My Silverpen

Home Leave after COVID for Indonesian maids

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:37:00 +0000

Home Leave after COVID for Indonesian maids

It is no secret that as soon as the Covid restrictions are lifted up, many Indonesian maids want to return for their home leave. After all, it has been more than 2 years from their last home leave.

Before, they embark on this journey, especially after the Pandemic, there are various special documents to prepare, so that they can return safely and journey back to Singapore without a hitch.

1) Suitable air-ticket.

First, get a suitable air ticket, because many direct flights are not available. The maid may have to learn to travel to a city to transit to their hometown. Of course, choose the city that they will be comfortable and they can get quick help if needed.

I will recommend having them fly via Jakarta as it is their own homeland, rather than transit thru, let’s say like Kuala Lumpur which is not their own country.

2) Validity of passport

First, check the length of passport validity which should be no less than 6 months. If needed, renew the passport which is now only done by a prior online appointment.

To apply for appointment, visit https://services.indonesianembassy.sg. Follow the instructions and you will be given an appointment by e-mail.

Please note that only the maid concerned will be allowed into the Embassy for the renewal. No one else is allowed to accompany her.

Further instructions:

1. Bring SMARTPAC envelope from Singapore Post and complete disclaimer form.

2. Checklist:

a) Complete application form PERDIIM 11

b) Valid current passport

c) Document like IC, WP/ Employment Pass/etc

d) All documents in original and photocopy in A4

e) Fee: $35 to be paid cashless using PayNow or credit card

f) Normal (3 working days), Express same day $100

g) Service hrs 9am to 12 noon

h) Collection 3pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday except Public Holidays

Passport Delivery by Post

Applicant to purchase SMARTPAC envelope at Singpost to hand to officer at photo taking/ biometric counter. Upon completion, passports will be packed sealed into SMARTPAC for posting.

3) Apply for Employment Contract (EC)…essential for returning maids which may be requested to furnish at the Indonesian Immigration checkpoint before departing Indonesia en-route to Singapore.

First make appointment online thru https://services.indonesianembassy.sg.

Upon approval by email, both the Employer and the maid should proceed on the date of appointment to the Consulate office on the 2^nd storey of the Embassy with the following:

a) Copies of any current or past employment contract

b) Copies of Work permit card (Front and back)

c) Copies of Employer (Front and back)

d) Copies of Screenshot from SGWorkpass app showing the salary or other document showing salary

e) Copies of maid’s passport

f) Fill up Renewal Employment Contract Application Form (Form.pdf). Download this form from Indonesian Embassy website. See sample

g) Fee: Free

h) Duration of service: Same day (Possible to collect within 1 to 2 hours)

If the maid’s passport has to be renewed, the Employment Contract can only make application after the new passport is issued.

However, I know of one case where the maid upon receiving the new passport is able to apply for the Employment Contract immediately after receipt of the new passport. They were instructed to proceed to the Consulate for the issue of Employment Contract.

Usually this is not possible because the Consulate for issue of Employment Contract only opens in the morning between 9am to 12 noon and the collection of new passports only in the afternoon.

One more observation: the Embassy does not provide services for photostating documents anymore.

If a document need to be photostated for processing, the applicant may proceed to the nearest shopping malls, such as Tanglin Mall or Lucky Mall. Then they can return with the photostated copy to submit the application.

It is really so inconvenient, maybe the Embassy should resume this service again?

4) Vaccination Certificate from Noratis (Website: www.notarise.gov.sg)

Depending on the type of activities that the maid may engage in when she returns home, the vaccination certificate can help her gain entry to places that she wants to go, like a wedding venue, shopping malls, etc.

So, the Vaccination Certificate is essential.

Procedures to obtain the Vaccination Certificate.

1) First the maid must open a new Singpass account. This can be done at most Community Centre.

If the application for a new Singpass is applied online, the code for activation of the Singpass will be sent to the registered address. The timeframe to receive the code can take up to 4 days. In addition, address can be updated if there is a change from the earlier address given to MOM.

When the Singpass Account is created, proceed to the website: noratis.gov.sg

Follow the step-by-step instructions. The Vaccination Certificate will be forwarded to the registered email address. The security code to activate the download of the Vaccination Certificate will also be sent to the same registered email address.

Download the Vaccination certificate accordingly and print hard copies and also in PDF format.

5) SG Arrival Card

For the maid to return speedily to Singapore, all travellers returning or arriving to Singapore have to make an electronic health declaration using the SG Arrival card with the ICA and it should be lodged 3 days prior to arrival. This can be done by the Employer on their behalf.

In conclusion, I hope this simple blog can help all concerned to get all the necessary documents to enable their maids to go back safely for their home leave and to return to Singapore without a hitch.

Happy holidays…Selamat berlibur semua kalian.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 13:35:00 +0000

My darling chinchilla Bubble

It had been now his first-month anniversary of his departure, the anniversary of my darling chinchilla Bubble who left me unexpectedly.

He came into my life out of the blue eight years ago. One day at the pet shop for my pet hamsters, I saw this little white sweet animal. He was so adorable, so charming and he ran to the front of the cage and put his tiny paws on the edge and looked at me intently.

That was when he won my heart. He was so cute and fluffy, and he could be my new pet when all my hamsters were gone. I took him out to cuddle but he wriggled a lot. Nonetheless, I made up my mind to bring him home to be my pet.

At home, I checked online for his cage and found one suitable sizable one, ordered and had it delivered to my flat in eagerness for his arrival.

Meanwhile. I called the pet shop to reserve him. After arranging for transport with my sister in law, we went the very next day to fetch him home to be part of my life.

Bubble was his name. He was a male white chinchilla, already seven months old. From calculation, I believed his birthday to be the same as mine: 25^th August.

Henceforth every year, we would celebrate our birthday together. He would get special treats and birthday wishes, even birthday gifts and New Year gifts from my sister.

It took me eight long years to get used to him and his changing habits.

Training him to pee at the right place took four years. In the beginning, he would pee under the cupboards, on my carpet and everywhere. It was quite frustrating because I let him out into the living room everyday from noon to 7pm. Every night it was considerable cleaning-up.

He loved to pee on the green carpet which I inherited from my late mum. Maybe the green colour reminded him of the grass land that he liked. When I could not stand the stench anymore, I enquired on the dry-cleaning fee to remove the stench.

It turned out that it was no small sum. In fact, it was more cost-effective to purchase another new one. So, my late mum’s carpet had to be discarded with a heavy heart. After further purchases of two brand-new carpets, I gave up the idea of the having any carpet for the living room.

Later, I found the clumping cat litter could be used. I placed them in a tray both in the living room and one in his cage. Ever since then, he knew how to pee in these trays and my four years struggles was at last resolved. I was so thrilled! Hallelujah! At long last!

This little rascal was no little docile darling. He like to bite everything. All my furniture from table, to bench, cupboards and even edge of walls were bitten and marred by him, sometime badly destroyed. Good news was that most of my furniture were not new, so it did not bother me a bit.

Yet he alone destroyed four electrical items. Once, he even bit the wire of the local internet connection and I had to contact the local service provider for repair. Sigh!

Every afternoon, he would wait outside the bedroom of my sister. When she came out, he would rush in, sometimes he was so swift that no one noticed. Only two hours later did I noticed that he was missing and then found out that he had entered her room quietly.

He also like to roam into the kitchen and the backyard. Once again, he would wait outside the kitchen door. When opened, he would hurry in and hopped onto the shelves and ventured to the back of the washing machine. Why he loved these dark places was to this day still a mystery to me.

He was somewhat a fussy eater. His diet varied from different fruits like strawberry, cherry tomato, grape to different type of nuts like walnut, pistachio, peanut and almond nut too.

If he adored it, he would consume it for a while. After that, he would stop eating them, and I had to consider what would be next for his new diet.

He of course ate the basic chinchilla food like hay, dried grass and herbs. At times, I would give him a slice of the red apple and he will dashed to eat it eagerly.

Most afternoon, he would take his naps behind some chairs, stools or cloth draping.

There were times when there was no sight of him for a few hours. When his absence was noticed, there was a frantic search around the flat, with agonised shouting “Bubble where are you?”

We searched for him all around the place, fearing the worst that he might have jumped out of the kitchen window nine storey down.

But he would appear from nowhere with that innocent expression, nevertheless to my total relief.

When we had our dinner around 6pm, he would remain at one corner yet always visible to me. He was so deep in thought and looked as if he was meditating.

When I had finished my dinner, I would catch him, but it was no easy task. I could not understand why he was so afraid of me even after eight years. He would run around the living room and I had to group our effort to trap him in a corner to catch him.

Only then he would jump onto my left shoulder. This was the best private time that we had together, watching TV and viewing the outside scene and I would chat chit with him, though It was me doing all the talking.

Around 7pm, I would walk to the cage with him on my left shoulder. Then I opened the top of the cage and he would jump into his cage. This was the usual daily routine, and he knew that it was time to return to his own space.

In his cage, I have installed a flying saucer wheel which I had it air flown from Canada. In the beginning few years, he would run onto this flying saucer for hours in the middle of the night and he certainly caused many disruptions to our sleep.

Needless to say, I received plenty of protests from my sister.

All in all, he was basically a healthy pet. Once he had diarrhoea after he ate the tip of the banana bunch which my sister harvested from the farm. I treated him with the medicine from the pet shop for a few weeks until he discovered. Another time he was unwell, probably flu, and he refused to eat or drink for a few days. But he recovered promptly.

This year, he contracted diarrhoea again, but it took him longer to get well.

He got weaker and weaker by the day. He slept a lot and hardly moved. It was this time that I realised that he had aged, and I had not noticed his failing health until then. I had begun mentally and emotionally to accept that he would leave me soon one day.

That day came on Tues 13 October 2020. Since he did not consume anything the last two days, I decided to get him milk. I went out to buy the milk and returned home around noon.

Hurriedly I brought him out to drink the milk. However, he only took a few deep gasps and one deep breath and then he was gone.

Apparently, he must have waited for my return to see him for the last time. Undoubtedly, he cared about bidding farewell with me before he departed for Chinchilla Rainbow land and I was grateful that I was with him in his last moment.

All in all, this written short record was a treasured recollection of how I met him, our times together with our ups and downs and of his final farewell.

To my darling chinchilla Bubble, thank you for all the joy , fun and all the wonderful memories of our times of you resting on my tummy in bed, of you standing on my left shoulder, of those times when I searched high and low in fear, searching in and out everywhere , wondering if you had fallen to the ground.

You had been a wonderful beautiful unforgettable part of my life. I do miss you greatly and I will remember you always. Bye bye Bubble, bye bye darling. Mummy miss you a lot.

DOB : 25 Aug 2012

DOD: 13 Oct 2020

Batam Family Trip of 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 07:12:00 +0000

The Family Trip 2018 might become a recurrent event of our family just like last year’s when 20 of us took an altogether trip to Penang for 4 days. Since then, most of us caught the travelling bug to take a trip together once a year.

So, this year's Family Camp 2018 was planned for a short 3 days 2 nights, inexpensive but entertaining trip to nearby Batam, Indonesia.

There won’t be much to explain about Batam, as many Singaporeans enjoyed regular one-day trip out of Singapore, just like a one-day shopping trip to Johore Bahru, the southern state of the West Malaysia.

On 27^th December 2018, we set off, 15 of us consisting of several families, their spouse and children. Leaving Harbourfront Centre on Horizon ferry was an uneventful but smooth sea journey to HarbourBay at the northern tip of Batam, thankfully to God for journey mercy.

The necessary immigration and custom clearances on both countries went smoothly. Soon we are on our way to the hotel at Nongsa Hill, the Nagoya Hill Hotel, a 4-star well-equipped urban hotel with a huge shopping mall with basement hypermart next to it.

After a quick “Padang” style Indonesian lunch across the street, we proceeded to do what was top on our agenda. Some went for local massages which were plentiful with prices and skills that ranged from each shop.

The others went shopping for bargain sneakers. For me, getting plenty supply of bottled water was top priority as I drank like a fish. I found to my pleasant surprise that the mineral water only was a fraction of the price in Singapore, including our favorite tropical fruits of soursop, dragon fruits, and papaya.

I spent only Singapore $5 for many large bottles of mineral water and some portions of cut fruit, and I could not help but laughed all the way back to the hotel.

Our dinner for the first night was at Golden Prawn Restaurant at Jalan Bengkong, next to Golden View Hotel.

The large dining area platform was built over the seawaters of the open sea. Before entering the main dining hall, it was expected to select the choice of live seafood in glass tanks and then instructing the cooks on the style of cooking.

After we settled down on a long table, we were entertained with complimentary live music band delighting us with Chinese songs and their own Indonesian hits, whilst we savoured the various type of seafood prepared in different styles.

For the second day, a 1-day tour around the island was planned. Most tourists believed that Batam was boring and dull, but if one would take the effort to explore the less unknown area of Batam, they would be in for a great surprise. For that’s was what we found out!

We went a long one-hour drive to the southern part of the island to view the Barelang Bridge, which is a chain of 6 bridges built to connect the many islands of Batam, Rempang, Galang and the Riau Islands, completed in 1997.

Barelang bridge is a cabled arch structural bridge of total length 835 metres and main span 245 metres. Some locals called the bridge “Jembatan Habibie “named after Dr Jusuf Habibie who oversaw the project construction. It was best to visit the bridge for unforgettable breathtaking sunset landscape, which we sadly missed for this trip but maybe someone might return in the future to connect the missing stunning scene.

From there, we proceeded to a quiet seaside restaurant at The Riverside Restaurant Kabil, Nongsa, Batam City, Riau Islands 29467, Indonesia.

It had been in existence for a long time, though unknown even to our local tour guide .

They served fantastic authentic tropical seafood like prawns, crabs, scallops which were caught fresh out of the sea and we all enjoyed the food and the experience tremendously.

Interestingly, we discovered that the entire sum for the lunch was only half of the price of the seafood restaurant from the previous night.

