World number one Andy Murray found his stunning defeat hard to swallow after 50th-ranked Mischa Zverev extended his Australian Open agony in the fourth round on Sunday.
Murray, who has lost five finals in Melbourne, again left without the trophy after he fell to the inspired Zverev 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in a three-hour, 34-minute classic.
This time, Murray departs in week one after failing to capitalise on the second-round defeat of six-time champion Novak Djokovic, so often his nemesis at the tournament.
“I’ve had tough losses in my career in the past. I’ve come back from them. This is a tough one,” Murray said.
“I’m sure I’ll come back okay from it. But right now I’m obviously very down because I wanted to go further in this event, and it wasn’t to be.” Murray looked set to break his Melbourne Grand Slam jinx when his arch-rival Djokovic, who has beaten him in four Australian finals, was dumped out by Denis Istomin.
The British top seed refused to concede that it was a big opportunity lost after he was ambushed by serve-and-volley specialist Zverev, a former rival from their junior days.
“Did I miss an opportunity? I don’t know. I mean, every year you come is a different chance, different opportunity,” Murray said.
“I mean, still even had I got through this match, (Kei) Nishikori or Roger (Federer) are waiting. Stan’s (Wawrinka) still in.
“There’s certainly no guarantees, even if I got through today’s match, that I would have gone further.” .
Murray was coming off a magnificent 2016 which included a second Wimbledon crown, a successful Olympic title defence and replacing Djokovic to become world number one for the first time.
“I’m obviously down about it. It’s just tennis. I had great success for a number of months,” he said.
“Obviously in the biggest events you want to do your best. That’s not been the case here. You know, it happens.” Murray paid credit to Zverev’s inspired tennis in only their second meeting. The previous time, in Munich two years ago, the Scot cleaned up 6-2, 6-2.
“It just wasn’t meant to be. He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games,” Murray said.
“Yeah, he deserved to win because he played great when he was down, and also in the important moments.” Murray couldn’t find a solution to left-hander Zverev relentlessly coming into the net behind his serve, and many times resorted to the lob to get points.
The British top seed’s serve was broken eight times and he made 66 forced errors, testament to the constant pressure put on him by Zverev, who came to the net 118 times.
“I don’t think it’s so much someone necessarily coming in,” Murray said. “It’s the shots he was coming up with when he did come forward.
“I mean, he came up with some great pick-ups, reflex volleys especially at the end of the match when it was tight.” Murray had not lost before the quarter-finals at the Australian Open since going out to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in five sets in 2009.
Murray had also not lost to a player ranked as low as the German in Melbourne since he fell to number 51 Juan Ignacio Chela in 2006.
WBO welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao is willing to square up with mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor if his potential superfight with Floyd Mayweather fails to materialise, a spokesman said Sunday.
But the Filipino boxing hero-turned-senator stressed that any fight with McGregor would have to be a boxing bout, not an MMA contest.
“If McGregor will fight me in boxing, why not? But not in MMA. MMA is much different than boxing,” a spokesman quoted Pacquiao as saying a few days ago.
“The fight can be at the 140-pound weight division. My normal weight when I’m not on training is just 141 or 142 pounds,” he said.
Both Pacquiao, 38, and McGregor, 28, have been trying to lure the retired Mayweather back into the boxing ring.
For Pacquiao, it would be a chance to avenge his defeat to Mayweather at their long-awaited showdown in 2015.
Meanwhile Ireland’s McGregor, the first man to simultaneously hold Ultimate Fighting Championship titles in two weight divisions, has floated the idea of taking on the undefeated Mayweather, 39.
In late November McGregor was issued a boxing license in the state of California in a development that fuelled speculation about a future showdown with Mayweather.
Mayweather told ESPN’s First Take programme that a McGregor bout was the only thing that could tempt him back into the ring.
UFC boss Dana White also added further fuel to the fire this month when he offered to pay each $25 million, along with a cut of pay-per-view proceeds, to fight – an offer that Mayweather later batted down.
Pacquiao has previously parlayed his sporting fame into a career in politics, getting elected to the influential Philippine Senate last year while still continuing to box professionally.
