MANILA: Singapore’s dancesport athletes were top performers on day one of the event at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines after bagging a total of five medals on Sunday (Dec 1).

The medal haul is also a historic one for Singapore, as the one silver and four bronzes are the first SEA Games medals for the country.

The silver came courtesy of Jerome Teo and Rachel Teo who finished second in the mixed Foxtrot.

The pair also bagged bronze medals in the mixed Viennese Waltz and mixed Waltz events.

There was also a bronze for Shannen Tan and Gary Tsan, who competed in the mixed Pasadoble event.

In the men’s Breaking finals, Jeremy Sim finished third to claim a bronze medal.

This is only the second time that Dancesport has featured at the SEA Games, after it was included in the 2005 edition, also held in the Philippines.

MANILA: Thailand men’s floorball team fought back from four goals down to beat Singapore 10-9 (2-1 on penalties) on Sunday (Dec 1) at the University of Philippines College of Human Kinetics gym to ensure there would be no clean sweep of golds at the 30th SEA Games for their rivals.

Thailand’s win means only the Singapore women’s team retain their title as SEA Games champions after wins in the 2015 edition. 

READ Wushu: Yong Yi Xiang clinches first gold for Singapore at 30th SEA Games

Earlier in the day, the women’s floorball team came from behind to beat Thailand 3-2 in the final.  

Singapore had played out a 7-7 draw with the Thais in the group stage but this game would prove to be just as thrilling.

It was Singapore who took the lead with just five minutes played, with Jenmark Sorrenda scoring off a box play.

But the goal only stunned Thailand back to life and they scored a quick-fire double to take the lead.

READ: Singapore women’s floorball team retain SEA Games title

Singapore fought back and a wraparound shot from R Suria after a five-minute penalty for an opponent meant they got back on level terms.

Jenmark then put Singapore ahead with an unstoppable shot, with just two minutes in the first period left to play.

Singapore could have extended their lead in the early moments of the second period – but failed to capitalise on a two men advantage. But there would be no stopping them as Ng Juin Jie tapped home to extend the lead to 4-2. 

Thailand then clawed their way back to 4-3 before a goal from Lee Chee Yong restored Singapore’s two-goal cushion.

Consecutive goals from an exuberant Tng Zong Wei and another from R Suria stunned the shellshocked Thais and gave Singapore an unassailable four-goal lead. A tap in from Pawat Thaidit meant Singapore had a three-goal cushion going into the final period.

A Glendon Phua goal in the final period looked to have eased the nerves but the Thais forced their way back into the game with four goals in the same period.

And at 8-8, it look like Thailand would take the lead. A penalty shot was awarded to them but a superb stop from the Singapore goalkeeper denied Alexander Rinefalk, meaning the defending champions were still in with a shout.

With the game tied, it went to penalties and it was Thailand who ultimately came up on top as Christian Karlsson saved all but one of Singapore’s efforts.

Follow Mediacorp’s coverage of the 30th SEA Games and get the widest Team Singapore coverage with four LIVE channels on Toggle. Go to toggle.sg/seagames2019 for details.

SINGAPORE: Figure skater Chloe Ing won Singapore’s third gold medal at the 30th SEA Games on Sunday (Dec 1).

Ing scored 52.0 for free skating and had a combined score of 152.67, finishing top of the nine competitors.

“We are now left with only three gold medals to hit the 900 gold medal mark for Team Singapore in SEA Games history,” Team Singapore said on Facebook on Sunday.

Ing took home the silver with 128.61 points at the 2017 SEA Games.

MANILA: Singapore’s women’s water polo team won the country’s first medal at the 2019 SEA Games, by finishing with silver on Sunday (Dec 1).

Thailand clinched the gold while the Philippines took bronze. 

In their final double round robin match against the Philippines, Singapore won 13-6 after recovering from being a point down in the first quarter at the New Clark Aquatics Centre.

Singapore lost to Thailand 20-2 on Friday, after the Thais had beaten the hosts 32-5 a day earlier.

In the first round of matches, Singapore was beaten by the Thais 19-5 and secured victory against the Philippines 18-9.

In the men’s event on Sunday evening, Singapore play Thailand while the Philippines face Malaysia. 

The results will decide second and third place after Indonesia secured gold, bringing Singapore’s 54-year stranglehold on the men’s water polo competition to an end.

Follow Mediacorp’s coverage of the 30th SEA Games and get the widest Team Singapore coverage with four LIVE channels on Toggle. Go to toggle.sg/seagames2019 for details.

SINGAPORE: They’re fiercely engrossed in their basketball game, shouts resounding over the canteen recess buzz. “Pass me the ball!” Ibramsa Idris Ahamed, 11, yells to his chubby-cheeked pal, Ahnt Phone Pai.

The ball curves into the hoop, and the boys – Idris from India, Phone from Myanmar, Kuo Chi-Yun from Taiwan, and Ng Kian Ping from Singapore – whoop and high-five each other. This group of Primary 5 friends is as spirited, and as international, as the game they’ve bonded over.

