SINGAPORE: A new sports scholarship has been announced in honour of Olympic gold-medallist Joseph Schooling.

It was announced at a special event organised by the Eurasian Association on Monday (Nov 21), with the association’s patrons, trustees, management committee members and Eurasian athletes who took part in the SEA Games last year.

(Photo: Sandra Galistan)

The Joseph Schooling Sports Scholarship will “support talented athletes in various sports who demonstrate that they can balance their academic studies with the demands of their training responsibilities”, according to a press release issued by the Eurasian Association. It added that it believes the award will help Eurasian youth pursue a long-term career in sports.

Schooling earned Singapore its first Olympic gold medal in August after winning the 100m butterfly event at Rio 2016.

“The scholarship is literally our way of providing a springboard for propelling our Singaporean Eurasians to a position where they can compete and excel in their chosen sport on an international level, and to bring home more honours for our country,” said the chairperson of the association’s education committee Graham Ong-Webb.

At the event, Schooling was also conferred the title of Visitor of the Eurasian Community House.

(Photo: Sandra Galistan)

The award is “a special honour to recognise his exceptional character and contribution to Singapore”, said the association’s president Benett Theseira. 

Madam Theresa Tok probably knows more about one Singapore shopping landmark than most.

She has been working in the same shop at the same mall since 1979.

The 57-year-old optician has seen Plaza Singapura (PS) undergo two major revamps during 37 years she has been there. And she’s still there for its latest new look.

“It used to have the nickname ‘Orchard Yaohan’ when Yaohan was still around,” said the 57-year-old.

“It was also a popular place for Japanese tourists back in the 90s. Nowadays, we see more local youngsters and families.”

ANNIVERSARY

To mark its 42nd anniversary, the mall is organising activities such as Bring Home a Piece of PS and showcasing a wall mural – a depiction of the history of the mall and the Dhoby Ghaut area.

The wall mural makes Madam Tok, who works at Paris Miki, nostalgic.

While she thinks the mall looks more modern now, “I still prefer the previous exterior of the mall, which was more structured” she said.

“The new one is a little too wavy for me.”

How did she come to work there for so long? It was because of her customers, she said.

“I witnessed my customers grow from a kids to adults. It’s really heartwarming,” she said.

“Sometimes they would even wait one to two hours so that I could serve them.”

The mall, which was revamped recently, will conduct woodworking workshops for shoppers to create a hand-carved wooden trinket dish using recycled wood from the mall’s recent refurbishment efforts.

All shoppers need to qualify is a minimum of $30 in a single receipt.

Workshops for children will be free and they will get to learn to make personalised coasters and spin tops.

Adults will use a Japanese gouge and a mallet and be guided by artisan Xinnie Ng, 28.

The wood, which was taken from the old railings of PS, has been processed and cut into planks.

There has been much uncertainty over the fate of animal shelters in Loyang and Seletar after the Government gave notice that they would have to move out by the end of next year.

So there was a great sense of relief from animal shelter owners, volunteers and animal lovers yesterday when the Government announced that it was taking the animal welfare groups’ concerns into consideration.

To help the shelters, it is allocating land and will be building the facilities so that the animal welfare groups can just rent and not have to buy the land, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a press release yesterday. 

Four affected animal welfare groups based in Loyang and Seletar told The New Paper that they were relieved by AVA’s decision.

Voices For Animals president Derrick Tan said he went into a “panic attack” mode after learning about the earlier move, but he is very happy now.

“Now that we are assured that we will definitely get a space at the new Sungei Tengah area, we feel at ease,” he said.

Senior Minister of State Desmond Lee and AVA met the animal welfare groups last Monday to inform them of the plans for the new site and to hear their opinions.

The new facilities will have two storeys.

Mr Tan told TNP that the space given by the authorities will depend on the number of animals.

“I’m hoping to request to take both storeys of one of the buildings,” he said.

“I have about 100 dogs, so I think having both storeys would be pretty comfortable for the number of dogs I have right now.”

SURPRISE

SOSD president Siew Tuck Wah said he was caught by surprise.

“For the Government to be building this shelter space so that all of us can be spared from finding and building on a new land is unprecedented,” he said.

“It is really a better outcome than we could have imagined.”

But, elated as they may be, there were some concerns about space raised by Animal Lovers’ League (ALL) co-founder Cathy Strong and Causes For Animals Singapore (CAS) co-founder Christine Tan.

Ms Strong, whose organisation houses about 400 dogs and over 200 cats, said: “I’m afraid the dogs won’t have a space to run around in the future, since they didn’t really specify.

“Most of my dogs are quite huge, so we are still working on a solution with the authorities.”

Mrs Tan told TNP that although the new area in Sungei Tengah will be cheaper than what CAS is now paying at Seletar for the space of about five four-room HDB flats, the new place will also be much smaller.