The Filipino southpaw had briefly retired from the ring after beating American Tim Bradley in Las Vegas in April but soon made a comeback, saying he still felt like a youngster.
In his last fight in November, Pacquiao reclaimed the World Boxing Organisation welterweight title for the third time with a unanimous-decision victory over former champion Jesse Vargas in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao has been engaged in ongoing talks with his American promoter about a possible fight with Australian Jeff Horn later this year.
Veteran Thai golfer Prayad Marksaeng won the Singapore Open by a single stroke on Sunday after the tournament favourite Adam Scott blew his chances of a fourth title by hitting two balls into the water.
Prayad shot a final round of four-under-par 67 to finish at nine-under 275 and capture his 20th title since turning professional in 1991, earning himself a place in this year’s British Open.
“I feel like I have done my country proud,” Prayad said. “I am thrilled to earn a spot in The Open too. I hope I can make my country proud again by securing a good result at Royal Birkdale.” Four players – Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand, Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines, Jbe Kruger of South Africa and the defending champion, South Korea’s Song Young-Han – finished tied for second after a thrilling final day where six players had a share of the lead.
Phachara, Kruger and Song also secured berths in the British Open but Pagunsan missed out because only four places in total were available and he has the lowest ranking of the runners-up. Kruger leapfrogged him for the last spot when he eagled the final hole.
Scott, chasing his fourth victory at the Sentosa Golf Club, led by a stroke heading into the final round but the Australian squandered his chances with a final round of 74 to finish tied for ninth at six-under.
The 2013 US Masters champion still had a share of the lead after six holes but saw his chances of winning sink when he chipped into the water on the seventh hole then hooked his drive into the South China Sea on the 15th.
“I’m pretty disappointed. I didn’t play very well this weekend – just didn’t hit it close enough to the hole to give myself any real chances,” Scott said.
“There were a couple of bad swings – one bad swing on the 15th, obviously, a bit of a thinned chip on the seventh that was costly. The rest was just… average.” Prayad, whose first golf club was made from bamboo and scrap metal, joined the Japan Senior Tour last year when he turned 50 and won four times but was not among the favourites to win the Singapore Open, which featured Scott, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia.
After a slow start, he went into the final round four shots behind Scott in a tie for 12th but got off to a flyer with three birdies on the front nine.
He dropped a shot on the 11th but birdied the 13th and final holes then endured an anxious wait in the clubhouse before his victory was confirmed.
One by one, the challengers all faltered in the closing holes as the wind picked up. Phachara closed with a 71, Pagunsan with 70 and Kruger and Song each signed for 69.
“I waited in the clubhouse for about two hours before I knew I won the tournament,” Prayad said. “I felt very relaxed, didn’t think too much and just went for my lunch.”
Girls tend to outdo boys academically at a younger age although this gap closes as they enter their late teens and early 20s.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education (MOE) showed that in the last 10 years, girls performed “slightly better” than boys in the Primary School Leaving Examination. Girls were around 2 to 3 percentage points over-represented in the top quintile, and about 3 to 4 percentage points under-represented in the bottom quintile.
At the O levels, girls were around 1 to 2 percentage points over-represented in the top quintile and about 1 to 2 percentage points under-represented in the bottom quintile.
But there was hardly any distinction in qualification to the tertiary level. The numbers of males and females pursuing degrees in local universities have been comparable over the past three years, said the ministry.
For instance, out of a total of 18,126 undergraduates in the 2015 intake for the six publicly-funded universities, 9,192 were female.
An MOE spokesman said these figures reflect global trends in educational results by gender.
Worldwide, girls are better readers than boys across all age groups up to upper secondary.
For mathematics and science, girls also generally do better than boys up to lower secondary but boys outperformed girls at the higher levels.
The disparity in performance between boys and girls is “a complex issue that depends on various factors, such as the subject matter, students’ education level, motivation level and behaviours and the education systems”, said MOE.
A 2015 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on gender equality in education stated that boys’ poorer performance in school is likely linked to their behaviour rather than “innate differences in ability”.