“We’re from different countries, but we focus on the similarities, not differences,” said Kian Ping, 11. “And we respect the differences.”

At Farrer Park Primary School, such friendships are not unusual. A small portion of its students hail from across the world: Vietnam, Thailand, China, Russia, even South America, to name a few places.

The same is true in a number of Singapore schools today. International students make up about 5 per cent of all pupils in primary and secondary schools and junior colleges, according to the Ministry of Education.

And they’re bringing with them both challenges and opportunities, for their schools and fellow classmates. 

This is the story of three of these international students at Farrer Park Primary, and how they’ve become part of the fabric of Singaporean school life.

WATCH: Meet Chaorui, Alina and Idris (10:24)

WU CHAORUI, 7: STARTED OUT WITH ZERO ENGLISH

On school days, it is rare for seven-year-old Wu Chaorui to see her father when the sun is up.

After he drops her off at the school gates at 6.30am, he heads straight for his 12-hour shift as a deliveryman. The next time she sees him, it is usually at the dinner table.

Wu Xiao Jun has worked hard for his family since coming to Singapore in 2000. He brought his wife and son over from China in 2011, but when Chaorui was born here in 2012, she was sent back to be raised by her grandparents in Zhejiang.

“I couldn’t afford to raise her here,” said Mr Wu, who had to pay non-subsidised rates for her healthcare.

It was only in late 2018, when she was ready to start Primary 1, that Mr Wu felt the family’s finances were stable enough to bring her over for her education. (While Singaporeans pay no primary school fees, international students paid S$440 to S$700 a month in 2019.)

But Chaorui struggled to adapt to life in Singapore. She missed her grandparents and her many friends in her village school. Her biggest fear was language. “I didn’t want to come to Singapore,” she said hesitantly, in Mandarin. “I don’t know how to speak English.”

When she first came to Farrer Park Primary this year, her knowledge of the English language was, according to her English and Mathematics teacher Tan Jac See, “zero”.

“She knew very basic words like ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but other than that, she couldn’t speak English at all,” the latter said.

HELP FROM SCHOOL AND FRIENDS 

For international students from non-English speaking countries, picking up the language is often their biggest hurdle, according to the school’s vice principal Wendy Lee.

“This is a challenge for them especially in the classroom because they may not be able to understand the teachers,” she said.

The school has programmes for students, both local and international, who may need extra help in English. Chaorui, for example, is involved in an after-school learning programme, and she attends the Learning Support Programme (LSP) for those with weak reading skills while her classmates have their regular English lessons.

But help is also available from their peers. The school has a care buddy programme where students are appointed to look out for and befriend the newcomers. This, according to Wendy, works better than having a teacher do so instead.

“The buddy can also introduce them to other friends, and widen their circle,” she said.

And then there’s Chua Hian Boon. The solicitous seven-year-old boy approached Chaorui to make friends one day, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

The pair enjoy running around the playground and exploring the school together during recess. Hian Boon talks to her in English, then instinctively repeats himself in Mandarin; or naturally translates for her what other people are saying.

“I think she is a very quiet person,” he said. “She answers my questions in a very soft volume. But I like her because she always asks me what book to read.”

He’s just one of the many children in the class who have, unprompted, rallied around to befriend Chaorui and help get her English up to speed.

“They help me explain certain instructions in Mandarin to her, and they have always included her,” said teacher Jac See. “When I tell them to find a partner, she’s always be able to find somebody who’ll work with her.”

PUTTING IN THE WORK

Chaorui’s parents, neither of whom speak much English, send her for English tuition twice a week. At home, she practises with assessment books.

While it might be tough going, the little girl can look to her brother Chaoyi for help and inspiration.

He’d come to Singapore eight years ago not knowing English, but picked it up quickly and is now in Secondary 2. Almost every evening, he sits with Chaorui as she reads aloud from flash cards, correcting her patiently when she stumbles and encouraging her when she pronounces a word correctly.

“She is very hardworking in school, but playful at home,” he said, ruffling her hair as she grinned cheekily.

Attitude makes all the difference. In LSP class, Chaorui is an enthusiastic student – always the first among the three students to put her hand up as they try to pick out vowels or pronounce words.

One of the most difficult words she has learnt recently, she said, is “gardener” – a word she enunciates slowly but with confidence.

“It is the person who waters the plants,” she added, a note of pride in her soft voice.

IBRAMSA IDRIS AHAMED, 11: FROM SHY BOY, TO HEAD PREFECT

In another room, an 11-year-old who could not be more different stood in front of his class, presenting an eloquent monologue.

“She pushed me away!” Idris declaimed loudly, with a grimace. “Teenagers on Earth are obviously more dangerous than expected.” With a dramatic flourish, he bowed to his classmates’ applause.

The school’s head prefect, he loves an audience. But Idris was not always this self-assured.

