Ed Column: Should filial piety be legislated?

“Yes.” - was the unanimous answer that echoed firmly from my group.

We find this necessary as Singapore is living in a time where everything is like a bed roses. Children are growing up with silver spoons in their mouths, spoilt and pampered like kings and queens of the household; therefore they would not know how to deal with hardships like taking care of their parents needs. What’s more, the children will be more self-centred with their own families’ well-being than their parents and soon will see them as nothing but burdens.

This, of course, is not based on concrete evidence but just assumptions. If so, then why is there a trend of the abandonment of elderly parents? With filial piety legislated, we all can rest our minds that these old and frail parents are well taken care of. Or are they?

Filial Piety is subjective.

The recent Parents Act will only take action on children who refuse to support their elderly parents financially. To some, by ‘forcing’ children to ensure that their elderly parents are provided with 3 meals daily and a roof over their heads, is a true portrayal of filial piety. To us? No.

We strongly disagree that with just being a financial support to elderly parents is an act of filial piety. Yes, the basic, tangible needs are met; but what about the emotional needs? The warmth and love from their children? A talk, a hug or a peck on a cheek? How is just ‘discarding’ elderly parents in nursing homes without making any contact with, an act of filial piety?

Some say that filial piety has to be earned. ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you” - treat your parents the way they have treated you. Therefore, if a child was abused by parents from young, the child should do the same to them when they are old. An eye of an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

What ever happened to unconditional love?

“I believe we must try to forgive our parents’ fault and mistakes. That would be the greatest demonstration of filial piety” quoted by Patrick Lee Song Juan, from the July 17’s issue of The Straits Times on the topic of filial piety.

It is yet another unanimous agreement from the all 4 of us after reading this quote. Abandonment is not the approach one should take to appease a grudge against their parents’ wrongdoings in the past. It is a wrong and immature thing to do and is never the way out.

So back to the question, should filial piety is legislated? Yes, if it ensures that all elderly parents are taken care of; but it is still not the true meaning what filial piety is all about.

Elliot.L

Books Galore!

Once again, thousands of book lovers flocked to the Singapore Expo during the 10th and 11th of July where the National Library held their annual book sale. Available to everyone, there were more than 370, 000 used library books and magazines of different categories and languages, all at ridiculous bargains of $2 - $5.

Devoted readers are in for a treat to non-fiction and fiction books which cater to people of all ages. Past issues of popular magazines like Her World and Reader’s Digest, are up for grabs followed by the launch of NLB first ever DVD borrowing service in collaboration with the Esplanade library.

With just a step into the expo hall, it is no doubt a book paradise for all. Bright fluorescent lights guided the bustling crowds to mental racks which were lined across the hall. A long mental pole was attached to each rack, clearly displaying the books’ genre and price.

“When I arrived for the book sale,” gushed Elias Lim, a secondary school student. “I immediately made my way to the ‘Pets and Animals’ section to find a book about dogs because I’m going a to get a puppy soon!”

Like Elias, many other readers have taken this opportunity to purchase manuals to expand on knowledge or just to explore and pursue a new hobby.

“I have always wanted to revamp my garden, but just haven’t got round to do so,” said Madam Tan “After hearing about this book sale, I dropped by to just take a look and now I’m purchasing 3 different types of gardening books at just $6 for all! I can’t wait to get started on my garden!”

From learning French to mastering martial arts, the avail of information is abundant. However, nothing beats the non-fiction books which has drawn a large percentage of the crowd.

Already holding a towering stack of books, Glenn Lim is thrilled at all these books.

“I’m really drawn by the price, each book at only 2 bucks! What a steal!” the Singapore Polytechnic Student exclaimed before adding one more book to his stack.

Even it was well-received by many, people still had a bone to pick with the book sale. One of which is the quality of books.

“I have half-expected myself to get carried away with my purchases,” explained Joanna Lum dejectedly. “But none of the non-fiction books appealed to me.”