Fully satisfied, we then proceeded to visit a layer cake factory, called the Kueh Lapis, recommended by the young tour guide.

After a long drive, we arrived at the simple factory but found to our great amazement, that it was behind the seafood restaurant of the previous night. All of us gave such a loud shout and exclamation but the tour guide thought that we were so glad to visit the factory.

Nonetheless, several kueh lapis in various flavours were bought as souvenirs.

Next, we went to a nearby factory outlet, only 3 mins away. We spent quite some time to buy designer footwears, well known shawls and fashionable clothes and also got to even sample local Robusta coffee.

Our last dinner was at the famous Sup Ikan Yong Kee at No 5- 8, Jalan Engku Putri, Tering, Kota Batam. Each of us enjoyed an individual fish or seafood soup with local rice, accompanied with familiar dishes of the region.

During both 2 nights, we ended our day by relaxing at the hotel lobby lounge whilst listening to a lady singer who had a voice like Dione Warwick with accompaniment of a grand pianist.

The younger ones played Big 2 card games at the lounge corner, whilst the others drank martini and the like. We had a great time playing Big 2, though we did not pay in cash, but had them recorded on a paper for final payment after the games. I won a mere $6, a rare turning point for me as I lost too many times in many CNY card games.

The next day being the last day, some of us proceeded to a morning street market to purchase fresh local seafood to bring directly back home.

At noon on 29^th December 2018, we took a return Horizon ferry quickly and without harm ,back to Singapore, because of the grace of God with each of us bearing the wonderful memories of a pleasant family time whilst reminding each other for the forthcoming Family Camp of 2019, as well as with renewed and fresh expectations of many family trips for many many years to come.

All in one, we enjoyed terrific and excellent family time together. The atmosphere of Batam was lively and weather were bright and breezy.

The itinerary was well planned and orderly. The 4-star hotel met our expectations with comfortable spacious rooms, extensive choices of complementary breakfast, coupled with good courteous services of the hotel staff.

Lastly, many thanks to those who organized and planned this whole trip, Patrick, David and myself being the main organizers and all others who helped here and there, in big and small ways including good suggestions and objective remarks to make this trip to Batam a great success and unforgettable memory of our time life.

Family taking a group photo against the backdrop of Barelang Bridge, Batam, Indonesia

At Riverside Restaurant, some of us ventured to catch live seafood from the open sea on wooden plaform.

( Watch the video )

My view of a balanced Christian Church in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 05:08:00 +0000

My view of a balanced Christian Church in Singapore

With many thousands of churches in Singapore ranging from the traditional to the contemporary, so diverse in style and background, yet each upholding the central focus of worshipping the only One True God, Jesus our Lord, how then does a new Christian find the most balanced Church here?

Each church has both its strength and its weaknesses, so they can appeal to some but are unsuitable to another. By and large, they appear similar to each other but they are subtly distinct with their own individual qualities.

That’s the reason why I write this blog.

As a Christian for many years going through stages, changes and major crossroads of life, I had attended at least 10 churches ever since my youth, to schooling years, to adulthood and then now during my graying years.

The churches varied from Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Evangelical and to Anglican. In Boston which I lived for 1 year, some 30 years ago, I attended the Vineyard Fellowship led by the late John Wimber.

However, there had been a period of 10 years plus when I did not attend any Church service, not for the reason of drifting away from my faith but rather due to my inability to attend as a result of many years of prolonged illnesses that impeded me.

Yet during those trying ‘desert’ years, I managed to attend every Friday, a prayer meeting at a Methodist church in Serangoon Gardens for simple fellowship and for God’s divine healing.

Recently, the leader of this prayer meeting himself had personal health issue, being almost 90 of age and the meeting occasionally was suspended. In addition, after more than 7 years, I found myself outgrew their role. So, I took an interim break for a couple of months, wondering where to go next.

One Sunday morning in Sept 2017, I was going home from grocery shopping, walking up the pedestrian ramp opposite my home, suddenly and unexpectedly, I felt the strong desire to attend a church service in a nearby church only 6 bus stops away, which I bore a deep longing to attend since 10 years ago but was unable to.

Quickly, I made some simple adjustments to my usual Sunday schedule and the next Sunday, found me going alone to attend this church service.

After attending this church, namely St John’s-St Margaret’s Church in Dover Avenue for the first time, I have to say that I admire this church tremendously and hold her in high regards.

If I have to give it a ranking on the scale of 1 to 10, I will give it without hesitation: 10 points.

Fantastic!!! This is just the church that I have found to be balanced and sensible, absolutely Bible- centred and certainly down to earth.

Below are the reasons why I find them worthy to be mentioned in this blog:

1. This Church is extremely Bible- based. The preaching of the Bible and its teachings is central to its Church services, a church that has not deviated from the core principles of the main stream Christian faith.

2. This Church is a praying church. Every Sunday, the Church will devote much time in corporate prayers. I also understand that the Vicar himself is a praying pastor.

3. The folks who attend the church are mainly middle- class and middle- age and this suits me. To me, this is the right assembly, too young, it becomes too juvenile. Too old, everyone falls asleep!

4. Their worship services are mix of traditional hymns with modern contemporary songs. Though I do not know the latest worship songs, they are God-centered, not self-centered, catchy enough and appealing for anyone to pick up promptly.

One thing about the worship service is that there is no rock and roll band with heavy guitar playing whilst the worshippers jumping up and down like kangaroo, as if they are attending a gym class. This makes the church service rowdy and distracting from focusing true worship to God.

But the worship session of SJSM is well controlled, orderly and respectful.

5. They serve Holy Communion twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. In the book of 1 Corinthians Chapter 11, Jesus says to remember His death as often as we can. Hence, twice a month is undeniably better than once a month as practiced by other churches.

6. Their sermons are short and sweet which are all Bible based. They are timed to be just right, about 25 mins. Too long and ha, some will dream off.

7. I like their practice of collecting the weekly tithe and offering with the offering bags brought to the foot of the Cross at the altar and are laid there. To me, this act is very significant and very touching.

8. After attending the church services for more than 4 months, I have never once heard any pastor or anyone asking for money or more fund in spite of their urgent need to raise fund to build a new village comprising of a $80 million nursing home with elder care and childcare for the next 3 years.

9. They do not preach Prosperity Gospel. To me, prosperity Gospel is not the True Gospel. The True Gospel of Jesus is to save, to heal and to restore mankind to God.

Some churches that I had attended would urged the members to give more and yet more, always saying that God would bless with 100 folds return.

Who are we to expect God to bless 100 folds? The Bible mentions about returns of 30, 60 and 100 folds. The amount of blessing lies with God, not the preacher!

Jesus Himself was never wealthy when He was on earth though He could have everything and every wealth on this earth. Yet Jesus chose to live a humble life, focusing on doing His Father’s will.

Nonetheless, I like to mention that blessing and great wealth from God is never wrong, but should never be the focus of our giving.

10.The Church believes in divine healing and the full manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Many times, during worship services, there are words of knowledge, visions and the like. They are to guide, to counsel, to encourage and to bless us along the journey of our lives whatever God gives us individually.

After every service, those who need prayer can proceed to the Altar for ministry time.

It’s surprising to note that some churches, even mega churches are lacking in this area.

Lastly, I like to mention that the points mentioned above are not conclusive as I carry on to attend the services and may discover additional worthy facts.

To me, this is the most balanced Christian Church in Singapore.

To everyone reading this blog, most welcome, happy reading but only positive feedbacks are welcome.

Worthy Mention:

I like to mention that the ministry of the leader of the prayer meeting in the Methodist Church had helped me tremendously. After many healing sessions in the time frame of about 7 years, my health was marginally restored .

Great thanks from the bottom of my heart to God and to Brother Yan. I will remember what God and what he has done , I will definitely remember with much gratitude forever.

Guide to first time buyers of home properties in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 08:24:00 +0000

Guide to first time buyers of home properties in Singapore

Many people and many younger of the population will find themselves once in their lives be involved to choose a property unit, whether it is for their own use or as a family unit whilst living with their parents.

Hence it is essential for all involved to cultivate the knowledge and experience to choose effectively and choose well.

On the overall, some have selected well and perfectly. Bravo!! Others somewhat have chosen quite correctly in one area but inadequately in another.

Yet many others have inadvertently made bad choices and choose units that they find to their shock and dismay, heaps of unforeseen problems that result from their wrong choices that hurt and harm them and their lifestyle for many years to come.

As a result, I choose to write this blog to offer a free guide to all, having been in the property line for many years.

Having also help many family members and close friends to select properties ranging from bungalows, to condominiums, private apartments to HDB properties, I like to share a few pointers.

Time and again, I find that numerous individuals will make the similar recurring mistake over and again.

Fortunately, for those who take my advice, they have eventually progressed on to resell them at good prices making a handsome profit.

Some are thankful for the advice that they have received and they live peacefully in good and pleasant environment, even to this day.

For those who refuse my advice, sadly and regrettably they suffer for their poor judgements to this date. Too bad, friend…just too bad!

So, anyone choosing to buy the first property in Singapore can follow the next simple guidelines and one can certainly not go wrong.

LOCATION

To begin with, the correct choice of the property is choosing the best location. Location, location, location first, always the top priority to abide.

Location is utmost priority No. 1, for sure, no. 1 ranking in terms of ranking of all priorities!

Choose a property in the location that suits your life, your lifestyle, your career and proximity to your workplace and to your family’s home.

So, let’s say, if you live in the East and are used to activities in the East, so it’s best to choose a site that you are familiar with and that you feel comfortable with, right?

Next look out for available nearby sites of the chosen location for HDB flats, condominiums or private properties.

BUDGET

Choose the type of property according to your budget and affordability. Do not overstretch yourself for in years to come, the property can become a financial burden and in your lifestyle and in your future life. Evaluate and calculate wisely and prudently. Don’t try to catch up with the Joneses, so they say!

Request and enquire further of the mortgage plan from several banks before deciding. If buying a private property, there is higher cash out to be lodged for deposit as according to Singapore Government’s guideline. You can also enquire more from a housing agent.

Remember do not calculate so tightly that you have no spare cash. You must allow yourself ample cash for many unseen future costs, like renovation costs, moving costs, stamp duty and lawyer’s fee. There are many hidden and unseen costs, so be beware!

CHOICE OF HOUSE AGENT

Now, you may want to engage the service of a house agent to help with the purchase. These agents have more contacts and networking to help find the most suitable units for you.

If you are looking for a property in a newly launched condo or property, there are appointed agents who can help you.

Just a word of caution here. The choice of agents is also very important. Get an agent who has done some sales for a friend or a family member. They will protect your interest more. Ask them about the commission that they expect upon successful purchase.

Usually it is 1% to 2% of the sales price for private properties from the seller only. Buyer of private property do not have to pay commission.

For HDB property, it is 1% of the sale price for the buyer and 2 % for the seller.

Bear this in mind: these agents can only help with the right connections to the right properties or desirable unit.

Choosing the right unit is your responsibility as you know what you want and what’s best for you and your lifestyle. Do not let any agent choose the unit that they fancy but not what you fancy!

SITE AND HOUSE VISIT

Upon locating the prospective unit, go for a house and site visit.

Ask yourself these few questions:

1) Do you like your surroundings? Too near school, too near to the road, too many factories nearby, MRT track in sight, buildings of worship are also important factors for there will be public loitering around your property due to religious activities and their celebration and religious day.

2) Do you like the appearance of the property? Too modern, too dated, too dirty, even colour of the property is very important to some people because of some belief or personal likes or dislikes.

ORIENTATION

The orientation of the unit to the East- West sun is noteworthy. Ask for the direction of rising sun and the direction that it sets. Usually try to avoid unit that faces the West or the setting sun as it is hotter in the afternoon. Units that face the West will be hotter.

Choose unit that faces the morning sun. It is good to have sun for morning period as the sun will help brighten the unit and will freshen up any mouldy environment. Unit that gets morning sun will be cleaner and more refreshing.

Always avoid a unit that get both the morning and afternoon, a unit that is not planned along the East West Orientation. Some condo units are not best planned with this golden orientation as they are designed within a small restricted site area, causing some units being unable to be planned to the correct orientation. So, pay extra attention and be careful on this point.

Most HDB flats are planned with the correct East- West Orientation due to the immensity of land area given for urban planning of the whole estate and town. I can safely say that a high percentage of HDB flats are planned correctly to the EW orientation.

NOISE FACTOR

Next: Is the unit too noisy being too close to major road, expressway and even MRT tracks? These are important factors because these contribute major noise throughout the day and even night and it can upset one’s lifestyle, especially if there is an elderly or a baby living with you.

LAYOUT

Next: the layout of the unit is very important. There are many units that are not planned well or planned insufficiently for good interior layout or with much long corridors which are not useable to you.

One terrible layout I consider in present planning of units is the lack of Yard. Many of the modern condo units are designed without a yard, which cause the kitchen to have no opening or window. Hence there is no direct ventilation of the kitchen when cooking one meal but every odour from cooking will have to ventilate through the living area to the outside space.

Due to non-provision of yard area, the washer/dryer is located along the lower kitchen cabinet. Hence one has synchronised their cooking and washing to be at different time.

I have seen such unit with non- provision of yard area in which the owner has no choice but to dry their clothes in the balcony beside the living room. I find this arrangement to be unacceptable and ridiculous as some such units cost a 7 digit dollars property (more than a million dollars) and yet the owner must live with their laundry in their exclusive balcony area which is meant for relaxing and entertaining!!

ADDITIONAL FACTOR

Also, items like location of the playground area and BBQ area are important factors for the choice of the unit. These are public areas that create noise and unwanted smell. Decide if they can be acceptable to you and your family.

If buying a resale unit, you may have to consider the renovation costs. But if the unit is brand new, most of the built-in cabinets in the kitchen and bedrooms will be included in the sale price. Even new condo will provide fridge, washing machine on top of the usual oven hob and cooker with the kitchen cabinets.