Born in Tamil Nadu in India, he moved to Singapore in 2009 at the age of one when his father, who was working in Singapore, decided to bring his family over. Mohamed Kasim Ibramsa had hoped his children could get to know the local culture from young.

In the first few years, Kasim admitted, “Idris stayed at home mostly. He did not have many friends”. In kindergarten, not knowing much English, a shy five-year-old Idris stuck to a Tamil-speaking friend.

Eventually, though, he pushed himself to learn the language. Said Idris: “My father said, if you do well in English, it will help you in everything. English is in Maths, English is in Science… so that’s the basic you need to learn.”

MAKING OTHERS FEEL INCLUDED

As he got more fluent in English, his confidence grew. By the time he entered Farrer Park in Primary 2, a more outgoing Idris was looking forward to making new friends.

Developing friendships at first can be a challenge for some international students, vice-principal Wendy noted. “The other children around them could be different in terms of skin or hair colour; they may worry that the other children may not accept them.”

Idris wasn’t one of them.

Indeed, classmate Chi-Yun remembers how they quickly became friends. “He introduced himself to all of us, and he wasn’t shy like other people,” he said.

Idris even made it a point to reach out to other newcomers: When Phone, his classmate from Myanmar, joined the school in Primary 4, Idris brought the quiet, bashful boy to the basketball court on his very first day.

“I thought he was one of those guys that never talks, and I was like… it’s okay, let’s just bring him along and we’ll play with him,” said Idris.

Phone recalled: “I didn’t know how to play basketball… but then we just played. And we became friends.”

Idris is all for making people feel included. When he ran for elections and was voted head prefect by the student body, one of the things he promoted was a bully-free culture.

He thinks there could be more awareness among students of how some comments or casual jokes can come across as insensitive. “Everybody is human, right? This,” he added, pointing to his heart, “is what matters.”

A CULTURAL EXCHANGE

But Idris does appreciate the chance to share what’s different about his culture with peers who are curious. 

When he has to stay back after school for prefectorial duties, Idris meets his mum at the school’s side gate to pick up a home-cooked lunch of sambar rasam. And he often gets questions when he unpacks this food.

“Why are you eating this curry?” Phone asked. To which Idris replied, “This isn’t curry, Phone, it’s sambar”, rolling the ‘r’ for dramatic emphasis.

He also gets asked why he eats with his hands. Such questions don’t offend him, he said, “because other people learn my culture, and I learn their culture too”.

If there’s one thing his parents are concerned about, it’s that he loves his mum’s Indian meals and McDonald’s a little too much. That could be a problem when, like his older brother, he has to serve National Service as a Permanent Resident.

“My older son suffered in BMT (Basic Military Training) because he didn’t like to eat local food. But now he has learnt to eat a bit of fried rice,” said Kasim. “When Idris goes into the army, he might suffer too.

“I always tell him to learn (to like) local dishes. Now I will let him learn himself.”

ALINA ADAMENKO, 10: STRADDLING TWO CULTURES

In a sea of children in the crowded canteen, Alina Adamenko sticks out as she queues to buy a mantou and Milo. 

It’s her long golden hair, which is wound tightly and meticulously into two braids every morning by her mother.

“Some people say I’m French,” she said, giggling. “I’m like, why doesn’t anyone know? I’m from the biggest country in the world.”

Close your eyes, and you might think you were listening to a born-and-bred Singaporean. You would be at least partly right.

Alna was born in Singapore to Russian parents, and has spent all 10 of her years here, only returning to Russia occasionally for holidays.

In some ways, Alina is a child of two cultures. While she enjoys the school canteen’s mantou, she also likes the Russian-style dumplings her mother cooks in soup at home.

Like many of her classmates, she takes Chinese language classes. She is an enthusiastic participant in class, confidently reading out loud and raising her hand repeatedly to answer her teacher’s questions.

Said Alina’s father, Mikhail Adamenko: “We had to choose a mother tongue when we put her in a local school, so we chose Chinese.” His family came from a town in Russia close to the border with China, and he speaks Mandarin himself. 

But Alina’s parents want her to stay close to her Russian roots too, even as she embraces local culture. So her after-school schedule is packed with activities: Chinese tuition, taekwondo, swimming, and Russian language and heritage classes which she attends twice a week.

She has learnt a lot about Russian culture, she says, and was proud to wear a Russian traditional costume to school on International Friendship Day. 

And it’s a bit of a thrill when friends ask questions about her country or to learn some simple Russian words. “If they pronounce it wrongly, in my heart I’m like, ‘ha ha ha,” she said jokingly.

SCHOOLED IN DIVERSITY

To her friends, however, she is Alina first, and Russian second. “She’s a normal person,” said Dhara Lakshmi Soumika. “Except that she’s super-duper joyful.”

Friendships in the school, said vice-principal Wendy, tend to be formed organically. And obvious physical differences like Alina’s hair colour (or even less obvious ones, like one’s birthplace or culture) are easily overlooked. 

