SINGAPORE: Unlike a typical office worker, Mr Ben Loong leads a life off the beaten track. From 9pm to 3am every day, the 30-year-old plies the roads as a Grab driver.

After getting some shuteye, he usually heads down to art galleries around the island to do odd jobs, such as painting and partitioning walls.

Some days, he also spends time working on art projects in these galleries. For instance, he spent the last month at Pearl Lam Galleries at Gillman Barracks working on his art exhibit, which involves using industrial material such as Gypsum plaster and resin to form an arrangement of tiles.

His work, which seeks to question material culture and value systems by recontextualising industrial objects, is among those to be featured as part of the upcoming Singapore Art Week’s Art After Dark series.

The seventh edition of Singapore Art Week, which runs from Jan 19 to 27, will feature art installations and exhibitions across Singapore. The public will also be able to attend a series of art workshops, talks and film screenings throughout the week.

READ: Arts festivals in Singapore a fad? A commentary

Mr Loong earns up to S$400 a month as a Grab driver to supplement his income from his art. While he makes just enough in total to cover his rent and expenses, he said that the sense of satisfaction in seeing his work up on a gallery wall keeps him going.

“When I studied in Lasalle College of the Arts, we would go to art galleries. It was inspiring to see the grandeur of the artwork on the wall. It makes you want the opportunity to be in that kind of position,” said Mr Loong, who took part in three exhibitions last year.

Mr Loong’s experience is not unique among artists in Singapore. Ceramic artist Ummu Nabilah, 24, returns home from her day job as an art teacher in the evenings, only to stay up till 2am working on pottery. She makes a few hundred dollars in profit from the sale of each batch of 15 pottery items, with each item costing up to S$30.

The profit is just enough for Ms Ummu to invest in the materials that she needs for her next batch of pottery. She maintains that as long as she works hard enough, and if she manages her money well, she will eventually be able to focus fully on her ceramic art career.

Industry experts and veterans said that while it remains very difficult for young Singaporeans to pursue artistic careers full-time, the arts scene has improved over the last decade, with more opportunities for artists to sustain themselves financially.

Government efforts to increase public participation in the arts, the advent of technology and a more supportive public attitude have also contributed towards a better working environment for Singaporean artists.

In October last year, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth, announced the launch of Our SG Arts Plan, which laid out the focus areas for Singapore’s literary, performing and visual arts sectors from 2018 to 2022.

Ms Fu said the plan would allow the Government to provide better support for arts professionals and make the arts more accessible to all.

The Our SG Arts Plan builds on the Arts and Culture Strategic Review released in 2012, which detailed the arts and cultural landscape for Singapore until 2025. The plan aimed to develop “a nation of cultured and gracious people, at home with our heritage, proud of our Singaporean identity”.

Since the launch of the review, the National Arts Council (NAC) recorded a high of nearly 6,000 non-ticketed performing arts activities in 2016, a five-year record attendance of over 9.2 million at these activities, and more than 5.1 million visitors to museums and heritage institutions. The NAC said that S$300 million was pumped into the culture sector between 2012 and 2017.

BUILDING AN ARTS NATION

Apart from these two road maps for the arts scene, the Government has also introduced several initiatives oer the last decade to raise the profile of the arts in Singapore, such as launching the School of the Arts (SOTA) in 2008.

As the first pre-tertiary arts school in Singapore, SOTA’s programme allows students to take one arts subject, in addition to the usual academic subjects taught in mainstream schools.

At the end of their six years, students graduate with an International Baccalaureate diploma.

However, it was reported in May 2017 that only three in 10 SOTA graduating students went on to pursue arts-related university courses. An article raised questions about the effectiveness of SOTA’s programmes in preparing students for a career in the arts.

At that time, Ms Lim Geok Cheng, SOTA’s principal then, commented on the lack of graduates going into arts-related courses by noting that its students continued to remain involved in the arts, regardless of the courses they chose.

While SOTA’s latest enrolment figures are not available, the school’s student population had grown from just under 1,000 in 2012 to 1,120 in 2016.

The steady increase in SOTA’s enrolment over the last few years shows that while the jury is still out on the success of its programmes, there is still a demand for an arts-oriented education programme in Singapore.

Several SOTA graduates said that the school’s curriculum had broadened their minds.

For performer and music composer Amni Musfirah, 24, Sota had helped her to develop “a good sense of who I want to be, what I want to do and what do I want to achieve”.

“Many people outside of Sota thought we couldn’t succeed because we were just doing ‘arts’ and had ‘no brains’. Sota taught me the importance to believe in ourselves and trust that our skills will pay off,” said Ms Musfirah, who was part of the school’s pioneer batch of graduates in 2012.

Mr Pavethren Kanagarethinam, 21, who graduated from SOTA in 2016, said that its broad educational framework allowed him to consider non-arts related careers, such as those in the sciences and humanities. 

However, he decided to remain in the arts sector following his graduation, because his percussion-playing skills had improved under the tutelage of his SOTA music instructor and he remained passionate about music. He has since applied for several music production-related university courses to continue a career in music.

Outside of the education sector, the Government has also made efforts to increase Singaporeans’ participation in arts events — with mixed results.

The 2017 Singapore Cultural Statistics Report showed that the number of tickets sold for performing arts events dipped from 1,562,404 in 2015 to 1,398,857 the next year.

In 2016, 2,809,708 people attended a non-ticketed art performance, a jump of about 27,770 people from the previous year. The number of visitors to national museums and heritage institutes also increased by nearly 1,370,000 between 2015 and 2016.

