yong said about 10 per cent of TTSH’s resource nurses are trained in advanced geriatric practice. The hospital is aiming for 75 per cent of its workforce to undergo additional training over the next five years, whether at polytechnics or through in-house programmes.
“Currently, at TTSH, our numbers generally can meet the demands for nursing care,” he observed. “But we anticipate that as demands grow with the ageing population, we will certainly need more healthcare workers – especially nurses.”
An elderly patient in a regular ward with restraints on her wrists (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
MORE ABOUT SKILLS THAN DEMAND-SUPPLY
Most other hospitals are also identifying nurses from all specialties to do diplomas in gerontology, said Associate Professor Reshma Merchant, head of NUH’s geriatric medicine division.
“They then come back and become geriatric console nurses, decentralised in most non-geriatric wards and responsible for training the rest of the staff,” she explained.
When it comes to nursing our ageing population, it is less a supply-demand issue than about the training and skillsets required, Prof Merchant added.
“Besides the cure or treatment, they also need a lot of care and comfort so that they can recover faster and not suffer from hazards of hospitalisation – for example confusion and functional decline.”
“We need to upskill our nurses, and hire more basic care assistants to help. We need to re-engineer the current role of nurses and empower them to do assessments, plan discharges and enable seniors to transit smoothly out of hospital.”
Said Dr Saxena: “Today nurses are doing much more, especially in geriatric care. Elderly, because of their fragile health and multiple conditions, need special care, especially as a minor health issue can escalate and become critical.”
“The senior nurse managers or the Advanced Practice Nurses are effectively coordinating and managing (this) care… If you visit a nursing home, you will see that effectively all care is managed by the nurses, who are also the decision-makers on a daily basis.”
“DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL”
Well-accustomed to excretory episodes like Mr K’s, the staff nurse at the GMU goes about cleaning him up like clockwork, and has him back on his bed resting in no time.
The reporter and a staff nurse helping to settle down a patient expressing “heart pain” – in Hokkien dialect – after defecating outside of the bathroom (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
But she is also keenly aware of his acute distress and embarrassment. As he lies there, murmuring about being a burden, hands clasped together praying for no more of such mishaps, the nurse leans in to whisper words of comfort, and later helps him plug in headphones playing a selection of his favourite Hokkien songs.
In a few hours, Mr K returns to his usual chatty, jovial self while doing his favourite activity – colouring.
Some of the patient’s colouring works hanging behind his bed (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Later the thin, elfin man is a bundle of laughs when I accompany him in some light exercises using resistance bands and dumbbells – and even pulls off a deadpan joke about performing 1,000 repetitions the day before.
The reporter engaging a patient in light physical activity (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
During my orientation at TTSH there were also a handful of junior college students who had voluntarily signed up for a nursing internship at TTSH during the school holidays. All said they wanted to do something meaningful. Undoubtedly, there was value in the manner in which the GMU nurses attended to Mr K.
Could their interest be a sign of changing attitudes amongst the young? According to MOH, intake into local nursing training programmes grew by 20 per cent between 2014 and 2016, with this year’s expected to spike by another four per cent.
Prof Ang of NUS said the school’s nursing programme saw 2,200 applications in 2017, up from 1,730 in 2015. In response, it has upped intake to 235 from 155 in 2016, with a view to accepting a 300-strong batch within the next few years.
The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) also recorded a 27 per cent increase in applicants from last year.
PROS OVER CONS
Said Chew, the 24-year-old who made the career leap to nursing: “I’m happiest when I interact with patients directly and regularly. I feel a deep sense of motivation whenever I can bring joy to the patients through activities. Seeing their smiles after spending time with them brings great warmth to me.
“I wanted to work in a role where I can help look out for them, and care for them in their time of deepest needs.”
But she admitted: “Prior to switching to nursing, I heard that nurses tend to be overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated; that it was going to be physically and emotionally demanding.”
My experience from a mere two days attests to this. By the end of the first, I was already drained: Aching from having to bend over and stand nearly all day, and rather absurdly, feeling the effects of compassion fatigue. Just a day of trying to be perpetually nice, friendly and helpful towards the patients had worn me out.