One reason for this, she added, is their age. “I think as they get older, they may become more aware of the differences,” she said. “But because they are younger, everyone is just another playmate.”

And having international students around who look distinct and come from dissimilar backgrounds can benefit their Singaporean peers. “They become more accepting of diversity,” Wendy said.

“I think it helps them a lot. It really increases their global awareness, and cross-cultural skills are developed from their interactions with the international students.”

As for Alina, she can only stay in Singapore for as long as her father has a job here. But to her, this is home. “I want to stay in Singapore,” she said. “It’s always summer here.”

Besides, she wants to be near her Singaporean “besties” – Soumika and Nuha Zahra Mohamed Ziauddin. “We will be friends forever,” said Alina, giving Zahra a bear hug. “Until we die.”

This story by CNA Insider was done in collaboration with Gov.sg.

SINGAPORE: It’s just past lunchtime on a Saturday afternoon and the pace is picking up in Chinatown, with tourists training their camera lens on religious landmarks and weekenders out for a spot of cafe-hopping. 

At Chinatown Complex wet market, things are winding down. For most stallholders, who have been up since 3am, another long day has finally come to an end. 

Not for Anthony Leow, who runs a decades-old namesake spice business. After closing up his stall at the wet market, he takes a five-minute walk to Kreta Ayer Road, where he sells the same spices to a different set of customers. 

The boutique version of Anthony the Spicemaker is not much bigger than his stall at Chinatown Complex, but it’s air-conditioned, the tiled floors are dry and clean, and it’s open until 6pm on most days. 

Spice blends like garam masala, Singapore chilli crab and smoky pepper are sold in clearly labelled, vacuum-sealed packs with recommendations for storage and preparation. On one of the shelves sit jars of spice samples for the curious to sniff and examine.  

It is a haven for young or inexperienced (and hence, shy) cooks, foreigners wanting a taste of local spices and, as it would appear, world-famous chefs.

Since it opened about a year ago, the shop has hosted visits from chef and restaurateur Emmanuel Stroobant and multi-Michelin-starred chef Anne Sophie-Pic.

In the seemingly traditional business of wet markets, Mr Leow is a trailblazer. 

He first picked up what he calls “granny recipes” for spices as a 19-year-old helping out at his parents’ stall at Chong Boon market. 

“We stayed in a kampong then we shifted to a HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio and that’s how we had the spice shop,” said Mr Leow, now 59. Three years later, he ventured out on his own and started his own brand Liao Jia Xiang,which he distributed to mini-marts across Singapore. 

For Mr Leow, having two different physical concepts gives him the best of both worlds. 

“Some foreigners like to go to the wet market because they want the experience. Tour guides often bring their clients to my stall,” said Mr Lee. “Also, when you go to the wet market, you can ask shop assistants to recommend products for your dishes. 

“If you go to the supermarket, who’s going to teach you? Then when you don’t know what to buy, you give up and don’t cook anything. If you do buy something, often you’ll go home and cook and the results are not good, and you give up.”

“But there are people who don’t like to go to wet markets because it’s hot, wet and smelly. In this shop, it’s more comfortable and so these people tend to buy more,” he adds. 

Most of Mr Lee’s new customers are here because of the brand’s online presence and for that, Mr Lee has assistance – his 25-year-old daughter Leow Min Ling, who helps the business adopt more modern approaches to branding and marketing. 

“People like nice packaging,” said Ms Leow, who masterminded the minimalist, retro-style bags that hold the brand’s hand-mixed spice blends.

These bags are now a common sight at food emporiums such as Five Spice at Jewel Changi Airport. Anthony the Spicemaker also sells pre-mixed pastes for cooking local dishes like laksa, rendang and assam fish, plus gift sets. 

The Leows say they are aware that the wet market scene in Singapore is changing. 

According to figures from the National Environment Agency (NEA), there are 83 wet markets in hawker centres – like the one Mr Leow grew up in and where he runs the original Anthony the Spicemaker outlet. 

Of these, 81 were built before 1985. Only two were built fairly recently, before 2011, following requests from the local community.

Responding to CNA’s queries, NEA said “wet markets in their current form are generally not as popular as before” and may not remain viable in the long term due to “changes in demographics, consumer behaviour and the availability of other fresh produce options in supermarkets and malls”. 

It is a change the father and daughter duo is ready to embrace. 

“My dad and I talk a lot about wet markets in Singapore, about how we can help to preserve it. We think there is potential,” said Ms Leow. 

One way, perhaps, is to reinvent the concept of the wet market. “I hate saying ‘wet market’ because it reminds you of an unhygienic place. Maybe we use the phrase ‘grocer market’ instead, with stores selling things like cheese,” she said. 

“The older generation usually don’t have a concept. They feel like they cannot improve because they either don’t have the capacity or the ability. The young generation has to step up with new concepts so the wet market doesn’t die. 

