SINGAPORE – Healthy food will be made more accessible and affordable, with a range of initiatives being undertaken by the NTUC Social Enterprises.

It will be changing its tenancy contracts for all food stalls in its NTUC Foodfare food courts and coffee shops, by making the use of healthier cooking oil compulsory for tenants. Food prices will remain affordable and it expects all food stalls to use healthier cooking oil in two to three years’ time.

Today only 33 per cent of its 12 food courts and 6 per cent of its seven coffee shops have taken up using healthier cooking oil.

“This is not a decision ordinary businesses will make… But we are trying to change behaviour,” said Mr Tan Suee Chieh, group chief executive officer of NTUC Enterprise.

At a press briefing on Thursday (June 23), Mr Tan said the new initiative to encourage Singaporeans to eat and live healthily is part of NTUC Social Enterprises’ 10-year plan to reinvent themselves to meet changing social needs of Singaporeans.

From Thursday, NTUC Fairprice will also be offering discounts of up to 15 per cent for various types of Fairprice Housebrand healthy cooking oils which are certified with the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS). Major stores around the island will also have a section dedicated to displaying HCS certified products in July and August.

This is on top of the 5 per cent discount on its house brand wholegrain rice items for the next 2½ months, which it started two weeks ago.

To encourage children to eat healthily, a sticker booklet will be given to those in NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool pre-schools. Those who consume their share of fruit and vegetables daily can collect stickers.

NTUC IncomeShield policyholders who pass all four tests in its health screening offered under Orange Health will receive $50 shopping vouchers, as an incentive to stay healthy. Those not insured under IncomeShield or Enhanced IncomeShield will receive $50 discount off their first-year premiums if they choose to sign up with Enhanced IncomeShield.

The NTUC social enterprises were set up to meet a wide range of social needs, from stabilising prices of essential goods and services to providing basic financial security.

Mr Tan said a survey of 1,600 respondents done over 14 months from 2014 to 2015 had shown that Singaporeans had four major concerns: cost of living, ageing, health and healthcare costs, and social mobility.

“Forty years ago, cost of living was a central need for all Singaporeans… Accessibility and affordability were important,” he said. “But today Singaporeans are no longer living in a third-world country… People are educated, affluent and they want different things.”

To tackle these emerging concerns, NTUC Social Enterprises is making a “big strategic shift”, he said, in pooling their resources to provide a range of services for Singaporeans at different life stages.

For instance, it has increased services for the elderly, including senior day care centres, senior activity centres and home care services.

It has also identified areas in technology to experiment with, such as e-commerce, automation, logistics and distribution, as well as robotics and medical technology and data analytics.

This article was first published on June 23, 2016.
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Today, you may see her as just a tour guide at the Navy@Vivo exhibition at VivoCity.

But at sea, Military Expert 3 (ME3) Lim Jia Yee, 36, is an eagle eye who watches out for the bad guys.

She may be tucked away in an operational room without a view, but she oversees the expanse of the sea on her monitors, looking out for potential threats in the vicinity of the ship.

Two years ago, ME3 Lim was sailing on board the RSS Tenacious in pirate-infested waters in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, monitoring the movements of suspicious vessels.

The stealth frigate was part of Operation Blue Sapphire, a 31-nation effort to support international counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, and it responded to 21 calls for help.

ME3 Lim worked eight hours a day, but on two four-hour shifts, with 12 hours of rest between shifts, so that she could maintain a high level of concentration every day during the three-month mission.

She spent her rest time catching up on sleep and helping to keep the spirits of the crew up.

Even though there were no major encounters with pirates, there was an incident that affected the crew.

They were supposed to dock at the port at Djibouti, the capital of Republic of Djibouti, but there was an explosion just days before their arrival.

“We couldn’t replenish our supplies ashore, but we managed to meet our replenishment needs shortly after,” she said.

“We were thankful we weren’t at the danger zone where it occurred.”

HOT

Of her stint, she remembers the blazing hot sun that beat down mercilessly on the crew.

“It was definitely hot,” she said.

Despite the temperatures, which reached up to 42 deg C on deck, there was no respite from the constant vigilance the mission needed.

The 2014 stint was one of the biggest missions ME3 Lim has been on.

She said she would not have given away such a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, despite the sacrifices she had to make.

“I wouldn’t want a 9-to-5 job even though it can mean weeks or months out at sea,” she said.

While she was out on a training mission in the South China Sea in preparation for Operation Blue Sapphire, she received news that her father had died.

