Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan repeated his claim that the number of jobs created for locals was dismally low, despite the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) clarifying that he had misunderstood the data.

This drew a second response from the MOM yesterday, which said: “We are disappointed that having earlier misunderstood and subsequently read our clarification, Dr Chee continues to deliberately misrepresent our employment data.”

At issue is Dr Chee’s claim at the SDP’s Tuesday rally that there were only 100 jobs created for locals last year. The MOM first clarified on Wednesday that the figure actually represents the “net” number of new jobs taken by locals, and not the total number of new jobs for locals as Dr Chee had claimed. The MOM also said the figure 100 was an advance estimate given in January, which was updated to 700 in March.

At his party’s rally last night, Dr Chee portrayed the MOM’s clarification as one about the figures. He said: “MOM took issue with me, saying that the number of jobs created for locals was not 100 as I pointed out. Instead it is 700.” He further said the mistake had occurred because the MOM could not “get its act together”.

To this, MOM said yesterday that “the issue was never about the local employment growth of 100 (which is the advance estimate) versus 700 (which is the final number)”.

“It is about Dr Chee’s misunderstanding of what that number represents, which is the ‘net’ number of new jobs taken by locals and not the total number of new jobs for locals,” it said. There is a big difference between the two due to people leaving jobs annually such as on retirement.

MOM had said in its first clarification that in misquoting the MOM data, Dr Chee had “painted an alarmist picture of the job market for Singaporeans”. At a morning walkabout yesterday, Dr Chee disagreed and said the recent relocation of several offshore and marine companies from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur led him to believe that retrenchment would outstrip the number of jobs created.

This article was first published on May 6, 2016.
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Bukit Batok by-election rally May 3

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SYDNEY – Singapore will invest up to US$1.67 billion (S$2.27 billion) in Australia’s defence infrastructure and hike troop numbers it sends for training, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Friday.

The new agreement also includes commitments to open markets and trade and increase collaboration in science and research, he said, adding it would create thousands of jobs in northern Australia.

“We will jointly develop military training facilities in northern Queensland which will be fully funded by Singapore,” the prime minister told reporters.

“Singapore will invest up to two-and-a-quarter billion dollars (US$1.67 billion) in the expansion of two of our most important military training facilities,” he said, naming Shoalwater Bay and Townsville.

Turnbull said upgrading the Free Trade Agreement between the countries would make it much easier for Australians to live and work in Singapore.

“This is a great day for the Australian Singapore relationship,” he said, dismissing concerns that deeper ties between Canberra and Singapore could rankle China.

Some 6,600 Singaporean troops already train each year in northern Australia. Under the new deal this will climb to 14,000, staying for 18 weeks instead of the current six, trade envoy Andrew Robb said.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) signed with Canberra last year was “an ambitious package covering many aspects of our relationship”.

“Our two countries are politically like-minded, strategically aligned and economically complementary. We have much to gain by working closely together,” he said in a statement.

Singapore is Australia’s fifth-largest trading partner, with gold and crude petroleum key exports.

As it looks to Asian markets for growth, Australia will encourage greater collaboration in research with Singapore and locate one of its five start-up “landing pads” in the city state to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

All the kidney patient wanted was a drink from the vending machine.

She ended up getting into a fight for her handbag that contained the last $50 she had for the week to feed her two sick sons.

The robber was too strong and made off with her bag after a short but violent struggle.

She was left with a sprained arm and an anxious wait of several days for her salary to come in so she could put food on the table for her family.

Madam Jurina Johari, 42, has been a kidney patient for 25 years.

The part-time assistant pharmacist was on her way home from work when she felt thirsty.

She stopped to buy a drink at a vending machine at Block 512, Wellington Circle in Sembawang at around midnight on April 24. She was retrieving the can when she felt a violent tug.

Speaking to The New Paper last Thursday from her one-room rental flat, the mother of two sons, aged 21 and 22, said: “I was flung around. I managed to only catch a glimpse of the robber.”

She said she suspected the robber was a man in his 20s.

Madam Jurina said: “I held on to it (bag) as tightly as I could because the money in my bag was all I had. I didn’t want to let it go.”

A male passer-by, who was walking home with his mother, also gave chase, but he was too late as well.

Madam Jurina made a police report the next day and wrote to TNP to highlight the incident.

She said: “I was trembling. Everything happened in less than a minute.”

Madam Jurina, who is in the process of finalising her divorce from her husband of nearly three years, also lives with her mother, 60, who is diabetic and has heart problems.

Choking back tears, Madam Jurina said: “When I lost the money, I felt like I failed as a mother to put food on the table for my children.”

STRUGGLE

Madam Jurina has been struggling with chronic kidney disease since she was 17 – she had her right kidney removed eight years later.

Her older son, Mr Muhammad Shafiee Junadi, who is waiting to enlist into national service, was diagnosed with mild chronic kidney disease when he was an infant.

He has been a part-time mover after graduating from the Institute of Technical Education two years ago.

Said Madam Jurina: “He gets sick easily, so I was worried that he took on such a labour-intensive job.

“But he assured me the daily pay will allow him to support himself, so I’m just glad.”

She added that Mr Shafiee would at times complain of aches and pain near his left kidney, but the family cannot afford to seek treatment at the hospital.

“Medication for the four of us can amount to more than $1,000 a month.