“When we visit markets overseas, like in Australia, it’s so nice. It’s a wet market, but it’s dry. People are more comfortable shopping there. They also offer some other interesting things beyond fresh produce. In Singapore we do have fresh produce (and) cheap, fresh seafood, but how things get done need to be improved and then I believe they can be sustain it,” she added. 

Mr Leow is prepared to hand over the reins – he was preparing for it all along. 

“Spices won’t die – everyone will need them. But I do worry about the future because it sounds like (everything will be automated) and many people won’t have jobs. It’s one reason I built this business – it’s for the future,” he said. 

Joining Mr Leow and his daughter on their quest to make the wet market more accessible is Dish the Fish.  

A catchy moniker already sets it apart from other wet market fishmongers. But Dish the Fish has done much more to reel in the customers, many of them with little cooking experience and no time for the leisurely pace of wet markets. 

“Most fishmongers don’t even have a signboard, much less a website. We had a website since day one, even before we were selling fish online. Most fishmongers are just known as the ‘fish stall near the toilet’ or the ‘fishmonger with blonde hair’,” co-founder Angeline Ong told CNA.

“We started Dish the Fish with the aim of being accessible to everyone who wants to eat fish,” she said. That includes younger consumers cooks, who may not have been exposed to cooking fish growing up.

“We wanted to provide assurance and confidence to our customers and everything we’ve done is to that end. On our website, we provide a lot of information about the fish, cutting charts to be clear, and this information is replicated at our shops. 

“Many of our customers read up about us and our products before coming down so we always make it a point to keep our information online updated and relevant,” Ms Ong added. 

At a glance, the offerings at Dish the Fish are not much different from what you would expect at the wet market. Pop by either of their stalls at Tiong Bahru Market and West Coast Plaza, and you will likely see fish like Chinese pomfret, red snapper and threadfin. But the selection comes down to a lot of research. 

“We experiment with different products, study sales volume over time, conduct polls and gather direct feedback from customers,” said Ms Ong. “We also research on global trends. This is in contrast to most traditional fishmongers, who simply rotate among a fixed set of products over the year.” 

Such research has allowed Dish the Fish to diversify its offerings and services, catering to the specific needs of those who would otherwise not step into the wet market. 

For example, you could buy a bag pre-packed with seafood suitable for a barbecue or steamboat dinner. Mothers can also buy bags suitable for confinement or with the content cut into small cubes for young children. 

For even less fuss, you could buy a recipe pack, filled with most of the ingredients you need for dishes like fish head curry and sliced fish soup. All that’s needed is to drop the contents into a pot and you’re practically done.

And you can order all of these online, where the products are classified according to type, cooking style and even health benefits. 

If their customers don’t feel like cooking, Dish the Fish also has them covered. At their West Coast Plaza “cooking studio”, you can pick from the day’s catch and have someone braise it or turn it into sambal fish. 

Like Ms Leow, Ms Ong and her husband and co-owner Jeffrey Tan feel that the demands of the newer generation mean thesituation for wet markets will change.

“There will be fewer wet markets. The more popular ones will remain, like Tekka Market and Tiong Bahru Market,” said Ms Ong. 

“Maybe in future, wet markets can also be a place where performance arts including busking is encouraged. We already have big crowds of people browsing at the stalls and eating breakfast, why not get them to stay longer with some good music?”

An Australia-style farmers’ market with music might not be such a far-fetched option. NEA said it is “constantly looking at ways” to improve Singapore’s hawker centres, including their market sections. 

“In future, markets will have to evolve to take into account demographic trends and changes in consumer behaviour.”

NEA noted that some wet market businesses are embracing the change, like Anthony the Spicemaker and Dish the Fish. 

“(They) are already leveraging online sales and delivery models, while others differentiate themselves through the quality of their produce or leveraging long-term relationships with suppliers and customers,” said the agency. 

Married couple Renga Vellasamy and Sophia Smith left their jobs in advertising to go into butchery – traditionally a wet market trade. Instead, The Meatery is an air-conditioned space with mood lighting, hanging plants, a dining area and a retail section, where they stock local products like Mr Leow’s spices. 

“We wanted to focus on more premium and ethically raised meats. For the price you’re paying for the cuts, you’d want a comfortable environment that allows you to browse at your own leisure and engage with staff,” said Ms Sophina, 37. 

The Meatery’s options also respond to the other needs of the new generation of customers, such as cage-free chicken, sous-vide service, samplers and sharing sessions on diets such as keto. 

For technical skill, Ms Sophina and her husband looked to – where else, but – butchers at the wet market, asking for advice and supervision during their own hands-on sessions. 

And there is something else. 

“Personal relationships were key in the wet markets and have gotten lost with the emergence of the modern-day store. We try to replicate this at The Meatery,” she said. 

Not everyone is ready to let go of the traditional wet market. 