“CAS dogs now have the courtyard space to roam on a rotational basis for a few hours a day,” she said.

“But I’m not sure if they can do that at the new place since it’s mentioned that the dog runs they are building will be shared.”

When asked what were some of the ideas discussed during the meeting, Mrs Tan said: “We explored the possibility of having a common adoption space and education facilities for the public.”

Animal lovers were also rejoicing online when they heard the news.

Facebook user Sharon GJ Ong posted on SOSD’s Facebook page: “Of all the many beautiful days I have enjoyed so far in 2016, today is extra beautiful.”

There has been much uncertainty over the fate of animal shelters in Loyang and Seletar after the Government gave notice that they would have to move out by the end of next year.

So there was a great sense of relief from animal shelter owners, volunteers and animal lovers yesterday when the Government announced that it was taking the animal welfare groups’ concerns into consideration.

To help the shelters, it is allocating land and will be building the facilities so that the animal welfare groups can just rent and not have to buy the land, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a press release yesterday. 

Four affected animal welfare groups based in Loyang and Seletar told The New Paper that they were relieved by AVA’s decision.

Voices For Animals president Derrick Tan said he went into a “panic attack” mode after learning about the earlier move, but he is very happy now.

“Now that we are assured that we will definitely get a space at the new Sungei Tengah area, we feel at ease,” he said.

Senior Minister of State Desmond Lee and AVA met the animal welfare groups last Monday to inform them of the plans for the new site and to hear their opinions.

The new facilities will have two storeys.

Mr Tan told TNP that the space given by the authorities will depend on the number of animals.

“I’m hoping to request to take both storeys of one of the buildings,” he said.

“I have about 100 dogs, so I think having both storeys would be pretty comfortable for the number of dogs I have right now.”

SURPRISE

SOSD president Siew Tuck Wah said he was caught by surprise.

“For the Government to be building this shelter space so that all of us can be spared from finding and building on a new land is unprecedented,” he said.

“It is really a better outcome than we could have imagined.”

But, elated as they may be, there were some concerns about space raised by Animal Lovers’ League (ALL) co-founder Cathy Strong and Causes For Animals Singapore (CAS) co-founder Christine Tan.

Ms Strong, whose organisation houses about 400 dogs and over 200 cats, said: “I’m afraid the dogs won’t have a space to run around in the future, since they didn’t really specify.

“Most of my dogs are quite huge, so we are still working on a solution with the authorities.”

Mrs Tan told TNP that although the new area in Sungei Tengah will be cheaper than what CAS is now paying at Seletar for the space of about five four-room HDB flats, the new place will also be much smaller.

“CAS dogs now have the courtyard space to roam on a rotational basis for a few hours a day,” she said.

“But I’m not sure if they can do that at the new place since it’s mentioned that the dog runs they are building will be shared.”

When asked what were some of the ideas discussed during the meeting, Mrs Tan said: “We explored the possibility of having a common adoption space and education facilities for the public.”

Animal lovers were also rejoicing online when they heard the news.

Facebook user Sharon GJ Ong posted on SOSD’s Facebook page: “Of all the many beautiful days I have enjoyed so far in 2016, today is extra beautiful.”

Madam Theresa Tok probably knows more about one Singapore shopping landmark than most.

She has been working in the same shop at the same mall since 1979.

The 57-year-old optician has seen Plaza Singapura (PS) undergo two major revamps during 42 years she has been there. And she’s still there for its latest new look.

“It used to have the nickname ‘Orchard Yaohan’ when Yaohan was still around,” said the 57-year-old.

“It was also a popular place for Japanese tourists back in the 90s. Nowadays, we see more local youngsters and families.”

ANNIVERSARY

To mark its 42nd anniversary, the mall is organising activities such as Bring Home a Piece of PS and showcasing a wall mural – a depiction of the history of the mall and the Dhoby Ghaut area.

The wall mural makes Madam Tok, who works at Paris Miki, nostalgic.

While she thinks the mall looks more modern now, “I still prefer the previous exterior of the mall, which was more structured” she said.

“The new one is a little too wavy for me.”

How did she come to work there for so long? It was because of her customers, she said.

“I witnessed my customers grow from a kids to adults. It’s really heartwarming,” she said.

“Sometimes they would even wait one to two hours so that I could serve them.”

The mall, which was revamped recently, will conduct woodworking workshops for shoppers to create a hand-carved wooden trinket dish using recycled wood from the mall’s recent refurbishment efforts.

All shoppers need to qualify is a minimum of $30 in a single receipt.

Workshops for children will be free and they will get to learn to make personalised coasters and spin tops.

Adults will use a Japanese gouge and a mallet and be guided by artisan Xinnie Ng, 28.

The wood, which was taken from the old railings of PS, has been processed and cut into planks.