For example, boys reported that they spent one hour less each week on homework than girls, more time playing video games than girls and less time reading for enjoyment.
But MOE also noted that Singapore’s gender gap in results is not as evident as in worldwide studies. In the latest 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment, for example, the difference in reading ability between 15-year-old girls and boys in Singapore was smaller than most other countries’ and the OECD average.
The spokesman for MOE said the ministry has initiatives to support academically weaker students, regardless of their gender, such as learning support and remediation programmes.
Psychology experts and educators contacted said while boys and girls develop differently, parents should not oversimplify how they learn, especially at a young age.
Psychologist Daniel Koh from Insights Mind Centre said girls tend to be better listeners and are more receptive to details – qualities which make for more effective learning.
Boys, on the other hand, get bored and distracted easily, needing more stimulation and space to pay attention, he added.
They also tend to do better with practical and performance-based tasks, which feature more at later stages of education such as polytechnic and university.
But Assistant Professor Ryan Hong from the National University of Singapore’s psychology department said research has largely yielded gender similarities rather than differences.
And these differences, like in maths or verbal reasoning, are usually small, he added.
He noted though that males here may have “matured in the course of national service and that allows them to be more focused and responsible in their university studies”.
Mr Koh added: “Boys at times also take longer to determine what they want to do or find interest in something… They usually grow in maturity and discipline by the time they finish army.”
Madam Esther Yap, 50, said her daughter, now 18 and in her third year of polytechnic, matured faster than her son, who is now 16.
“From primary to secondary school, he just liked to play computer games. Only at the beginning of this year in Secondary 4 when my daughter pushed him to think about his future, then he focused more on work,” added the sales coordinator.
Her son wants to study engineering in polytechnic next year.
“I wasn’t worried. I knew he would make it when he knows what he wants to do.”
Boys not in a hurry to grow up, says mum
Nicholas, 14, picked up table tennis at age six and recently started playing football too. His sister Jerica, 17, has been playing the guzheng since she was in Primary 1.Photo: The Straits Times
When 14-year-old Nicholas Fung was in primary school, the playful boy spent hours playing video games and football with friends.
His mother, Madam Janice Ong, said: “He seemed to be in a daze in primary school. He was more interested in play.”
Compared to his older sister, Jerica, who is now 17, Nicholas seemed to be weaker in his studies, especially in language, noticed Madam Ong, a housewife.
Said the 47-year-old: “In primary school, she was more diligent. She will do her work, follow through and look through her corrections.
“But the boy can make the same mistake again and again.
“Like his friends, he was more into play and games. Even recess is about playing, not eating.”
But Madam Ong was not too concerned about her children’s differences. “I think it’s a natural part of growing up. Boys are usually not in a hurry to grow up.” In fact, she saw “signs of improvement in maturity” in Nicholas only last year when he completed Secondary 2.
“Teachers say that he has potential to do well. He studied his hardest for the end-of-year Secondary 2 exams,” she said. “He knows now… he needs to be more responsible, otherwise he will face consequences like not getting promoted.”
She said: “Boys tend to be more playful but once they set their mind on a goal… they will really work towards it. The school environment and peer pressure also push them to study hard as their maturity level grows.”
Today, Madam Ong is glad that both her children have also developed interests of their own – Nicholas is sporty and plays table tennis for his school while Jerica is a musical talent who plays the guzheng.
Nicholas picked up table tennis at the age of six and joined the Singapore Table Tennis Association’s Junior Development Squad for primary school pupils. He trains four times a week and has won awards representing his secondary school. Recently, for recreation, he started playing football once a week with a club.
Jerica, now in her first year of junior college, has been playing the guzheng since Primary 1. Two years later, she auditioned and got into the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Young Talents programme that trains students in music, dance, art and drama. In 2013, she joined the Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra and has taken part in local competitions.
Said Madam Ong: “I’m very blessed that my kids have these interests and they enjoy these activities. It just happened naturally.
“I didn’t push them.”
Better for parents to support children based on learning needs
Boys and girls may have different strengths – with girls being better in processing speed and language, while boys have better memory and mathematics skills.