“So we visit the doctor only when one of us is really sick. Otherwise, we just try to bear the pain,” said Madam Jurina.

“After I was robbed, Shafiee gave me $50 and told me to buy groceries. So I cooked one dish, reheated it for two to three days before cooking again.”

She said the money lasted her till she received her salary on April 28.

Madam Jurina’s younger son, Mr Muhammad Shahirul Junadi, was diagnosed with autism when he was one.

He attends the Goodwill, Rehabilitation and Occupational Workshop at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) from 10am to 4pm on weekdays.

The workshop provides vocational training and sheltered employment for adults aged 16 and above with cerebral palsy and other associated disability conditions.

When Madam Jurina called out to Mr Shahirul, he responded with a bright smile before lunging into her arms.

Planting a kiss on Mr Shahirul’s forehead, Madam Jurina said: “I couldn’t work full-time because there must always be someone to take care of him. So when my mother is sick, I have to take some time off work to help.”

SOCIAL AID

The family has also been receiving monthly food rations such as rice, biscuits and tinned food from the Lee Foundation through CPAS.

A Ministry of Social and Family Development spokesman said Madam Jurina’s mother, Madam Saminam, was provided with ComCare’s cash assistance, as well as support for water and electrical bills, from November 2015 to January 2016.

Representatives from the Sembawang grassroots group told TNP they are looking at how they can provide further assistance to Madam Jurina and her family.

Still traumatised by the incident, Madam Jurina raised her concerns about the groups of men seen drinking and hanging out at her void deck every weekend.

TNP spoke to 10 neighbours, who shared the same concern.

One of them, Madam Sheela Singh, 65, who goes on regular walks around the neighbourhood with her wheelchair-bound husband, said she has seen the group of men get rowdy at times.

“They will sit in groups of seven to eight people and drink. Especially on weekends, they can be quite noisy and usually leave the place in a mess,” said the retiree.

Another neighbour, Mr Norjohan Buniran, 43, a security guard, added that the problem has not improved since he moved in six years ago.

He said: “I have daughters, so I’m very worried about their safety. That’s why I don’t allow my children to play at the void deck.”

Madam Jurina said she is now more careful when she walks home at night after work.

“Even the idea of going to the shop at night scares me. I hope this incident will be a lesson to not only myself, but other residents as well to be more vigilant,” she added.

A police spokesman said investigations are ongoing.

This article was first published on May 6, 2016.
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A kind-hearted Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight attendant has won praise and admiration online after a passenger posted a photograph of her helping an elderly woman on a flight.

In a post on Thursday (May 5), Facebook user Ms Shazy Tan showed the stewardess, who has been identified as Ms Kren Choong Shi Qi, kneeling next to an old woman in the airplane cabin.

Ms Tan recounted being seated next to a 92-year-old lady, named Draga, on a 12-hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt. She wrote that Madam Draga was on her way to Slovenia, where she grew up, to visit her sister.

Ms Tan said that the older woman faced many difficulties on the plane ride. She was unable to watch movies to pass time on the flight as she did not know how to work the entertainment system, and could not even turn on the light when she needed to inject insulin to treat her diabetes.

“I befriended her when she needed help with unlocking the tray as the clip was a little stuck. Saw her rummaging through her bag to figure out the glucose count machine,” she wrote.

Ms Tan then observed during the flight that Madam Draga was visibly shaking, and found out that the older woman had accidentally injected too much insulin, causing her blood sugar levels to drop.

It was then that the stewardess, Ms Choong, approached the two ladies. Ms Tan recalled: “When I explained that we were trying to get Draga’s sugar levels up, Karen (sic) suggested eating an apple. Draga could not bite into the hard apple and I was touched when Karen (sic) excused herself to grab a pair of gloves and a knife to cut the apple into bite sized pieces.”

Ms Choong then knelt by Madam Draga’s side to assist, and even offered to feed the older woman, who politely declined the kind gesture.

According to Ms Tan, Madam Draga was surprised by the stewardess care, and also slightly embarrassed as she did not want to be seen as a liability to the crew.

However, she added that Ms Choong continued to display concern for Madam Draga. She revealed that the stewardess subsequently told her to alert her immediately should the older woman’s health deteriorate further, and even took note of their seats.

Commending Ms Choong’s professionalism, Ms Tan wrote: “Karen (sic) did not have to do what she did. Yet, she took it upon herself to monitor Draga once in a while to see if there was anything else she could provide to make Draga’s flight experience a better one.”

Since it was posted online, Ms Tan’s post has garnered over 8,100 likes, and has been shared over 1,600 times. Many commenters also praised Ms Choong’s dedication, with some even calling on the airline to recognise her kind actions.

When contacted, an SIA spokesperson told AsiaOne that the Ms Choong would be recognised for her efforts.

The spokesperson also explained that SIA cabin crew members undergo extensive training in how to cater to different customer groups, including children, the elderly and mobility-challenged individuals.

“Training equips our crew with skills to better empathise with, and to understand and meet the needs of a wide range of customers. We are pleased that our crew member was able to anticipate and see to the needs of the customer on this occasion,” the carrier added.

This is not the first time that Singapore Airlines’ cabin crew has won praise for their good service. Last November, another flight attendant was widely praised after she was photographed helping to cut up a young child’s food on the flight.

seanyap@sph.com.sg