So it was with some measure of dread that I stepped back inside the GMU for my second shift – and was promptly tasked to help a nurse with showering Mr K.
When we ask if the water temperature is okay, he is politely unfussy; when the nurse informs me I’ve put too much soap on his legs, he tells me not to worry about it – and strikes up a conversation instead.
The reporter’s first time showering an elderly individual. The nurse later tells him he used too much soap (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
“Are you married? Do you want to win the lottery? Can I wash my dentures?”
It was all very random, but knowing he must have picked up on the slight awkwardness in my body language, and was trying to help defuse it, in appreciation of what we were trying to do for him – that made me all the more grateful.
And in that moment I caught a fleeting glimpse of the intrinsically rewarding, satisfying nature of nursing.
As Chew said: “I believe the positives outweigh the negative aspects of the profession. The knowledge that you’ll be ultimately serving, adding value to a patient’s life and making a difference – I hope – to their lives is invaluable.”
SINGAPORE: When a prominent Singaporean businessman told me that he thought the Government should limit financial assistance to businesses because it was crippling the spirit of entrepreneurship by creating a dependency mindset, it surprised me.
That the Government should help those in need, those who can’t help themselves, is never in dispute. Social spending has been increasing over the years and rightfully so, say many. Taxpayers’ money is also often used to empower people to help themselves. In the realm of work, the SkillsFuture initiative comes to mind.
So why withhold assistance to businesses?
Up till then, most businesspeople I had spoken to had said the Government was not doing enough to help businesses in spite of a plethora of initiatives and grant schemes having been implemented. Some had issues with the conditions attached to the schemes. Others took issue with the way they were devised. Many of their concerns seemed valid.
But co-founder and chairman of Goodrich Global, Chan Chong Beng, pointed out to me in an “On the Record” interview that if businesses counted on themselves and merely saw government schemes as a bonus, none of these issues would be problematic.
Chan, who started off as a small-time wallpaper retailer in the early 80s, took his company global with no government assistance in the early days.
THE ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY
He said definitively that the Government was spoiling entrepreneurs. “Think about it. If I have rich parents, I probably will not go through the same journey because if I need money, I’ll go back to them and get it. The Government is like the rich parent. I’m glad that I came to the business without money. And because I did not have money, I was able to really learn the hard and cruel part of life. You must go through that for you to really understand the hard reality of business.”
Even when I pointed out to him that government assistance comes with conditions, he insisted that many businesspeople he knew felt they were entitled to it and often expressed anger when they didn’t qualify for certain schemes or if their businesses failed in spite of government help.
Many netizens had criticised him for making such statements.
Some said that he probably only succeeded without assistance because he had started his business in less challenging times, when competition wasn’t as fierce as it is today. That might be a valid point until you consider that his company has weathered several storms and continues to evolve and grow even today.
Would government assistance be beneficial for businesses in increasingly competitive times? (Photo: Linette Lim)
While government assistance in the form of grants and internationalisation efforts have also been available to him, the mindset with which he approaches such initiatives is the key.
The Government’s job is to provide the infrastructure but it is not the Government’s job to guarantee the success of the business. The businessmen will still have to work themselves, find ways, and of course, if you think very clearly, there will be a way.
When I pointed out that many feel tough economic times, the Government’s restrictions on foreign manpower, and economic restructuring makes government help necessary, he said, “Helping them in developing capabilities is good. But at the same time, you have also to nurture them to have the culture of entrepreneurship. They have to be enterprising, they have to be hungry, because if they are not hungry, no amount of government help is going to help them.”
Chan took issue with initiatives such as the SME Working Capital Loan scheme.
“The Government will co-guarantee the loans, but then if the SMEs are all being assessed in accordance to the bank’s requirements objectively, they probably won’t get the loan. So, back again to this guarantee, if they give the money too easily, then it will not be valued so preciously.”
“Businesses need to realise the grant that they get is actually from tax-payers. So by having this money, they are also depriving other people of it.”
