Search the Community

Very interesting interview series. Must take a lot of courage for all of them to be willing to do this. Next one is President Tharman apparently

At first, it appeared to be an innocent livestream of someone chatting to viewers while eating. But the scene quickly turned into one of horror when 13-year-old Shrihaan Thakar realised that the livestreamer he was watching had begun hitting his cat. .........

Fear mongering? No one force them to bid for the stall at >$3K per month (I think the recent record was $10K for a food stall at hawker centre? siao). Now that budget meal (with minimal liao and small portion) priced at $3.50, still cannot make money? Or was it the high cost of living which make a monthly income of $3K looking pathetic to the stall owners? A hawker food advocate, I find myself turning to fast food more often than before, because a value meal with sides and drink cost <$6, while a plate of chicken rice with a few pieces of paper-thin chicken meat or a plain looking bowl of laksa without egg or hum with coffee cost >$6, the sum just don't add up. Like it or not, high property price (with coffeeshop changing hand at 8 digits figure) does has an impact on commoner like us, and now we are blamed for NOT supporting hawker? Is it reasonable to say that everyday Singaporeans rely on hawker food, hence it ought to be cheap amid high costs of living? Food writer Pamelia Chia weighs in. Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/hawker-food-price-affordable-stall-rental-rising-cost-manpower-4836616 SINGAPORE: In recent years, the financial sustainability of Singapore’s hawker trade has become a pressing concern. Hawkers face numerous challenges, chief among them being rising costs of manpower and raw materials. Some hawkers report operating costs exceeding S$10,000 per month. Yet, the public’s expectation for affordable food options forces them to operate with extremely thin profit margins, sometimes as low as 20 to 30 cents per bowl. The ramifications of this financial strain are profound and manifold. For one, it deters younger generations from entering the trade. Some established hawkers, like Melvin Soh of the 17-year-old hawker business Toast Hut, have closed their businesses due to an inability to meet potential hires’ salary demands. In the case of Toa Payoh zi char stall Hong Sheng Restaurant, which recently ceased operations after 50 years, older hawkers actively discourage their children from taking over. These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a systemic problem. However, implementing higher pricing is challenging for many hawkers. When hawker Douglas Ng raised his fishball noodle prices by 50 cents, his business dropped by 40 to 50 per cent. How can we understand Singaporeans’ reluctance to pay for hawker food and the complex landscape of hawker food pricing? According to former head chef Nurl Asyraffie Mohamed Shukor, who now runs hawker stall Kerabu by Arang, patrons at hawker centres expect fast, cheap and filling meals. In an 8days interview, he explains: “A lot of people don’t understand my food and they ask, ‘why is it so expensive?’ They don’t understand the work behind it. For the chicken, I need to brine it for two hours, then marinate overnight. The whole process is very tedious but they only see rice, chicken, and salted egg on the plate and think it should be S$3.” However, this seems not to be the case for BlackGoat, a popular hawker stall serving Western-style cuisine, with prices ranging from S$9 for a brownie to S$59.50 for 495g of striploin, significantly higher than traditional local hawker fare. According to BlackGoat’s reviews, customers deem the food “value for money”. It appears that hawker patrons expect local fare to remain cheap, but are willing to spend more money on other cuisines. Is it a case of double standards? While Singaporeans’ reluctance to pay more for hawker food could be attributed to internalised bias - where Singaporean cuisine must justify its worth, while foreign cuisines, such as Italian or Japanese, are priced without question - the issue is more complex. Singaporeans perceive traditional hawker food as “everyday food” rather than an occasional luxury. While fishball noodles may require more work and incur higher production costs than aglio olio, for instance, one could argue that it is the frequent consumption, rather than its lack of inherent value, that drives consumers to demand lower prices. After all, there are successful entrepreneurs who sell local dishes at premium prices outside traditional hawker centres. For example, the air-conditioned restaurant The Coconut Club offers their signature ayam goreng berempah nasi lemak at S$22.80, while a bowl of prawn noodle at Zhup Zhup, an open-air restaurant, ranges from S$14 to S$20. During a recent visit to Zhup Zhup well before dinnertime, I was surprised to see most tables occupied with customers. However, for most hawkers serving traditional fare at hawker centres, the notion that prices should be kept low persists. Hawker centres provide accessible and affordable food options to all Singaporeans, rich and poor. In a 2018 National Environment Agency survey, 83 per cent of respondents said they eat hawker food at least once a week. Hawkers are in an unenviable position as not only the providers of daily sustenance for Singaporeans, but also protectors of a UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritage. With chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease on the rise, there is an additional responsibility for hawkers to serve healthy options. Is it reasonable to thrust these burdens on hawkers? Should hawker food still be considered everyday food, and hence kept cheap amid the high cost of living in Singapore? In discussions on hawker food pricing, one cannot neglect the elephant in the room: Rent. In response to my commentary on the necessity for hawkers to raise their prices, some netizens suggested that increased hawker prices and consumers’ willingness to pay would only encourage landlords to further increase rental fees, leading to a cycle that does not benefit hawkers. However, contrary to popular assertions of high hawker rents, data from the National Environment Agency (NEA) indicates that the median assessed market rent for non-subsidised market and cooked food stalls has remained at approximately S$320 and S$1,200 per month respectively since 2019, and only about 4 per cent of cooked food stalls in hawker centres are paying rent above the assessed market rate. Proponents of keeping hawker prices low also argue that raised hawker food prices would disproportionately affect lower-income households. However, here’s the irony: The typical earnings of hawkers themselves fall within the second lowest income decile. Having lived in Australia and currently residing in the Netherlands, I’ve observed that it’s common for locals to leave work punctually at 5pm or 6pm, allowing ample time to shop for groceries and cook at home. While affordable food options exist in these countries, they are not comparable to Singapore’s hawker food, which is accessible and fully integrated around workplaces and in housing estates. In countries where eating out is expensive and people are compelled to cook, a shift in working culture is demanded. However, in Singapore, the situation is reversed: Hawker food greatly conveniences and subsidises the lives of Singaporeans. To safeguard our hawker food culture, one of the solutions might be hiding in plain sight. We will need a healthier working culture - one that encourages Singaporeans to cook more at home, like that in other developed countries. While it may seem counter-intuitive, I believe that this cultural change would not only alleviate the pressure on hawkers to provide low-cost meals, but also potentially go a long way in preserving the trade for the future. The debate about hawker food prices elicits complicated emotions in me. As someone who grew up on S$3 chicken rice and 50-cent char siu bao, the abundance of affordable yet superlatively good hawker food has always been a point of pride when speaking about my homeland or hosting international guests. The confluence of good food and low prices in a developed country is so uniquely Singaporean. Yet as the hawker situation grows increasingly dire, I catch myself when I laud this. Because when we talk about the affordability of hawker food as one of its key defining traits, or when we relish being a First World country where superb meals can be had at Third World prices, what are we celebrating?

