~TALENT mIs~develOpment=*WEALTH mIs*dIstrIbUtIOn

Why are social service workers not included?

Letter from Joseph Wong

I READ with great interest reports of the higher bonuses that civil servants will be getting this year as a result of Singapore’s strong economic recovery. I am happy for my friends and relatives in the civil service sector.

However, I am dismayed for my friends working in another public sector that will not be getting these bonuses. They are those in the social services and Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs), which I regard as an dispensable form of public service.

I have seen the tremendous good that the people in these sectors do for the less fortunate and needy in our society. The most admirable aspect about the people I have met is how incredibly committed they are to their calling.

I feel this group of public servants is, however, often forgotten when it comes to remuneration and reward.

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) website articulates very well the role of social services and VWOs, which is to “promote the wellbeing of people and communities.

It seeks to help individuals to be self-sufficient and less dependent, and restore individuals, families or communities to successfully function in the society”. This is no mean feat.

Hence, surely Singapore’s economic success could not have been entirely possible without the social stability that it enjoys?

Surely, too, this stability could in part be attributed to the dedication of the people in the social services, the VWOs and others within the NCSS community?

I know for a fact that some of the people in this field have their own families but they barely earn enough to make ends meet.

It is almost a travesty of justice to allow this situation to remain unrectified.

I would appreciate it if the relevant authorities could explain how the people in this sector are being looked after in terms of bonuses.

Jail for man who added semen to drinking water used by colleagues

Shaffiq Alkhatib

shaffiq@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

Sim Keng Tee, 35, a former civilian officer at the Singapore Police Force, admitted that he committed the offences between Feb 21 and April 3, 2008.

Two women who used to work with him drank the tainted water without their knowledge.

Sim recorded them doing so with his mobile phone camera. The medium-built, bespectacled man then saved the clips onto his computer at home.

These acts of mischief only came to light after another female colleague caught him recording an underskirt video of her at their workplace on Sept 10 last year. She lodged a police report and the authorities raided his Farrer Road flat soon afterwards.

Officers seized items including hard disks and thumb drives from his home.

Following his arrest, Sim was referred by the police to the Institute of Mental Health, where he was diagnosed with voyeurism.

The court heard that Sim decided to stop his treatment halfway as it required the participation of his family members.

Sim told District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan that he did not want his parents to know of his crimes.

During sentencing, the judge said Sim’s acts of mischief were “purely reprehensible”.

Sim had pleaded guilty last week to eight counts of taking underskirt videos and two counts of mischief. Another 149 charges, mainly for taking upskirt images of women, were taken into consideration.

He could have been jailed up to a year and fined for each charge.— In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, a man who mixed his semen into the drinking water used by his colleagues was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Why the income cap on this merit bursary?

Letter from Paul A Fernandez

THE Edusave Merit Bursary is given at the end of every year to deserving students who have done well in their examinations.

Every year, both my children study diligently knowing very well that the Government will reward those who do exceptionally well.

This year, my children have been dismayed by a new income cap on the bursary and wonder why they are being discriminated against when their parents have upgraded themselves so that they can earn more in order to provide their children with a better life.

We have received letters from our Member of Parliament congratulating our sons on their academic excellence.

This made them happy.

However, on reading the whole letter, my children found that they did not qualify for the award because there was an income cap of $4,000.

My children have received similar awards from the community development council in previous years and these were the impetus for them to strive to do better.

As this award is given out only yearly, I would like to urge the authorities not to penalise children whose parents upgrade themselves to provide a better life for their families.

jUst  REWARD  The  BEST  wIthOUt  restrIctIOn    ? ? ? ?

The part Singapore can play to stop genocide

Mahdev Mohan

Few know that Singapore is also a party to important human rights treaties, such as the convention preventing and punishing the crime of genocide, which came into force in 1951.

Genocide — the deliberate destruction of an ethnic, racial or religious group — is as widely misunderstood as it is condemned.

When I tell my Singaporean friends that I represent genocide survivors at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal which is trying former Khmer Rouge leaders for heinous mass atrocities, I am often greeted with a quizzical look. It is a look which suggests, “that’s interesting but what does it have to do with Singapore?”