If entrepreneurs are not hungry, no amount of government help is going to help them, says Goodrich Global’s Chan Chong Beng. (Photo: REUTERS/Kham)
IT’S IN THE GOVT’S INTEREST TO HELP
However, one could argue that such assistance doesn’t just help individual businesses. It helps workers stay employed and the economy as a whole, so why shouldn’t taxpayers’ money be used for such initiatives? Besides, SMEs will still have to present a compelling business plan in order for the government to co-guarantee the loan so why shouldn’t they get some help along the way?
He saw it quite differently.
“If they really have a good plan, I believe that they will be able to get the loan anyway, with or without government backing. When you go to the bank, you also have to show the bank your sincerity, your plan, and the bank will assess you on your future ability.”
So has government assistance in fact kept some companies artificially afloat for a period of time before they eventually succumb to economic headwinds anyway due to flawed fundamentals?
Goodrich Global’s Chan Chong Beng believes that a good business plan will get funding even without government assistance. (Photo: AFP)
What is the Government’s role then?
Former Member of Parliament, Inderjit Singh has spoken up several times about Singapore’s business environment being more favourable to MNCs than SMEs.
Among the areas he feels the government could address better is high business costs which include commercial rents.
But my conversation with Lim Soon Hock, Founder and Managing Director of PLAN-B ICAG Pte Ltd, a boutique corporate advisory firm, revealed a different side of the argument.
“The issue of high business costs in Singapore has been around for many years now. Companies should have taken steps early to manage and overcome this. For example, if I have one dollar left, where should I deploy it to generate more than one dollar of revenue. In other words, companies should not continue to do more of the same, as the outcome would be predictable,” he said.
Singapore’s high business costs have been around for many years. (Photo: Ngau Kai Yan)
THE ENTREPRENEUR’S MINDSET
According to Lim, the issue is not about the amount of government assistance on offer, it’s about the entrepreneur’s mindset.
“While help is welcomed and you might take advantage of grants, you’ve got to work on the basis that you get zero grants. It compels you to rethink how you would want to manage, develop and grow your business. You need to find your own sources of funding.”
In many ways, Singaporeans resent government interference, but when it comes to government assistance in general, many seem to think more is better.
However, these businessmen clearly think “less is more”.
Chan’s argument that part of entrepreneurship is to develop character and be able to withstand hard times under your own steam is a good one, but it doesn’t really make sense to purposely withhold support in order to build character and resilience.
Just two weeks ago, in an “On the Record” interview, Rosemary Tan, CEO of homegrown biotech firm, Veredus Laboratories said that even though she started with no government help, she is of the mindset that “if you can help them, why not?”
When I asked if too much help could make businesses too dependent, she replied:
I can tell you that whether or not you give him money, he will succeed anyway if he has the right business model. If he doesn’t have that, all the money you throw at him won’t help.
“Out of 10 companies, maybe only one or two will succeed. But if you don’t support at all, these companies wouldn’t have started up and we wouldn’t have an ecosystem. So are we going to give up those two companies just because we didn’t want to fund the other eight, or we don’t want to make them too dependent?”
So what is the balance?
SMEs at Toa Payoh Lorong 8’s industrial park. (File photo: Calvin Oh)
IS LESS, MORE?
Some economists argue that if no assistance is provided, people will be less likely to take risks and this could, in fact, be detrimental to entrepreneurship.
But if too much help is provided, it could create a culture of dependence, even entitlement and this could stymie entrepreneurship too.
CEO of CrimsonLogic, Saw Ken Wye said in a recent interview that a dependence on the Government has even led to businesspeople relying on the Government to endorse their business ideas before they make a move.
“We are in a position where the tendency is to ask: ‘What does the government think?’ People like to do something which will be endorsed and are looking for the correct answer. I think part of innovation is that you don’t know what the correct answer is, and you need to push the boundaries if you truly want to be a Smart Nation and come up with your own solutions.”
Could this be why we haven’t seen many world-class enterprises emerge from Singapore?
But is providing less or no assistance really the answer?