If you grew up in Singapore in the 70s and 80s, the name Ponggol Seafood should bring back memories of fresh chilli crab, fragrant mee goreng and a beautiful seaside view.

When Mr Ting Choon Teng, the owner of Ponggol Seafood, opened the restaurant in 1969, it was just to support his family.

The restaurant was more popularly known as Ponggol Hock Kee Seafood Restaurant then.

But later it became a Singapore icon, attracting tourists and locals from all over the island.

Regular customer Liew Chuen Hwa, 61, who is self-employed, said: “When I was 18, during my army days, I would go to the restaurant with my friends. If you did not make a reservation in advance, you would have to wait for as long as 45 minutes or an hour to get seats.”

Mr Liew, who still makes it a point of going to the restaurant every month, said that Ponggol Seafood has maintained its way of preparing food, unlike some other restaurants that have moved to fusion or more modern creations.

Ms Leslie Wong, 52, a butler, has been visiting the restaurant since she was five years old.

She said: “It was always so packed with people. I can still remember how the mee goreng there tasted, even at this age.

“That restaurant is like a childhood memory for people in the 70s because it was the usual place everyone went to with their families.”

After 47 years of business, despite ups and downs, Ponggol Seafood has flourished to become one of the best-known local seafood restaurants.

Mr Ting, 90, died from lung cancer on Sunday, leaving the next generation of Tings to continue the business.

His life offers an abundance of lessons:

WHEN YOU HAVE AN IDEA, GO FOR IT

The eureka moment may come in many ways. For Mr Ting, it came by chance.

The idea for Ponggol Seafood Restaurant was born when Mr Ting drove to the end of Punggol Road and noticed that there was a restaurant for rent.

He was then a foreman at a sauce factory and the experience proved useful for the restaurant.

Mr Anthony Ting, 56, director of Ponggol Seafood, said: “My father worked in a sauce factory during his earlier days and he enjoyed experimenting with the sauces. That was how he came up with the recipes for the chilli crab and mee goreng, eventually developing it into a business.”

He said: “My father never thought that the business would become so big but as a businessman he hoped and always tried his best.”

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

The late Mr Ting would always be seen after closing hours, eating, playing the guitar and singing with his customers.

Mr Ting said: “My father always treated his customers politely and with sincerity. So they always came back to look for him. He was a very well-respected man among those who knew him because of the way he did business.”

A regular, who wanted to be known only as Mr Koh, 56, , said: “Mr Ting was a very caring man and his family is also very friendly. So in addition to the quality of the food, I also return because of him.”

Mr Koh added that he and the late Mr Ting formed a group of 10 friends, who were all restaurant regulars, and they would often eat and drink together.

TAKE HARDSHIP IN YOUR STRIDE

Ponggol Seafood grew up with Singapore, and has overcome some of the same obstacles: malaria, severe acute respiratory syndrome and bad economic conditions.

Mr Ting said: “There were good times and there were bad times. As a business, we have to be financially strong and be able to contain our losses well.

“There must also be a strong will and sense of hard work. There will be a lot of things that we (the bosses) have to do ourselves.”

He said they had to sack some of their staff and cut back on ingredient costs when times were bad.

There were also uncertain times after the government acquired the land in 1994, and the restaurant moved to at least four locations before returning in 2014 to the Punggol Point area.

SELF-RENEWAL

The late Mr Ting introduced his eight children to the business when they were young.

Most of them started by helping out in small tasks before taking on heavier responsibilities.

Four of the them are working full-time for the family business, while three of them work part-time.

Mr Ting Cheng Yew, 52, head chef of the restaurant, said: “After three decades, the taste of our chilli crab and mee goreng remains unchanged because I have been cooking them.

“I started working as a kitchen helper when I was 20 years old, then I started to learn from the other chefs. But after that, the dishes were all done by me.”

Mr Anthony Ting said that even though the future is uncertain for the second generation of Tings, they wish to carry their father’s legacy into the third generation.

An aggressive “raid” on rats is being carried out at the Jurong West Street 52 wet market and food centre.

The “war zone” at Block 505, was cordoned off by pest control officers on Sunday night, drawing curious onlookers.

Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported that the operation, which involved about 30 people, started at 7pm on Sunday and will last till tomorrow.

About 20 rodents were caught in just an hour.

Stall owners said the rat-control exercise, the largest they have seen, is timely as the infestation had worsened in recent months.

Madam Cheong Yuet Chun, 68, who has been running a drinks stall at the market for 30 years, saw a dead rat trapped under a metal cupboard in her stall several months ago.

She said in Mandarin: “It must have fallen from the roof.

“We saw rats running around above our stalls at night.

“The smell was terrible. I’m glad they are taking tough action now.”

When The New Paper visited the market yesterday evening, more than 15 pest control officers from Star Pest Control were at the scene.