At the same time, the NAC recorded an overall drop in Singaporeans’ engagement in the arts within the same period. In its latest Population Survey on the Arts released in 2017, the NAC recorded a 24 per cent drop in arts attendance from 2015 to 2017. Participation in the arts also dropped from 28 per cent in 2015 to 22 per cent in 2017.

Despite the mixed results in improving Singaporeans’ participation in the arts, the Government has continued to be generous in its funding. The 2017 Cultural Statistics Report stated that an estimated S$412.8 million in funding was set aside the previous year for arts and heritage.

Donations to arts and heritage causes had more than doubled from S$29.7 million in 2013 to S$61.3 million in 2016.

READ: Corporate giving – when cash isn’t always best, a commentary

THANKS FOR THE GRANTS BUT…

Many artists approached acknowledged that the Singapore Government is a lot more generous than those in many other countries in the level of funding that it has set aside for the arts sector, and they are grateful for it.

Video artist Kray Chen, 31, the recipient of the NAC’s Young Artist Award in 2017, said that he was a beneficiary of the council’s funding:

There are only a handful of countries in the world that fund artists at an international level. We are very lucky to have a well-funded system. While we could lose out on freedom of expression, Singaporean artists have definitely gained on a practical level.

However, some artists have expressed concerns over the stringent criteria to qualify for NAC grants and the key performance indicators (KPIs) that they have to meet.

Mr Chen said that the administrative and bureaucratic process imposed on artists to account for huge amounts of funding could be a “daunting” task. “The artist has to wear so many hats. He has to hire an accountant or be his own accountant, his own marketer and his own administrator.”

The NAC requires artists who receive funding between S$25,000 and S$100,000 to provide a certified statement of accounts by a registered accountant. Grants above S$100,000 must be independently audited by a registered public accountant.

Some artists also feel that the KPIs imposed by the NAC could run counter to their objectives. Those who receive certain NAC grants have to complete self-evaluation forms which ask for information such as the total number of people who have attended the art event and the total number of tickets sold.

Mr Chen said: “If you have to count the number of people who attended an event or write a report about what participants have learnt from the event to justify the impact of the artistic work, then that is a problem … Are we looking at a numbers game or are we actually assessing the art’s social impact?”

For him, an art project is more successful if 10 people see it and understood it deeply, rather than having 100 people see it but do not understand the project.

In response to queries, the NAC said that self-evaluation reports were to help artists take stock of what they have accomplished through the course of their project. Subsequent grant applications by artists would be assessed based on the strength of their project proposals.

Mr Kamil Haque, founder and artistic director of Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity, said that while arts grants in Singapore are much higher and more accessible to artists compared to the United States, the red tape that artists have to surmount to receive those grants make it “onerous” for them to even start off.

This makes it difficult for young artists to sustain their interest and pursue the arts full-time, said the 36-year-old, who had spent eight years in Los Angeles learning and teaching acting before returning to Singapore.

Recounting her own experience, Ms Ummu said that she had unsuccessfully applied for an NAC grant when she first started selling her ceramic pieces.

According to Ms Ummu, to qualify for the grant, the artist needed to have a background in art exhibitions, and to justify how his or her art would benefit Singapore.

As a fresh graduate from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Ms Ummu said that she was unable to meet the requirements, which seemed to favour more established artists. “They ask you for a lot even before you start,” she said.

The NAC said that grant criteria are developed by the council to ensure that projects supported the aims of the grant.

Mr Kok Heng Leun, artistic director of Chinese-language theatre company Drama Box and former Nominated Member of Parliament, called for an overhaul in approach towards how the Government views arts funding. Referring to funding caps by NAC, Mr Kok said that grants are issued to artists with a “return of investment” thinking process, where they are expected to fund a certain percentage of their work in proportion to the grants that the NAC extends to them.

NAC grants are subject to funding caps. For instance, artists who apply for NAC’s Participation and Presentation grant receive funds of only up to 50 per cent of the project’s budget.

Mr Kok urged the Government to view the arts as a public good and increase the profile of the arts in national funding:

When you subsidise something because you view it as a public good, it is because you see it as important and good for every human being … We need to change the mindset that art is just to beautify our surroundings. Art is the thing that gives you sanity and comfort. Art is what gives you imagination and creativity. So it is a necessity.

SHIFTS IN TECHNOLOGY, ATTITUDES

Despite these concerns, industry players acknowledged that broader changes in society have created more opportunities for young artists to pursue their careers.

Major technological changes in the past 10 years have opened up a multitude of platforms for artists to showcase their works.

For actress Oon Shu An, 32, the Internet has allowed her to reach out to a global audience, with even foreigners recognising her when she travels overseas.

“Now I can speak for myself and have a direct channel with people who want to follow me,” said Ms Oon, who is the host of webshow series Tried and Tested. “It lets me reach a larger audience.”

Like Ms Oon, Ms Ummu has been able to expand her market overseas through social media. While Singaporeans come to know of her ceramics work through art markets here, Ms Ummu’s Instagram page allows her to connect with overseas buyers as far as the United States.

Through her Instagram account, she is also able to exchange ideas with overseas-based ceramic artists, allowing her to improve her craft.

The Internet has also changed the way consumers buy art. The Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2018 found that the online art market was worth an estimated US$4.22 billion, an increase of 12 per cent in the past year.

The Artling’s director, Ms Kim Tay, said that being an online gallery allowed it to reach a broader audience, regardless of geographic location. It also allowed its artists and designers to gain exposure beyond their own countries.

“In the past five years, we’ve definitely seen a growth in people being willing to buy artworks online. We try to give our customers as much information as possible about all the artworks on our website, and our augmented reality feature on our iOS app allows customers to visualise how an artwork will look in their space in real-time.”