For Ms Pamelia Chia, wet markets should be appreciated as they are – at least for as long as they continue to exist. It was her work as a line cook at Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant Candlenut that stoked her passion for the subject. 

“I figured that the best place to grow some roots as a Singaporean chef would be to go back to the wet markets and start cooking with the ingredients I found there.”

That was when the 28-year-old realised that the wet market tradition should be preserved simply for their significance in the Singaporean identity. Wet markets offer produce unique to the region that are often not found in supermarkets, she noted. Even the wet market smell is iconic, said Ms Chia. 

To entice the younger generation to pay a visit to their local markets and help them navigate them, she found and identified Southeast Asian produce in the markets, and researched ways to prepare them in innovative ways. And her first cookbook, Wet Market to Table, was born. 

While most cookbooks tout time-saving recipes with on-trend ingredients, Ms Chia’s walks a different path, with photos of local ingredients like jambu and taro, and even tips on communicating with the older generation of sellers. 

“I want to show people that there is so much beauty in the humanity and warmth that lie beneath the wet markets’ ‘dirty’ and ‘smelly’ image. 

“I also want readers to be proud of the strange, wonderful regional produce in the wet markets that deserve as much attention, celebration and imagination as imported produce such as cherry tomatoes on vine or endives.”

Ms Chia also believes that wet markets encourage people to slow down and become less wasteful. 

“I still go to the supermarket, but if I were getting Asian ingredients, I would go to the wet market. It is more economical and just makes more sense because I can buy exactly what I need. I also prefer getting my meat, fruits and vegetables from wet markets because this does away with the excessive packaging used at the supermarkets. Certain types of produce are also always better and fresher at the market, like tofu, noodles and grated coconut,” she told CNA.  

“I do believe that good cooking is trouble. This is something we have almost forgotten in an age that prioritises comfort and convenience above all else.”

SINGAPORE: In the last 10 years, we have created a vibrant economy of good jobs and opportunities.

Graduates enter a diverse and exciting job market, with many pathways catering to different interests and skills. We now have jobs that didn’t exist 20 years ago, such as user experience and user interface designers and biotech scientists.

READ: Commentary: In this tough job market, retraining alone is no silver bullet

Companies are hiring workers with diverse experiences. It is not just grades that get you through the door. More companies offer internships and eventually hire interns into their teams.

Amidst the dampened global mood, Singapore is in good position. Southeast Asia is on the rise, with the fastest growing middle class in the world drinking more cappuccinos and buying Korean cosmetics.

Companies all over the world see opportunity. That’s why our investment numbers are holding up. New HQs, new manufacturing plants and start-ups are setting up in Singapore.

With many jobs and companies looking for Singaporean workers, and a disproportionate share of regional HQs, we should be seeing more Singapore corporate leaders. But the numbers have been few. Why?

READ: Commentary: Expats have an edge over locals. Here’s why

WE CAN DO BETTER

One reason is that we are a small population. By the law of numbers, we should expect small numbers.

But the Swiss and Malaysian Chinese defy the trend. They are well represented in corporate leadership in MNCs.

So we can do better.  We should use our advantage in hosting many regional HQs here to help Singaporeans succeed.

That is why we have the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative (LDI). LDI is where Government partners companies to develop Singaporean talent through training programmes and overseas assignments. We work directly through companies, as well as with partners like SMU and the Human Capital Leadership Institute.

READ: Commentary: Here’s a sure-win bet for Singapore companies and workers as recession looms

For example, SMU ran the Asean Retail Leaders Programme for LDI recipients in the retail sector, which includes travelling to Korea to engage with the most advanced retailers.

LDI is part of our efforts to equip Singaporeans to do well in the corporate world. Unlike some countries, we do not use affirmative action. We do not impose quotas to compel companies to appoint Singaporean managers. Doing that will backfire.

A HEAD START

At the top, competition is global. If we want the good jobs, we have to compete for them. Otherwise, companies will think twice about investing in Singapore. The person who was appointed by fiat will also be undermined.

While it will not be easy to compete with the Ronaldos of the corporate world, we have a head start.

The jobs and HQs are here. Our education system is rigourous. Our people are internationally exposed. 

We have grown up in a multicultural setting so we are comfortable with all kinds of people. Companies value Singaporean managers because we are regarded as competent, honest, and we have a responsible work ethic.

But in my conversations with CEOs and Singaporean workers, they have given me some feedback on the Singaporean worker and how we can be better.

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I want to start with a caveat, because I am after all a civil servant and I have no skin in the game. But I want to reflect accurately the feedback I have received, so that we can start a discussion on how we can support each other.

1. BE ADVENTUROUS

First, we have to be more adventurous and take on more overseas assignments, particularly in emerging markets.

Many of us are reluctant to do so. One CEO in the hospitality trade told me that Singaporeans only want to be posted to the first-tier cities. In contrast, Spanish and Italian graduates are knocking on his doors offering to go to second- and third-tier cities.