‘Outdated’ and ‘lacklustre’ were some words the 18-year-old Junior College student continued to describe the content in the non-fiction department. There was also some inconsiderate hogging of spots around the racks by selfish shoppers who wanted to have a bird’s eye view of everything.

All in all, the NLB has yet another successful book sale. No doubt will there be thousands looking forward to next year’s sale.

Elliot.L

Flea, Fly, Flo, Fum!

In continuation of its successful outcome in January this year, the Mega Flea Market has made its comeback at the Singapore Expo.

Shoppers attending the flea market express their delight with the management committee’s decision to bring back the event.

Student Jamie Wong compliments, “I liked the previous flea as the things were cheap and affordable. There was also a large variety of stuff to buy. It’s great that the flea is held again here.”

Flea markets are now on the rise in accordance with Singapore’s youth culture. Youths are frequenting flea markets to snag inexpensive clothes and jewelry. Regular shopper Ng Yining, 18, described the things sold at flea markets “unique” and “less common than what one can find at departmental stores”.

Packed into the expo hall are dozens of different stalls selling an extensive range of items. From accessories to pre-loved clothes to food, the flea market has proven to be a hit with many. Retail outlets like Made In Candy, which sells hand-made rock candy, is one out of the many stall owners at the flea.

Wayne, the founder of Made In Candy, felt that it was a good opportunity to reach out to other customers. At the his outlet in United Square, there is a standard stream of shoppers, mostly parents and children who go for tuition classes or fencing lessons nearby. Here, the shop is exposed to a different type of demographics.

“We have more people from the nearby housing areas getting to know about us,” Wayne said. “We get lots more orders and enquiries as well.”

According to the staff at the stall, the crowd is the strongest during the weekends. On Saturday alone, Made In Candy saw an increase in 300% on just walk-in sales.

Aside from food, clothes stalls are also rampant at the Mega Flea Market. It has become steadily popular among blogshop owners who want to increase exposure by renting stalls at flea markets

Sherry, the owner of blogshop of 'The-Shopping-Paradize', rented a stall over the weekends. She sells ladies’ accessories, handphone decoration materials, trinkets and clothes at an affordable range of $1 to $7. Her shop has seen an improvement in this flea than the others she has been to.

Compared to the Singapore Expo, the other fleas she has been were cramped and stuffy. There are also cases where there is an overcharged of rental fees for booths. The Mega Flea Market charges about $210 for a standard stall on Saturday and Sunday, which Sherry finds reasonable.

The air conditioning in the hall also plays a big part in drawing shoppers. “If I was a customer, I wouldn’t like to sweat and shop at outdoor flea markets for too long as it can get uncomfortable,” said the chirpy owner.
When asked if she would come back to sell her wares at the Expo in future, Sherry exclaimed, “Definitely.”

Amanda.F

A Nature Lover's Paradise

Nestled in the area of Pasir Panjang and Harborfront is Labrador Park, a place famous for being one of the few historical war sites preserved in Singapore. Formerly known as Labrador Battery, the area was one out of the nine sites where the British set up their military defences during World War Two. Two models of the six-inch naval guns set up in 1938 can be found here.

Besides being a popular historical site for both tourists and Singaporeans, Labrador Park also boasts features that prove to be favored by many locals.

The coast along Labrador is a favorite among many fishing enthusiasts. The jetty extends out to sea, which makes fishing easy.

35-year-old Faiz comes to the Labrador Park almost every Saturday to fish. “It’s a nice place for chilling out while fishing,” he says. “Fishing here is rewarding most of the time. I often manage to get a few catches a day, depending on how long I stay.”

Part of the jetty has been closed down due to public safety, but the coast still attracts many enthusiasts with its waters that are rich with fishes.

“I bring my family here sometimes too to get away from the city and enjoy some fresh air.” Faiz continued.

Many travel down to Labrador Park to exercise as well. Its well-equipped fitness corner, jogging and cycling trails provide an excellent venue for park-goers to work out.