Perhaps it is more a question of the type of assistance provided. So far, many of the schemes are geared towards empowering companies to become independently successful at some point, but companies with a crutch mentality may not benefit in the long-run.
The Government has a duty to create a conducive economic environment and opportunities for businesses and individuals.
However, the businessmen who caution against too much assistance have a point in that such help shouldn’t be treated as an entitlement.
Less could indeed be more if the only objective is develop grit, resilience and innovation – qualities every entrepreneur should strive to have. The lessons we can learn from a crisis can, no doubt, be immensely beneficial.
But instead of calling for the Government to reduce aid, it would make more sense to see the numerous government schemes as icing on the cake that could enable us to reach even greater heights, not as aid that we can’t survive without.
This applies to all forms of government assistance, not just assistance to businesses.
If for whatever reason, help ceases to be available, what should follow is the ability to be resilient and rise above. We can’t control policy but we certainly can control our mindsets and actions.
Bharati Jagdish is presenter and senior producer for Digital News at Channel NewsAsia.
A day before I travelled deep into the Arizona desert to meet a bunch of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Commandos and try firing one of their sniper rifles, I was told no interviews too.
I knew they were an elite force, so when a group of reporters including myself got the chance to get up close and personal, there certainly was some level of anticipation. The restricted access added to the intrigue.
The sniper rifle-wielding Commandos – I was carefully told not to call them snipers – were participating in Exercise Forging Sabre, held in Arizona this week. These Commandos were only a small component of the exercise, tasked with completing ambush missions.
The journey to where they were stationed did not disappoint. I loaded up into a large Chevvy SUV, driven by army maintenance personnel, and was taken into some of the emptiest stretches of land I have ever witnessed.
There were no paved roads, just sandy trails pockmarked with potholes where the sand gave way. Seatbelts please, I was warned. The SUV rocked and tilted, but there was no motion sickness, because the views were stunning: Rocky hills gently rising against endless ribbons of clear, blue skies.
My destination was the top of a rather steep hill, but the gradient was no match for the powerful SUV. The driver threw the vehicle into low gear and it lurched up the hill, winding around it for more gorgeous 360-degree scenery.
The view from the SUV. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)
The Commandos were already waiting when I arrived at a makeshift car park on the summit, and the one who was going to conduct the briefing especially looked the part.
His chest muscles and biceps bulged against his Number 4 fatigue. The left chest was adorned with airborne, freefall and combat diving badges. On the left sleeve: the Ranger and Special Forces tabs. Basically, he was a walking signboard that read: “Don’t mess with me”.
The Commando spoke in short, sharp sentences about the two long-range rifles we were going to try out: the Knight’s Armament M110 and Sako TRG-22.
The M110, an American make, can fire off multiple rounds without the need to cock the weapon between rounds. Because it can engage faster, it is used for covering troops in built-up areas.
The TRG-22, a Finnish weapon, comes in camouflage colours and has a longer barrel, meaning it can hit a target farther away. It is slightly slower because it has to be cocked after every round. What’s special is its foldable butt stock, which makes it more portable. The TRG-22 is used for field firing, which includes stalking enemy targets.
A comparison of the two rifles.
The two rifles have been around in the SAF for about four years. Since they replaced older-generation weapons like the SR-25 and AWMP, they have made frequent appearances at the army open house back home.
Briefing time ended. We could try both rifles and fire two rounds each. I felt my stomach clench. Someone had told me the recoil was so powerful that it could dislocate shoulders.
But the recoil turned out to be rather tame. The rifles were not that loud either: Probably only as loud as the cookie-cutter SAR 21, if not softer. They could still be fitted with silencers. Nevertheless, the rifles were still not easy to use, as I found out.
The TRG-22 was up first. Another Commando supervised me as I lay prone on the sand, which was littered with thorny bushes and an assortment of pebbles. It was nothing like the ranges we train at in Singapore. I found a comfortable position and peered into the scope from my vantage point up the hill. Now it was a case of actually finding the target.
Trying hard not embarrass myself on the TRG-22.