She added that while online galleries could not replicate the experience of viewing an artwork in real life, they complement physical galleries by providing them with an access to a different audience.

Besides technology, the rise of the gig economy has created more opportunities for artists to find alternative sources of income.

From driving a private-hire car to part-time teaching, almost every artist interviewed holds more than one job — as a safeguard against the irregularity and, in some cases, the low pay of the projects they undertake.

Mr Chen said that while he receives an artist fee for exhibitions, it is usually a nominal sum. In some cases, he has even had to dip into his own pocket as the amount did not cover the cost of the art project.

However, he said that his part-time teaching stint at his alma mater Lasalle helps to supplement his income. While Mr Chen said that ideally, he would like to sustain himself through his art alone, his alternative income stream helps to take his mind off his financial burdens and allows him to concentrate on his art work when he receives projects.

For freelance performer Michelle Ler, 23, the biggest struggle in pursuing a career in the arts is the instability of it all.

Unlike her friends from other universities who settled into one job after going through multiple interviews, the Lasalle graduate described her artistic career as “a never-ending job interview”. “You get a job. It lasts from a few weeks to a month, and then it’s the same cycle again.”

However, she said that her income from her part-time job as a dance instructor gives her some financial comfort. She also creates her own work by staging shows during lull periods in the industry.

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Despite the financial obstacles, several industry experts pointed out that the shift in societal attitudes has created a more favourable environment for younger artists to pursue their careers.

Lasalle’s provost, Dr Venka Purushothaman, said that with Singaporeans becoming better-educated and more well-travelled, they have an increasing desire to embrace the arts.

Over the last 15 years at Lasalle, he has seen more young people committed to engaging in the arts. He is also heartened by the support shown by parents.

“In the previous generation, parents would have questioned their child’s participation in the arts. However, the current generation of parents fully support their child’s pursuit of their passion.”

Dr Purushothaman’s observations reflect the rise of “new-generation parents” who are willing to let their children follow their passions, so long as they are happy.

One such parent is Ms Ummu’s mother, 46-year-old Rosnita Ninggal. Explaining why she had urged Ms Ummu to join Nafa, Madam Ninggal said: 

When I was young, my parents put many restrictions on me. I did not want that for my own children. I want my kids to pursue any interest as long as they are responsible and know exactly what they want in life.

For documentary filmmaker He Shuming, 33, his then civil servant father and housewife mother were concerned about his decision to take up filmmaking. To assure them, Mr He worked on film sets to earn pocket money in his early years to convince them that he would be able to survive in the industry.

“My parents could see that I was happy and they gave me the space to do what I thought I could be good at.”

His father, Mr Ho Soo Hoon, 69, said that while he was initially concerned that Singapore’s market was too small for his son to pursue filmmaking, he eventually realised that there were opportunities for his son to earn a living, such as through directing television advertisements.

While he still has some concerns over his son’s “unpopular” career choice, such as the long hours, Mr Ho expressed confidence that his son would be able to survive in the industry for the long term.

Painter Eric Chan, 44, also said that greater awareness of the arts in Singapore means that younger artists are able to receive more support from their families. This has allowed young artists to pursue their passion with fewer concerns.

“They can just go in and do it. They don’t have to worry so much about whether they are going to survive,” said Mr Chan.

READ: Driving a Grab full-time right after graduation. Should you do it?

KEEPING THE FIRE BURNING

“Naive”, “impulsive”, “passionate”. These were some of the words bandied about by several young artists to explain why they decided to pursue the arts as a career.

While they acknowledged that the realities of life, particularly with respect to financial stability, had made it very difficult for them to continue in the field, they had also found ways to make ends meet, and would continue to find ways to do so.

For Mr Loong, quitting is not an option. “Choosing this path, you have to be able to see yourself doing it for the rest of your life. If not, there is no point.”

To want to keep pursuing art, you need to live in this illusion to keep this fire burning. If you keep thinking about money, you are more likely to quit your dream.

Mr Loong said that his aim as an artist is to achieve a regular stream of opportunities, along with financial progression.

“I think finding alternative means to sustain yourself while building your artistic portfolio is part of the practice. Being able to keep my art projects going feels like a success in itself.”

He remains confident that he can pursue a full-time career in the arts, and looks beyond the home shores. “I don’t think I have to limit myself to Singapore. I want to be recognised as a Singaporean artist, even overseas. I think that so long as I remain confident in my work, I will be able to achieve a sustainable career.”

SINGAPORE: There is a reason why cab drivers are often referred to as taxi uncles. 

Most are of an older generation and a huge proportion remain men. There is no data to back this but, anecdotally, in my last 10 taxi rides, all of them fit this category.

You don’t hear of any taxi youngsters. That’s because the Land Transport Authority stipulates a minimum age of 30 before you can get a Taxi Driver’s Vocational License.

But when it comes to who’s driving your Grab, it’s still more likely to be someone younger than your average taxi driver.

EASY TO BECOME A GRAB DRIVER

Prior to the introduction of the Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational License (PDVL), the entry barrier to becoming a driver with ride-hailing companies was pretty low. You just needed a driver license with at least two years of experience. 

Don’t have a car? No issue. Just rent one and your rental can be deducted daily from your Grab Driver app’s wallet, which will be topped up as you earn more income driving.

In 2017, Grab claimed that between 20 to 30 per cent of its drivers in Singapore are younger than 30. There were 56,300 private-hire car drivers as of June last year, but this number may have halved after the PDVL came into effect, and with the Grab-Uber merger resulting in fewer incentives for drivers.