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We all know how important it is in business to have international experience. As Singaporeans, we have an advantage in connecting to ASEAN, China and India – regions who will contribute the majority of global growth in the future.

We are trying to start young. Our schools send students out on immersion trips as early as primary school. Under the Global Innovation Alliance programme, many of our students do internships overseas. I hope this sense of adventure will grow.

2. WORK IN CROSS-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Second, we have to learn to work in cross-cultural environments.

Working in Singapore is completely different from working in emerging markets. We take a lot of things for granted. A lot of soft skills have to be relearned.

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For example, in the Singaporean work context, we believe that keeping our head down and letting our work speak for itself is good enough. In my short experience at an MNC, I soon discovered in a multi-cultural context, if I did not speak up and tell people what I have been doing, I cannot expect others to know.

At the heart of it is whether we are comfortable adapting and traversing across different environments. Perhaps that’s why the Swiss are so successful. 

It’s a function of their history of neutrality, and that within Switzerland, they are able to speak multiple languages and connect easily with different cultures.

3. THINK BEYOND SINGAPORE

Third, we have to think beyond Singapore and create for the world.

We are a small country. Being trained in a small country with jobs with a small scope means we are not stretched.

Take for example programmers. Our fresh graduates may be as good as those from Chinese and American universities when they graduate. 

But once the Chinese and American graduates work on projects that serves hundreds of millions of users, the complexity and scale of the problem stretches and develops them. Five years out of college, they are way ahead even though the starting point may be similar.

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That is why we are working hard to bring the best jobs to Singapore, whether it is an engineering centre from Stripe and Indeed.com, to regional HQs of MNCs running global product lines out of Singapore.

If you examine the record of Singaporeans who have done well in the corporate world, many of them started out by working on bigger projects and markets first, fresh out of university. The first ten years of work count.

4. SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE

Fourth, we are too concerned about achieving the results, and less concerned about understanding the bigger picture and how things work.

One senior engineering manager observed that Singaporeans are good at specific tasks but not good at dealing with ambiguity. He called it the “ten-year series” approach, where we excel at patterns and repeatable tasks and “pass up homework”.

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Yet all these could be turned into algorithms. Instead, companies are looking for leaders who can connect the dots of what they do to the larger strategic picture, and who understand deeply how things work.

ADVICE FOR 25-YEAR-OLDS

So in a nutshell, my advice to my 25-year old self would be this.

First, be more adventurous.

Travel and see the world. Better still, intern at a start-up in an emerging economy. Go to where the opportunities are and learn the market.

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Second, practise communication, through writing and speaking.

Write a journal every day. Make yourself uncomfortable by speaking publicly; record it, and force yourself to watch yourself and get feedback from others. Then, you will be more confident to exchange views with others.

READ: Commentary: How to get over your fear and learn to speak up

Third, set your eyes on the bigger picture and the world.

Find global problems to solve. Read widely. Take an interest in history and literature.

One of the best advice I had is from Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert comics. He said that if you want to do something extraordinary, there are two paths. Either become the best at one specific thing, or become very good (top 25 per cent) at two or more things.

The first strategy is near impossible, because very few will ever be Joseph Schooling.

But the second strategy is fairly easy, because everyone has a few areas in which they could be in the top 25 per cent with some effort.  And so if you are a good public speaker, which will come with practice, and you combine it with another two skills, you will be unique.

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And because capitalism rewards things that are rare and valuable, you will be rewarded.

I hope to see many Singaporeans succeed in the corporate world. Then we will create a virtuous cycle, where we will have more opportunities for Singaporeans in Singapore and in the world.

Chng Kai Fong is managing director at the Singapore Economic Development Board. This commentary is adapted from a speech at the Leadership Development Initiative Networking event in Singapore on Nov 13.

SINGAPORE: Even as an emotional ride for some 40,000 pupils ended last week when they collected their PSLE results, the journey has begun for others — and not just next year’s cohort.

Some parents are starting PSLE tuition for their children at pre-school level, in the hope that they can ace the mathematics paper.

Tuition centre PSLEMath, for example, takes in children from pre-school to Primary Six so they can “prepare for the single goal: PSLE maths exam”, said its founder Jason Hiak.

As he explained it, the simple concepts taught in pre-school are the same ones that “slowly evolve into complicated questions that are potentially tested in the PSLE”. “If you start (tuition) at pre-school, you have an advantage,” he said.

Ten weeks of classes at his centre cost between S$400 and S$500, and although preparing for the PSLE at a pre-school age seems a bit extreme, it is a question of demand and supply.

And there is always the opportunity to capitalise on any furore over PSLE maths questions, as with this year’s Paper 2, which made headlines concerning pupils in tears and parents calling it “exceptionally difficult”.

No sooner had the questions gone viral online than the solutions were posted by various tuition centres. Some centres also said they go the extra mile to compile these questions and brainstorm “all possible solutions”.