My recent encounter with an eminent lawyer and former Sudanese Foreign Minister, Dr Francis Deng, serves as a reminder that there is nothing abstract about genocide and mass atrocities. Indeed, Singapore may have much to offer when it comes to detecting and preventing their occurrence in the region.

Dr Deng is now the UN’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and is tasked with raising awareness about genocide; providing early warning of potential genocides to the UN; and recommending methods to prevent or halt this heinous crime.

In speaking at a seminar chaired by Professor Tommy Koh at the National University of Singapore recently, Dr Deng did not tritely assert that genocide should be punished but rather, chose to place it in its proper context.

He noted that while genocide is an identity-related crime, the differences in identity alone do not generate conflict.

Rather, conflict stems from inequalities associated with those differences, with regards to access to power and resources, provision of social services and the enjoyment of human rights.

Seen in this light, genocide is not just a mass crime but a manifestation of systemic governance and developmental problems.

Dr Deng praised Singapore as a country which has competently tackled such problems; a meritocracy which has strived since the racial riots of 1964 to promote a common sense of belonging on equal footing, while giving due recognition to pluralism in society.

Like Dr Deng, I believe that there is much to be said for putting forward a “Singapore model” of genocide prevention.

With greater integration among Asean member states, more should be done to identify the normative frameworks, caselaw and policies best capable of holding together Asean’s diverse peoples in a cohesive democratic structure, while maintaining respect for the rule of law and good governance, and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms — all principles enshrined in the Asean Charter.

Utilising lessons from Singapore’s own experience with regards to managing cultural diversity, our government officials, scholars and practitioners should collaboratively support Dr Deng’s mandate in the following ways.

First, establish a universitybased research centre to act as a focal point for discussion, research, analysis, training and capacity building focused on genocide prevention and its corelation to democracy, the rule of law and good governance and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the region.

Second, develop and maintain a database of information on — and context-specific responses to — possible genocide and mass atrocities in the region, taking into account Asean’s richly diverse ethnic population.

Third, constructively engage and consult with UN agencies, Asean and its regional commissions, such as the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, about situations of possible concern.

In the wake of regional conflict and unrest, genocide prevention presents a perfect opportunity for Singapore to contribute to peace and security in Asean.

It is also high time that we nurture a new generation of lawyers and scholars who appreciate that there is a delicate balance between harmony and pluralism and are prepared to refine Singapore’s model of diversity management for Singapore and the world.

The writer is an Assistant Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University and an Associate Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Since 2008, he has been an international lawyer for Cambodian victims of mass crime before the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

The dangerous myth of the hero entrepreneur

Many choose the wrong career in search of glory or cannot find qualified people who will work for them

Esther Dyson

Earlier this month, I sat on a panel in Monte Carlo, a hotspot of the establishment, discussing the question: “Why can’t Europe be more like the United States?” that do redound to a hero entrepreneur’s home country. First, the local entrepreneur serves as a role model.

SHORT OF SUPPORTING TROOPS

In cultures where start-ups are considered risky and not quite honourable, it’s also hard for entrepreneurs to find troops to play the non-starring roles. Most people would rather work for an established company, or for the government.

So, rather than focussing on the supposed shortage of entrepreneurs, consider for a moment the very real shortage of qualified people willing to work for them. For every Bill Gates or Steve Jobs who founds a company, a healthy economy needs tens, hundreds and, ultimately, thousands of such troops.

But right now, in the Silicon Valley that almost every country envies, technology blog

This is an even bigger problem for the hundreds of start-ups that want to hire engineers but can’t afford to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook. And, while the US has many engineers of its own (and imports others, despite restrictive immigration policies), many other countries do not, exacerbating the challenges smaller start-ups there face in getting qualified people.

Both in the US and elsewhere, most education systems aren’t churning out the kinds of people start-ups need to hire. The problem is not just a lack of engineers but also of people with the necessary business, financial and communication skills. Many large companies in emerging markets such as Russia and India train their own employees because college graduates often lack the requisite skills. That’s good for large companies but it leaves behind smaller companies that can’t afford to train the middle ranks or compete for the best.

 This misalignment of incentives stifles many economies.

Countries that want to be successful overall, rather than merely to play host to a couple of billionaire entrepreneurs who eventually will decamp to a tax haven, must focus on building a strong educational system for all their citizens. That is where the notion of the entrepreneur as hero can be helpful — by inducing more young people to study maths and science, which will help them in many ways even if they pursue a non-technical career.