BUILDING SPECIFICATIONS

Lastly, read the building specification carefully before signing the dot.

CHOOSE AFTER FEW SITE VISITS

One last word of advice: if you like the unit very much, do not commit immediately. Visit the chosen unit at different times of the day and night including viewing them at weekends to observe the surrounding environment and ambience to further help with the decision.

Best success to your house hunting!

A Tribute to Lee Kuan Yew

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 13:33:00 +0000

The biggest salute I can give to the greatest leader who visions this tiny nation to its present day.

Without your courage and leadership, I cannot be who I am today.

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

You are always on my mind. ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

..............................................................

What can I say but pen these word? Today as he lies in ICU at SGH, he alone deserves this mementos. Yes, it’s truly from the bottom of my heart. I have to pen it before I have to weep, to weep for a man so great and so different whose life creates so much for me and all of my loved ones in this land.

These are some words for me to remember by and must be on record for all who share my thoughts. It’s on record for me to reminisce to the end of my life yet also for those who may not live through the early years of lack, times of suffering and of hopelessness.

Short that this blog may be, but surely it will touch many true Singaporean’s heart like yours and mine.

He and his many strange policies have been a part of my life from the age of 9. No one including me ever expect that though with unwilling submission and sometime even with unforgettable oversights, we as a nation be capable to evolve to this significance and height, from an era of a peaceful unknown little isle to a homeland that no one can snub. No one can expect this tiny nation to become so impressive and so unique. Yes, isn’t it so?

Yes, we are all uniquely Singapore, uniquely Singaporean as a nation, uniquely Singaporean in our little humble ways, in our diverse racial beginnings, uniquely in our history of unsought separation, uniquely now Singaporean and ours in every way.

So, this brief blog is my heartfelt sincere honor for our nation's founder who has steered this nation through ups and downs, who brings much extremes to both young and old, who produces much revered outcomes for all, who foresees like a seasoned prophet excellent visions of the looming changes of time, who undeniably makes this nation so prominent and so undoubtedly a first-class ideal that nations with superpower rank have found us hard to forget.

So thank you, thank you, thank you so much, MM Lee Kuan Yew. You are always on my mind, ALWAYS AND FOREVER .

By a grateful Singaporean and fan forever.... Ms YH Tan

Be sure to try this Cancer Plant

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 05:07:00 +0000

Be sure to try this Cancer Plant

To all cancer patients and everyone who want to prevent it, there are unquestionably further organic remedies and natural therapies than known by the medical world of the modern day.

Often and day by day, we stumble upon accounts and true stories of courageous people when endeavoring out natural remedies for their illnesses and of their success stories of these survivors who had trodden the unknown path.

When someone unfortunately contracts this undesirable sickness, no one should let go of any iota of chance of attempting unproven method in the eyes of the medical world but these can be major breakthroughs that bring a turning point of their lives for those who dare to try and to have a go at it. Well, as the saying: no one really knows!

Yes, I am talking about a known natural cure known to some simple local folks of the yesteryears but scorn by the highly educated and medical science of the modern world.

Right, one of my friends has discovered an orthodox but easy cure for cancer. This is not my personal experience and I have not tried them as I do not have cancer at all.

But as I have to repeat this again, everyone who is desperate for the breakthrough cure for cancer should not let this pass. Have a go at it!! Have a go at it, you never know!!!

Recently, a friend whom I knew from the past contacted me out of the blue. After relating her update on her life, she encouraged me to speak to her husband who was about 10 years older than her.

In the last few months, he had discovered by sheer accident that he had terminal cancer. No pain, no symptoms, no whatsoever, he had simply carried his life without a hitch until recently. He lived his life as normal and could eat and sleep normally.

Because of a sports injury, he went to carry out a MRI on his spine.

The MRI had brought a dismal but unexpected turning point in his life. He was told by the results of the MRI findings that there were many lumps in his human organs. More medical tests and further consultations later, the doctors concluded that he had terminal prostate cancer.

At home, he thought about his recent event developing in his life. Out of the blue which I believed, by God's guidance, he received an inspiration about a local plant that he had faithfully grown and taken care of for many years.

He had prior knowledge that this plant was known to help cancer patients for years but he had never expect to consume them. This plant that he took care of innocently for umpteen years turned out to be the most rewarding and most important personal effort for him.

So he decided to give it a try and take the risk. He started to consume the leaves of the plant in its raw form every day, about 10 to 15 leaves each time.

After 3 months of this simple treatment, he proceeded for his check up and blood test. To the utter and complete surprise of the doctor and to my friend, the cancer marker fell 99% to almost zero.

Let me now elaborate on this plant, two of its species are found and grown locally here in Singapore and Malaysia.

These species available in Singapore and the neighboring countries are called "Pereskia Bleo", the one with the orange flower or “ pereskia grandifolia”, the one with the purple flowers.

It's a bushy shrub or small tree that can grow to a high height of 2 to 8 metres in the open fields. The purple flower species is known as "pereskia grandifolia" has longer but lesser thorn on its stem with thicker uncorrugated leaves. The orange flower species is called “pereskia Bleo” has shorter thorns with thinner and corrugated leaves.

Both species belong to the botanical family of cactaceae . It is a leafy cactus, native to the forests of Central America that can grow to a woody, prickly high shrub with large attractive flowers that resembles orange blossom.

They have been used by the natives of Central America for the treatments of many minor ailments. The locals in Singapore and Malaysia called them “Jarum Tujuh Bilah “

Because of the thorns on their stems, they should therefore be grown in places where it will not hurt children or elderly. It needs plenty of sunlight and normal watering every day. However do not add any fertisilser to the plant, let it grow naturally with just strong sunlight and plenty of clean water.

Both pereskia bleo and pereskia grandifolia have been used as natural remedies for cancer related diseases, either eaten raw or taken as a concoction brewed from the leaves of the plants. They are believed to be anti-cancer, anti- tumor, anti- rheumatic, anti- ulcer and anti- inflammatory properties.

They are also used as remedies for relief of headaches, gastric pain, ulcers, hemorrhoids, dermatitis and for revitalizing the body.

In addition, they have been used as a water purifier, insect repellant, hypertension, diabetes, stomach and gastric pain.

Some of their Common names are: Chinese Rose, Wax Rose, Spinach Cactus, Desert Rose and Rose Cactus.

Please read other related articles on the toxicity of the plants before consuming the right amount each day.

Ref:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2881650/

Because of this incident, I have purchased two pots of plants from a nursery in Sembawang Road for only S$5 per plant. Now I take good care of it every day and tell everyone of what I have discovered so that many more can be enlightened to spread the discovery to help many more.

As for me, I will boil the leaves of this plant, about 5 to 10 leaves. After consuming it, I drink a cup of warm green tea.

That’s all I have to share. I hope that this can bring someone a turning point to his or her health to those who choose to walk the unknown path that may be a breakthrough to their health and to their illnesses.

Additional info

In early 2018, I stumbled upon 2 huge Pereskia Bleo plants at Blk 11, Holland Drive. They are both fully and well grown, mature and ready for consumption. The photos are shown below:

How to renew Indonesian's domestic maid's passport DIY with updated info on Feb 26,2019

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 09:34:00 +0000

How to renew Indonesian domestic maid’s passport DIY without an agent’s help

Updated with new information on Feb 26, 2019

In the past when a maid needed to renew their passport, it was typical that we would approach a maid agent to carry out the necessary.

In the most recent case of our Indonesian maid having to renew her passport here in Singapore, I decided to DIY and to find out the procedures which from hearsay was uncomplicated and extremely straight forward.

Henceforward I could save paying a fee to the agent and for all future cases, I could thus renew the passports of future maids without a hitch.

For anyone interested to DIY like me, foremost before proceeding, please check on the expiry date of your maid’s work permit and her passport.

Normally , it was advisable by the Embassy that the passport should be renewed at least 2 weeks before the expiry of the work permit, not the expiry of her passport or whichever expire earlier.

Before the actual day , one must get ready all the necessary documents and to choose a suitable date.

Consequently, on 8 July 2014, our maid together with the Employer mentioned in the work permit went together with myself for this matter.

We chose Tuesday as Monday, being all Mondays were often crowded everywhere because of the weekends.

These are the following documents to bring along:

1) Form PERDIM 11 form which can be downloaded from the Embassy website (http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy5051/ OR http://kemlu.go.id/singapore/Pages/AboutUs.aspx?IDP=51&l=en ) or obtain one from the counter upon arrival. Just get the maid to fill it in as it is in Indonesian language, but make sure she fill it with black ink pen.

2) One photocopy of Employer’s I/C ( front and back)

3) One photocopy of maid’s passport, front and back page and also bring the original passport

4) One copy of her Singapore work permit (front and back) and also the original work permit.

5) You can bring along other form of identifications like Driver’s license, EZ link card, etc. This is to help you submit one ID at the security counter while you bring the original work permit or passport or I/C to the counter for the renewal.

That’s all the documents you need to bring. Remember to bring cash ( S $38) for the payment of the new passport. It seems that they do not accept credit cards, or Nets.

THE DAY OF RENEWAL OF PASSPORT

Take note of the Embassy address:

Indonesian Embassy in Singapore

No: 7, Chatsworth Road

Singapore 249761

( Between Botanic Gardens and Redhill MRT) besides Tanglin Road.

Telephone (+65) 6737-7422

Telefax (+65) 6737-5037

E-mail info@indonesianembassy.sg

Website: www.kemlu.go.id/singapore/

On that date, set out early. Be ahead of time so that you can park your car along the side road of the Embassy which has limited space but be prepared that you may get an illegal parking ticket.

It may be more convenient to go by taxi and also then return by taxi . Getting a taxi along the main road of the Embassy is effortless as many people will arrive there by taxi and you can easily get one to go back. In addition, you can also radio a taxi or use Mobileapps like Grabtaxi.

The Embassy opens on normal business day at 9am to 12 noon (Monday to Friday except PH) for passport renewal.

But when you arrive, you will find that there may be already a short queue at the security guard’s post.

Upon clearing the security, proceed to the first floor waiting area at the main building. There is sufficient signage to guide you there.

Upon entering, take a queue number and wait to be called at Counter 1, 2 and 3. You can wait at the reception area for your number. Meanwhile, you can use the restrooms located on the same floor.

Unless you are first five in the line, you may take your breakfast at the canteen which is located just behind the reception area in the outside garden area ( 5 metres away)

Simple breakfast should cost you about S$6 each. The waiting time to submit the passport renewal should take about 10 mins to 30 mins depending on the queue and your queue number.

Please note that you need not be present at this renewal submission as the maid should be able to carry it out on her own as it is very simple.

After the maid has submitted the documents to the counter and all things being in order, she will be given a form for collection of the new passport with the date of collection stated on it.

Usually, the collection date should be 3 days later in the afternoon only (between 2.30pm to 5pm except PH) and from the same counters.

Since the application was made on Tuesday morning, hence the collection day would be on Friday afternoon.

For collection of domestic worker passport, a work agreement must be produced. The work agreement is issued by Consular Department (second floor of the Indonesian Embassy) after the domestic worker and her employer are interviewed by our officer.

Before proceeding to the second floor, the maid must pay at the cashier’s counter for the passport renewal which costs S$38 for 48 pages passport.

After that, she must wait at the reception area again to wait her name to be called into the Biometric Room for her thumbprint and her signature.

After all these matters are fulfilled, only then will the Employer needs to proceed with the maid to the 2^nd storey of the same building for a short interview for work agreement.

When both of you reach the 2^nd storey, take another queue number and wait. The Embassy staff will call both of you thereafter for a short interview when they will enquire about her current pay and her off days. The whole interview takes less than 5 minutes.

By now, all matters are in order, just wait again at the reception before the Embassy staff will return to you the collection form duly cleared and in good order.

Now after all this, you and your maid can go back, which in our case, the whole procedure only takes 1 to one half hours.

ON THE DAY OF COLLECTION

Three days later, your maid can go alone to the Embassy following the same procedure at the same premise to collect her new passport.

The new passport can also be collected by the Employer, the maid herself or someone with the same address of the Employer with an authorization letter.

Remember to bring the collection form.

You can only collect the passport in the afternoon (Monday to Friday except PH) between 2.30pm to 5pm.

The whole procedure to collect the passport is again very simple and fast with the passport collected in just 30 minutes.

UPDATED on Feb 26, 2019

Five years had since lapsed from my last visit to the Embassy. So, I was pleasantly surprised at some of the improvements in many areas during my recent visit to the Embassy on 26 Feb 2019.

Services improved/ changes/ Important matters to note

Please ensure that proper attire and suitable shoes were worn for both the Employer, the Domestic helpers and all visitors to the Embassy. Those who wore slippers like flip-flop would definitely be turned away, hence it could unnecessarily be a wasted fruitless trip.

At the security guard post, following the security check-in, a label sticker with barcode and photo of the visitor would be issued. This should be displayed on one’s clothing’s by pasting the sticker on the front of one’s body throughout the visit inside the Embassy.

Immediately you should proceed to queue up at the new modest bench counters adjacent to the security post, with the right-side counter for passport and visa application and the left side counter for all consular matters.

The duties of these 2 staffs for these counters would be to check all your documents to ensure that all forms and attachments were correct before you could proceed to the main building to continue the necessary applications.

All the necessary queue number for the appropriate application would presently be issued by these 2 counter staffs, hence cutting down the mad rush for the queue number as in the past.

I later found out that the queue number on the monitor screen in the main hall of passport/visa section at the first storey was the same as the monitor screen of the consular section on the second storey. These monitor screens for all queues were operated concurrently.

For those who were applying for both passport matters and also getting the contract agreement on the second storey, there was no need to get another queue number at the second storey because it would be issued after the applicant for the passport had completed the biometric scan in the biometric room at the first storey.

Another improvement for the passport section, the passport could be collected one day earlier than before. Hence since the passport application was made on Tuesday, the collection was made possible on Thursday, not Friday.