Cheryl, a member of the modern dance group at Singapore Management University, trains her stamina by jogging 2 km every week at the park. “I like to come here as it is near my house. I find this park very well maintained and clean as well,” said the student. “Sometimes, my parents will organize barbeques for family members here too.” Barbeque pits at Labrador Park can be booked via National Parks Board.

A journey down the trail to the centre of the park leads to the nature reserve, which teems with flora and fauna. 70 different types of birds have been recorded so far, and many other types of animals that sustain the forest’s natural habitat. The park management has also planted several plants such as elephant ferns, silver ferns and tongkat ali, which has medicinal effects in its roots.

Sjorn, a 21-year-old freelance photographer, who enjoys taking photographs of nature, names Labrador Park as one of his favorite parks. He likes to capture the life at Labrador Park with his camera, as there are lots of different species of animals and plants he discovers everyday.

“Corny as it sounds, it is true that one should take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. From the historical sites to the nature reserve, we should protect and be proud of Labrador Park,” the nature lover said “It is a place where we can proudly display Singapore’s natural heritage and history.”

Amanda.F

Festive Nights

Vibrant city lights along with the energetic arts and heritage district consumed the entire night away during the Night Festival 2010 as it spilled into a number of locations which includes The National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, The Peranakan Museum, The Substation, Singapore Management University (SMU) Campus Green, Stamford Green and Stamford Road.

Spectacular performances all around the locations attracted many locals and tourists, taking their breath away with exciting performances which drew inspiration from the amusement park of the 1960s, street theatre festival, exquisite lights and the fête life. The intense atmosphere of the art culture brought together not just people who appreciate their daily dose of art, but also the curious hoi polloi.

“I heard this event is only once a year and since I missed the previous years, I decided to come down and have a look on what’s happening in our locals arts scene,” said NUS student, Ariel Tan. “I’m not an art enthusiast but I might say that this is looking pretty awesome, especially the Muay Thai showcase!”

A display of the true blue art culture helmed the night, bringing people to their feet with Taxi Girls and Taxi Boys by The Jitterbugs at the SMU Campus Green, Live band performances at The Substation, Paraboles 2.0 at the National Museum of Singapore, family-friendly activities at The Peranakan Museum, an open-aired cinema featuring favourites such as Hairspray and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, The Dancing Sky at Stamford Road and so much more.

Despite the heat and pushing, most were be immersed into the scene culture, experiencing the arts culture first-hand. This event was described as “a revolutionary experience better than painting the town red” by Ariel Tan.

Accompanying Ariel on that night was Tharma Kaur, a graduate from the US, who contributed his two cents worth on some stations at the Night Festival.
“The gigs over at The Substation were pretty rocking and I found the outdoor cinema very refreshing,” Thama commented. “We watched Hairspray and it was awesome!”

The Night Festival 2010 has definitely been a huge improvement from past years, setting a clear line above the rest, raising standards to a whole new level. Not only has this event been able to showcase Singapore’s constant support for the arts scene, but also it has infused a local flavour into the artworks displayed. With our ever-growing arts scene, Night Festival 2011 will definitely be a must go!

Kailyn.T

Food, Glorious Food

It is not uncommon to smell a delightful aroma of freshly cooked local delicacies, and to jostle the hustle and bustle of food lovers, vying to purchase their choice of food at the streets of Clark Quay at this point of time. Yes, it is a well known fact that the annual Singapore Food Festival (SFF) is back.

The SFF, which began in 1994, has flourished over the years to become a recognized event in Singapore as local delicacies are brought to light at this festival where food lovers can purchase a small amount to sample at a cheaper price than normal.

This year, things are slightly different from the past, due to their collaboration with Kopitiam, a local food court which has several branches all over Singapore, as the stall vendors are not allowed to accept cash. Payment is made only by using a Kopitiam card, whereby food-goer has to go top up the card and tap when making payment. This did bring about some unhappiness among the customers as some of them who do not own the card have to queue for an hour before they can get a hold of one.