But children – regardless of their gender – develop differently, and parents should understand their strengths and weaknesses individually, said psychology experts.
Assistant Professor Qu Li from the Nanyang Technological University’s psychology division said a recent study of more than 1,000 students, aged 12 to 18, in Canada showed that females outperformed males in six domains: processing speed, fine motor skills such as writing notes, verbal fluency, selective attention, spelling and language comprehension.
Males did better in other areas such as memory, arithmetic skills and the ability to resolve conflicting information, according to the study published in the January 2017 issue of the Journal Of Neuroscience Research.
It is not surprising that girls do slightly better at written tests, said Prof Qu, as the six domains they fare better in are “essential cognitive skills for a student to perform well in the PSLE and O levels, and to learn well in a school setting”.
The skills that boys are better at tend to be more useful for hands-on tasks, she added.
But she noted that these differences, although statistically significant in larger population samples, are “relatively small” at the individual level, suggesting that educators and parents should not resort to stereotyping both genders.
Instead, they could support children according to their learning styles and developmental patterns, she said. “Children develop at different paces and, in the end, it boils down to individual learning needs. It does not mean that girls cannot be good engineers,” Prof Qu added.
Assistant Professor Ryan Hong from the National University of Singapore’s psychology department said in terms of maths and verbal reasoning, there is “no or very small” difference in ability between both genders. “If cognitive abilities do not seem to account for differences, then perhaps temperament or personality might account to some extent,” he said. For instance, girls tend to be better in focusing on relevant tasks and persevering while boys may be more physically active and distracted, he added.
Psychologist Daniel Koh from Insights Mind Centre said girls and boys may have varying learning styles – girls, for example, use more inductive thinking, which refers to making broad generalisations based on specific observations.
Boys are deductive thinkers, which means they reach conclusions based on logic.
But, ultimately, a child’s performance is also based on his family environment, school culture and his self-belief, added Mr Koh.
This article was first published on Jan 22, 2017. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
The death toll from a bomb blast at a market in a mainly Shiite area of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt has risen to 24, officials said Sunday.
The explosion, which occurred on Saturday in Parachinar, capital of the Kurram tribal district, initially killed 20 people and was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
It was the first major militant attack in the country in 2017.
“The number of dead people from the blast is now 24 as four more injured have lost their lives,” Naseerullah Khan, an administration official in the region, told AFP, adding the number of wounded stood at 90.
“Some 33 injured are being treated in the district hospital in Kurram while 25 have been shifted to a military hospital in Peshawar. Others with minor injuries have been discharged after first aid,” Khan said.
The new toll was confirmed by police officials.
Video footage from Saturday showed chaotic scenes with people running and shouting in panic and victims strewn in front of vegetable stalls among smashed crates and pushcarts.
Ikramullah Khan, a senior government official in Parachinar, said that the blast was caused by an IED (improvised explosive device) hidden in a vegetable box.
In a telephone call to AFP, the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack.
“It was to avenge the killing of our associates by security forces and to teach a lesson to Shiites for their support for Bashar al-Assad,” said the group’s spokesman, Qari Saifullah, referring to the Syrian president.
Saifullah warned that his Sunni Muslim group will continue attacking Shiites if they back Assad, whose regime is entrenched in a civil war that began in 2011 and has claimed more than 310,000 lives.
In December 2015 an IED blast at the same market killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 30.
Kurram is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts which are governed according to local laws and customs.
The district is known for sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, who make up roughly 20 per cent of Pakistan’s population of 200 million.
SINGAPORE – The kampung spirit of Singapore’s old days is being rekindled in Tampines Street 43, thanks to two refrigerators.
Placed in the lift lobby of a block of flats, the fridges have been placed there for residents in the area to donate food to their needy neighbours.
The initiative by the Tampines North Citizens’ Consultative Committee was launched at Block 441 on Saturday (Jan 21) by Mr Baey Yam Keng, Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Grassroots Adviser to Tampines Grassroots Organisations.
Mr Baey helped stock up the fridges with the first batch of fish, meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits contributed by residents in the area.