How to encourage entrepreneurs?

Instead of subsidising startups directly, governments should become good customers for them.

The US government is a huge customer for all kinds of software companies, just as it helped to build the airline industry long ago by contracting out postal service transportation.

Entrepreneurs tend to go where the money is but their companies stay and provide value (and jobs) where they can find good customers and good employees.

It is the well-educated who can get the best jobs — and thus earn the money to buy the kinds of goods and services that they and their fellows produce.

TechCrunch reports that Google just paid an engineer US$3.5 million ($4.6 million) in restricted stock to keep him from defecting to Facebook. Moreover, Google will give every employee a 10-per-cent raise in January.Project Syndicate

The writer, chairman of EDventure Holdings, is an active investor in a variety of start-ups around the world. Her interests include information technology, healthcare, private aviation and space travel.

The formal name of the panel was “Silicon Envy:

Will Europe ever build the next new media giant?”

But I think people are focussing on the wrong question.

After all, what is the actual value of a Microsoft or an Apple, Oracle, Google or Twitter to a country in the first place? Surely, it’s not the taxes paid by Bill Gates (picture) or Steve Jobs or Larry Ellison or Sergey Brin, nor even the taxes paid by their companies (of which other countries get a share anyway).

The real value created by many of these companies is much broader. Their employees become productive workers and, ultimately, consumers in some local market. And their products and services generate value even when pirated or used in countries where the provider doesn’t sell much advertising. A country can get all these benefits without actually being the entrepreneur’s home country.

But there are two benefits

He (rarely she) encourages people to dream — and also to take risks, persist in the face of long odds, and generate economic activity.

All over the world, little boys study maths and science in the hope of becoming the next Bill Gates. But having your own local Gates is much more compelling.

I’ll always remember what a Russian friend said to me back in 1991 at a conference I organised in Hungary: “Of course we all know about Bill Gates in Russia. But he’s not relevant to us: He lives in the US; he went to Harvard. But seeing what the Hungarians have done — that means something to us. It lets us dream of what we could do ourselves.”

Yet sometimes I think this hero entrepreneur myth is dangerous.

In an economy such as the US, where start-ups are revered, people who would make perfectly good project supervisors or salespeople establish their own companies, starving the ecosystem of middle managers.

Thousands of perfectly smart and highly useful people feel inadequate because they are not heroes.

Many make the wrong career choices in search of glory.

For example, I know a brilliant chief technology officer who started a company that never gained traction because he simply couldn’t manage it. His investors (including me) encouraged him to merge with a competitor that had a great salesman as its CEO. But the two CEOs couldn’t agree on terms, and now the CTO’s company is dead while the other company struggles with inadequate technology.

Top PSLE pupil from Rosyth School

Top PSLE pupil from Rosyth School

 

Top PSLE pupil Alex Tan Kian Hye

SINGAPORE: This year’s top PSLE student comes from Rosyth School.

He is Alex Tan Kian Hye who scored an aggregate of 282.

"I was really shocked cause I didn’t expect that I would get such a high score," said Alex.

The highest PSLE score ever recorded was 294 in 2007, by a St Hilda pupil.

Alex said creating his own notes using simpler words helped him study better.

But he credits his grandmother as his main source of motivation.

"Every time I brought home my exam papers, she would always encourage me to do better, she would say that I’m capable of doing better (than what I had done," said Alex.

Alex has secured a place in the Integrated Programme at Raffles Institution (RI).

The top Malay PSLE student is Aqilah Dariah Mohd Zulkarnain from Coral Primary.

"I’ve been working very hard ever since I was in Primary 5 as I know its a very crucial year for me," she said.

With an aggregate score of 278, the head prefect plans to go to Raffles Girls School, and hopes to become a doctor someday.

Muhammad Hameem from Henry Park Primary emerged as the top Indian PSLE pupil with an aggregate of 274. He will join Alex Tan at RI.

"I sacrificed some of my playtime of course, but I had this thought in my mind — after PSLE, I can do anything I want. So I studied hard," he said.

Lendermann Monika Jia—xin of CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace is the top Eurasian student who obtained an aggregate score of 269.