Alcinda Lee, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, was one of the many locals who were present at the event and she was not very pleased with the new system.

“I haven’t been to the Food Festivals for years because I kept missing out the dates for this event but when I finally managed to catch it this year, I ended up having to queue for almost an hour for some Kopitiam card which I have no need for,” she complained.

Despite having to queue for a Kopitiam card, this new system still helps to reduce queue lines at stalls as it is just a simple tap and go transaction.

‘‘I’ve been to almost every Food Festival that has been held in Singapore and this is by far the most troublesome one as this one required me to queue for a long time just to get the Kopitiam card. However, it also helped to reduce the queue for the food’’ commented food fanatic, Wong Xing Lei.

There were also tourists there and some of them have found the local delicacies interesting. Gerald, who was spending his holidays in Singapore, commented that he loved the chilli crab, which he bought at SGD$8 for one. The crab was about the size of a hand, but he felt it was too spicy for his taste buds. However, Gerald said he hated the durian ice-cream which was found at the first stall from the left as the smell was too pungent.

The Food Festival has 30 over stalls this year. It ends on 25th July and those who are interested to go should be advised to bring an umbrella along due to occasional flash floods in Singapore and be prepared to spend at least SGD$40 to try some of the more well-loved food such as the Carrot Cake and Durian treats.

Hui Zhen.T

Go Up in Smoke

The number of smokers in Singapore alone is escalating as more and more youths pick up the habit. However it is a well known fact that smoking causes various health problems and one of the most common one is lung cancer. Research has proven that smoking kills half of the world’s smokers who fail to stop smoking. 19-year-old Jourdan Tan is well aware of the consequences and has been trying to quit smoking since he was 17, but his attempts had all failed.

‘‘I have been trying to quit smoking since I was 17 because the price of the cigarettes alone is killing my wallet and besides, smoking is really bad for my health and it has been cause me constant coughs and breathing difficulty,’’ Jourdan explained.

Jourdan is a student studying in Nanyang Polytechnic’s Business Management course and he has been smoking since he was 15. He admitted he gave into peer pressure as majority of his friends smoked and he did not want to feel left out. Initially he was able to cope financially as he only receives SGD$15 a day and he was not such a heavy smoker when he first started out. But as time passed, Jourdan started to increase the amount of cigarettes he took per day from three to four sticks per day to almost an entire packet of cigarettes a day. To add salt to the wound, the government increased the price of cigarettes from SGD$6.70 a pack when he first started smoking to almost SGD$12 now in 2010.

His first attempt to quit smoking was in 2008. It was due mainly to the fact that the price started increasing during that period to almost SGD$10 a packet.

‘‘My friends and I were so annoyed that they increased the price again. It got so bad we all wanted to try and quit smoking but we all failed. Now we can barely to afford a decent meal if we were to purchase a packet of cigarettes.’’ Jourdan exclaimed.

He attempted to quit smoking again last year and in the beginning, all went well and he stopped craving for a cigarettes. However, a week later, he met up with his clique of friends and gave into peer pressure again. Jourdan said that he could not stand the sight of all his friends smoking as he felt like a social outcast.

‘‘I don’t think I will attempt to quit smoking anymore as I am comfortable with how things are now. True that it is burning a hole in my wallet but I’m working part-time now, I’ll get by somehow.’’ he explained

Other than Jourdan, there has been an evident increase in youths smoking and the government has been taking measures to discourage smoking as there has been an obvious number of areas in Singapore that are banned from smoking on top of the constant increase on taxation of cigarettes.

Hui Zhen.T

Pros & Cons, Advantages & Dangers of Social-Networking Websites

Social Networking websites has been on the rise since the new millennium and it has been increasing steadily as more and more young and old alike are using the platform for social and business motives.

It started out with Friendster being the most popular local social website back in 2003, which gradually shifted to Facebook in 2005. However with availability of the medium to any user, the social networking sites are increasingly becoming dangerous as it allows people to access personal particles of those who has signed up for an account as social networks such as Facebook requires your personal particulars.