Here came the most difficult part. Because the target was so far away, a slight over-adjustment made my crosshair lose the target completely. Rocks under your hip? Too bad. Hold still or you will miss the target. If you don’t see a full circle through your adjustable scope, that means your aiming is off too.
The targets were rectangular metal plates located hundreds of metres away. Amid all the brown, a slice of silver was not easy to spot. The Commando was extremely patient. After a few more minutes of fumbling around, I managed to get eyes on target.
My “lazy eye” condition means I rely heavily on my stronger left eye. Aiming is usually done with the right eye, which was bad news for me at every rifle range exercise back in National Service. People have suggested wearing an eye patch, but that seemed to make it worse.
Crosshair barely staying put, I pulled the trigger. There was no metallic clink. Target missed. I cocked the rifle and tried again. Another miss. The Commando chuckled and reassured me. I thanked him and dusted off my jacket, which had turned a light shade of brown.
Trying out the M110.
The M110 was slightly more comfortable to use because it felt sturdier and no cocking was involved. I still missed on both tries, however. Another career option crossed off the list then.
So what does it really take to be a good marksman?
Patience, field knowledge and wit, I learnt. Especially patience, because snipers have to spend a fair amount of time finding their target while camouflaging themselves to perfection. Having good eyesight is not a must, because the scope, which can make an object appear three times closer, solves that. Colour blindness is a problem, though.
The elements play a huge role too. We fired on a clear, windless day: Perfect conditions for sniping. But when there is wind, snipers have to factor that into their calculations. Sometimes, they fire at a spot as much as 1m away from the target to compensate.
Camouflage is key for these Commandos. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)
While snipers deployed in real-life war zones sometimes have running games like who has the most kills, Commandos here focus on who can hit the target on the first shot, or in the least amount of shots. It is all about getting it on the first hit, I discovered. Missing the first try means giving away your position, or causing the enemy to run and hide.
Near me, a Commando rapidly fired off multiple rounds with the M110. Silence, then clink, clink, clink.
SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old man lost S$5,600 to scammers who were operating a fake Singapore Police Force (SPF) website, the police said in a advisory on Friday (Dec 8).
The police on Thursday received a report from the man saying that the sum of money had been transferred from his bank account without his knowledge.
He said he had received a call from a man claiming to be a police officer. The impersonator told the victim he was involved in a case of money laundering and asked him for his personal details.
The victim then received a call from another person who directed him to a webpage that resembled the SPF’s website.
The man was told to provide personal information such as his name, personal identification number, bank account details as well as passwords.
The victim later found out that two transactions had been made from his bank account without his consent. He was then instructed by the scammers to delete the bank notifications that indicated the sum of money that had been transferred.
The police said in their advisory that the website is a phishing site in disguise, designed to extract personal information and banking details of victims, resulting in “extensive monetary losses in most reported cases”.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Screengrab of the phishing website, aimed at extracting information like bank details from victim. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)
A phishing page resembling the Singapore Police Force website. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)
The police would like to clarify that the official SPF website is www.police.gov.sg. Members of the public are advised to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:
1. Ignore the calls. Scammers may use Caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.
2. Ignore instructions to remit or transfer money. Government agencies do not ask for payment through telephone calls, especially to a third party’s bank account.
3. Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on a website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as Internet bank account usernames and passwords, one-time password (OTP) codes from tokens, are useful to criminals.
6. The police would also like to inform members of the public to be wary of befriending unknown persons online who may ask to use your bank account to either receive money or transfer money to someone else. You may be in the process of being recruited as a money mule. To prevent yourself from being recruited as a money mule, members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
a) Do not give your personal particulars or bank account details to strangers.
b) Decline any request by acquaintance for money transfers – you might unwittingly be committing a crime by laundering money for another party.
c) Report to the police and the bank immediately if you suspect that you have received unknown monies in your account.
d) If you are approached by anyone who claims to be a police officer, ask for the warrant card. If you are in doubt, dial 999 for urgent police assistance.
e) If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the police hotline at 1 800 255 0000, or submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
Members of the public can also seek help by calling the anti-scam helpline at 1 800 722 6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg.