Nonetheless for the contract agreement at second storey, there was a requirement to apply with another different form obtained from the receptionist, where the Employer should declare the amount of salary of the domestic helper and the number of off-days.

PERFORMANCE BOND

Since Feb 1, 2018, Employers of new Indonesian

domestic workers would be required to furnish a Performance Bond of $6000 to the Embassy to ensure that the Employers would abide by the terms of the employment contract issued by the Embassy. The aim was to improve protection for the workers, the bond premium being $74.90 inclusive of GST.

This could be a paperless submission with immediate issuance of the letter of guarantee, however payment was strictly by credit card.

For those domestic helpers who had worked many years in Singapore with a monthly salary of $600 per month or higher and 2 Sundays off-day per month would be exempted.

Some Important Note

For the interview with the Consular staff for the contract agreement, diligent attention to the calling of the queue number must be maintained.

The reason was that the monitor screen could announce 5 running numbers at the same time. If for some reasons, it was missed, then a new queue number must be obtained at the Consular queue back at the security post.

This happened to me as I unknowingly missed my queue number being called and had to walk back to the security post at the Consular queue to obtain a new queue number. This alone caused the queue number to increase from number 13 to number 29, hence a loss of 15 minutes.

During the interview, if the Employer could not be present, another person of the same address could act on behalf. It was advisable to bring the original IC of the Employer, including a letter of authorisation.

In my case, the letter of authorisation was requested by the officer. Fortunately, I had prepared the letter of authorisation, just in case if required and it definitely turned out to be extremely handy and useful.

After the short interview, the contract agreement would be prepared and made ready for prompt collection at the receptionist at the second storey.

KPIS CARD

One last matter. In the past, the domestic helper would have to apply for an Indonesia-Singapore Worker’s card ( Kartu Pekerja Indonesia-Singapura KPIS) when they returned to Indonesia for their home leave and they had to apply for this KPIS card at the nearest office in their hometown.

The card was to facilitate them when they leave their country for without it, they could not leave Indonesia. However, the application at their hometown could be very tedious as I understood that it might require several trips, hence hardly productive for sure!

Now the greatest change was that the local Embassy at Singapore had brought this service to the doorstep of the domestic workers, i.e. here at the local Embassy in Singapore.

Thus, as soon as the contract agreement matters were attended to, the domestic worker should go immediately to the room beside the receptionist for the making of this card and it would be FREE. It could be ready in about 10 minutes.

Sample of the card could be seen below.

That's all, folks. Hope this blog can help you greatly .Take care and thanks for visiting this blog.

From Ms Yeowhwa Tan aka Tan Yeow Hwa

In memory of my little hamster friends.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 08:23:00 +0000

I never know that a little friend like a pet animal can hold so much power and

influence over mankind until recently.

In the last 3 years, I acquire the joy of rearing hamster as pet. Yes, I raise cute adorable little hamsters of all kinds from Roborovskis to local black, sapphire and white winter Russian one including yellow Pudding too.

I wake up each morning to a “good morning’ greeting to them and that’s how my day jumpstarts with the pleasure and the excitement of their presence.

Almost daily, I clean them up so that they become spick and span, smelling better than the night before.

With every cleaning task, I begin to understand their absolute trust and total dependence they have, with me being their owner and giant buddy.

They depend entirely on me to take care of their needs, to feed them and to fill up their food bowls and water bottles regularly.

Without me, they cannot go far and cannot live well. Hmm, that’s a huge responsibility which by now I see!

These give me a tinge of greater understanding of every parent has towards their wards, which as a trustworthy guardian will take care of all their matters concerning these helpless brood.

How well they fare, how far they go in their individual lives and how well taken care of are all fully in my total command.

Hence my little pets instil the sense of responsibility as any parent has into me.

It’s the little joy and the fun of this guardianship that keeps me on. Each time as I look at them, they just simply soften me and gladden my heart and they bring out the gentleness in me as a mother will tender her tiny babe.

My little friends are so unique and so distinctive. They are my little companions as they give me much comfort after my late mother’s death.

They accept me as I am, do not complain for all I do for them except for their annoyed bites or nervous squeals if they are displeasured.

They never once despise me or look down at me as some man or woman may , they never once question my motive or my intention, they have complete confidence in me , with the full assurance that all that I do are for their best.

They are always there for me, make me de-stress and relax when I feel frustrated and angry.

Each time I spend time with them, they make me laugh in the midst of uncertainty, they entertain me as a clown can and they bring out the tender side of me. I play with them after each dinner and they have now become my ‘after-dinner mints’.

One favorite hamster, Moonie will sleep on my tummy every afternoon when I take a nap. Another favorite one , Luki will play with a plastic ball that has an inbuilt bell, so especially in the morning during my waking up moment, she reminds me of a morning rooster that crows as my morning alarm clock.

Numerous deaths and four pregnancies remind me about the cycle of life.

Together in all, I have about 14 babies from them. The most exciting is when one yellow Pudding hamster named Dili reproduces with one black male one, Roy Roy.

Their babies are 3 grey, one male and 2 female and one black female one. These events teach me about reproduction of life and about hereditary chromosomes and whatnot, more than the theoretical biology lesson of the school.

My first encounter with their first birth came unexpectedly. Whilst cleaning one cage of Cutie one morning, I briefly saw some crawling red ‘worm like’ things. For a brief moment, I thought that they were maggots that sprouted from last night veggies which I gave to them.

Looking closely again gave me a jolt as there were five wriggling rosy worm- like tiny babies, so I shouted loud enough to catch the attention of the whole household.

With all these experiences, several neighbors soon became my fan or rather the fan of my hamsters. So over the gate of my apartment, I gave them quick biology lessons on the difference between male and female hamsters, and about the genetic lineage of the mixed parentage.

When my young neighbors had troubles with their hamsters, they would consult me to how to find their lost hamster, on how to feed when they were sick, so I rewarded them with these babies to be their pets.

One thing that these hamsters teach me is their constant fight to stay alive. If anyone put them together that have different smell or are of different type, they will fight for their own space and own territory.

When bathing one hamster once, I inadvertently almost drowned it but it would not give up its life. It turned blue, and bluer but it still would not give up. It gasped for air and more air, drawing in air, in and out with a loud hissing sound, in and out for a long time whilst I held my breath but eventually, it survived to live on again for a few more months though definitely, this episode gave me a fright but also gave me a valuable lesson on the value of each life.

All my hamsters have names such as Moonie, Minnie, Ashley, Cody, Lin Lin, Silver, Wiki, Puteh, Happy, Rusty, Randy, Dodi, Dili , Cutie, Sweetie, Luki, Roy Roy and so many other which I have forgotten by now but every name is recorded in one register notebook.

All in all, these little creatures provide me with companionship, give a listening ear when I want to voice out my secret thoughts, comfort me when I need some cheer, makes me more patient and more tolerant and give me a sense of achievement after all.

So thank you all my little hamster friends, for all the joy and pleasure and thank you for a great lasting memories of another phase of my life when they are so special and so precious as a worthy matchless treasure of mine.

Thank you, all my darling hamsters. I love you all very much. To all the memories of all these darling, I salute them all.

Tracing a bit of our Roots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Following our memorable visit to Xiamen, PRC last November to meet our long lost paternal cousins, we recognized that we had to locate the burial graves of our parental late grandparents here in Singapore. In the past, our late mother would bring some of us to pay respects dutifully at their graves during Ching Ming Festival each year some 30 years ago.

Slowly many of us including our late mum neglected these yearly visits due to personal reasons. In retrospect, someone from the family should have followed up on these visits to keep in touch with our roots but sadly none did. Hence we realized dreadfully that the roots of our family line would be lost forever.

In addition to that, with the recent announcement by LTA on the mandatory acquisition of partial land of Bukit Brown Cemetery near Lornie Road by January 2013 for a new expressway, there was a revival of sentiment to locate the graves of our late grandparents so as to ensure that their graves were not moved or disturbed without our knowledge.

So with all these reasons led us to one scouting session in October.

We met on the morning of Oct 26, 2012, the Friday being a public holiday in Singapore for all who were interested to meet at the main gate of the cemetery ground.

A total of twelve of us including two maids and children altogether congregated at the main baroque entrance pillars under lovely sunny weather in long attires and mosquito repellants. After a short prayer for safety, all present headed off with much gusto and high spirit.

We were to search amongst the 100,000 graves for the family name of “Tan” from the district of Tong Ann in Xiamen, the year of demise believed to be around 1929 or 1933.

With no trace of their actual names or the year proper, we combed meticulously at every tombstone for the name of our late father “Cheng Hong” which would be imprinted at the peripheries being names of existing descendants.

After a few rounds of mistakes and trials and errors, we begun to streamline and quicken the search by bringing our cars round the cemetery grounds and would only alight if there were more telltale evidences.

The whole cemetery compound was quite sizeable with many winding track roads that our hiking of many kilometers on the flat path coupled the roaming hills made us almost like a passionate golfer seeking intently for a missing golf ball.

We quickly found that the entire area had grown considerably over the years of a long history spanning more than 100 years and had become a thick forested tropical jungle of numerous huge shady heritage trees; some so large with their branches so superb that sturdy bird nest ferns and delicate white orchids with tiny leaves would hang intermittently from their robust tree trunks.

After few hours of ups and downs in the hunt amidst serene environment on forested slopes, with countless intense investigations at innumerable Chinese tombstones which were surrounded by peculiar guardian stone creatures of all kinds soon found ourselves giving up at noon.

A bit of the family history for record was that we knew that our late father was born in 1918 in Tong An near Xiamen, Southern China and was educated there until he came to Singapore with his parents and two sisters at the tender age of 8.

The British Empire was ruling Singapore at that time and our late father’s arrival from China was only documented on 18 August 1947 in a landing permit card from the Immigration Dept of the Colony of Singapore as seen below.

After a few years in Singapore, our late grandparents acquired some wealth with ownership in rubber plantations and fishing kelong with reasonable collection of opulent jewelry.

Grandfather then passed on when my late father was 15; hence it was believed that GF died around 1933. Two months later, grandmother passed on too, but she was not buried jointly with her spouse.

Instead her instruction was to have her buried directly opposite her earlier departed partner, both being buried singly and both buried facing each other on opposite hills. It seemed that both of our grandparents had a fierce clash that caused the final decision to be buried separately.

Another point of interest was that earlier in the last few months, brother in law Francis with his wife, Amy had beforehand visited the place several times and they had stumbled across many stunning wildlife.

They spotted one monitor lizard of considerable size, some exotic butterflies in sunset hues and one blue and white colored kingfisher.

Last of all, at long last at noon of that day, we had to suspense the search as all efforts was like hunting for a tiny needle in a haystack or as the Chinese’s saying said: we were like a person seeking for a needle in the wide ocean of the world.

To reward ourselves for our hard work and effort, we proceeded to a sumptuous lunch nearby, with the thirsty and tired gulping down mugs of cold beers.

One consolation was that we found that there was one contingency plan. LTA would cremate the affected graves at their own cost and would keep the ashes individually in singular urns with proper identifications. Anyone could then examine these details with greater interest.

A 3 years’ time frame was given to the public to claim back the ash remains of the affected graves. If no claims were made when the deadline was due and these urns could not be returned to the rightful descendants, the unclaimed ashes would be scattered respectfully into the open sea after some modest religious rituals.

In conclusion, much thanks to all who participated in this venture to trace a bit of our Roots. Hip hip hooray!!

Growing organic the Singapore way.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Many years ago, one friend was searching for a vacant place here in Singapore to grow organic wheatgrass.

Her sister who had lived in France contracted one hereditary sickness so she wanted to consume wheatgrass juice on a regular basis and she wanted it fresh.

So she searched high and low for a tiny plot of land to grow this healthy sprout but to no avail. As she could not find them at that time, ultimately she grew the beneficial sprouts on small kitchen trays in the balcony of her HDB flat.

So I am extremely astonished to discover in the last few months that there are unoccupied lands here for all interested gardeners and enthusiasts to grow their own preference of crops and they can even have them grown organically.

In the north of this country just directly opposite a military golf course is this particular grassland where the vicinity has been historically used for solely agricultural purposes so far.

Through the times of development of Singapore in the course of the history of the nation and with the rapid invasion of newer HDB estates, this piece of land remains untouched, undisturbed and has not even been used for any commercial or industrial uses. Strange, isn’t it?

For that reason, this farming land remains unadultered by harsh chemicals or detrimental industrial fluids or that category of contaminated matters. Therefore so far, this land can be considered as pure organic land!

The huge piece of level land has been sub-divided into smaller plots of individual minor farm plots of about 120 sq metres each, all being reserved for individual rental at an affordable and reasonable monthly cost.

Every requirement for the general farming is adequate and present for the initial jump-start of a greenhorn farmer except only for the provision of water.

Water is made only available from the catchment of rain water of the natural sky. One has to improvise the use of one’s canvas roof and to guide the rain water from heavy downpour along inbuilt gutters and downpipes to one’s own water drums or self dug shallow ponds.

During hot weather of long period of drought, one must make numerous trips to the solitary available washroom only 100 metres away and to have the tap water transported on plastic pails for all-purpose watering or future storage for the next few days.

When my contact finds this piece of land a few months ago, one thing on the agenda is to grow some fruit trees at the rear of the plot. This takes about 20 percent of the plot size.

The fruit trees are grown independently from the other vegetables as according to their rate of growth. In short, fruit trees take too long to grow and to fruit and they are therefore grown as one cluster separated from the general crops of table greens.

The remaining 80% of the plot is used for general farming where one can grow anything according to one’s fancy and one’s available time and energy.

I have of course discovered that farming is not as simple as what we observe on the TV where one old man will carry one farming tool to plough and then to water and then by magic, the crop is ready!

It’s far from that. There is so much to do, so much to take care and consider, there is the plowing, the seeding, the watering, the pruning, the checking of daily weather and the periodic spraying of organic pesticides amongst many more and then there is the big big harvest at long last.

With so much to do and so little labour available, I have been roped in to help every now and then.