Outside of the ride-hailing industry, youths dominate other sectors in the growing gig economy made possible by the likes of HonestBee, Deliveroo and Zomwork, just to name a few.

With all the skilled expertise that young graduates are acquiring these days, it makes one wonder why some gravitate towards gigs that don’t utilise skills relevant to years of tertiary education.

INSTANTLY ACHIEVING AN INCOME LEVEL OTHERS TAKE YEARS TO

After National Service I worked as a member of an airline cabin crew. Besides the travelling perks, the income was attractive, and with only an O-level certification at that point in time, I was earning more than my peers.

So I understand why some youths rather drive Grab after graduation than grind their teeth at an entry-level job. Going by Grab’s income calculator, driving from 9am to 6pm on Monday to Friday would yield about S$1,015 per week. That’s S$4,060 per month.

The median salary in 2017 for a fresh polytechnic graduate stands at S$2,235 a month. Financially, it is a no-brainer to pick the job that pays more.

WORKING FREELANCE GIVES TIME TO FIGURE OUT THEIR PURPOSE

A client I’m coaching jumped into a role with one of the Big Four accounting firms for two reasons – she had graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy and the school career advisor had nudged her in that direction. 

After nine months, she became miserable in her job, performed badly consequently, and had to drag herself out of bed each day when she couldn’t see the point in what she was doing anymore.

Many people have woken to the shocking realisation that such bad first-job experiences not only damage your self-esteem, they leave a huge scratch mark on your resume. Just imagine the reviews your referral would give your future hiring manager. 

Perhaps in this regard, taking gigs is not a bad way of sustaining a lifestyle while youths “figure things out”.

READ: Exhaustion, withdrawal and low performance, why diagnosing burnout is an urgent task, a commentary

READ: Zombie employees and the cost of poor engagement at work, a commentary

University of California, Berkeley management professor Morten Hansen explored the distinction between purpose and passion, and found that purpose trumps passion in having a greater effect on job performance.

He defined purpose as “the sense that you are contributing to others, that your work has broader meaning”, while passion “is the feeling of excitement or enthusiasm you have about your work”.

This does not mean that one should quit their job for the gig economy when they find no purpose in their current job. If one looked at their job as means of saving money to pursue their passion in the future, they may be more motivated to perform well at their job. 

READ: Stuck in a pointless job, many employees are tuning out, a commentary

If you are just starting to figure things out at the end of your tertiary education, there are plenty of tools out there to help. They won’t give you one shining answer but at the very least, they may eliminate the noise so you focus on fewer things to experiment with. 

WORK STRESS IS BECOMING UNBEARABLE

The transition from school life to working life can be traumatising. Not that we’re not used to waking up at ungodly hours to get cracking, but somehow work never seems to end.

Singapore workers are among the hardest working in the world, clocking an average of 44.9 hours per week according to Manpower Ministry data as of September last year.

Annually, that would be around more than 2,100 hours. When you contrast that with OECD 2017 data on hours worked from around the world, we outperform Japan (1,710 hours) and South Korea (2,024 hours).

READ: The Big Read – Breaking Singapore’s workaholic culture

The unspoken expectations at work – to answer to urgent work texts outside of work, or leaving later than your boss – adds on to work stress, making one miserable. 

Employee Recognition Firm O C Tanner found that when employees feel forced to respond to work-related issues while away from work, they are 115 per cent more likely to believe their situation at work is hurting their ability to be happy in other aspects of their life. 

Now, who can blame youngsters for leaving their full-time job for the flexibility that the gig economy seems to offer? 

RECOGNITION COMES TOO SLOW

Where performance reviews are conducted only once a year, the drought of workplace recognition may have driven some youths to leave their employers. 

Youths increasingly want their work contribution to count for something. 63 per cent of Gen Z and 54 per cent of Millennials regularly think about whether their work contribution makes a difference as compared to 40 per cent of Gen X and 36 per cent of Baby Boomers, according to research from human capital management company O C Tanner. 

This just shows that youths need to be constantly shown appreciation to assure them that they and their work matter to the organisation. 

In contrast, gig work provides instant gratification through high financial remuneration without the pretension that the exchange is anything more than a transaction.

SHOULD YOU DRIVE A GRAB AFTER GRADUATING? 

The gig economy as a whole has been a game changer for many. Elsewhere around the world, especially in many less developed countries, it has provided people with the means to lift themselves out of poverty.

In Singapore, it offers options for many – be it a lifestyle choice or just a way to support themselves while youths go through a gap year or while in-between jobs.

READ: How to step off the career treadmill, a commentary

READ: Working hard at a relentless pace won’t help your career prospects, a commentary

But it can be tempting to forget its adverse impact on your long-term career trajectory when you’re swimming in buckets of cash.

The gig economy may allow you to achieve your desired income level, but your chances for income growth is almost zero if you stay a driver unless you want to work more hours. 

There are few employment benefits, and if the economy slows, your income might take a nose dive. You are also at the mercy of ride-hailing companies, their incentive programmes and algorithms.

Most importantly, professional growth is almost non-existent. You can be the number one private-hire car driver but there is nowhere to grow from there.

So should you really drive a Grab right after graduation? 

Gigs should be viewed as a temporary financial pillar. So it’s okay if you’re in it while you figure out what you want to do and how you want to advance your career, or are committed to another full-time endeavour – like a postgraduate degree. 

Ultimately, you are better off acquiring relevant skills and experience in a related role that gives you a better standing professionally. 

The most important tip I’ve heard is to set a hard deadline on the transition to think about jumping ship. Otherwise you might be in the driver’s seat but find yourself driving only to someone else’s destination.