There are also those online who are out to con unsuspecting victims for lewd motives like sex. The victim, usually a girl, falls prey to the persons’ sweet talks. They convince the victims to meet and take advantage of them.

Some unsuspecting victims would also be conned off their money. The victim would receive a proposal for a joint business venture of some sort which would require a deposit of a certain amount of money. Once the person receives the money the victim deposited, the conman would disappear.

However, social networking websites also bring about many opportunities to widen your social networks, catch up with friends and even meet business partners.

There are many reasons why people have a social networking web account is mainly due to the fact they are able to keep in contact with their friends and family. It allows the user to post their thoughts and comments and interact with their friends and family online as if they are SMS-ing or on the phone.

Social networking sites also bring about opportunities to meet new people and it can also be used to meet business partners online as almost all companies are online using Facebook and Twitter to keep in contact with their consumers.

There are several pros and cons of social networking sites but the pros can outweigh the cons of the user knows how to protect their privacy and themselves. Here are some tips to such sites with caution:

• When filling out your particulars when you sign up for an account, avoid filling in your phone number or anything that might invade your privacy.
  
• Avoid giving out your information to strangers you meet online.
  
• Resist the temptation to meet strangers no matter how nice the person is to you. If you really want to meet him/her, inform someone close like a family member and go in groups.
  
• If necessary, do a background check on the company that you might be working with.
  There are many methods to ensure your safety on social networking sites and these are just some of them.

These tips can ensure that your experience on the net is a safe and enjoyable one.

Hui Zhen.T

Movie Review: Singapore Dreaming

Inspired by a true story, this film portrays a heart-wrenching story of an average family with big dreams. Singapore Dreaming shows us what most people go through in their everyday lives, showcasing our Singaporean culture, language and traditions.

Married to a traditional and homely wife, Luan (Alice Lim Cheng Peng), Huat (Richard Low) is a poor man with a chauvinistic mindset and has hopes and dreams for a better future. He has two children, Mei (Yeo Yann Yann) who is married to an unsuccessful insurance agent, C.K (Lim Yu Beng) and they have a baby on the way and Seng (Dick Su) who is together with Irene (Serene Chan), his supportive girlfriend of many years, never giving up on him she contributed to his college funds to study in America.

Huat, despite being heavily in debt, continues to dream big and opportunity struck when he won 2 million dollars in the lottery which could have delivered the family from rags to riches. This windfall which was supposed to improve their lives, however, pitches the family into a battle which puts them through struggles which tests not only their family ties, but also bringing about many other challenges along the way.

Seng finally returns from America and pretends that he has graduated despite the fact that he has not. He tries his best to live up to his family’s expectations but fails and falls back to his wayward ways instantly. Instead of waking up to his folly, Seng continues to splurge on his flashy lifestyle believing that his father will support him with the money won, however Huat, soon passes away from a heart attack and with this, everyone’s true mask is revealed. The lying, the temptation, the cheating, the desires consumes the story plot, devouring their minds and hearts.

Luan soon realises that her husband has left behind another son with his mistress and after his death, she falls into a state of shock. Picking herself up after the death of her husband, Luan decides to leave for her hometown in Malaysia, but before that she divides up the money that Huat has willed to her between the 3 children giving Seng the least which throws him into despair due to his mountainous debt.

Digging deep into one’s heart, this moving story tells the tale about how a family struggles to deal with loss, ambition, love, acceptance and the search for the true meaning of life amidst their pain and struggles. It clearly depicts our day to day worries and troubles with a hint of dark humour yet a poignant side to it which keeps the audience wanting more.

With its honest and tetchy plot, filled with emotions, this film promises not just laughs but also brings us a deeper understanding to both life and love. Kudos to their success in showcasing a brilliant performance, and a well-written script. A heart-wrenching performance by the cast which was a job well done indeed. It is definitely a must watch for those who love a little drama with a Singaporean touch to it.

Kailyn.T

Movie Ratings: