SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching made international headlines in August when she showed up at the White House toting a $14.90 dinosaur-print pouch designed by an autistic student artist.

Her accessory choice during PM Lee’s recent official visit to Japan is once again a talking point, after she wrote a poem sharing the heartwarming story behind the bag she carried to a private lunch at the Imperial Palace with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Tuesday (Sept 27).

Mrs Lee posted on Facebook on Sunday (Oct 2) morning explaining that the bag had been at a previous meeting with the Japanese royal couple – albeit in the hands of another woman, who died a couple of years ago.

“This elegant bag / also went with Yoko / to meet the kind and gracious / Emperor and Empress of Japan,” Mrs Lee wrote.

“It has waited years since, / lying safe in its paulownia wooden box, / filled with memories of happy times and / a loving lifetime with Masamoto.”

She wrote that she was given the bag, which had been “used only once”, by a man named Masamoto after he read of “the news of you / and your dino pouch”.

Mrs Lee said that she was unsure of accepting the bag initially because it seemed “so precious, / so full of memories”. However, her friend insisted and she eventually promised that she would bring it with her on all visits to the Japanese royal couple.

Mrs Lee did not provide the family names of Masamoto and Yoko.

“Rest in peace, dear Yoko / And keep well, Masamoto,” Mrs Lee wrote. “I will safekeep this special gift / of love and friendship.”

This article was first published on October 2, 2016.
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A new unit to investigate cases of abuse against the disabled and the infirmed has handled over 100 cases since it was set up by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in May last year.

The early establishment of the Adult Protective Service (APS) was to tie in with plans to introduce a Vulnerable Adults Act that will give the state more statutory powers to protect such people.

The MSF has been preparing the groundwork for the proposed legislation, which it expects to be tabled in Parliament by early next year.

The new law will allow the state to enter private premises to assess a person’s well-being and to move the abused person temporarily to safe places such as sheltered homes.

Currently, the community and government agencies can rely only on moral suasion to enter homes to provide assistance.

The ministry has been the key coordinator of a national network to manage family violence. It comes up with policies and provides funding and support to agencies that handle domestic violence cases.

With the APS, it investigates abuse cases involving vulnerable adults too.

And since its establishment, the APS and its 10 social workers have had their hands full.

The more than 100 instances of abuse it has dealt with so far ranged from neglect to more serious cases of physical or sexual assault.

Neglect is when a care-giver fails to provide even the basic care, such as food and shelter, to those who are unable to look after themselves.

But the most common type of abuse has been physical violence and neglect, an MSF spokesman said. The victims, who suffer from physical or mental infirmities such as dementia, range in age from 18 to those who are over 90.

Of the cases referred to the unit, the APS conducted full-fledged investigations into 21 of the more serious and complex cases.

These included one of an 80-year-old man who was suspected of being physically assaulted by his son. The elderly man was recently diagnosed with dementia and is using a wheelchair.

After investigations, the APS sent him to a nursing home as it deemed that the son was unable to care for him.

Social workers welcome the impending new law.

They point out, among other things, that they currently do not have the legal powers to intervene if a family denies them access to someone whom they believe is abused.

Members of the public who are concerned that someone may be abused can call the Comcare Call helpline on 1800-222-0000.

theresat@sph.com.sg

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From incorporating free wealth-management advice into lessons to offering shuttle-bus services, the tuition race in Singapore has entered a new and more aggressive phase.

No longer is the industry dominated by home tutors and small neighbourhood outfits.

Instead, they are chains in malls with deep pockets, multiple branches and snazzy marketing.

There are also more of them. There are now some 600 tuition centres registered with the Education Ministry, up from about 500 in 2011.

Centres with 10 or more students must be registered.

It is, after all, a billion-dollar industry. Singaporeans are spending a staggering $1.1 billion a year on tuition, according to the Household Expenditure Survey released in 2014.

This is nearly double the $650 million households here spent in 2004.

To grab a slice of this lucrative pie, tuition-centre players are upping their game.

The Physics Cafe in Toa Payoh, for example, has shuttle buses to send its students to MRT interchanges such as Paya Lebar and Jurong East.

Edmund Quek of Economics Cafe Learning Centre in Bishan entices students with not just lessons in economics, but also free tips on how they can increase their wealth.

What has become a marketing mainstay: photographs of tutors, with dazzling smiles and promises of As, plastered on the facades of tuition centres.

Many are former school teachers turned tutors.

The seemingly inexorable rise of what experts have termed the “shadow education” system comes amid greater competition in schools, say education experts.

National University of Singapore economics lecturer Kelvin Seah explained that the trend may also be due to the rising incomes of Singaporeans over the past few years.

“Parents are now more willing than ever before to spend top dollar on tuition lessons for their children,” he said.

Timothy Chan, director of SIM Global Education’s academic division, said: “To a large extent, academic performance has an impact on the education opportunities available for a student in his next phase of studies.

“Thus, it is of no surprise that parents send their kids for tuition, whether or not their kids actually benefit from attending extra classes.”

This means that it is not just the struggling students getting tuition. More top students are attending classes too, note centre operators. Keng Jun Hao, 24, managing director of the Real Education Centre, said some of these students want to maintain their top grades while others feel they can improve even more.

“A majority of them are afraid of losing out to other students who are attending tuition,” he added.

The arms race is exacerbated by parents who want their kids to get a head start, said Kenneth Ng, 40, managing director of Aspire Hub Education Centre Group, which has nine centres.

However, experts warn that excessive tuition can be counter-productive.

Dr Seah explained: “Students might grow to dislike the subject when they are forced to attend tuition lessons.”

calyang@sph.com.sg

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