But is PSLE maths too difficult without tuition? Is the model method the key to answering the tough questions? And are tough papers the reason for Singapore’s top global ranking in maths?

TWO BRIGHT MINDS, FIVE QUESTIONS

This year is not the first time parents have complained about PSLE maths questions.

But parent Giri Vedha — who tutored his older son for the 2015 exam and is doing the same for his younger son entering Primary Six next year — found this year’s questions more difficult than previous ones.

“Parents are a little bit sad because … extremely tough questions are coming,” he said. “The kids are getting disappointed, and they have further tests to attend, so they come home crying. Then what can the parents do?”

So to find out how tough the questions can be, the programme Talking Point gathered two bright minds to answer a few that got the most flak from parents, including previously. (Watch it here.)

Ear, nose and throat surgeon Barrie Tan is a President’s scholar who scored an A* on his PSLE maths in 1987; undergraduate Sim Cher Boon is an ethical hacker who recently won the inaugural cybersecurity competition, the Cyber Investigators’ Challenge.

And even they could not solve everything. Tan got four correct answers out of five, but was “completely baffled” by the last question, saying he “wouldn’t know what to key into the calculator to magically unravel that question”.

“I’m amazed that the Primary Sixers will be expected to come up with a technique or at least understand how to answer the question,” he added.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Wow, if the kids encounter this early on in Paper 2, and it shakes their confidence, how are they going to handle the other questions?’”

Sim answered three questions correctly, but that included the last one. It was not something he had learnt in school but something his hacking experiences helped him understand. “I have to look at things from a different angle,” he explained.

“Usually, when you think out of the box, one of the first things you see is … patterns. And spotting patterns is something I do in order to find issues with websites.”

EXAM, NOT EXERCISE

If there is one thing many parents do not get, it is the model method, especially when they had learnt maths differently in school.

But the method can solve “quite a lot of challenging mathematics problems” at the primary level, said maths educator Yeap Ban Har, who illustrated how it could solve one of the PSLE questions that appeared on social media.

But he cautioned parents against just drilling their children to prepare for the PSLE. “What’s really important is the development of ability to visualise,” said Yeap, who is considered a maths master in Singapore and abroad.

“If parents want to help their children do very well in mathematics, then they need to focus on visualisation.”

While some parents were unhappy about questions said to be outside the syllabus, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) told Talking Point that PSLE questions are based on topics taught within the syllabus.

The questions are “aimed at assessing pupils’ ability to understand and apply” the mathematics concepts in a given context “by using the information provided”.

“There’ll also be a balance of basic, average and challenging questions to cater for a wide range of student abilities. The challenging questions are structured into smaller parts to support candidates’ attempts … and guide them towards the solution,” said an SEAB spokesperson.

“When marking the solutions, the general principle adopted is that all solutions that demonstrate the correct understanding and application of mathematical concepts and skills, as required by the question, will be given full credit.”

Sometimes parents are “up in arms”, said Yeap, because their children have not encountered” some problems “in all the practice papers they’ve done”.

“They’d say … it’s so unfair for you to give them the unfamiliar problem during the exams,” he added.

But … a problem always entails some degree of novelty, otherwise we call it an exercise, isn’t it?

REFLECTIONS ON OUR EDUCATION

Over the years, Singapore’s maths programme has been revised several times. From 1965 to 1979, many of the primary and secondary textbooks used here were imported from other countries. Then in the 1980s, Singapore published its own maths programme.

In the 2000s, the focus on memorisation lessened as more emphasis was placed on conceptual and strategic thinking. Eventually, Singapore’s pupils started to outrank other countries in the subject.

So other countries started to take notice and adapt Singapore’s maths to their curriculum. The sentiment is that Singapore’s maths is tougher than what is taught in other countries.

This could explain why the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) saw the Republic rank number one in maths, above Hong Kong and Macau. And one of the reasons Singaporean pupils top the Pisa test could be the PSLE.

“The PSLE paper tests them on critical thinking, especially for maths,” said Melina Tan, the programme director of enrichment centre Schooling Society. “Pisa tests children on critical thinking as well.”

She added that visualisation is an example of critical thinking. And children here “start learning this from Pri 3 onwards”.

“So by the time they do the Pisa test, that’s what they’re tested on,” she said. “They’re trained to do it … Singapore maths is different because it challenges your mind to think harder and in greater depth.”

While the syllabus is challenging, the SEAB disclosed that, on average, “there’s a consistent percentage of students who are able to solve the challenging questions … year-on-year”.

“We also want to emphasise that the PSLE is just one of the many checkpoints in a child’s educational journey. We urge parents to continue giving their children their fullest support,” said the spokesperson.

Talking Point host Steven Chia sees it as “a matter of perspective and expectations”.

“I, for one, am going to remind my kids that there’ll always be tough challenges in life, like exams — and it’s okay to not get that perfect score,” he said.

Watch this episode here. Talking Point is telecast on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.