Adrian Tan is the co-founder of The Resource Group, a boutique HR consulting agency that specialises in HR and grant consultancy for SMEs. He is the recipient of the SHRI HR Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013 and writes regularly about HR on adriantan.com.sg.

SINGAPORE: Community clubs (CCs) play a special role in Singapore as they serve the needs of the community and provide a communal space for residents of all ages and backgrounds to gather, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the official opening of the upgraded Teck Ghee Community Club on Sunday (Jan 13).

“That’s why we have CCs in every HDB estate,” said Mr Lee, who is an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC. “The Government invests heavily in building and upgrading CCs so that residents will always have a place to call their second home,” he added.

The 35-year-old CC in Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 was closed for a major facelift in 2016. It reopened in August last year with nearly 1,200 sqm more space added to its previous gross floor area of 4,809.40 sqm.

“(Teck Ghee CC) has been a very popular and well-used CC, but we had more and more activities and we needed more space. We didn’t have enough space and we couldn’t accommodate all the activities we wanted to start here,” said Mr Lee. “So when we had the opportunity to upgrade, we decided to do that.”

The Government paid for 90 per cent of the upgrading costs, while the rest was raised by a committee formed to oversee the project, Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee said that with the changing demographics of Teck Ghee over the years, and with more young families moving into new Build-to-Order flats, the needs of the community have also evolved.

The four-storey community club, which was also upgraded in 1999 and 2009, now has new facilities such as a function room with outdoor space and a culinary studio, as well as a rooftop terrace where residents can participate in tai chi and wushu classes, or enjoy an outdoor movie screening. 

The improvements were based on suggestions from residents. 

Teck Ghee CC Management Committee chairman Noelene De Foe said the CC was upgraded to better meet the changing needs of residents.

“After the upgrading, we have also seen more interest groups forming,” she said.

One family that has benefited from the upgraded facility is 48-year-old Mr Halim, his wife and five children. The family of musicians typically get together at home to “jam” and make music, but are now able to use the space at the new Teck Ghee CC to do so. 

“We have a home studio but it’s very small, so the big space here allows us to move around. It allows us to practise our moving and some dance steps. And if we have a bigger group, more bands performing with us … There is a place for us to sit around and exchange ideas also.” 

SINGAPORE: The recent spells of hot weather that Singaporeans have been experiencing may not be just temporary heatwaves.

The island is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world – at 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade – according to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS). It is almost 1 deg C hotter today than in the 1950s.

What is even grimmer news – Singapore’s maximum daily temperatures could reach 35 to 37 deg C by year 2100, if carbon emissions continue to rise at the same rate, warned Dr Muhammad Eeqmal Hassim, senior research scientist with the MSS Centre for Climate Research Singapore.

Other countries already experience hotter temperatures than this – but the reason this spells trouble for Singapore, is that humidity is high here all year round,

This could lead to potentially deadly situations, as the programme Why It Matters found out. (Watch the episode here)

“When temperature and humidity get high enough, our bodies struggle to cope,” he explained. “We get higher heat stress levels. It can actually be quite lethal for us.”

HOW DID THINGS GET THIS WAY?

Professor Matthias Roth of the department of geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS) attributed the rising temperatures to global warming and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect – caused by the heat generated from human activities and trapped by urban surfaces such as buildings and roads.

For example, Dr Roth and programme host Mr Joshua Lim measured the temperature in rural Lim Chu Kang, an area of farms and forests, at a balmy 24.8 deg C one night.

The temperature in built-up Orchard Road that same night was measured at 29.1 deg C – four degrees warmer.

One giant contributor to the UHI effect: The reliance on air-conditioners. Housing blocks and office buildings effectively end up ejecting hot plumes that heat up the surroundings.

Describing the effect of a stack of air-conditioner units, Professor Gerhard Schmitt – head of a research team called “Cooling Singapore” at the Singapore-ETH Centre – said: “The bottom one is ejecting heat to the outside, but this heat is then sucked in by the next one, and the next one and the next. The higher you go, the higher the temperature that comes out.”

That means the household on top could end up paying higher electricity bills for running the air-con, he noted.

HUMIDITY PLUS HEAT CAN KILL

What are the risks if Singapore keeps getting hotter?

The problem is the high humidity, which means perspiration doesn’t evaporate as quickly. The body has to work harder to stay cool, which can lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

As a gauge, the current relative humidity in Singapore varies from more than 90 per cent in the morning to around 60 per cent in the mid-afternoon when there is no rain, according to the MSS website. Relative humidity frequently reaches 100 per cent during prolonged periods of rain.

Heat stroke occurs when core temperature exceeds 40 deg C and the body is unable to sufficiently dissipate the heat. It could lead to organ damage and death.

Marathoner Dr Derek Li, who came close to a heat stroke during a leisurely cycling trip in Desaru, described how his body started to seize up and he felt dizzy.

“I realised that I wasn’t sweating as much as usual, my mouth was dry and my eyes were dry. Those are usually the classical signs heading towards a heatstroke,” said the experienced athlete and medical doctor. “It caught me by surprise.”

He took a week to recover.

For a country as hot and humid as Singapore, the National University Hospital said it has fewer than 10 cases of heat stroke a year.

WATCH: Why these ‘cooling’ sports products don’t work in Singapore’s weather (3:18)

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?

To mitigate further temperature increase, Dr Roth cautions the importance of leaving untouched Singapore’s current forested areas that are unprotected, and which could be subject in the future to development.

But how about adding roof gardens and vertical greenery to buildings instead – would this help? Dr Roth doesn’t think so.