Eventually I end up helping building the only gutter and downpipe of the plot for the collection of rain water into the only collection drum.

It has been a straightforward but tiring task but yet turn out to be an eye opener for someone like me who though in the building line for years have never have this hand on experience for the actual assembly of a simple gutter and downpipe.

The whole task takes 2 agonizing long hours in the hot sun and I am beginning to appreciate the hard work of an experienced workman who has built all the buildings that I have supervised in the past.

Many others have been roped in for all the plowing, the making of the simple canvas roof, and even for the plain metal trellis for the growing of the creepers like the long bean and the pumpkin.

Then the agricultural interest begins with the planting, the seeding, and the pruning which goes on and on for the next few months. It’s indeed an exhausting and tedious job and after many months of hard unrewarding work, true commitment is definitely needed to persevere on.

First, there is this first initial trial crop of the soya beans. It sprouts and grows so fast that it cannot be harvested on time. I have the satisfaction of tasting one of its first crops of the fresh green soya beans and it tastes tasty and crunchy to my pleasant surprise.

Soon, a new kind of crop has to be introduced which the new plants will grow just as well but at a more acceptable pace.

In lieu, many garden vegetables and herbs are grown. The local long bean and the climbing pumpkin are grown on the simple wire trellis from the roof truss and they grow quite rapidly soon to fine handsome blooms.

Common vegetables like the red chili, the delicate tomato plant, the beautiful radish with its unique jagged leaves and the lady finger or the okra growing from its stately tall plants with large yellow flowers have been introduced.

Sweet potato is also grown but they grow so fast that I have eaten several rounds of its nutritious leaves for many dinners.

The lady finger or okra pods when harvested are red in color whilst some are still green and suitable as food when they are harvested on time but the red ones can be too hard to be consumed .

Eventually, tiny seeds of the Hong Kong Kai Lan are placed in the well mixed soil. Before long I get to eat plenty rounds of Hong Kong Kai Lan for dinners and these again are like other edible plants that are harvested here taste just as yummy and as crunchy.

Although the taste may be identical as those from the HDB markets but these that I have consumed direct and fresh from the farm are unquestionably consumed with greater satisfaction derived as the fruit of one’s hard labour like one’s homemade fares.

Many friends and relatives furthermore have the opportunity to enjoy this simple joy of taking vegetables crisp from the farm and also being part of being involved in fun of organic farming.

Local fruits and many kinds of tropical trees are also grown. The pineapple, the papaya, the pomegranate, the Jambu Ayer, with the sour sop tree, the sweet chiku fruit, the star fruit with small purple flowers and the Indonesian kedondong tree are all part of this organic venture.

So far, none of the many fruit trees has given any reward for our labour as they grow so slowly.

But during my last visit, I have seen some green Jambu Ayer fruits in the budding, with some green papaya fruits hanging along its slender stem.

In addition, we have harvested a huge bunch of green Malaysian bananas which according to our knowledgeable neighbor, the bunch though been there for a while will ripen shortly. Another species of the red banana tree is also being grown though it is still a dwarf tree.

The whole cluster of unripe banana has been transported to our home, and then has been cut into individual ones of at least large 10 bunches , and though it is still unripe ,nonetheless it remains tempting to everyone who receives one.

In a little while soon, it will be the beginning of harvesting of all our labour as there are more forming of fruits and in their seasonal fruiting and of course also we will have the long- awaited fun of harvesting.

Lastly I like to mention that there are many other ordinary crops that are grown such as the the Kangkong (Morning Glory) that has grown uninvited on the mesh fence, the pandan plants, being the Asian vanilla as a needed ingredient for many local dishes and desserts, the low creeping water melon plant that spreads swiftly on the ground, the broad leaf Elephant’s yam or taro plant and the exotic but thorny succulent Aloe Vera known as the “Miracle Plant”.

In conclusion, this will be the launch of a wonderful adventure of organic farming in land-scarce Singapore and maybe one day in the future, this kind of experience will come in very useful and essential during unexpected wartimes or yet during the predicted and expected Biblical Tribulation of the 7 years timeframe ( crazy to imagine, isn’t it but it may come to pass? ) and even when one may emigrate to other countries with plenty of vast lands for further countless cultivation of their indigenous crops.

So,thanks everyone for reading this blog and may it spur many to organic farming here in Singapore.

My first visit to Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin of Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:39:00 +0000

This was my first visit to Chek Jawa since its public opening many years ago. It was an escapade adventure after 10 years of absence to a preserved marine beach on a tiny island at the north eastern part of the mainland Singapore known as Pulau Ubin which remained unspoiled, undisturbed and isolated since the nation’s independence.

The outing was an impulse decision. The half-day excursion was meant to be an outing to Sentosa being the vacation isle of Singapore at the south with the internationally famous Universal Studios and their upscale fantasy hotels in the midst of many tourist attractions of the World War amidst glamorous classy condo units of the Rich and Famous.

On the way to Sentosa, one passing chat-chit about our anticipated lunch of ‘Nasi Lemak’ and the 1 hour car journey to Changi Village with my late mum for their famous $ 2 ‘ nasi lemak’ meal changed our entire destination.

With this stirring reminiscence, we changed our plan right away to instead revisit Changi Village and moreover to haul a humble ferry boat across to the tiny island of Pulau Ubin, opposite Changi Point, this destination being located between mainland Singapore and the east of West Malaysia.

One hour later, we arrived and embarked the soon vanishing wooden bumboat diagonally across the jade and calm sea to the environmentally-intact teeny weenie island.

Soon we begun a surprising nostalgic journey walking down the memory lane of yesteryears, of time with friends of the past but now forgotten, of time with my late mum and many oversea relatives, of the time of younger day exploits and time of solace, of present time when all lives seemed to rewind instantly back to our younger days and past lost memories and where time seemed to have paused for a moment and for that hour.

Soon we could see the unadorned concrete jetty which had remained unchanged for all these years except with some minor improvements.

At the end of the jetty walk, someone told us of a 10 minute car ride to Chek Jawa for a round trip sum of S $4/- which would without doubt be one hour on foot.

With the warm humid weather against the economical asking price, we unthinkingly hopped into the white antique air-conditioned van with the license plate of PU 100. What an amusing introduction for the start!

In 10 minutes’ time, we arrived outside the fork focal area where the right track of well trodden path could lead one to the Visitor’s Centre of Chek Jawa.

Here to my utter surprise, we encountered the second amusing incident of the day.

There was one wandering grey wild boar waiting near the kiosk shelter nevertheless unafraid or fluttered as if it was waiting for our arrival. But it turned out that it was waiting for food from the the lady driver of our van who promptly threw foodstuff to the famished and expecting wild boar.

This was indeed a strange and rare occurrence for us to cross path with this ordinary yet seldom sighted jungle creature.

We spent some time observing it and then took some memento photos. Ha ha, it was unquestionably a unique and awesome memento of our outing in modern Singapore!

We then strolled along the coarse stony track which led us soon to the coastal wooden board walkway of 20 minutes of pleasant stroll under clear blue sky in bright sunlight, accompanied by soft gentle sea breeze which provided instant relief from the day glare and from the unsolved yearly haze of Sumatra in West Indonesia that invaded the Asian region expectedly every September.

We then continued the stroll along the mangrove boardwalk for another 15 minutes.

Here, we saw many common nature and objects that could be educational to every schooling child and to any urbanite.

We saw the Nipam palms with their seeds or ‘Ah Tah Chee’ seed which was one indispensable ingredient in the local dessert of ‘ice kachang’. In addition, we came across the tiny dark crabs with one handed red claws, the common black crab, and we also observed one sting ray swimming leisurely in the muddy seawater near the shore.

Alas I saw no starfishes or exotic marine creatures, their existence being publicly displayed on the notice boards which we saw along the boardwalks. It seemed that these marine creatures could only be seen at low tide each morning, about 8 am every day.

After that entire walk, we returned to the visitor’s kiosk and were encouraged to proceed to a nearby heritage building to complete the tour.

It was the Visitor’s Centre of Chek Jawa , House No. 1 which was a handsome charming mortar 2 storey building being converted from an old Tudor style colonial residence of an Englishman that was built in the 1930s as his summer villa.

This charming quaint brick house gave the peculiar sentiment and mood of a British London’s cottage with a fire place and chimney thrown in.

The compound of this house overlooked the front seashore of the island which had a splendor panoramic view of Singapore Main Island.

From the garden seafront, one could walk down some brick steps to a short jetty that led to a platform in the middle of the Strait.

The walk to the end of the platform gave a peaceful tranquil feeling of the environment and of the historical setting of this wonderful forgotten island with many fish farms on the right in far distance and with huge rugged bronzed rocks in the forefront.

One could imagine the lifestyle and the magnificence of living in such ambience and setting for the previous owner, he being able to wake up each morning to such gorgeous view of every sunrise and each night enjoying his cigar and whisky after dinner on the front lawn to enjoy every sunset hue.

This house also provided such a romantic setting for those who wanted to observe the diamond starry night sky where they could easily locate the Southern Cross and where they could unwind amidst gentle tropical breeze of equatorial hemisphere and of the crisp night atmosphere.

No wonder this building was destined to be kept as a heritage building of the many historical monuments of Singapore with its past history of the colonial days and of the World War.

After the tour of this magnificent structure, we returned to the jetty by taking the same ride by the same lady driver who drove us there. I discovered during the return ride that she lived on the island for 3 generations in the community of some 60 others.

So it was indeed an insignificant but quiet, laid back and simple village of simple folks of little means and humble expectations where there were no high speed internet or Hollywood movies screening and where those who survived there so far would not want any drastic changes to their lives, their environment and to their lifestyle.

In conclusion, I only could say that though I enjoyed every moment of this outing, I secretly wished and imagined that I could get to meet some white cranes in my path or even colorful peacocks gracefully strolling somewhere. If there were wild rabbits or playful brown hares, or even naughty active squirrels scrambling ,won’t it be better too? Well, I better stopped all these wishful day dreaming and wild imagination now and let nature be itself!

Before I penned off, let us not forget our’ Nasi Lemak’ lunch. We returned to the mainland after waiting briefly for a total of 12 passengers before the boatman would bring us back. Only then did we discovered that the famous ‘ nasi lemak’ stall was closed and nowhere to be found. It seemed that this stall in the market place was going under major building renovation.

So we simply ended up taking some other local food nearby, but the ‘ice kacang’ with its ‘ah tah chee’ seed was a must as we wanted to educate our young nephew of this transparent edible palm seed that we saw earlier. Thereafter we left for home in the West after this short 4 hours’ getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life of Singapore with only the cost of S $ 15 per head.

This was definitely a great bargain in exchange for this unique experience and all the funny surprising happenings. With a short timeframe and with little price, we had a change of holiday mood with the sensation that we had left Singapore for a weekend trip abroad in that several hours.

Historical visit of our father's hometown in Fujian , China 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Great excitement lingered in the crisp air of dawn as I woke up hurriedly before sunrise on the morning of Nov 27, 2011 to begin a thrilling voyage with 14 other family members for a journey of a lifetime.

Being my first trip abroad in ten years, it was personally exciting for me. For the others who travelled all the time, this trip was extraordinary too.

It was a journey out of the blue, a trip that would bring us into the history of our ancestors, a trip that would bridge us to newly found paternal cousins across the South China Sea to our origin and our roots in Fujian, China.

Prior to this voyage, there were many arrangements for the get together reunion. Eight members of the eleven members of our family, some with spouse and their children would proceed enthusiastically to re-unite with six members of eleven children of our late elder aunt in Fujian, China.

By now, alas our late aunt had passed on. She and her immediate family had survived in many countries mainly Singapore and Indonesia before they returned to China in the sixties.

When China transformed through the uprising of Communism and the Cultural Revolution, travel into and outside the country was mandatory made impossible. My late father thus lost all communication with them since.

Yet our latest discovery of their existence was made possible by a stroke of miracle of all miracles and of course, with God’s intervention and grace.

DAY ONE

At Singapore Changi International Airport, soon in a few hours’ time, we who travelled from Singapore would begin this journey of bridging this gap as we begun this unforgettable trip to Fujian Province.

We in Singapore would take this trip to join our hearts with those in China whom we were all from the same bloodline and same forefathers but were involuntarily estranged by the history of the previous generations that caused the rift.

Yet again it was the same bloodline and family lineage of the “Tan Family” that compelled us to join our lives across the Sea.

We set off with great gusto on China Airline CA958, in spite of a little hiccup over the luggage.

After a relatively smooth flight, we arrived safely at Xiamen Airport. For some of us, it was their first trip to China so it would be an eye opener and new adventure to them.

We went through the Immigration swiftly, collected our entire luggage and then walked effortlessly through the Customs at “Nothing to declare” green lane into China.

XIAMEN (下門) AND HAICHANG BRIDGE

At the Arrival Hall, we quickly located our Xiamen tour guide. There was where the real adventure would begin.

The first leg of the journey begun as the coach moved across the 648 meters long Haicang Bridge, being the longest suspension bridge in Asia, built in 1999.

Then we travelled rapidly through the industrial areas opposite Xiamen (下門) in cool air conditioned coach whilst the exterior was clear and sunny as contrary to our expectation of much cooler weather of 15 degrees centigrade.

TONG AN DISTRICT, HOMETOWN OF OUR FATHER

Across the Jimei Bridge of Xiamen and facing the island of Kinmen was Tong An District (同安区), Fujian where my late father left for Singapore in 1926 when he was only 8. He departed from China with his parents and his 2 sisters for a new life in Singapore since and would never ever to return or step foot on his homeland again.

Around Tong An District, all the former buildings were demolished and had varnished .Instead new modern buildings were erected where we would eventually stay at a 5 star hotel in Jimei District which on the south of his hometown for the final night of our trip.

FIRST LUNCH AT XIAMEN ( AMOY )

After travelling for a short while, we stopped for our first lunch in China at a simple unadorned roadside restaurant for an unforgettable simple ‘Minnan’ or ‘Hokkien’ meal.

