SINGAPORE – It has aggressively positioned itself as a contender for the spot of Singapore’s fourth telco, but a pall has been cast over whether MyRepublic can afford to roll out a mobile network, after it posted losses last year, while a bank mandate to…
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Spike in demand for blue tangs, clownfish after launch of Finding Dory
SPCA urges all potential pet owners to make sure they are ready to invest the time and energy before buying them.
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Rebecca Lim's childhood dreams did not include becoming a star
Believe it or not, this pretty star never envisioned herself becoming an actress when she was younger.
In fact, Rebecca Lim revealed to AsiaOne that her childhood ambition was to become a doctor. However, destiny had a different path for her and she ended up pursuing a degree in accountancy at Singapore Management University instead.
The 29-year-old first dabbled in acting during her university days, working part-time in local shows and then signing on full-time after completing her degree.
“My childhood dream was to actually be a doctor and that was my dream since I was eight. But things happen, and so here I am as an actor and I really enjoy my job,” she said on the sidelines of SK-II’s “Change Destiny” launch today (June 21) at One Raffles Place.
Stars share their dreams at SK-II Change Destiny launch
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AsiaOne, SK-II Handout
And although her dream of becoming a doctor might be a thing of the past, the SK-II Singapore ambassador has made way for new aspirations in her life.
For instance, one of the things on Rebecca’s bucket list is to travel the world. She mentioned Greece as a destination that she would like to travel to one day.
“A lot of my friends went there for their honeymoon. It’s somewhere romantic. It’s good for couples to go together. It’s not somewhere to go with your entire family,” she said.
When asked what does she look for in a partner, she said “communication and mutual respect. To me, that’s very important.”
Rebecca also mentioned that she hopes to have one child and a dog with someone she has a connection with.
“I used to have a type, but now I think it’s more of connection.
“I used to want four children. But now I think the lesser, the better. So, one kid and a dog,” she pointed out.
With that being said, Rebecca has recently been entertaining the thought of freezing her eggs.
“I mean why not? There’s no harm trying. I’m not very sure what the technology is like right now, but there’s no harm in trying,” she explained.
And then with a laugh, added: “I’m not getting married anytime soon so I think it might be necessary.”
In keeping with not doing anything, anytime soon, we cheekily asked her about her retirement age.
With a big laugh, she said: “I wouldn’t say an age, hopefully the sooner, the better. The most important thing is to retire with people that I love. To retire alone, that’s a sad thing.”
She agreed with us that being financially secure is important “but you don’t have to live on a very extravagant lifestyle, something comfortable to me, that’s enough”.
Early this year, Rebecca had posted on social media about her retirement but it a turned out to be a publicity stunt that didn’t go down very well.
She shared her thoughts on the impact of social media: “I think it really is a two-edged sword. There are ups and downs of social media. If you keep posting positive messages on social media, a lot of people hide behind their keyboards and they take the opportunity to be keyboard warriors and I think that’s a very irresponsible thing to do.
“Because what I realised is that the trend is people don’t celebrate that much of you if there are happy moments to celebrate. But people take the opportunity to bash you when you’re down and I think that’s a very unhealthy mindset in the world today.
“I hope that changes. It’s not going to change overnight but I think that as long as we are aware of it and we are more responsible – I think that’s very important,” she said mindfully.
At the “Change Destiny” launch today, children sat with adults asking them “what would you like to be when you grow up?” These dreams were then printed out and placed in individual travel coffee mugs for visitors to take home.
The campaign hopes to encourage and inspire adults to reconnect with their forgotten dreams, after a survey by SK-II revealed that many women had not fulfilled their childhood ambitions.
And Rebecca had this advice for all who penned their dreams: “I am far from being a child, but I still have dreams of my own and I constantly work towards it. You can’t expect results if you just dream. It happens with lots of hard work, with a group of people that surround you and love you and will help to propel you to the next level”
“People who are supportive, who won’t bring you down, but at the same time, are willing to tell you things that you are not willing to hear but you need to hear. I think that’s quite important. And if you continue believing in that and work hard towards it, I really believe that dreams can become reality.”
mldas@sph.com.sg
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Exploring Africa: Can Singapore's trade with the continent expand further?
Africa – a vast continent of 54 countries – only accounts for 1.5 per cent of Singapore’s total trade, smaller compared to that from the United States and European Union.
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Singaporean family crowdfunds online to cover medical expenses of maid with rare disease
When an Indonesian maid became suddenly struck with a rare disease, her Singaporean employer’s family turned to the online community to seek help to cover the costs of her medical expenses and her flight back home.
The employer’s daughter started a page on crowdfunding website Give Asia on Monday (June 20) explaining that the 31-year-old maid, only known as Titin, had worked for them for the past 12 years.
Their troubles began when Titin was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on June 10 with swollen eyes and a high fever.
Days later, her condition worsened and her throat, mouth, and lips became covered in ulcers.
According to the page which was started by a Jobina Tan, Titin has been spitting out blood and is unable to speak.
Skin has also been peeling from different parts of her body.
Ms Tan wrote: “Doctors are not able to diagnose the cause of her condition and only suspect it to be a rare disease of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Nerolysis.
“She is currently in a very critical condition and as you are reading this now, her condition is worsening.”
As of Tuesday (June 21) evening, 78 donors have donated more than $7,800 through the website.
Ms Tan claims that doctors have advised them to send Titin back to Indonesia, a request the maid has also made.