“The research that has not really shown that greening initiatives have a beneficial effect on the local microclimate in terms of reducing the actual urban heat island effect,” he said.

WATCH: Why it’s getting dangerously hotter (5:18)

In October 2018, the United Nations released a paper asserting that the world had just 12 years to slash carbon emissions by nearly half, or risk a climate catastrophe.  

Dr Schmitt said every effort counts, because “every individual in Singapore controls about 30 per cent of all the energy consumed or produced here”.

Lifestyle changes could include taking the train instead of a car; and turning up the air-conditioning by just 1 deg C can make a difference of up to 5 per cent of the air-con bill.

At the end of the day, though, might Singaporeans simply just learn to adjust to higher temperatures? Dr Li thinks so.

“When we read reports about high death tolls and heat waves in other countries, these usually arise because they were unexpected,” he explained. “Generally, mean temperatures tend to rise gradually and that gives us the opportunity to adapt.

But, he added: “Even though it can’t kill you, it still can affect your life.”

Watch the episode ‘Killer Heat’ of Why It Matters here.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s national footballer Ikhsan Fandi has signed a two-year contract with Norwegian second tier side Raufoss IL, the club announced on its website on Sunday (Jan 13). 

The 19-year-old striker, who is the second son of local legend Fandi Ahmad, had been on trial with Raufoss for a week, the club said.

Raufoss ply their trade in the second-tier 1. divisjon, having clinched promotion last season from the 2. divisjon. 

Ikhsan also featured in Raufoss’ training match with top-tier side Mjondalen on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute in a 3-1 defeat.

Ikhsan’s contract extends over two years, Raufoss confirmed on their website. 

The Young Lions striker featured heavily in Singapore’s AFF Suzuki Cup campaign last year, scoring two goals. He had previously gone on trial with Dutch side Groningen last year along with his brother Irfan.

SINGAPORE: The identification of four new sites for funeral parlours has been welcomed by industry players, although they think that some of the locations could present challenges for the bereaved.

The new sites come as a welcome boost at a time when options are lacking amid growing demand, one funeral parlour said, but the fact that three of them will be within industrial estates could mean they might not be entirely accessible by public transport.

“Funeral infrastructure is no different from a police station, hospital, fire station – it is part of the community infrastructure,” Mount Vernon Sanctuary founder Ang Ziqian told Channel NewsAsia.

“Having easily accessible and convenient locations for funeral parlours encourages the community to come together to support any grieving family.”

READ: Four funeral parlour sites to be developed over next 10 years: NEA

The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced on Tuesday (Jan 8) that four new funeral parlour sites will be progressively launched for development over the next decade to meet an expected increase in demand.

Three of the sites will be located at Woodlands Industrial Park E8, an industrial area along Bukit Batok Street 23, and at Ang Mo Kio Street 63, close to metal polishing and automotive spare parts factories.

The fourth site will be at Mandai Road near the existing Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium.

“It’s not very easy for grieving families, relatives and friends to get to the funeral home in any industrial park, as you have to drive or walk through loud noises, metal works, wrecked cars and huge trash bins,” Mr Ziqian said.

“To have already lost a loved one and to have to go through an area that is undignified is not something that I want to wish upon any grieving family.

“Industrial parks are good for manufacturing, but not suitable for the service profession, especially the funeral profession that handles families in heavy emotional grief.”

Nonetheless, most existing funeral parlours are located within industrial estates in Sin Ming, Ubi, Geylang Bahru and Toa Payoh. Singapore Casket has 12 halls in its building at Lavender Street.

President of the Association of Funeral Directors Ang Zi Sheng said it would be “excellent” if funeral parlours could be located within communities. “We can be as creative as possible, and I believe with a good design and business model, that can happen,” he added.

TIGHT SPOT

Nevertheless, Mr Ziqian recognises that authorities are in a tight spot because they have to address competing needs when delegating land use. Furthermore, residents might not like the idea of having a funeral service area near, or under, their block.

“Residents who object to funeral service halls next to their residences say it creates noise, impacts on their public space and all that. But isn’t it the same as it is now where every void deck in every HDB apartment block is used for funeral wakes?” he asked.

“With a purpose-built, aesthetically designed funeral service hall, it can address all these issues and actually can make funerals more dignified.”

The authorities have also done a good job making the new sites purpose-built, Mr Zi Sheng said, hoping that this would make way for different funeral services – like embalming, funeral halls and casket shops – to be put together.

“This will fulfil existing needs of funeral companies and at the same time offer a more holistic range of services to the public,” he added.

LEASE AN ISSUE

Beyond the issue of location, industry players also hope the new sites can be leased out for a longer term.

Those currently operating in the industrial parks have to renew their lease every three years, they said, adding that this creates uncertainty when it comes to upgrading facilities.

“One cannot expect that any place will stay for long because it’s on three years, and there might be relocation plans,” Mr Zi Sheng said. 

“If the lease is longer, funeral companies can recoup their capital expenditure on infrastructure.  And I think infrastructure is very important to create a good environment for bereaved families to grieve.”

Mr Ziqian hopes the new sites would come with at least a 60-year lease, pointing out that the cost of building something from scratch would take some time to recoup.

“There is only so much renovation you can do on a three-year lease,” he added. “This doesn’t help the profession to grow.”

GROWING INDUSTRY

As far as the profession is concerned, the signs are that it’s an industry with growing demand.

NEA said resident deaths are expected to rise to around 40,000 by 2040. There were 20,905 deaths registered in Singapore in 2017.

Funeral parlours are also gaining popularity, industry players said, pointing out that some prefer the privacy, while smaller families might not have enough members to keep vigil during longer wakes.