Ah, we started the 'appetizer' of the first meal with the traditional mahjong game while waiting, it was indeed an interesting way to start the journey in Xiamen!

In spite of the restaurant's humble and grubby facade, we were pleasantly surprised that the restaurant served very remarkable authentic ‘Minnan” food fare which ranged from “Kong Ba’, and delicious “Mee Swa with oysters’.

I wondered whether the food was so delicious just because the cooks were really so good or was it because we were so hungry that this first meal turned out to be so sumptuous.

In any case, it was voted by many including me to be the best amongst all the meals that we eventually would have throughout the whole trip.

TOWARDS YUNXIAO COUNTY VIA ZHANGPU

( HOMETOWN OF OUR MOTHER)

Thereafter we journeyed south west for the next few hours via Zhangpu (漳浦县) which we knew was the hometown of our late mother), towards Dongshan Island. But we would first stop at Yunxiao County (云霄县) beside Zhangjiang River where we would meet some relatives.

Meanwhile the tour guide entertained us with history of Xiamen to make the journey more pleasant. The journey to our relative’s home in Yunxiao County took about 4 hours.

MEETING OUR COUSINS

Before we knew it, we arrived around 5 pm at the hotel lobby but the daylight had begun to turn dark. Night had definitely fallen early in China.

After a quick introduction with five waiting relatives, we checked in the spa resort (Triton Bay Hot Spring Resort) and hurriedly organized all the foreign liquors from Singapore as well as all the Singapore souvenirs of Risis floral bags and our legendary herbal ‘Tiger Balm”.

Jointly, we boarded the coach with the same enthusiasm and high spirit that we possessed when we left Singapore.

When the first spartan restaurant was found unsuitable, another nearby place was hastily located.

This simple restaurant which served simple ‘Minnan’ food actually belonged to one of our relatives’ family. Thank God for family’s link and tie as this simple cafe saved our first gathering without which we would not be able to enjoy ourselves!

Here we started informal chat chit and introduction of each other. It was not difficult to observe that they were our relatives as some of us looked like some of them.

One niece from China “ Liang Yea”, my sister “Daisy” and one brother “Henry” could easily passed off as from the same family line, all having the same broad face shape, similar big eyes and even the business nose!

THE FIRST DINNER

Furthermore, our relatives took out several antique photos which were sent by our late father that bore his own handwritings. We joked and laughed as we tried to relate the photos with those who were present, mainly the 5 older siblings and the triplet.

Frankly I did not totally remember the cuisine that we ate. Yet I was sure it was the same for all 40 plus of us except for the kids who might eat more heartily.

The rest of us elder ones were busy talking, introducing ourselves and trying to break the ice with small talks.

One dish though stood out from the rest: the small pink crayfish that seemed bizarre but tasted like lobster! I ate one of them as one niece removed the shell for me and another showed us how to remove them.

But most of us from Singapore dared not even give an attempt as it looked like our local cockroach with many crawly legs though it appeared pink and juicy.

THE INTRODUCTION AND THE FUN

Soon, someone from our cousins started the introduction of their family members. Then we also followed suit. It was at this time that we also presented them with our Singapore Souvenirs and XO brandy. This thoughtful gesture caught them by surprise.

By then, all of us had relaxed to each other’s company, so we took the liberty to sing some songs from Singapore which included the “Amazing Grace,” (奇異恩典),“The Gift of Love” (Ai De Li Wu) (爱的礼物) “Nanyang Lady” (Nan Hai Ku Niang) ( 南海姑娘)and “Flower in the wild” (Ye Di De Hua) (野地的花), which was about God’s love and providence to us His creation.

When we sang “Bengawan Solo” an Indonesian love classic song, the husband of cousin no. 6 (living in Hong Kong) wanted to sing solo. As he took the lead, we joined in and sang with much gusto.

This was the moment which we felt the closeness and the bond between us whom we were all from the same family line but separated for years, but now by the grace of God, could interact and mingle with each other.

DAY TWO

AT OUR AUNT’S GRAVE

The next morning, we paid tribute and respect at our late aunt’s grave with her husband whom we had never met. We observed a moment of silence with a Christian prayer, placed colorful “Gerbera” flowers respectfully in front of their dual graves.

History had it that for many years, our late aunt yearned before her death to meet her youngest brother, he being the only male heir of their family. In addition, she instructed her son to locate us in Singapore several times but to no avail.

Now that we could visit her grave and could be reconciled with her children and their descendants, surely she should be tremendously comforted and consoled in the spirit wherever she might be.

So rest in peace, my late aunt and of course, my late father in Heaven for this historical gathering that brought their descendants together in their hometown.

VISITING THE FIVE COUSINS’ HOME

Next we visited all the five cousins who lived in Huaxi Overseas Chinese Town in Yunxiao Province.

One by one, we visited their homes, drank many cups of Chinese tea and Coke including taking various types of Indonesian kuehs such as the “Kueh Lapis” ," Kueh Dadar" and rice dumpling.

During these visits, they related their story to us. When they finally returned to China, having being expelled by Indonesia, they were re-located in a refugee camp called the “Huaxi Overseas Chinese Town”.

They had lived there since. As some had prospered, they rebuilt their homes on the original site to more handsome ones when being compared with their neighbors.

The last home that we visited that morning was the eighth cousin’s home.

Thereafter we proceeded for lunch at a fairly presentable second floor restaurant. This time, being more familiar with each other, we dined more intimately and drank happily with cheering with our Singapore “Yam Seng”.

HISTORY OF THE FAMILY

At this juncture, let’s us put on record of the bits and pieces of the family’s history.

Our paternal grandparents left China in 1926 for Singapore with their 3 children when my late father was only 8 and our late aunt 12.

During their time in Singapore, our late grandfather passed on when my father was only 15. Abruptly his mother also passed on 2 months later. It was believed that they were buried in Bukit Brown cemetery, along Lornie Road in Singapore.

From then on, my late father was raised up by his eldest sister, whom we knew her by name but never met as “Ah Pium Kaul” (literally translated as “Opium Aunt”).

After WWII, my 27 year old father married my lovely mother when she was only 20 and they had eleven children. He passed on at the age of 63 in Singapore on 4 October 1981 and my mum on 3 July 2010, a lapse of 29 years apart.

Our late grandparents were quite wealthy, so they left much heritage for their 3 children who included much jewellery, a kelong and a rubber plantation.

However, as I understood from my late mother, all these were either squandered away by the eldest aunt and her husband due to her opium habit or they were deceived unwittingly by some folks to hand over their inheritance.

The second sister, my late aunt whose children we met in China during this trip, would return to China shortly after arrival for her further education.

Subsequently after her marriage to a teacher in China, she returned to Singapore in 1936 with one son .Two more sons were added to her in Singapore. Four years later in 1940, they returned to China with all her 3 sons.

Over there, daughter no. 4 was born. Shortly they returned to Singapore in 1945 where son no. 5 and 7 and daughter no. 6 were born.

In 1948, our late aunt and her husband with sons no. 2, 5, and 7 and daughter no. 6 ventured into Indonesia to seek their fortune in tin-mining. As they moved from many places in Indonesia ranging from Riau Island, Padang in Sumatra , Jakarta and then Bengkalis Island ( Palau Bengkalis of Riau Province) along the Straits of Malacca, daughter no. 8 and sons 9, 10 and 11 were born .

In 1961, the whole family of the two parents and seven children would returned to China .The four elder children who were living in China all these while with their maternal grandparents later moved to various parts of Taiwan.

Maybe that was the explanation as why the four elder ones were not so close to the remaining seven in Fujian, China which was a result of their early year separation caused by history and logistics of their family’s exploration.

Son 5 continued to live in Jakarta whilst daughter 6 got married and went to live in Hong Kong in 1997. Son 7 passed on in 2004 due to a heart problem. Son 2 remained in Jakarta but returned to China in 1953 but moved to Yunnan.

Lastly, it appeared that there was another sister of my late father, being aunt no. 3, (an unknown aunt), who lived in another part of China, though she might had also passed on by now. Those in China were not in close contact with her children, so they probably did not know about our gathering.

OK, that was all about the family’s history so let’s continue our journey.

DONGSHAN ISLAND

After the house visits, we continued the sightseeing whilst we arranged to meet our cousins once more for the finale dinner. We continued our tour towards the scenic Dongshan Island, which was legendary for its natural wonderland and fresh seafood.

Dongshand Island in ancient times was known as the “Copper Mountain” where seven crescent shape beaches were joined together to form a stretch of beautiful sandy coastline stretching 30 kilometers.

There, we visited the famous Dongshan Fengdongshi Rock (风动石) at the east end of Tonglin Town, in Dongshan County. This rock which meant “Wind Moving Stone” was located in the Fengdong Rock site where many famous attractions were nearby.

At this well known location, we spent some time walking up the many stone steps, meanwhile enjoying the soft breeze and viewing the beautiful breathtaking coastline on the left. Soon we could see the legendary huge rock, which appeared that it could fall off the cliff any moment with just a gentle push of the wind!

Here we bought some souvenirs like asparagus tea and local brightly colored umbrellas. We were also brought to a tiny shop in the town that sold fresh dried seafood.

Thereafter about 4.30pm, we checked into a 4 star hotel, The Golden Seaside Hotel, which was located in the resort area in Maluanwan, Dongshan Island, Zhangzhou, Fujian.

This hotel was surrounded by blue sky ocean and white sand beaches.

Soon some of us went for a leisure stroll along the lovely beach to enjoy the clear seawater of the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

FINALE DINNER IN DONGSHAN ISLAND

That night, the second night of our trip, the grand finale dinner was held at a posh restaurant in a karaoke setting.

Those at this dinner enjoyed excellent local cuisine amidst good ambience and fine stylish interior.

There again, more gifts of token sum (Ang Pow) were presented to each member of our cousin who were present.

Our relatives also returned to us with some mementos of our historical stay by presenting us with what else, but with their famous Chinese culture of tea leaves in exquisite gift boxes.

However, all that had happened on this night was conveyed to me as I was absent and in bed nursing a stomach and intestine problem.

So it seemed that the finale feast lasted for many hours of more chit chat and more getting to familiarize with each other.

Then everyone relaxed further with more singing from Singapore with our “Rasa Sayang” " Bengawan Solo", more Chinese pop songs and and even more reminisces of our late father and our late mother.

Before long, the night had to end , alas with farewells, hugs and more hugs, exchange of addresses and e-mail addresses, each wondering when we could get together again.

So the 3 meals fulfilled all that we had planned for many months. At least we felt thankful that we had travelled from afar for this gathering and had brought thoughtful gifts for this amazing unforgettable episode of our lives which would definitely etched into our hearts of all who were present and even in the hearts of those who were absent.

FAREWELL, ALL OUR COUSINS

So farewell to all our cousins, nieces and nephews in China. May the Lord be with you all and will bless and protect you all until we meet again in the near future.

Therefore adieu, adios, au revoir, good bye, sayonara, annyonghi Kaseyo, Shalom, L'hitraot, Selamat Jalan, Pêng-an, Zai jian, Till we meet again, may we meet again very soon!

DAY THREE TO SHANTOU

The next day being the third day of our journey begun the holiday sightseeing. After an enjoyable breakfast, we proceeded to visit Chaozhou, hometown of Teochew People and to visit Shantou in Guangdong Province.

CHEN CIHONG’S RESIDENCE

At this point we traveled westwards for 2 hours to visit a famous residence of a wealthy man of past generation in Qianmei Village, Chenghai, Shantou, Guangdong.

Mr. Chen Ci Huang (of the famous Chen Cihong’s Residence) was a Teochew who prospered much in Thailand. (http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangdong/shantou/chen-cihong-former-residence.htm).

Then he returned to his hometown to help the poorer folks and his countryman. He implemented many immense projects by building schools, bridges and roads including construction of a large mansion compound in a 6 acres land which housed 506 rooms and halls.

This massive house compound combined the Eastern and Western architectural styles.

As we walked through the maze of this huge residence, the rooms were still in good condition which, during its prime period, would be very handsome and must be tastefully blended using local building materials as well as exotic ones from Thailand.

We also observed many beautiful and colorful Italian wall tiles with floral mosaic pieces with geometric patterns in subtle pastel colors being erected along many interior walls, which was to brighten the whole compound. Some of the clay roof tiles were unique and different and they stood out in the neighborhood.

WIDOW’S VILLAGE

Next we stopped briefly at the “Widow’s Village” in coastal southeast Fujian Province in tranquil Tongbo Village.

The separation of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in 1949 left a bitter legacy in this southeast coast village of 200 families. Many men went to Taiwan by force but few returned willingly when the war ended. Most of them had started new families in Taiwan.

The women of this village did not marry again. They devoted themselves to their children or in-laws. Thus it was called the “Widow’s Village”.

Frankly, I didn’t even bother to walk up the staircase to view the 2 storey museum! Hey, it was too depressing a place to remember or even stopover for a holiday!

ZHONGSHAN PARK, SHANTOU

From there, we continued southwards to Jinping District, Shantou (汕頭) Swatow or Suátao) in Guangdong Province to visit the oldest and biggest park, Zhongsan Park (中山公園) which was a 50 acres park in the midst of Yujian Lake.

As we entered the park, we could see the gateway with the Chinese characters 'Tian Xia Wei Gong', meaning the whole world as one community, were written by Sun Yat-sen, who was regarded as the father of China's Revolution.

Here we encountered an elderly man who specialized in writing Chinese calligraphy on the concrete floor with a huge brush which he was able to write in reverse movement.

OVERSEAS CHINESE NEW PEDESTRIAN MALL

From there, we went to Overseas Chinese New Pedestrian Mall ,Shantou, Guangdong near the Overseas Chinese Restaurant where we bought to our heart’s content of inexpensive shoes, scarves, clothing and cute souvenirs.

After dinner at a Teochew restaurant, we spent our night at the Golden Gulf hotel, a 5 star hotel at Jinsha Dong Road, Shantou, China. Later in the evening, some of us went for karaoke singing to end the night.