One fridge is reserved for halal items, while the other is for non-halal food. They are targeted at the residents of Blocks 441 and 442, which are about 20 years old and house about 100 single-room rental flats for needy families.
Mr Baey said he hoped the initiative would not only provide extra food but also turn the common area into a “watering hole” for residents to meet up and get to know one another.
He added that the fridges would be observed over the next few months, to assess the feasibility of the idea and whether the initiative was something that might benefit other estates in Singapore.
“They are welcome to copy and steal this idea,” Mr Baey quipped.
Restrictions on the two main football pitches at Home United Youth Football Academy (HYFA) in Mattar Road are likely to be “temporary” while stakeholders work out a compromise, said MP for MacPherson Tin Pei Ling.
After complaints of noise from some residents, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) had ordered in mid-last month that the fields not be used during weekends and weekday nights from 7pm.
The move sparked heated discussion on whether the SLA was right to impose such curbs, and how this reflects on the development of Singapore’s sports culture.
Around 1,900 people have signed an online petition started four days ago on Change.org to oppose SLA’s restrictions.
Among those who spoke up publicly were Mr Jose Raymond, a former senior director at the Singapore Sports Hub. He called the partial suspensions “a slap in the face for the development of sports culture in Singapore”.
“As a result of this minority, more than 1,000 children will suffer,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to the children with football academy JSSL Singapore.
Columnist Neil Humphreys called the incident “astonishing” on football website FourFourTwo last week, pointing out that football can act as a “cultural emollient for disparate groups in society”.
Such developments seem to suggest that Singapore focuses on the “first, minor negatives, rather than the overwhelming positives”.
“One of the best football facilities in the country was hit with an injunction after a handful of complaints, denying children the opportunity to play,” he added, referring to the HYFA facility which was built, after consultation with the authorities, for more than $1 million in 2014. “That’s the antithesis of a sports culture.”
The Sunday Times understands that SLA is working to reach an “amicable solution” with the relevant agencies and HYFA.
But the facility has lost its main client, JSSL Singapore, whose bottomline has been affected twice by a change of policy by the authorities.
JSSL Singapore managing director Harvey Davis, whose academy has since relocated to The Arena in Woodleigh Park, said: “This doesn’t sit well with me, and shouldn’t sit well with Singapore as a community… it’s damaging for Singapore sports.”
About the incident, Ms Tin said residents did not have “nimby” (not in my backyard) syndrome.
“To be fair, residents understand the need for give and take,” she added. “They are not opposed to sports in the community and are not against HYFA’s presence… but they hope for some reprieve, on some nights.”
She said some residents were forced to change their lifestyle because of the constant noise.
In one case, a family with two toddlers left their flat all day and came back late at night on weekends, at the peak of activities last year, as their children could not fall asleep at home.
While four residents spoke up publicly about the matter, 35 households said they were affected by the noise, she said, adding that it was unlikely SLA had imposed restrictions just because of complaints from a few people, and that the residents were not unreasonable.
Some residents of Block 126, such as Mr Alan Hoong, 56, said: “We were subjected to noise pollution for more than half the day.”
“We couldn’t speak properly at home, and couldn’t even watch television,” he added, although things improved after the new measures.
However, other residents said they enjoyed having such activities nearby.
“As long as the noise stops by 10pm, it’s all right for us,” said Madam Tan Suan Mooi, 76, a retiree.
Said retiree Low Chor Young, 67: “Initially, it was really loud. There was a lot of shouting.
“But since they moved the supporters’ tents further away, the noise has been bearable.
“We should be more easy-going and not complain unless necessary.”
Last May, a group of residents met representatives from government agencies, including the SLA and Urban Redevelopment Authority, plus Home United to discuss ways to resolve the issue.
The football academies compromised by using quieter whistles and moving the supporters’ tents.
But these moves did not appear to be enough for the affected residents, who seem to be a minority.
On that point, Mr Darryl David, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Community and Youth, said: “We shouldn’t be focusing on the number of people making the complaint but the nature of it.”
“These four people could be raising an issue that more are experiencing.
“I don’t think this reflects on the community’s attitude towards sporting culture,” he added.
