Singapore Airlines (SIA) turns 70 this year but the Singapore Girl is ever ageless, her smiling face inseparable from the national carrier, which is now an acclaimed airline with 109 aircraft.

Having made impeccable service one of its selling points, SIA scours locally and overseas for talent for its crew. The search includes countries such as Malaysia, India, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and China.

Importance is placed on recruiting men and women who are customer-orientated, resourceful and team players.

In Singapore, interviews are held every month and each recruitment exercise draws an average of 900 applicants.

SIA’s male to female ratio for cabin crew is 40 to 60.

Once candidates are chosen, they are put through a rigorous 15-week training programme comprising classroom and on-the-job training.

This includes foundation training for the personal and soft skills they will need as the face of the airline; fleet training for their job-specific duties; and safety training, which focuses on security, crisis response and first aid.

Read also: Here’s what training for Singapore Airlines flight attendants looks like

Before trainees attend to their first passengers, they have three observation flights in which they are assigned to a mentor whom they shadow and observe.

The Straits Times executive photojournalist Neo Xiaobin takes an exclusive look behind the scenes at what it takes to become a Singapore icon.

Taking Flight from Through the Lens on Vimeo.

This article was first published on Feb 20, 2017.
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The issue of Chinese students in the handful of Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, first set up about 35 years ago, having few or no friends of other races has often been highlighted. But this has also been discussed at other non-SAP schools with a strong Chinese tradition, like Hwa Chong Institution’s junior college section, which are open to students of all races and usually do not require them to take Chinese as a mother tongue.

As far back as the 1990s, the college’s head of English said some non-Chinese students did not choose Hwa Chong because they had the impression that it was Chinese in its orientation. “This is a (vicious circle). If the minority students do not come, they will never be able to explain what we offer and the image will remain, rightly or wrongly,” he added.

The Straits Times understands there are fewer than 10 Indian and Malay students in Hwa Chong Institution’s JC2 cohort of about 1,000 students, despite past attempts by the school to attract more.

At Nanyang Junior College, there are an estimated 50 to 100 non-Chinese in the JC2 cohort of about 700 students.

ST speaks to three non-Chinese students who had attended such schools about their experiences.

He learnt to mingle and picked up Mandarin

When Mr Shaik Nifael Shaik Nazeemuddin found out in 2003 that his secondary school posting was to Nan Chiau High School, one of Singapore’s oldest Chinese schools, he cried.

It was not so much that it was his fourth choice, but more because its name rhymes with a certain Hokkien word.

“My older cousins were bothering me about it, and I couldn’t take it as a 12-year-old,” said Mr Shaik, who is now 27 and co-owns a waste management business.

Mr Shaik – who has Indian, Malay and Peranakan roots – wanted to get a transfer out of the school, but his businessman father told him to give it a try before making a decision.

Mr Shaik said: “He said I would get better development with the Chinese community, and that I would be more open-minded about being in business.

“When my father first started his business, he got cheated here and there. He told me to study hard and also make connections with people in school.”

When Mr Shaik first went to Nan Chiau, he had a culture shock at just how much Mandarin was used in school.

Though the school was designated a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school only nine years later, in 2012, it already had a strong Chinese culture before that.

“The school song was in Mandarin, we took the pledge in Mandarin… I felt very alienated when I found out,” said Mr Shaik.

There were fewer than 10 non-Chinese students in his cohort, Mr Shaik said. Five were in his Malay-language mother tongue class, and there were another two who took Tamil classes at another school.

But he summed up his experience at Nan Chiau as an “an eye-opener”.

“If you can’t beat them, join them,” said Mr Shaik.

He picked up Mandarin, took part in three co-curricular activities – including track and field, and debate – and got used to the unfamiliar environment.

“Of course, there were some upper secondary kids who would pick on the non-Chinese kids. I was a short boy, and an easy target… but I learnt how to mingle and not be around non-Chinese kids all the time.”