DAY FOUR

The next morning being the 4^th day of our tour, we left for Yongding, Longyan,(龍岩) Fujian and travelled northwards for 6 hours to visit the world famous Hakka Tu Lou ( The Hakka Earthen Fortresses).

Along the way, we saw many persimmon trees in full bloom.

After a late lunch at a quaint restaurant, we visited the historical Tu Lou with much enthusiasm.

FUJIAN TULOU

Fujian Tulou (Chinese: 福建土楼; pinyin: Fújiàn Tǔlóu, "Fujian earthen structures") is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka and others in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujian_Tulou)

The Fujian Tulou was the unique Chinese residential buildings constructed by the Hakka people from Fujian Province. The Tulou were enclosed by a thick, defensive earth wall and were communal buildings housing up to 80 families whom they served the dual purpose of living and of protecting them.

There were more than 8000 round and square tulou buildings in Yongding County.

Among so many famous tulou buildings, the most famous was Zhenchenglou, a rotunda tulou in Yongding County, Fujian which was successfully inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2008.

Nicknamed "the Prince of Tulou", it was located in Hongkeng village, Hukeng Township of Yongding County.

(http://www.absolutechinatours.com/Xiamen-attractions/Fujian-Tulou-Building-A-New-World-Cultura-2852.html)

BACK TO XIAMEN AND NIGHT CULTURAL SHOW

When the sun began to set, we travelled eastwards for 3 hours to return to Xiamen for dinner and a cultural show named “ Magic Minnan Cultural Show” which was choreographed by the world famous Zhang Yimou.

Our night was spent at The Xiamen Jingmin North Bay Hotel (Xiamen Jingmin Beihaiwan Jiudian), a 5 star hotel that overlooked the South China Sea with a view of the Jimei Bridge. The hotel suite was excellent and well designed with a patio that overlooked the South China Sea.

DAY FIVE / FINAL DAY

The last day of our holiday Dec 1, 2011 started with a city tour where we were brought to Dr. Tea for sampling of Chinese teas. Some of us including me bought the “Pu Er Tea” and the “Tian Qi Tea”.

When the coach passed by Xiamen University, we admired the beautiful and traditional University and took note that it was financed by the Singapore tycoon, the late Mr. Tan Kah Kee.

THE LATE TAN KAH KEE AND XIAMEN UNIVERSITY

Born in 1874 and died in 1961, Mr. Tan Kah Kee (陳嘉庚; pinyin: Chen Jiageng) was born in Jimei, Tong'an county, Fujian province, China, and went to Singapore in 1890, when he was 16 years old, to work for his father's rice store. His business was at its prime from 1912-1914, where he was known as " Henry Ford" of the Malaya community,Malaya both in Malaya and his native Fujian province.

He was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and a Communist leader in the People's Republic of China.

In 1919 Mr. Tan Kah Kee ,the well-known overseas Chinese overseas leader, donated millions of dollars to establish and endow Xiamen University, officially founded in 1921. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious and selective universities in China. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Kah_Kee)

Hailed as one of the most beautiful campuses in China, Xiamen University, which had three campuses amidst picturesque scenery. Xiamen University ranked in the top 20 among over 2,000 universities and colleges in China, and enjoyed an excellent reputation worldwide.

HUANDO ROAD TO VIEW KINMEN ISLAND (Quemoy) (金門)

That afternoon as the weather was cooler than other day, we strolled along Huandao Road and the nearby beaches to enjoy the cool breeze facing the beautiful clear South China Sea.

From this location, we were able to see an island, Kinmen Island which belonged to China PRC but administered by Taiwan. This critical military tiny island was only 2 km from Xiamen (PRC) but 150 km west of Taiwan.

So this significant island was the site of fierce fighting between the Communist and the Nationalist forces and was a military reserve and a war zone for many years.

This beautiful coastline was also part of The Xiamen International Marathon which began in 2003 which was famous for its coastal scenic course.

GULANGYU ISLAND

After that, we boarded a 5 minute ferry boat journey to tour Gulangyu Island which was located southwest of Xiamen City.

Gulangyu Island was renowned for its delicate natural beauty, its ancient relics, and its varied architecture. The island ranked at the top of the list of the ten most-scenic areas in Fujian Province.

It got its present name from the surrounding huge reef. When the tide moved in, the waves pounded the reef , giving the sound of the beating of a drum. The island was then named 'Gulang'. Gu in Chinese means 'drum', and Lang, 'waves'.

As a favorite residence for Westerners during Xiamen's colonial past, Gulangyu was famous for its European architecture and also home to China's largest piano museum.

Later, we visited Shuzhuang Garden and The Piano Museum during our tour of the island.

With the price of only 3 yuan, we returned to the Xiamen Island by the same ferry that we left.

LAST SHOPPING CHANCE AND DEPARTURE FOR HOME

Finally we had the last reunion lunch at a restaurant from a huge round table that could sit 15 of us.

Before we left for the airport, we did our last minute shopping at the nearby Zhongshan Road.

Zhongshan Road was one of the most prosperous traditional and comprehensive commercial areas in Xiamen. Here we bought some local souvenirs before our journey to the airport.

Soon we were on China Airline CA 957 back to Singapore and arrived safely with memories of a historical and memorable trip of a lifetime.

HOME SWEET HOME

HOME SWEET HOME everybody. Hip hip hooray for a safe journey home.

Thanks to everyone who helped and who had contributed to make this historical trip and all things possible and memorable.

Thanks be to God for all the protection, journey mercy and for all the good times together with family and new found cousins too.

THANK YOU JESUS. Amen

In loving memory of our beloved father on the 30th year death's anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:02:00 +0000

October 4 each year was a special day. Yet most of us did not remember that day except for a few, especially for my sister Bee. But this year 2011 we would meet to commemorate the death anniversary of our beloved father who was gone since Oct 4, 1981.

Sadly we had not celebrated his death anniversary until now. So it had been 30 years since we remembered this occasion. It was not that we had forgotten him. But it was because we had never been close to him during his lifetime but more closer to our late mum.

My late father spent more time outside the home than with us. When at home, he liked to do his own things and to be in his own world, pursuing his many hobbies ranging from music, to reading, to collecting smoking pipes and fountain pens and also much into photography.

Now with both parents gone and with the Lord, we felt the loss greater than before. Thus we would put in more effort to meet and to help each other with their passing.

This year we took the effort to meet partly because we just had the first year memorial service for our late mum this July who passed on last year. It was therefore appropriate to reminisce about our late father too.

The weekend night of October 1 started with a potluck dinner where everyone brought their favorite dishes to my sister’s house in the East. After the simple home cook food, we gathered around in the living room to talk about our father’s life in an informal chat chit setting. We sang his favorite hymns and some Christian songs.

Earlier I took out my personal collection of his numerous b/w photos which I stored up for event such like this. Some of the photos were only being viewed in the public by us for the first time.

When we saw ourselves in the photos, we laughed and joked of ourselves when we saw what we looked like 30 years back. We could not recognize some of us but we surely could recognize our handsome father from his legendary photo. It showed a slight Caucasian appearance of a handsome young and trim Oriental man, which all of us would proudly exhibited to others.

For the older ones, they remembered him as one who liked photography and had taken many photos in black and white with his many cameras. It seemed that at that time of his craze, we were living in a 2 rooms’ single storey government house in Henderson Walk which had since been demolished.

Though the only bedroom meant for relaxation for his growing brood of children and for our parents themselves, he would improvise the tiny room into a suitable photographic dark room to develop his latest photos.

In addition, he also possessed several cameras in his personal collection which I still owned one.

My late father was a man who liked cars, so he took us often for ‘ Jalan- jalan’ or ' makan angin' to Changi Beach, Katong beach , the Esplanade, and the Botanic Gardens where one elder brother would walked unwittingly into the huge landscaped pond and had to be rescued by my father. This subject was a classic tale since.

Of all the places we frequented together when young, I enjoyed the rainbow neon lights adorning the multi-storey levels of the 10 storey apartment at Katong Beach most. I also liked watching the Katong lion statue at the end of the long highway bridge.

For Changi Beach, I remembered playing with coarse sand on the beach in hot afternoon sun, collecting white and pretty sea shells whilst my parents took shelter under the Angsana tree.

Though my late father did not pursue a formal education because of the World War, he loved Chinese classics and would read widely. He was a gifted self- taught scholar at heart and he knew many legendary and famous Chinese literatures of ancient times.

Similarly though he was not brought up in a musical environment, he loved music passionately, especially classical music. He enjoyed the love for music of all kinds, which ranged from pop to contemporary .Yet in particular, he had an immense obsession for classical music.

My knowledge of the classical music world came from him. I would savor his vast collection of musical records of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and Tchaikovsky and read the contents of the records intensely. My early lesson of famous music composers was learnt at home because of him, not during music class at school.

He would buy musical records after records, in spite of frequent nagging from my late mum. I remembered him sneaking the latest purchase through the louvered window of our 2 bedrooms’ flat in Jalan Klinik and then signaled to whoever who saw him not to expose him. Then he would walk in through the main door of the living room, acting innocent and natural to avoid scolding from his other half. Maybe my late mum knew by then about his little trick and just had to close one eye since she knew how much he simply loved all those music.

As a child, I remembered sleeping at night in our apartment in Margaret Drive in the living room, probably at 6 years old when he would turned on the record player for the love song of “ Bengawan Solo”, a romantic Indonesian love classic song.

He would then dance waltz leisurely with my mum. I would act as if I was sleeping but would peep slyly with one eye opened to observe them dancing away amidst the soft hue lighting in such a romantic setting. When he noticed me awake, he would signal me to go to sleep. Sigh!

On top of his vast personal interest and hobbies, he also liked collecting smoking pipes as he smoked a lot at one stage but gave them up in the later part of his life. Then all smoked pipes were ignored and given away. He also collected many types of fountain pens which he would displayed and cleaned with his prized collection of smoked pipes.

He would clean both of them religiously and passionately until his interest declined in due time.

My deepest impression of him was that he was an honest man. My late mother often related this true story to me about him who during the World War had found a load of valuable goods which he could easily sell them for a high profit. At that time during the War, such windfall would be most welcomed yet he chose to return them to the rightful owner. That’s the type of fine personality my late father had!

When his boss at his long standing job as a trading clerk whom he worked from the day of his marriage till death, asked him about his then salary as to whether they were sufficient for the growing needs of his increasing brood of children. He would reply naively that he had enough for his needs at home, though the home could do with more!

It had never crossed his mind to ask for extra pay even if he deserved it. But then again was this type of fine character he possessed throughout his life!

He had escaped death once in his life during the Japanese Occupation, when the Japanese took him imprisoned and then tortured him by stomping on his bloated stomach of enforced water. Though he was eventually ferried to Changi beach to be executed, for some strange reasons, he was the only one who was spared the firing squad and went home to live on.

That alone was a miracle from God who spared his life, for without it; we would not have been here at all.

Towards the end of his life, for eight long years, he suffered a lot in sickness when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Even in the remaining last eight years of his lifespan of 63, he was mostly alone as he was throughout his life.

He was a loner at heart, he liked to be in his own world, pursuing his own dreams and doing all the thinking he wanted. He had very few friends.

When he was called home to the Lord on 4 October 1981, he was already a Christian for a few years, having being baptized in a small Anglican church at Queenstown.

Though he became a Christian at a late age in life, he would go alone, sometime with daughter Bee, to an Anglican church against the wishes of his wife until she later also became one many years after his death.

I could also remembered the baptism service when I also witnessed that memorable day when he was willing to show his commitment to the world of his new found faith as against his deep beliefs of his youth in other pagan religions. Thank God for this new faith In God the Father because he was in Heaven since his death, and must be waiting for my late mum until she was eventually called home to be with him and with the Lord 29 years later.

All in all, we concluded that he was a good and simple father who took much effort and did his best to bring in the bread and butter for his large family. He would bestow gifts on all his children in spite of his miserable income. When he would go shopping, he would buy one item at a time, one time for one child. Each time, he would buy another new item until every child had their turn of receiving his gift.

So though the anniversary was brief and informal, it also marked the beginning of a new era to us all. Why? Because we had recently found our long lost relatives in China, our late father’s sisters and their children!

So in the next few months, we as a family would travel there to visit our new found double first cousins, whom we had not met or even knew.

We would travel to meet a group of unknown people whom we never knew they existed until recently. How they looked like, what they were like, all these questions could not be answered until we would meet them soon. We just had no idea or had any clue at all!

But we were to meet some total strangers unknown to us, but men and women whom we were all bonded and intertwined by the bloodlines of our forefathers and of the generations for thousands of years in mainland China. Sounded amazing and exciting, wasn’t it?

That’s why this 30^th anniversary of our late father was unique and a tribute to what he was, especially that we had now found our long lost first cousins from our father’s side. It was an significant milestone to all of us and of our lives! Hooray!!!

For all these, we were so glad for what God had done to grant us the impossibility to be a possibility to meet our late father’s relatives in China. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. Thank God again for the touching lifestory of my late father! My late father indeed deserved this chronicle of his amazing life!

The Memorial Service of the greatest loss of my life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:22:00 +0000

The Memorial Service of the greatest loss of my life

The first memorial service that I attended in my entire life turned out to be for my late mum. It had been one year since her passing. The dreaded day came and now before I knew it, it was now one year since.

On 3^rd July 2011, we held the first memorial service in memory of the woman of all our life, the woman who to us, the woman of strength and pillar of faith, the woman who held the whole family as one, the woman of great example of wise compassion, the woman who was a great loss to all of us, especially me.

To me, her passing was the greatest loss of my life.

No one, no friend, no human could ever take her place. Her passing changed my life completely, everything from dwelling, to personal habits, to food and even to lifestyle.

During her life, I had spent so much time with her. I had done much, talked much and been to many places abroad with her.