She returned to Singapore after the mission and went ahead with Operation Blue Sapphire after settling her father’s affairs.

She said matter-of-factly: “After all the training, I didn’t want to let it go to waste.”

Yesterday, ME3 Lim hosted 29 beneficiaries from the Children’s Cancer Foundation and Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home on a sail in the seas off VivoCity.

It is part of the Navy@Vivo exhibition where people can find out more about the capabilities and technology the Navy possesses.

“If you want to find out about the Navy, talk to someone who is in this line,” she advised any potential recruit.

ME3 Lim also shared some anecdotes about life at sea, including how younger inexperienced colleagues vomited on duty as they had yet to find their sea legs.

After 16 years, she hardly feels the pitching of the boat any more, she said with a laugh.

Navy@Vivo

WHERE

VivoCity Promenade

WHEN

Today till Sunday

TICKETS

Entry to the exhibition is free. But tickets for a tour of the RSS Tenacious are available through balloting at VivoCity.

This article was first published on June 23, 2016.
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Courts employee Juzailah Abdul Rahin, 37, rolled up her sleeves yesterday to cook meals for the needy.

Along with 19 colleagues, the assistant human resources manager spent more than two hours slaving over pots and pans to cook chicken, potatoes and coleslaw for low-income Muslim families to break fast.

When The New Paper caught up with her as they were cooking, she laughed and said: “It’s really hot with so many pots going. But we’re very happy. It’s so meaningful to give back to the community.”

The Courts employees prepared 90 portions for 20 families at the Darussalam mosque in Commonwealth Avenue West.

The electrical and furniture retailer regularly organises activities to give back to the community and will be hosting a charity golf tournament in September and a year-end charity party.

Ms Juzailah, one of the organisers for the meal distribution, said there was an overwhelming number of volunteers.

Mr Stan Kim, the country chief executive officer of Courts Singapore, said: “There was no shortage of volunteers for this meaningful cooking event.”

Said Ms Juzailah: “Everyone is very excited to be doing this as a team.”

GIFTS

Courts also stuck to its tradition of giving gifts to needy families during the fasting month. It gave away household appliances to 12 families this year. Mr Raghavan Mustafa’s family used to have to make do with a spoilt oven and a rusty rice cooker.

But Mr Kim visited the family at their home in Serangoon to present them with a new rice cooker and oven. They also received a sofa bed and a dining table set.

Mr Mustafa, 38, said: “I took a day off from work as a warehouse assistant to wait for them. We are all very excited to use our new gifts.”

His wife, Madam Juriah Yusoff, who is a fan of baking, has planned the cookies she will be baking for Hari Raya Puasa.

The housewife, 43, said: “It will take some time for me to get used to using a real oven instead of my old toaster oven, but I am already excited to bake.”

She is grateful for the brand-new household appliances.

“I am happy to make life more comfortable for my kids,” she said.

This article was first published on June 23, 2016.
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Feeling aroused after hearing a fellow tenant having sex in the next bedroom, he snuck into another female tenant’s room and molested her.

Yesterday, Zhang Tao, 27, a Chinese national who was studying here, was jailed seven months for outraging the woman’s modesty.

Zhang, who was an undergraduate at Singapore Accountancy Academy, rented a bedroom at a condominium in the eastern part of Singapore.

The victim, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity, rented another bedroom in the same apartment with her husband.

On April 25, the couple went out for supper and returned to their room at about 3.20am.

But the husband was unable to sleep so he went out for coffee 10 minutes later.

His wife went to sleep in a T-shirt and underwear, and left her room door closed but unlocked.

At about 4.20am, Zhang sneaked into her room and stroked her inner thigh and private parts.

The woman woke up shocked and demanded to know what he was doing in her room. Zhang kept quiet and left her room after she ordered him to do so.

The woman then phoned her husband, who rushed back and confronted Zhang. The police were called.

AROUSED

Zhang later told the authorities he had become aroused after overhearing another tenant having sex in another room.

He said he knew the victim was alone in her room, having seen her husband leave the apartment.

Yesterday, he admitted to one count of molest, with a charge of criminal trespass taken into consideration for sentencing.

Zhang’s lawyer, Mr Teo Choo Kee, said in mitigation that his client had been studying here for about four years.

He added that Zhang was feeling lonely and had succumbed to a moment of weakness, and was not in control of his senses or impulses.

Zhang, whose sentence was backdated to April 26, could have been jailed up to two years, with a fine and caning.

This article was first published on June 23, 2016.
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