Anyone watched the above mentioned? Who knows who is the man talking to Conrad Raj over the phone?

I found this CNA documentary to be excellent...

2 shows now running on Mediacorp Ch 8. Key Witness 关键证人 3 leads, Desmond Tan, DCT and Sheryl Ang. 1.5 weeks into this, find Sheryl Ang has the most interesting and complex character. Think its her first show as lead and she has done her role quite well. Juin Teh has a small role as a young mother. Also appearances (so far) by veterans like Ling Ng, Pan Ling Ling. Like the photography of this show, indoors and outdoors. And camera capturing Sheryl Ang's complex character, always knowing more than what she is saying to team mates Desmond Tan and DCT. I also wanna tattoo her back. As for storyline, just go with the flow lor. The Heartland Hero 邻里帮 Pairing of Elvin Ng and Rui En again, just started this week. See how this develops in the weeks ahead. Again, nice location shoots and photography.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/tv/tvshows/days-of-disaster/trailer-sq117-hijack/1607408.html Just miss it on CNA. Anyone watch it? was it good?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/road-rage-singaporean-drivers-anger-management--11126586 On Channel NewsAsia's talking point show a couple of days ago on the topic of road rage. Interesting article... Food for thought Inside road rage: What turns Singaporean drivers into monsters? All it takes is an “idiot driver” hogging the lane to set him off. “It gets my blood boiling,” said the radio show caller who identified himself as Sin. “And the next thing I’d do is, I’d overtake him. I’d look at him, point the finger at him, call him to the side road, and then we settle it like men.” Asked by 938NOW host Keith de Souza about facing the consequences, legal or otherwise, of his actions, he said: “I don’t care.” “If a man is angry, he’s angry,” he said simply. Sin, who has been driving for more than 40 years, is not alone. Videos of road rage incidents on Singapore’s roads have been viral fodder on social media, while related court cases have made the headlines. According to a survey by insurer AXA, one in two Singaporean drivers feel that the roads have become less safe compared to three years ago – citing more aggressive drivers as the top reason. So what is it that is setting off seemingly normal people once they get behind the wheel? In a recent episode, the programme Talking Point delved into the question by getting into a car with a a driver who is candidate for road rage. Mac, as he wanted to be known, does not look like an angry person. In fact the 42-year-old project manager’s friend, Siva, described him as “a really awesome dude” – except for his “horrible temper” that “translates into his driving”. Mac admits that getting angry while driving is normal for him. He said: "I believe that's how it is on Singapore roads; a lot of people are stressed" “Sometimes, you start the day with certain emotions after leaving your home or workplace. The first few guys who cut in without signalling, you try to be ‘okay, never mind’. “But then it happens again – and it hits you to the maximum. You want to show some sign language to tell him that this is not okay.” Once, he even got out of his car to snap at the other driver. Talking Point host Steven Chia soon got a taste of Mac’s impatience. A bus on his left moved too slowly for Mac, and he sped ahead to cut it off – earning a honk from the bus driver. Asked if he felt that was “slightly aggressive” driving, Mac sheepishly agreed. “I was also thinking there was a car following behind me … I could be wrong." ENTITLED DRIVERS Asked why he thought there was so much road rage in Singapore, ROADS.SG founder Aloysius Fong noted that cars were very expensive here. “And so, the car will always be a treasured item. If you come close and you threaten my car or me, I will react straightaway,” he said. His director, Jason Lim, also attributed it to a sense of entitlement. “Everyone feels like they're right in these instances. Which is very amusing – it’s why they all send us their videos,” he said. ROADS.SG, which has about 200,000 followers, gets nearly 30 video submissions a day capturing all sorts of incidents on the roads. One type of driver, in particular, is often generalised as acting entitled: Those who own flashy and expensive cars. Mr Lester Tang, marcoms director of Sports Car Club (Singapore) – which educates its 120 members to be gracious on the road – agreed that there’s the impression that if one has a high-powered sports car, one must be an aggressive driver. “(But) sports car or not, road rage is a personality thing,” he said. Club president Rosalind Choo said she is not an angry driver, but has been the brunt of other drivers’ aggression. Once, she accidentally knocked another car while opening the door of her Lamborghini and apologised for it. “The next thing (the other driver) said was: ‘Don’t think that driving a supercar is a