Looking back, he said he has no regrets about being in a predominantly Chinese school.

In fact, his three business partners are friends he made at Nan Chiau. “When I found friends, I managed to find real friends,” said Mr Shaik.

He also benefited from the school’s traditionally strict discipline. He said: “I was a very naughty student… but I was taught how to tell right from wrong.”

Could the school have done more to attract minority students, before it became a SAP school that admitted only Express students who take Chinese or Higher Chinese as a mother tongue language?

“The school was open to students of all races, but it is the students’ choice at the end of the day. They did not want to choose the school because they probably thought that it would be filled with only Chinese students.”

But Mr Shaik said the parents of students who feel this way should encourage their children to try something different.

“They shouldn’t be too worried about what may happen, and let them find their own way.”

An ‘oddity’, but he didn’t feel alienated

Back when Mr Tinesh Indrarajah was a first-year junior college (JC) student at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) in 2011, a school visitor was puzzled when they met.

“He asked me: Are you Indian? What are you doing in this school?” recalled Mr Tinesh, 23, now a master’s student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and concurrently a fourth-year undergraduate at Yale-NUS College.

Mr Tinesh’s response was: “Why wouldn’t I be in this school? Because the school is good and I can get into it.”

However, he acknowledged that his presence in the school was indeed an oddity.

Students from the secondary section of HCI and Nanyang Girls’ High School – both Special Assistance Plan schools – form the bulk of HCI students at the JC level as they are admitted via the Integrated Programme.

But those who want to enrol at the JC level usually do not have to take Chinese language as a mother tongue.

Mr Tinesh – an ASEAN scholarship holder from Malaysia who attended Bukit Panjang Government High School before HCI – said the small number of non-Chinese students in his cohort showed that stereotypes continue to deter students from other races from joining schools like HCI, which are perceived as predominantly Chinese.

In his cohort of around 1,000 students, fewer than 10 were non-Chinese.

As a scholarship holder, he had different considerations when it came to choosing a JC. Since he was already living at HCI’s boarding school while in secondary school, and was also familiar with the community, going to HCI made sense.

“I already knew some of the seniors who were there, I had a good support network and I liked the school culture,” he said.

However, what could deter others from choosing the school is the fear of being in the minority.

“There is a natural fear that if you don’t see yourself being represented in the environment, you will think that you may face a hard time or even be alone.”

But Mr Tinesh, who enjoyed his two years in HCI, did not find that a problem.

While there are cultural events where Chinese songs are used, such as during the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, he did not find them alienating.

“I was happy to take part and learn about another culture,” he said, adding that it would be beneficial for the school if there was more minority representation.

“When I was at HCI, there were a few people who came up to me and told me that I was the first Indian friend that they could really connect with, or their first non-Chinese friend.”

yuensin@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 20, 2017.
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After struggling with pain from a torn ligament for two weeks, Mr Gerry Gewi turned up at the accident and emergency (A&E) department of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

The 37-year-old could not walk and had little faith in physiotherapy.

But the A&E doctor told him it was a good option for him, and the hospital activated senior physiotherapist Jason Loh, who was on standby.

Instead of being warded or sent home with painkillers, Mr Gewi had his foot massaged by Mr Loh, who got the blood flowing before asking him to put weight on it.

“I walked and it was a good feeling,” Mr Gewi said.

“I was wheeled into the hospital, but I walked out.”

The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and the National University Hospital (NUH) have also opted to have physiotherapists on call for patients in the A&E department.

Physiotherapists at TTSH treated over 900 patients under this A&E programme between June 2015 and October last year.

The corresponding figure for SGH, which started the service in 2012, is around 3,500, while the NUH team sees about two or three elderly patients every day.

At TTSH and SGH, doctors first assess patients who have pain in their muscles and bones, or with symptoms like dizziness and vertigo, indicators of a relatively common inner-ear problem that a physiotherapist can resolve.