Several stall owners were also there to open their stalls for the officers to check.

In just 15 minutes, we spotted four large rats scurrying across the floor.

A National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman said it had received 18 reports of rat sighting within the market and hawker centre this year.

CLUTTER

During NEA’s regular inspections, its officers saw instances of poor refuse management and clutter in common areas and the bin centre – places where rats can gather.

Last month, six burrows were detected near Blocks 505 to 507 of Jurong West Street 52.

Mr Ang Wei Neng, chairman of the Jurong-Clementi Town Council, told TNP that the exercise did not arise from feedback or complaints from residents, but was part of a routine maintenance programme to improve the overall hygiene of the markets and food centres.

“We carry out pest-control treatment (rodents and cockroaches) during the quarterly market washing,” he said.

Mr Ang, who is also MP for Jurong GRC, said they managed to encourage the cooked food and market stall holders to engage the same pest control company to conduct treatments within their stalls.

“The stall holders are taking this exercise seriously as they want to present a clean environment to their customers,” he said.

A stall owner who wanted to be known only as Madam Yap, 50, said that her rat trap nabs at least one rodent a week.

Madam Yap, who runs a stall selling flowers and another selling noodles, added: “It’s impossible to eliminate all the rats, but we all have a part to play in keeping our stalls clean and to try catching the rats.

“We are worried about getting fined and it might not even be our fault because the rats run around.

“If they give us rewards for catching rats – dead or alive – I’m sure it will be more effective than these professional pest control exercises.”

REPORTING 
FROM MANILA

The Lions will do well to watch out for “Mui” and “Tang” today.

Those are the nicknames of Thailand’s danger duo, striker Teerasil Dangda and midfield schemer Sarach Yooyen.

Ahead of Singapore’s AFF Suzuki Cup Group A clash with the War Elephants at the Philippine Sports Stadium, Lions coach V Sundramoorthy knows the score.

He told The New Paper: “Sarach is a good ball player, with an eye for the killer pass.

“He also keeps possession really well.

“As for Teerasil, I don’t really have to say much about him, we all know him very well.

“He knows how to score. What else do you need in a striker?”

Whether the Dazzler and his charges can shackle the duo, however, is another matter altogether.

Teerasil, 28, is on fire, having scored five goals over the last seven days.

After netting twice in Thailand’s 2-2 draw with Australia in a World Cup qualifier last Tuesday, he opened his Suzuki Cup account with a hat-trick against Indonesia four days later.

The three goals took his tally in the competition to 12, just five behind all-time top scorer, Singapore’s Noh Alam Shah.

Sarach, 24, was also impressive against Indonesia, bossing the midfield and making key contributions at both ends.

Despite his small stature, the 1.68m-tall Sarach seemed to come out on top in every tackle and chipped in with two assists – both for Teerasil.

Singapore’s players know how strong the Thais are, but are confident of keeping them quiet.

Rookie midfielder M Anumanthan, who had a solid Suzuki Cup debut in the draw with the Philippines on Saturday, is relishing the task of taking on Sarach and Co.

“It will be my first time playing Thailand, so I’m really excited and I’m raring to go,” said the 22-year-old, whose role is to shield the back four.

“We want to show we are not pushovers and we will go out there with belief, and fight.

“We are not afraid of them.”

Centre back Madhu Mohana, who is likely to keep his place at the heart of defence alongside the evergreen Daniel Bennett, is also up for the challenge of keeping Teerasil quiet.

“We know what they are capable of,” said the 25-year-old.

“They’re fast and always moving, so we have to stay compact.

“As for Teerasil, he’s a good player and we respect him.

“But he has two arms and two legs, just like us.

“And if we have to kick him, we’ll kick him.”

WHAT THE THAI MEDIA SAY

Supachok Umaklat

FourFourTwo Thailand:

“We respect Singapore, especially after they managed to defend against Philippines with just 10 men. It will be harder to score against them than against Indonesia, but we have many players who are able to score, and we are confident we can do it.”

Naddanai Lertchaiyalit

MThai.com:

“We are confident of the win, but we know it will not be easy. The Thai team are much smaller and shorter than Singapore, so maybe in some areas we will be at a disadvantage. But everyone can score.”

FACTFILE

• Name: Sarach Yooyen
• Age: 24
• Height: 1.68m
• Weight: 60kg
• International caps (goals): 30 (0)
• Position: Centre midfielder
• Club: Muangthong United

Did you know?

“Tang” was a key member of the Thai Under-23 squad that won SEA Games gold in Singapore last year.

• Name: Teerasil Dangda
• Age: 28
• Height: 1.81m
• Weight: 77kg
• International caps (goals): 80 (37)
• Position: Striker
• Club: Muangthong United

Did you know?

Despite his impressive record for Thailand, “Mui” has never scored against Singapore.