big deal.' I don’t know where she got that from.” TAKE A DEEP BREATH Can road rage be reined in? There is no specific law here that deals with road rage, but it is treated as a criminal offence once it becomes a case of voluntarily causing hurt. The number of such cases that involve road rage has actually dropped by nearly 30 per cent – from 90 in 2013 to 66 in 2017. On a personal level, though, grappling with one’s anger demons can seem daunting. One 938NOW caller described it as something that “takes over” a person. “You're out of control. When it happens, you are not yourself,” said the man, Mr Chan. But Mac was open to giving it a go at the Singapore Counselling Centre, which sees more than 70 clients a month who need help managing their anger. Mr Warton Ong, a professional counsellor, suggested an easy deep breathing technique – inhaling through one’s nose, holding for about four seconds, and exhaling slowly through pursed lips. “When we’re triggered, our breathing becomes very chaotic,” he explained. “It inhibits the way you think, feel and act. "Once we're able to stabilise out breathing, then we get the thinking brain back in action." "And we’ll realise, ‘I need not retaliate, because that will endanger my life’.” Mr Ong also showed Mac what he calls “thinking traps”, such as “should statements” – telling yourself that things should be the way you hope or expect them to be. Mac agreed that sometimes he is too quick to judge and blame others. He reckoned that he should focus more on his driving and less on others’. DID HE IMPROVE? Mac said he would try to apply Mr Ong’s suggestions in his daily driving routine – and after three weeks, Talking Point put his patience to the test. With senior instructor Mr Low Kar Yoong from the Singapore Safety Driving Centre secretly taking on the role of a bad driver, Mac was put through a few scenarios. In one, Mr Low drove slowly and uncertainly in front of Mac, who decided to overtake the road hog. Mr Low sounded his horn and Mac waved him off. Mr Low then cut into Mac’s lane and jammed on his brakes. Mac high-beamed him and sounded his horn. Finally, Mr Low cut into Mac’s lane again and made an abrupt left turn, and Mac did not react – he stayed calm. “I put myself in that position ... Sometimes we miss a spot and you want to turn. It could be me,” he reasoned. Giving his assessment afterwards, Mr Low said he thought Mac responded pretty well, pointing out that he “didn’t do any dangerous manoeuvres like overtaking me abruptly”. He added: “Some horning or high beams is fine to prevent accidents from happening." Mac shared that he felt calmer than the first time Mr Chia had sat in a car with him. The counsellor’s advice had proven useful. “Normally I would have used colourful words and pointed my middle finger. But today, I was taking a deep breath and trying to focus on my driving and my safety,” he said.

I was reading this article which is quite interesting. There was this survey done and the respondents were asked to rank the three most important things for a person to get out of poverty trap from the third most important to the most important 1. most important 2. 3 third most important The choices were a. Education b. Ability c. the people you know d Hard work e Luck What is your answer? The answer you choose say something about you... Mine is 1. Ability 2. Education 3. Hard work

Watch Vaune Phan on CNA, for those who like her. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video-on-demand/this-weekend/biking-in-mindoro-philippines-10256760?cid=vaune

5 ordinary seniors try and befriend 5 struggling teenagers over one school term. But problems arise in the very first meeting. Can they get past the awkward gap? Would the teenagers open up at all? And would simply being old get in the way of our seniors' best efforts? Read more at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/catch-up-tv/back-to-school If you can afford 40 minutes of time, watch this. Quite an interesting program. This is the first episode.

A Channel NewsAsia newscaster was seen still doing her hair even as the camera had started to roll for the morning news segment on Wednesday (Apr 2). Facebook User Kamhani Bourne shared this on the social media site, with re-shares steadily increasing. In the video, it shows the local newscaster fixing her hair and checking her image in her compact mirror, unaware that she is on air. The camera had already started rolling for some time, fully capturing her pre-show beauty regime -- even allowing her time to use hairspray. The camera was then covered abruptly as controls might have realised the blunder. Watch the fixing-hair-on-air blooper moment here. http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/oops-local-newscaster-was-still-doing-her-hair-when-cameras-started-to-roll SHE'S PRETTY!!

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/mazda-recalling-190-000-c/3077328.html Look like only affect those CX7 in USA.