“Longer wake periods also help family members who travel or work overseas to fly back and attend the wake,” Mr Ziqian said. “This is very important for closure.”

Mr Ziqian, who is also deputy chairman of the Ang Chin Moh Group that manages Mount Vernon Sanctuary, added that it has long prepared for this increase in demand by bringing in more products and services, and improving job training and benefits to attract more talent.

The group manages a host of companies that offer various after-death services, including repatriations, funerals for different religions and even creating diamonds from cremated remains.

Mr Zi Sheng said funeral companies could invest in more technology that might be common overseas, like an automated storage system for urns found in Japan.

“When people come to pay respects, they’ll scan in a card or their fingerprint and the system brings that urn out to the front,” he said. “Things like this will help in terms of storage.

“Whether or not the public is receptive, I think time will tell.”

LACK OF PARLOURS

While companies are doing all they can to meet the demand, there have been no new funeral parlour sites since 2009, when the Mount Vernon Park site was tendered out to increase capacity.

However, the two funeral parlours operating there – Mount Vernon Sanctuary and Singapore Casket – moved out last September to make way for the development of the Bidadari housing estate.

“So when those were removed, the situation worsened because the demand is always rising but the supply suddenly drops,” Mr Ziqian said.

It is no surprise then that members of the Funeral Directors Association have shown “a lot of interest” in the new sites, Mr Zi Sheng said.

In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, NEA said the Woodlands Industrial Park E8 site will be the first to be launched for development in the second half of 2019, adding that each site should be operational roughly four years after its launch.

“The Government will tender out the four sites to the private sector to build and operate the funeral parlours,” it added.

“For the tender process, the Government will ensure safeguards are in place to minimise disamenities affecting nearby stakeholders, and will implement this through the sales conditions and design review process.”

READ: New funeral parlour complex at Bidadari to replace Mount Vernon, to be ready by 2024

The former Mount Vernon site will also be replaced by a new funeral parlour complex that will be integrated within the Bidadari estate. This is expected to be ready in 2024.

While Mr Ziqian said authorities “did the right thing” to spread the four new sites across different parts of Singapore to serve different residents, he can’t say for now if he would launch a bid.

“If it is within the community and accessible, I think the answer is a yes,” he stated. “But if it’s in the industrial parks, I may want to study the ease of approach with public transport and the conditions in the industrial park.”

SINGAPORE: We are moving into a new era. Longheld geopolitical and international economics norms are being upended. Technology is also transforming how we live, work and play.

A WORLD AWASHED IN CHAOS

The trade war between the US and China poses the greatest threat to global growth as disruptions to trade flows and global supply chains come under siege.

Businesses on both shores of the Pacific are bearing the bulk of damages, especially as the bilateral relation shifts gear. The US Department of Commerce has curbed American firms’ dealings with Chinese tech giants including ZTE and Huawei Technologies.

A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed that more than three in 10 of businesses are considering delaying or cancelling investments in China due to the trade war. 

China’s manufacturing sector has meanwhile contracted, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index for December 2018. 

READ: The great US-China arm wrestle over trade and globalisation, a commentary

China is feeling the heat and no doubt welcomes the reprieve offered by the 90-day trade war truce. But US firms with businesses in China are also affected by the trade war. 

Apple has to cut-back its revenue forecast for the first time in 15 years due to dampened sales of iPhones in China. 

READ: A truce won’t solve a trade war but here’s what might, a commentary

Once a global economic powerhouse, the European economy continues to wane. The EU is held hostage by a floundering UK entangled in a Brexit Gordian Knot that cannot seem to find a solution as the deadline to leave the EU looms.

The uncertainty has already led some international businesses to relocate UK operations. Major banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS are all looking to relocate hundreds of staff to other European cities.

Closer back to home, despite reassurances by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, Singaporeans awoke to the reality of the country’s food supply vulnerabilities when Malaysian officials announced limits on the export of fish and eggs to Singapore, citing shortages during the festive and monsoon seasons.

READ: That Singapore must cope with food disruption and vulnerability is our reality, a commentary

TECHNOLOGICAL DISRUPTION

But the dawn of new technologies and their increasingly pervasive role in our lives have also shaped developments over the past year and created a fresh set of new opportunities, amid this gloomy global climate.

While the hysteria over cryptocurrency has cooled, as values in currencies like Bitcoin plummeted, Fintech continues its relentless march, as blockchain, e-wallets and micropayment apps gain considerable traction.

The use of mobile payments in Singapore doubled with the launch of PayLah! in 2017, according to a study by National University of Singapore Business School.

READ: Hawkers want to embrace cashless payments but say they need help tackling barriers, a commentary

PayNow, an interbank micropayment app for individuals and businesses supported across nine banks in Singapore has also gathered more than 2 million registered accounts, according to the Association of Banks of Singapore.

Even transport has been reshaped by digital technologies, as ride-hailing apps replaced flagging down a cab and the Parking.sg app supplanted paper parking coupons.

Organisations are also pursuing the use of machines to augment workers in a manpower-lean economy. Robots can be seen assisting to collect used utensils and food trays in foodcourts and delivering items in our hotels and hospitals.

Even the Singapore Police Force has augmented their streets patrols with the use of robots, first unveiled at Chingay 2018. These robots are equipped with audio and visual sensors, and capable of piping back 360-degrees panoramic views back to the command post.

Technological innovations have also introduced new jobs. New roles such as data scientists, professional gamers and social media influencers were mostly unknown a decade ago.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is no longer a futuristic concept, but a reality unfolding before our very eyes.