While some may argue that heartlanders could be more prone to such incidents, Mr David said it all depends on the urban density of a neighbourhood.
“It reflects that we are getting denser, and the spaces we have are getting more populated,” he added.
“We have to try to be more tolerant and understand the needs of a different group.”
byseow@sph.com.sg
TIME-OUT
To be fair, residents understand the need for give and take. They are not opposed to sports in the community and are not against HYFA’s presence… but they hope for some reprieve, on some nights. ” MP TIN PEI LING, who said residents did not have “nimby” (not in my backyard) syndrome. She added that some were forced to change their lifestyle due to the constant noise.
‘Red card’ shown twice
It is the second time that JSSL Singapore, which was hit by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) restrictions last month, has had to move.
Up till two years ago, the football academy conducted training on weekends and some weekday evenings at Victoria Junior College, said its managing director Harvey Davis.
The arrangement had been in place for six years until 2015, when he was informed by the school that the Education Ministry said it could no longer rent out its space to private organisations.
JSSL moved out within four months but its clientele of nearly 1,500 children then dropped to some 700.
About 60 per cent of its students are local, said Mr Davis.
While it had about 1,200 children last year, the number has fallen to about 800 now.
At the Home United Youth Football Academy, JSSL ran its programmes and league matches from 8am to 9pm on weekends and weekday nights
On Dec 6, Mr Davis said JSSL was “called into the building and told (by the operator Asia Sports) that we had to vacate the pitch there and then”.
He was told that residents in the area had complained, and the SLA decided to impose restrictions, so he had to go.
JSSL had its last session on Dec 18, he said, adding that it would have been better if it had been given more notice, and a chance to mitigate the situation before moving out.
More than 1,000 students were affected. Relocating and setting up its facilities again cost JSSL some $50,000, said Mr Davis.
This excludes losses from student fees when participation fell.
Mouldy cakes, soiled underwear and nuggets crawling with maggots – these are not items in trash bins, but in-kind donations to thrift shops or charities.
They might be extreme cases, but charities interviewed by The Sunday Times said that up to 40 per cent of the items donated by the public end up being discarded regularly because they turn out to be unsuitable for the charities’ use.
Time and effort is needed to collect and sift through them.
At The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG) – which collects donations of non-perishable food items like canned food and rice and distributes them to social service organisations – volunteers and staff spend about 1,700 man-hours sorting through an average of 240 tonnes of food donated by the public every year.
About 10 to 20 per cent of the items are discarded because they do not fit the charity’s requirements, said Ms Margarita Seah, an FBSG management associate.
Bizarre examples of donations collected last year include syrup that expired in 1998.
The charity also often finds used coffee cups and half-eaten food in donation boxes at some collection points – which may contaminate other donations.
“It’s quite shocking to see that people are leaving such items behind, as our signs clearly state that we collect only non-perishable items,” said Ms Seah.
The signs at collection points list examples of acceptable items, such as unopened snacks or canned food with at least four weeks of shelf life, as well as items not accepted, such as unlabelled food products.
Ms Seah said that FBSG is looking at redesigning the signs with graphics to make the guidelines more obvious.
It now conducts talks in schools and offices to spread awareness before it holds food drives, during which donated items are collected from the public.
The Singapore Red Cross also has had its share of oddities among the unsuitable items that have been given to it.
Mr Dennis Yeo, its head of fund-raising, said that last year alone, the charity received items like a beer keg, five samurai swords and even a knuckleduster.
“There was still beer inside the keg and we had to call the distributor to collect it as it was a pressurised container,” said Mr Yeo, who added that the swords and knuckleduster had to be handed over to the police.
About 30 to 40 per cent of the public donations that it receives for resale at its two thrift shops are unsuitable for use.
The Red Cross has guidelines on its website listing the items that it accepts – mainly new or second-hand items in good working condition such as clothes, electronic devices like mobile phones or iPads, and toys and books.
Mr Yeo said that one suggestion for donors is to ask themselves what condition they would like a product to be in, if they were the recipients.
Some organisations have made a more concerted effort to combat the problem of unwanted donations over the past year.