Speaking to Chinese evening newspaper Lianhe Wanbao, Titin’s employer who is only known as Madam Fang said she would like to thank netizens for their generosity and willingness to help a stranger.
Madam Fang said: “Her condition is currently unstable. We don’t know how much medications will cost altogether.
“But because funds were raised by netizens, we will leave it up to her (Titin) to decide how she wants to spend it.”
Madam Fang said that Titin’s condition has improved slightly – she is able to utter a few words and her eyes are less swollen.
A number of medical specialists have also seen Titin since news broke of their plight, added the report.
sujint@sph.com.sg
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Woman jailed 7.5 years for stealing more than S$2m
SINGAPORE – A 53-year-old who siphoned more than S$2 million from her two employers in two years was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years’ jail on Tuesday (June 21).
Chow Lai Hoong – who pleaded guilty earlier this month to 40 charges of forgery, criminal…
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WEF executive chairman meets with Singapore's PM Lee, ESM Goh
Professor Klaus Schwab also called on Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (Jun 21), said the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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1 woman dead, 3 injured in Japan stabbing spree: Police
TOKYO – A man was arrested in northern Japan on Tuesday after stabbing one woman to death and injuring three others at a shopping mall, a rare random attack for the law-abiding nation.
The suspect, identified as Nobuyuki Matsuhashi aged 33, attacked the victims with a knife Tuesday afternoon near the entrance of the shopping mall in the city of Kushiro on the island of Hokkaido, a police spokesman said.
A 68-year-old local woman was killed and three other women were injured in the attack, police said, adding that Matsuhashi was quickly caught by security guards.
The suspect has been treated in hospital for mental illness, the spokesman said, adding that further details were not available.
Jiji Press reported that Matsuhashi told police: “I wanted to end my life. I wanted to be executed for murder.”
Japan has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world, and random attacks involving weapons of any kind are unusual.
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Singapore delays $1b military helicopter buy after Super Puma crash: Sources
SINGAPORE – Singapore has delayed a decision on a US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) helicopter purchase after the crash in April of a civilian Airbus Super Puma whose military version was the frontrunner to clinch the order, sources familiar with the matter said.
The city-state, a highly sought-after customer for military contractors, had sought to replace 32 ageing Super Pumas but the move has now been put on ice until there is clarity over the fallout from the April 29 crash which killed 13 oil workers and crew off the coast of Norway, they added.
The delay comes as the helicopters subsidiary of Airbus Group, called Airbus Helicopters, wrestles with the latest in a series of setbacks to the H225 Super Puma, a workhorse of the offshore oil industry and widely used across the world for search and rescue and heavy military airlift operations.
Singapore’s procurement, pitting Airbus Helicopters against Italian firm Leonardo Finmeccanica, marks the first major test of confidence in the military version of the aircraft since April’s crash, which led to the worldwide grounding of the civilian version.
A fresh tender is not on the cards, said the sources, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. They could not say when a decision will be made.
Singapore has not so far announced any grounding of its military Super Pumas. Several other countries, including France and Brazil, continue to fly their Super Pumas.
Singapore’s defence ministry did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment on the tender and its Super Puma operations.
“We cannot comment on discussions we may or may not be having with Singapore,” an Airbus Helicopters spokesman said in an email Safety is the company’s “chief priority” and it is working with investigators to identify the “root cause” of the Norwegian crash, he added.
It is also “providing support to customers who are flying mission-critical operations” with the Super Puma family of helicopters, he added.
Singapore has Southeast Asia’s largest defence budget – even in the context of increased spending across the region as China becomes more assertive in the South China Sea. Modern military technology is key for Singapore, which needs to compensate for a small size and population.
The island has long sought to replace its Super Pumas, which have an average age of 27 years, and a decision was expected in the first half of 2016 after an 18-month-long evaluation.
While the Leonardo-Finmeccanica AW101 was also shortlisted, sources said that the Airbus H225M was the frontrunner.
The Norwegian crash happened after the main rotor blades separated from the aircraft. Norwegian investigators said on June 2 that they had found metallurgical evidence that was”strongly consistent with fatigue” in a part of the gearbox.
The next day, the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) grounded all civil Super Pumas. This decision, however, does not apply to military fleets.
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All NSmen to get $150,000 life and personal accident insurance coverage
All full-time and operationally ready national servicemen will get life and personal accident insurance coverage by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) from July 1.
This will apply to servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force, and is an added benefit over and above existing welfare and compensation frameworks, said a joint statement from Mindef and MHA on Tuesday (June 21).
The initiative is one of 30 recommendations by the Committee to Strengthen National Service to better recognise the contributions of national servicemen.
Mindef and MHA said it will provide $150,000 group term life and $150,000 group personal accident insurance coverage during the servicemen’s full-time national service duties and their reservist duties.
The same coverage will be extended to regulars in Mindef/SAF (Military and Defence Executive Officers) and the Home Team (Uniformed Officers) during their period of employment.
National Service (NS) volunteers, as well as volunteers from the SAF Volunteer Corps, SPF voluntary Special Constabulary and Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit will receive similar insurance coverage during their office duties, said the statement.
These personnel can also buy additional coverage for themselves and their dependents under the Voluntary Scheme.
The Voluntary Scheme will be made available from July 1 for MHA personnel and from Oct 1 for Mindef personnel.
The statement added that Mindef and MHA will work with the appointed insurance company, Aviva Ltd, to conduct briefings and roadshows for NSmen, regulars and volunteers.
sujint@sph.com.sg
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