The Education Ministry (MOE) said 20 schools had at least one student with an aggregate score of 275.

They include Anglo—Chinese School (Primary), Casuarina Primary and Coral Primary.

MOE said 97.3 per cent (43,826) of the students who sat for the PSLE this year would proceed to secondary school. Last year, it was 97.1 per cent.

Of the pupils going to secondary one, 63.5 per cent are eligible for the Express course, 22.1 per cent for the Normal (Academic) and 11.7 per cent for the Normal (Technical) course.

MOE said 2.7 per cent are assessed not ready for secondary school or more suited for vocational training.

Of these, pupils who have attempted PSLE once and are not over—aged can choose to apply to Assumption Pathway School (APS) or NorthLight School (NLS) based on recommendations of their primary school principals.

They can also opt to spend another year in Primary 6 to consolidate their learning.

The remaining pupils are those who have been unsuccessful after repeated attempts at the PSLE or are over—aged.

These pupils will be offered a place in APS or NLS.

Eligible students will receive on Thursday their option forms to select secondary schools along with the PSLE results slips.

Their secondary one posting results will be released on December 22.

Pupils are to report to the secondary schools they are posted to on December 23, at 8.30 am.

—CNA/wk/ls

17 year old arrested for assaulting another teenager

17 year old arrested for assaulting another teenager

 

 

SINGAPORE : Police have arrested a 17 year old who is believed to have assaulted another teenager — a 16 year old — with a bread knife on Thursday night.

The victim was found under at Block 448 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 with cuts on his arm, shoulder and stomach.

The police said the assault was not gang—related, but believed to have arisen from a personal dispute.

The suspect will be charged in court on Saturday.

If convicted, he could face a maximum jail sentence of seven years, with caning, a fine, or all three.

— CNA/al

“That is the rocket science — the product,” he said.

or corporations,

innovation is key.

References and interviews are key to scholarship selection

NG JING YNG

jingyng@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE —

But disciplinary records are not listed under the requirements in the Education Ministry’s scholarship page online, similar for other organisations. And as teaching scholar Jonathan Wong (picture) now faces 17 charges for possessing child pornography, his public caning for peeping during his schooling days has got some Singaporeans wondering how he had won the scholarship.

The former Hwa Chong boy and gifted student who pleaded guilty on Monday is out on bail while awaiting sentencing on Dec 13, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service told MediaCorp. The 23-year-old University of York student could spend five years in jail.

A check with other scholarship awarders found references and interviews among the main elements of the selection process.

The Public Service Commission, which gives out about 60 to 80 scholarships annually, looks at academic performance, CCAs, Community Involvement Programme records and, for male candidates, military performance in its “rigorous” selection process.

PSC Secretariat director Yeo Whee Jim said that every candidate goes through psychometric tests and an interview by a trained psychologist “to ascertain” character and integrity.

“Because integrity is better assessed through behaviour over a period of time, the commission relies on teachers and principals for their reading of a candidate’s character and valuesbecause they have close interactions with the student during his school years,” he said.. Their assessment matters

Academic and CCA records are also among some qualities assessed by the Singapore Management University for its scholarships. “We don’t run background checks on applicants, (but) we do conduct interviews with them to ensure they’re suitable for our scholarships,” said a spokesperson. SMU scholars’ applications will also often be backed by references from their junior colleges and institutes.

Raffles Institution principal Lim Lai Cheng said students usually get their civic tutors to write references for their scholarship applications. “This’ll give some indication on what kind of student the applicant is,” said Mrs Lim.

St Andrew’s Secondary School principal Belinda Charles, who has acted as a referee for several ex-students, said organisations usually call back to find out more about the applicant and his character.

In reply to queries about Wong, a HwaChong Institution spokesperson only said:“The school takes a firm stand againstchild pornography. It must never be condoned... The school is saddened by this news involving an alumnus.”

A representative of the Singapore Society in the University of York said: “(Wong) had a number of good friends within and outside the Singapore community in York.

We can’t condone his actions, but it’s not our position to judge him. Rather, we’re committed to helping him through this difficult time. He had shown and expressed great remorse for his past actions and is prepared to face the consequences.”He would have been considered for his grades and co-curricular activities. He would have written a personal statement, undergone psychometric screenings and an interview, backed by references.