If necessary, the doctors refer these patients to the physiotherapist on duty for treatment.

The NUH programme is similar, although it focuses on elderly patients.

Said NUH emergency medicine specialist Sim Tiong Beng: “As a result, these patients can be discharged from the department safely on the same day, unlike in the past when they would have been admitted for such services.”

Mr Loh said the patient benefits from having immediate treatment.

“When someone who sprains his ankle does not use his leg for two weeks, it stiffens and the muscle starts to waste. It’s harder to undo what has already been done.”

Getting physiotherapists involved in treating such uncomplicated cases also frees up doctors’ time, said Ms Jennifer Liaw, who heads SGH’s physiotherapy department.

“Many who are afflicted with sudden back pains and the like may need only some form of physiotherapy before being discharged from the A&E,” she added.

“Expediting their care at that point also allows emergency medicine doctors to devote time to those with more serious conditions.”

Having a physiotherapist on standby also means patients do not have to wait two to three weeks for an outpatient appointment.

The experts stressed that as a general rule, people should see a polyclinic doctor or general practitioner first, and not go straight to the A&E department.

linettel@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 20, 2017.
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At NTUC FairPrice outlets, it is not uncommon to see products from Singapore brands like Bobo, Khong Guan and Sing Long being prominently displayed.

This is no coincidence but part of a scheme to promote local brands, introduced by Singapore’s largest grocery chain in 2009.

The number of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) benefiting from this Suppliers Support and Development Programme has gone up by about 30 per cent from 230 in 2012 to 302 last year.

Under this programme, FairPrice invests more than a $1 million a year to offer a 50 per cent discount on product and listing fees and to organise knowledge and networking seminars, said Mr Victor Chai, the chain’s director of purchasing and merchandising (fresh and frozen).

In addition, FairPrice pays the firms within a month, instead of the norm of two months.

One of the key concerns of smaller businesses is maintaining a healthy cash flow, said Mr Chai.

“The programme alleviates the firms’ financial burden and they can, in turn, use their savings and higher profits to launch a product earlier or invest in technology to boost productivity,” he said.

The programme is open to Singapore-owned companies, or foreign companies here which have local employees and local productions or distribution facilities, with an annual turnover of less than $5 million.

Currently, FairPrice, which has more than 140 outlets, carries more than 4,500 local products, making up about 10 per cent of its range.

“We have seen an increase in awareness and support for locally produced goods grow over the years,” Mr Chai said.

Sing Long Foodstuff, which has been supplying FairPrice since 1983, is one of the SMEs that has seen business grow since joining the scheme in 2012.

The scheme has reduced the need for Sing Long to take bank loans and this has helped it to save on interest costs.

Its managing director, Mr Ng Chin Nyan, said: “We are able to use the savings to invest in technology and manpower to tackle challenges, and to scale up the business.”

His business has grown 6 per cent year on year since 2012.

Sing Long hopes to expand overseas and is looking to groom talent.

It currently exports to countries like Malaysia, Australia and Canada, but hopes to also open factories in neighbouring countries.

Association of Small & Medium Enterprises president Kurt Wee said SMEs are capable of manufacturing house-brand products, which tend to be no-frills products, and should be roped in more.

He said: “The initiative is welcome and useful. The help in cash flow is extremely good, because it is material to SMEs.”

FairPrice’s Mr Chai is happy to do his bit to help local products.

“I am proud that our locally made products are able to stand shoulder to shoulder with international brands in terms of quality and value, and I am happy to support them,” he said, adding that his own kitchen is also stocked with goods from these SMEs, from oil to coffee and eggs.

30%
The number of local SMEs benefiting from the Suppliers Support and Development Programme has risen by about 30 per cent from 230 in 2012 to 302 last year.

$1m
Under the programme, FairPrice invests more than $1 million a year to provide a 50 per cent discount on product and listing fees and to organise knowledge and networking seminars.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 20, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.