RETHINKING STRATEGIES

In this new era, long-held concepts, assumptions and practices no longer hold true. There are massive implications. But are professionals, businesses and educational institutes keeping up?

Those who attended business schools in the past three decades would have been exposed to management concepts such as first mover advantage and value-chain. But the prevailing business paradigm today is one of disruption. Many of these concepts need rethinking.

Ten years ago, Apple’s launch of the iPhone earned it the smartphone market’s lion share but Huawei has since unseated the American company, as it learnt very quickly what consumers wanted and adapted.  

So much for Apple’s advantage in being a first or at least an early mover. With first-mover advantage greatly diminished, the focus now is for businesses to be more agile and innovative, and be smarter in managing their intellectual property. 

READ: How Apple’s iPhone lost its lustre, a commentary

The emergence of a fast-paced and dynamic networked economy, where goods and services are created and exchanged rapidly, has led to new business modus operandi. 

Winning in this dynamic and volatile environment is less about organising value chains as it is about having a platform strategy, to entrench a network of providers and consumers, and a well-coordinated business ecosystem of suppliers, distributors, shareholders and regulators that can affect the production and delivery of products and services, to seize new opportunities. 

While online businesses like Taobao and Lazada are classical examples of a platform strategy at work, brick-and-mortar businesses can also apply such strategies to their business. They should also look at other companies from a business ecosystem standpoint and evaluate opportunities for cooperation and co-evolution instead of seeing them stereotypically as competitors, suppliers or customers.

READ: In 2019, online marketplaces will change the way you and the government shop, a commentary

While contemporary business schools are already incorporating these concepts into their curriculum, those who have not kept themselves abreast with developments may still be clinging onto outdated strategies and old mindsets even as we enter a new era.

Technological disruption has also spawned new demand for technical skills such as coding, data analytics, machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques. 

Mastering the language of a growing digital economy and understanding the nuts and bolts of this new business landscape will be invaluable.

Younger Singaporeans are already being equipped en masse with these skills in universities, polytechnics, and even in secondary schools.

READ: Disruption is coming for Singapore business schools, a commentary

A NEW HABIT OF LIFELONG LEARNING

While younger Singaporeans are being equipped with new strategies and skills needed in this new era, older Singaporeans in the workforce must cultivate a new habit of lifelong learning in order to remain relevant and competent.  

Unlike past generations where one set of strategies and skills acquired during one’s formative years is enough to sustain a career lifetime, this new era of hyper-change demands a constant mode of learning, unlearning and relearning.

In this context, the SkillsFuture programme, which aids Singaporeans to upgrade themselves through subsidies for courses and programmes aligned to changing industry needs, has been prescient. The subsidy for some of these courses and programmes may even be as generous as 90 per cent for Singaporeans above 40.

Universities and polytechnics are also offering a gamut of courses and programmes to help the workforce remain relevant. For example, the Singapore University of Social Sciences offers SkillsFuture-subsidised courses and programmes in financial technology, digital marketing and intellectual property management.

There are also reputable Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platforms such as Coursera, edX and Udacity that offer online courses on up-to-date topics such as machine learning and big data for free or a small fee. Many are conducted by faculty from world renowned universities including Harvard, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  

Developments such as the SkillsFuture movement in Singapore and the growth of MOOCs movement leads a much needed democratisation of education and access to knowledge that will fuel dynamic change and innovativeness, tackle educational inequalities and enable more inclusive growth.  

These small steps are no panacea as they depend heavily on people to cultivate a habit of lifelong learning in a world that will only grow increasingly more complex and uncertain. But they represent a first step towards building national resilience to deal with changes in the global economy.

Calvin M L Chan is director of the Office of Graduate Studies at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and teaches technology and innovation management at the business school.

SINGAPORE: A new module on combating deliberate online falsehoods has been launched and it will be a mainstay for counter-terrorism seminars for religious leaders and organisations.

Conducted by National Library Board, the module is a 30-minute talk that serves as a guide for religious leaders. It is part of the S.U.R.E campaign, which was launched in 2013 to highlight the importance of information literacy and information discernment.

Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu launched the module on Saturday (Jan 12) at a counter-terrorism seminar for Buddhist and Taoist Temples. 

Jointly organised by Singapore Police Force and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the seminar was attended by about 170 religious leaders and devotees representing 50 organisations.

RACE AND RELIGION “EASY TARGETS”

Ms Fu said that race and religion are very easy targets and they are areas which are susceptible to fault lines.

Despite enjoying interracial and religious trust between bodies in Singapore, she says the country is always affected by external events and warned that the country must have the resilience to combat such influences.

“Combating online falsehoods is something we want to equip our community leaders to have the ability to first detect, identify and then have a response,” Ms Fu said.

“It has to be very timely and effective and that’s something that you cannot build only when something happens. You have to build it before any incident happens.”

President of the Singapore Buddhist Federation Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, who was present at the counter-terrorism seminar, said it is important for devotees to verify any piece of news that they are doubtful of.

“Because some of them may not differentiate from what is true or false. So if they are doubtful, they can always come to us, we are available,” Mr Seck said.

“Otherwise, they may cause trouble to themselves, their own organisation or to the rest of Singapore.”

ADVISORY BOOKLET IN 4 LANGUAGES

An advisory booklet that is available in all four languages was also introduced to religious leaders.

It was developed by the Singapore Police Force and MCCY to provide guidelines on how to prepare for and handle terrorist attacks, such as an armed attacker incident.

One guideline for example, advises religious and community leaders to designate a person to be in charge of preparing and coordinating response plans to deal with contingencies.

That person should also make decisions on behalf of the organisation when a terror attack occurs.