Greater inclusiveness for people with disabilities and more support for their caregivers.

These will be part of the focus of the third Enabling Masterplan – a blueprint to guide the development of policies, programmes, services and other support for those with disabilities. A 22-member committee to develop the five-year plan was announced yesterday by Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin at the Enabling Village in Lengkok Bahru.

Chaired by Ms Anita Fam, a board member of the National Council of Social Service, it comprises people from the public and private sectors, including people with disabilities and caregivers. They include Ms Chia Yong Yong, president of voluntary welfare organisation SPD, which supports people with disabilities, and Ms Denise Phua, president of the Autism Resource Centre.

The third masterplan will look into a more seamless transition through stages in life – within the education system and towards employment – for people with disabilities. It will also look into support for caregivers.

“Even if you help with employment, that makes a lot of difference (to families),” said Mr Tan. Individuals may be left without a job after completing school, leaving families “stretched”, he added.

Ms Fam believes more can be done to ensure caregivers know of the avenues of help available, by having resources that are more easily obtainable.

There is also a need to alleviate their worry that no one will be around to care for their loved ones if they are no longer around.

Mr Keh Eng Song, chief executive officer of the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled Singapore, said: “Caregiver support will be increasingly important because we want them to be empowered, and not be dependent on service providers all the time.”

Mr Tan also reiterated the need to incorporate national policies and schemes, such as SkillsFuture and Smart Nation, into the new plan.

For example, under SkillsFuture – a movement to boost skill levels and promote lifelong learning – new modules will be developed for people with disabilities.

“Some of the employers have specific needs, therefore we develop specific training modules so that those with disabilities are trained and can move in quite seamlessly to their jobs as well,” Mr Tan said.

The masterplan will build on the progress made by previousplans.

This includes making more community facilities and public transport services more friendly for those with disabilities, and improving their career prospects.

byseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 3, 2016.
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Ascending steep slopes, navigating tricky obstacles, and tackling narrow tracks – these are several of the challenges cycling enthusiasts can take on at a new 1.6km mountain biking trail.

The trail is part of the 17ha Chestnut Nature Park (South), which also has a 2.1km hiking trail.

The park, next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, was opened by the National Parks Board (NParks) yesterday. It is the first here with both trails for mountain bikes and hikers.

When the 64ha Chestnut Nature Park (North) is completed by the end of this year, it will boast a total of 5km of hiking trails and 6km of biking ones.

From the middle of this year, park users can also look forward to a kiosk where they can rent bicycles.

Yesterday, NParks also launched the Friends of the Parks scheme to encourage greater community stewardship of green spaces.

Selected parks under the scheme will each be headed by a community of up to 10 members from various interest groups, such as hikers, bikers and researchers.

They will play a role in promoting responsible use of the parks through ground-led initiatives.

Chestnut Nature Park, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and the Park Connector Network will be the first to get such a group. The existing Friends of Ubin Network for Pulau Ubin will also come under the scheme, but will continue operating without any changes.

Said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Desmond Lee, who attended the opening yesterday: “The community may propose and organise meaningful activities that they would like to carry out… and suggest ideas, such as conservation, recreation and horticultural projects.”

More than 100 mountain bikers yesterday tried the moderately challenging trail at the park for the first time, and many were pleased with the experience.

Avid cyclist Jonathan Wong, a 32-year-old sales manager, said it is a good training ground for beginners who are trying to grasp basic bike-handling techniques.

“It is made for riders of all abilities,” he said. “Bikers can ride closer to nature and get a good workout in the process.”

A group of mountain bikers tested the trail a few weeks ago. Based on their input, tweaks were made to improve safety while keeping the trail challenging.

The northern portion of the nature park includes a supposedly tougher biking trail.

Last year, NParks closed the popular Butterfly Trailas parts of it fell within the construction site of the nature park.

Mr Wong Tuan Wah, NParks’ director of conservation, said the trail is currently undergoing biodiversity assessments and restorative works.

“We have to wait until these studies have been completed before we can formulate any plans,” he added.

calyang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 3, 2016.
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Just 30 days after Gleneagles Hospital in Kota Kinabalu opened its doors for the first time, staff there got word of a terrible accident.

An earthquake had just struck Mount Kinabalu and several people were badly injured.

“We had actually opened ahead of schedule and because of that, we were able to help,” said Mr Jean-Francois Naa, the hospital’s chief executive.

“Things never happen by chance.”

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan expressed his gratitude to all those who had helped Singapore in the aftermath of last June’s earthquake, which killed 18 people.

Ten of them were Singaporeans.

“In this time of great tragedy, Singapore… appreciated that we had a true friend in Malaysia, especially the people of Sabah,” he said at a special reception in Kota Kinabalu.

“The support and assistance rendered to us by all of you here brought immeasurable relief and consolation.”

Dr Balakrishnan’s guests included relatives of the guides who had died protecting Singaporean pupils, as well as representatives from various Malaysian government agencies and other organisations that had pitched in to help in the immediate aftermath.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake claimed the lives of seven Primary 6 pupils from Tanjong Katong Primary School.

8 S’poreans dead, 2 missing in Sabah quake

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Star/ANN, Sabah Info Facebook page, Tanjong Katong Primary School

Two teachers and a Singaporean adventure guide also died.

Many of those at yesterday’s reception spoke of how things are slowly returning to normal on the mountain, although measures have been taken to minimise casualties in the event of another quake.

Mr Richard Soibi, who is chairman of the Mount Kinabalu Guides Association, said that previously, there would be one guide for every six climbers.

Now, the ratio is one guide to five climbers.

Every two climbers under 16 years old will be accompanied by one guide.

“The Sabah park management is still worried about the risk,” said Mr Soibi, who was at the reception with seven mountain guides.

“This way, it’s easier for us to take care of people if anything happens.”

Ms Quek I-Gek, who is marketing director of Mountain Torq – the company that manages the Via Ferrata trail on the mountain – said that a new clip system on a single continuous line has also been installed along the longer circuit.

Typically, climbers on the Via Ferrata trail have to clip and unclip their harnesses every few metres as they progress along the rock.

The new system means people can move along the rock face more quickly in an emergency.

Mr Yassin Miki, who manages Kinabalu Park, said that climbers have been trickling back to the mountain since it was fully reopened in December.

There were more than 3,000 climbers last month, up from around 2,000 a month between December and February.

Now, the number of climbers allowed on the mountain at any one time is limited to around 120, down from the previous 220.

This is partly because some of the lodgings along the way up have been badly damaged and can no longer be used.

“We will keep some of them the way they are, so we can show visitors what happened during that time,” Mr Yassin said.

Dr Balakrishnan is on a three-day working visit to Sabah and will fly back today.

During the trip, he met his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, to reaffirm the close ties between both countries.

Dr Balakrishnan also met Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and other Sabah ministers.

linettel@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 3, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.