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Singapore provides free accommodation for parents with gravely ill children at the National University Hospital. Ms Shameem Abdul Rahman, its executive director, said that in the past, 40 per cent of in-kind donations for beneficiaries were unsuitable.
But a new rule that RMHC introduced in the middle of last year – requiring staff and volunteers to inform donors that they have to inspect items before accepting them – has helped to reduce that percentage to almost zero.
The organisation also encourages donors to call to find out what specific items are on its wish list.
“There are times when they would give us leftover food items that have been opened and non-food items that are already used. That makes us pretty sad as we’re (seen as) a dumping ground, which is wrong,” said Ms Shameem.
To cope, other charities have reduced the number of donations they receive in kind.
Project Goodwill Aid had collected used items in good condition for low-income families twice a year since 2013, but founder Siti Nurani Salim said that this year, the organisation will cut the frequency to once a year because too much effort is needed to sort through and dispose of unwanted items.
Still, the seven charities interviewed by The Sunday Times said that there still remains a need for donations in kind.
On average, the Red Cross collects $400,000 a year from its thrift shop sales and Mr Yeo said that they are looking at expanding the store.
“Getting cash donations from individuals and corporations may be challenging given the economic outlook, but our thrift shop is one way through which we can convert donations we receive into cash.”
The Salvation Army’s social enterprise unit, Red Shield Industries, operates five thrift shops and receives 54 million tonnes of donations in kind a year. It said its operations not only help to raise funds but also allow people to do their part for the environment by reusing items and reducing wastage.
About 35 per cent of funds raised by the unit come from thrift shop proceeds.
“Cash provides greater flexibility when it comes to meeting needs, but we welcome all types of contributions that will allow us to make a difference in the community,” said Red Shield Industries’ deputy general manager Richard Goh.
yuensin@sph.com.sg
WATCH THE VIDEO
Up to 40 per cent of donations unsuitable for use.
This article was first published on Jan 22, 2017. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
SINGAPORE: The Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) helped to resolve 83 per cent of the 517 cases it saw at the end of its inauguration year in 2016, with the remaining cases still ongoing, according its latest social report issued on Sunday (Jan 22).
Among the foreign domestic workers cases seen, nearly half of them constituted salary disputes, requests for transfer of employer and physical abuse. Maids from Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and India also formed the bulk of those whom CDE assisted.
In a bid to reduce the number of conflicts emerging during domestic workers’ course of employment, the CDE launched a series of guidebooks to help promote healthy employer-employee relationships at its anniversary celebration on Sunday.
Handy Guides series launched at the event. (Photo Junn Loh)
Published in four different bilingual versions of English with Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Tagalog and Tamil, the guides consist of a series of comic illustrations about cultural differences between Singaporean employers and domestic workers.
“Having a healthy relationship is the cornerstone of any employment arrangements…a healthy relationship can help reduce the possibility of miscommunication and misunderstanding,” CDE Executive Director Shamsul Kamar said.
Meanwhile, CDE Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang also said that the centre is looking at other ways to help domestic workers. For instance, the centre is in the midst of discussions with financial institutions and remittance services to provide a more structured and reliable method for maids to receive and remit their salaries.
Moving forward, the CDE said it will continue its regular outreach activities to both maids and their employers on the potential areas of conflicts.
To better understand the attitudes and behaviours of both sides, CDE will kick start an industry survey next month. It will also open a new shelter by the middle of this year.
Around 600 fans braved the rain on Saturday evening (Jan 21) to catch local singing sensation Nathan Hartono at an exclusive showcase presented by Singtel Music.
With his rich vocals, the singer crooned to the audience with a setlist comprising original songs such as Electricity and Tell Me Something from his upcoming EP.
He also performed the Chinese pop favourites 有没有 and 最长的电影 that catapulted him to fame in Sing! China last year.
Those who missed out on Hartono’s performance can view highlights on Singtel’s social media pages, or listen to his new EP through Singtel Music’s premium Spotify and KKBOX subscriptions.
The showcase is part of Singtel Music’s efforts to support local music talent.
For more information, visit www.singtel.com/singtelmusic.