SINGAPORE: The first phase of a study on mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria has been completed, with the successful suppression of 50 per cent of the targeted Aedes aegypti population, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (Dec 8).
Since October 2016, male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been released on a regular basis at three selected sites at Braddell Heights, Nee Soon East and Tampines West. This is to understand their behaviour and ecology, and see if they can suppress the population of urban Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Since only female Aedes mosquitoes spread dengue by biting humans, if a male carrier of the Wolbachia bacterium mates with an uninfected female mosquito, the resulting eggs will not hatch.
NEA hopes that by releasing sufficient numbers of Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti males, they can compete successfully against wild males and eventually drive down mosquito numbers as the population fails to reproduce.
Over time, this could also reduce the potential spread of dengue. NEA expects that the method could also help prevent the transmission of other mosquito-transmitted diseases such as Chikungunya and Zika.
Infographic showing the impact of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes on the urban Aedes aegypti population at the study sites. (Image: NEA)
Phase 1 of the study has met its objectives and a second recommended phase will commence in the second quarter of next year, NEA said.
The study reported that much fewer Aedes aegypti adult mosquitoes were found at sites where the male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes were released, implying that the method is effective.
At the same time, half of the collected Aedes mosquito eggs did not hatch at the released sites, which provided strong indication that the released Wolbachia-Aedes males had successfully competed with the urban Aedes males and mated with some of the urban Aedes aegypti females.
HIGH-RISE URBAN LANDSCAPE POSES CHALLENGES
The field study also revealed two ecological challenges that are unique to Singapore’s high-density and high-rise urban landscape, and should be addressed to increase the impact of the suppression, the NEA said.
Firstly, the report noted how Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were able to move easily from surrounding areas into the release sites, thus reducing the suppression effect of Wolbachia-Aedes.
Secondly, it was noted that there is a high density of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on higher floors, where not enough Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes can reach.
Data collected on how high and far the male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti (Wolbachia-Aedes) mosquitoes can fly, how long they live and their mating competitiveness in actual field conditions, will contribute to future field studies.
The Wolbachia technology, if proven effective, will further strengthen our capabilities to tackle dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases, the agency added.
“This is especially crucial as higher global temperatures resulting from climate change can have an impact on the spread of mosquito-borne diseases and public health,” NEA said.
SINGAPORE: The Government’s ComCare schemes disbursed a total of S$130 million to about 83,000 beneficiaries in the last financial year, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on Friday (Dec 8).
This is comparable to what was given out in FY2015.
In general, the number of beneficiary households over the past five years has increased, said MSF in a media release. It added that this is in line with the “enhanced coverage of ComCare assistance” and the roll-out of the Social Service Office network between 2013 and 2015.
ComCare payouts are disbursed mainly through three schemes – Long-Term Assistance, Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance and Student Care Fee Assistance.
The majority of households on ComCare received short- to medium-term assistance. There were 28,400 such beneficiaries in FY2016, a 38 per cent increase from 20,500 in FY2012.
However, compared to FY2015, there was a slight dip in the number of households under short- to medium-term assistance. “The number of households may have stabilised and MSF will continue to monitor this trend,” said the ministry.
There was a slight dip in the number of people who needed short- to medium-term assistance in 2016. (Image: MSF)
With the exception of FY2015, MSF said the rise in beneficiaries of short- to medium-term assistance over the years could be the due to the expanded eligibility criteria.
In 2014, it was extended to families with a maximum gross household income of S$1,900, up from S$1,700 previously. The cap on income per household member was also increased from S$550 to S$650.
There were also 24 Social Service Offices across Singapore by 2015, providing “more accessible and coordinated social assistance to Singaporeans in need”, the ministry added.
Said Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee: “Even as the Government has stepped up to help those in need, not just through ComCare but also through our many other layers of assistance, these individuals and their households also need greater support from their families and the community.
“I hope such family and community support will rise, as we work together to foster a more caring and gracious society.”
Out of the S$130 million disbursed in FY2016, S$57.5 million was funded by the ComCare Fund’s interest income. The remainder was covered by MSF’s budget, according to ComCare’s annual report.