Many simple places that we frequented brought back memories of our good times, our times of togetherness, our times of confiding of my worrying problems, times of testing new dining and new food, times of strolling in sunny beaches of Singapore, times of bargain shoppings during the Great Singapore Sale every June, time at our favorite shopping haunts, each time we remembered those shops who cheated us or shortchanged us, all these I would remember all to the last day of my life.

Her passing meant not just losing a mother, for she was more than a mother to me, she was my best friend. I had lost the best friend I ever had, someone a friend I had since birth, a friend I could never find again even if I travelled round and round the world to look for one, no one surely could ever take her place.

In my life of many friends that came and went, some good and others bad, siblings and relatives of all kinds and tempers, some had touched me much but she alone touched me the most and she alone had won my heart through and through, without a shadow of doubt, she alone touched my heart so much because she was a rare mother.

Though she had not study much because of the War so she understood not the new modern gadgets of this and that, yet she raised most of us to acquire high educations, many achieving doctorates and masters’ degrees, all with the little she had but with all the great faith and the simplicity she possessed.

What a wonderful woman she was, she was the black pearl amongst all gems, the choice jewel and the crown jewels of all diamonds, that’s the kind of mum I had.

She had constantly astounded me with her wit, her humour, her intelligence; her great simple wisdom of her simple life philosophy was always so refreshing and so original.

Yet she could be so practical, never allowing herself to dream on to the horizon and her children starving and wanting, she knew when to stop all those daydreams and went on to take all the household problems firmly and bravely into her stride.

With all her wonderful practical wits, her wise way of living, where else would I go to learn except learning by watching her life and her faith closely?

She was the best teacher of my life.

Always full of compassion, she would teach me to help the poor in the streets, to lend to those in need and never to expect any return. She would sacrifice her best time to give encouragement and to guide her children including me in their difficult times of our life.

She was full of cheer, always smiling, seldom complaining and always calm. Even in the last few painful months of her life where she suffered many unsolved ailments, she would put on a smile to greet her guests, her pastor and her relatives who came to encourage her and to cheer her more.

On 3^rd July 2011, the first memorial service was held at the crematorium at the Garden of remembrance, a Christian crematorium in the West.

It was a simple one hour service with her former pastor, some eulogies from 3 children and grandson and then we went on to live our lives to follow the example she had set to us before.

After the service, we walked up to both of our parents’ niche and then proceeded to tell her all that we wanted to tell.

As for me, I told her that I missed her terribly, I wished she was with me and how I wanted her to live on for another few years.

Instead she gave me an inspiration to live on, to live well and to live for God, so that one day when my time on earth was up, I would returned to the land that she had gone before, the place where she watched all our movements from Above and she always praying for all her children to return to her Heavenly fold when all our times were due.

So with a simple ceremony and dinner, we awaited to remember her again year by year and for us to complete the race of the good fight on earth and to be with the one who was my greatest loss and be with her for an eternal glorious time soon.

Thanks for reading this memorial blog to remember this wonderful lovely woman, the one I love to remember forever. Amen

A new home with a sky garden at Regent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:01:00 +0000

A new home with a sky garden at Regent

With all the several months of preparation and numerous store trips came to one fine sunny morning in May 2011 when we moved out of Faber Avenue to the new home at Regent Park.

Thirty years in a landed 2 storey property with ample of room space and sizable garden, we now entered a new experience of living in an apartment overlooking a nearby school field and the entrance of the traffic tunnel from 2 expressways.

Prior to moving in, we reviewed the decibel levels of the new place and concluded that the noise was too hard to bite. Being familiar to a quiet surrounding of slow swaying trees and serene scenery with hummingbird chirping and chameleons occasionally appearing, the new apartment beside those fast moving cars and heavy trucks with their related noises proved too much for one of us. Headache and health problem was the last thing anyone of us would want!

A frantic search was made for an appropriate solution. Yes, we found them on the Net but they were from the United States. More searching and one week later we found someone locally to install an expensive 3 sets of soundproof double glazed windows.

More weeks later, the windows were installed giving a chic and smart appearance to our sheer delight. This simple solution saved us from the agony of living with high distressing decibels. With the thorniest matter resolved, we continued with much gusto to move in, especially for me who moved in bit by bit, little by little weekly for the next 4 weeks.

On the day of moving in early May of this year, I waited for the technician from the Power Department to cut off the gas, then the water and the electricity. Now the house I had lived for many years had become inhabitable from that afternoon onwards until the new owner would take over.

The Saturday before moving out, the whole family met for the last time for the final glimpse at the old house to be followed by a seafood dinner.

Those who were more sentimental took photos of the already bare house, whilst the garden was still intact and still blooming with many palm trees ,one mango and a rambutan tree. We also left behind for the new owner an adorable bird’s nest with two baby birds. What could we do except to leave them such a cute and welcoming gift for the new owner as we couldn’t bring along to the new apartment, could we?

Some of the family tried to salvage what the little that was left. Suddenly everyone began to feel the forthcoming loss of living in my late mum’s place where many members of the family had lived before but they had went on to live in better places after some period in the time of its history.

Two days henceforth, this old home could only be kept as a memory in everyone’s mind and for those who had lived in the home of the family. Sad, sigh! But that was life and we had to go on with our new life with a new beginning!

Now back to the new home at Regent, with the many trips to the plant nursery and to IKEA Furniture Store, the interior of new apartment became very Caribbean and very tropical.

It was mostly white for the furniture; the walls are mocha color with complementary similar shades. Most of the furniture was brought from the old house and they were either timber or rattan.

The whole interior now had a feel of a resort poolside; it was very woody and natural. It also carried as much memories of the past home and of my beloved mum.

At the corner of the living room which had the full view of the outside, we created a small indoor garden. The floor was laid with our late mum’s grass colored carpet being one of her last earthly possessions before she passed on.

A huge black metal planter with many pigeon holes was hoisted up at one corner. It was not as intimidating as I thought, contrary to my earlier gut feeling. With many exotic ferns and delicate colorful hanging foliages from the old house, the tiny garden patch began to possess a touch and feel of the former house. On the other opposite corner, we placed 2 striking big white and purple hued Thai orchids given by one of our brother in law, David as housewarming gifts.

Swiftly we had a beautiful neat tropical Garden of Eden, our exclusive special domain in the sky that overlooked the hustle and the bustle of the heavy traffic of one expressway converging to another.

Out of the blue, the apartment was no longer impersonal or concrete. In place we had our own private green garden patch that reminded us of the memories of the old home, of the memories of our late mum’s favorite plant which was the main feature with its leafy broad jade green leaves and slender stems planted in her favorite Chinese floral huge pot.

We had one special Korean Cabinet from the old house which belonged to my late mum. It displayed all memorabilia of her eye glasses, her Christmas teacups, her personal Chinese Bible and even her marriage certificate dating back to 1934 from Fukien Province of Southern China where my ancestors originated.

At another corner near the kitchen door, we placed both my parents’ marriage photo on the wall as mementos for both of them. Our late parents were often in our thoughts even in our new home, so that was the sole purpose for this unique spot.

As for me, though my tiny bedroom was only a fraction of the former, but with careful and precise interior arrangements, it became very personal with every inch laid with the old furniture with a sprinkling of a few new ones.

I also salvaged most of the old furniture whilst many other unnecessary items were given away unwillingly to the Salvation Army due to constraint of space. In lieu of impractical objects, I added more tropical blooming plants and many look- alike man-made flowers for more lively interior atmosphere with my own personal collections of favorite plants, of different types of teddy bears and numerous miniature tea cups and private collectors’ toy shoes.

My bedroom had also been transformed into another unique Garden of Eden, it was Hwa’s Garden of Eden besides the Eden of the Sky just 2 metres away.

One week in the new place, we had settled in. I had to learn to manoveroe carefully around the compact apartment and had soon got used to tread around, making sure and ensuring that I wouldn’t hit my thigh or feet into any corner of some furniture.

By the second week, everyone had settled now to their normal routine. My 5 months Indonesian maid was generally happy with her little storeroom where she slept nightly with the Venetian blinds of the bookcase louvered routinely for more air and ventilation from the nearest window.

The apartment in general received the morning sun on the living room. In the afternoon the sun came through the two bathrooms and these helped the plants there to be healthy and green. So some of my favorite plants were thus placed in the washroom, not only to liven up this essential space but it was also the best nursery area for these plants.

Our Garden of Eden overlooking the vast expense of the school field could be transformed into an aerobic cycling gym when one cycled on the stationery bike placed solidly on my late mum’s green carpet as the garden floor.

It was fun to have the California Fitness’s aerobic feeling and it must be cool to cycle in the only private garden amidst the concrete sky of Singapore whilst watching the world rushing hurriedly along the expressways totally unaware of being watched from afar.

One last thing about this new apartment, only 2 invited guests would feel comfortable at any one time in the new place due to constraint of space.

When 4 normal sized persons sat in the living room adjacent to the private garden, the whole apartment would reach its maximum capacity. Any additional guest would cause this place to be too crowded and too packed, sigh!

Too bad but that was what would be life here at Regent! That was what the new life would be like in the tiny compact apartment, so everybody had to bear with this!

In spite of all the highs and lows in this season of moving house, yes, it had been a wonderful new and learning experience so far. Thank God for everything, the place, and the strength for all the packing and unpacking, thank God for all who helped make this new place possible. Thanks to all who had given some gifts of some sorts in one way or another to make staying here at Regent possible.

May God bless these generous hearts!

So for now I wouldn’t ask for more or much, right? So everybody Hip hip hooray! Thanks for this opportunity to write this blog as a mementos. May God’s blessings be with all who read!

Entrance to our Garden of Eden at Regent

A true story of God’s protection to preserve the family line

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:26:00 +0000

esus

A true story of God’s protection to preserve the family line

This is a true life story of God’s protection of a family line. Read this true story that proclaims the miracle of God that the present generation will honour His name.

From the onset of WWII , Mei arose daily at sunrise. Hastily she changed into old attire in the staff’s quarters of the Harbour Board of Singapore. Her father, Toh was a trading clerk at one of the best harbours in Asia.

Meanwhile Mei waited nervously. Upon the arrival of other neighbours, the woman crowd hastily grabbed some food and hurried into the adjacent jungle to hide.

This routine lasted the entire duration of the Japanese Occupation. Youthful women camouflaged themselves, wanting to elude male soldiers’ interest. Many women were sexually abused by brutal soldiers since the War started.

After dusk, Mei returned home. She would then retire beneath the antique bed in the only bedroom of the house. Nightly, Mei hid below the bed. Sides were hoarded after she was beneath it. There she lied until the next day. This was her hideout nightly until the War ended.

Only 18 when the WWII begun, Mei had 5 years of schooling and topped the class annually. Her prospect seemed bright as she prepared to be a varsity graduate.

In that era, it was difficult recruiting young girls for schooling. Parents refused them a formal education. Females were seen as inferior, having to marry at 16 and hence belonged to their in-laws. Parents spent scarcely on them, including education!

Furthermore, parents detested their daughters adorning skirts. They objected the expose of their bare legs with skirt as the uniform. They loathed men goggling at their daughters’ delicate legs.

That explained why Mei was admitted late at 13. Her mother was ultimately convinced that her eldest daughter should pursue some basic education.

The War changed Mei’s life completely. The Japanese invaded Singapore on 15 February 1942. They occupied Kuala Lumpur up north a month earlier. Next, they advanced with speed and ferocity towards south towards Singapore.

Several years of War resulted in the invasion for vital natural resources. Singapore was also essential as a launch pad for the War. At the tip of Malaya Peninsular, Singapore was a major British military base, being founded in 1819 by a British statesman, Sir Stamford Raffles.

Within a week of intense fighting in the north and severe air-raids in the south, Singapore was conquered rapidly without much resistance.

The Fall of Singapore was the greatest defeat, probably Britains’ worst defeat in WWII. Singapore was a vital part of the British Empire and was considered impregnable as a fortress, even having the name “Gibraltar in the Far East”. The Japanese later changed its name to “Syonan-to” meaning “The Light of the South”.

Concurrently, in another part of the island lived a 25 years old Chinese man. He came 17 years earlier from China, an orphan with his elder sister who controlled the family heirlooms.

For years, Cheng lived a leisure life. Living on the wealth of his late parents, he frequented the coffeeshops and spent his time discussing the latest politics in China. He led a fervent following and raised funds for the Sino-Japanese War.

When WWII arrived, Cheng was singled for spreading propaganda. Collectively with many men, they were arrested and placed in a converted prison at Fords Factory in Bukit Timah Road. The Japanese targeted mainly the Chinese. Other races were momentarily out of danger.

Cheng was transferred into a dim cell. He was interrogated at length. After refusing to co-operate, the Japanese soldier dunked him into smelly brown fluid. Repeatedly, the soldier dunked him again until he blacked out.

When he regained conscious, he realised his four limbs were tied up, his body was secured onto the mud floor. Then he heard a command shouting, “ Iku “, meaning “Go”.

Immediately, a heavy corporal with military boots jumped mercilessly onto his bloated tummy. They repeated the torture numerous times. They kicked hard at his limbs. He was beaten until he fainted. Then they left him alone .

Next Cheng recollected being forced to arise and was dragged onto a military truck. Together with many men, they were ferried to a secluded spot at Changi Beach, a 2 hours journey to the north. Every man then proceeded towards the beach, totally blindfolded.

Abruptly, Cheng felt someone forced him aside. His tied hands were crudely loosened. Although he could not understand the soldiers, he knew instinctly what was happening.

He saw many men lined up in front of a firing squad. With the command “Iru” meaning “Fire”, the men felled, shot point blank and dead in a moment.

The same procedure was carried out until 99 men were killed. Every of the 100 men were dead except Cheng !! Then the Japanese soldiers left. Cheng was deserted.

Without warning he was abandoned with all the dead corpses. He looked in disbelief at the lifeless bodies.They were his comrades and his neighbours!

Slowly it dawned on him that he was the only one spared. For whatever reason, he knew not. He slowly found strength and then began walking, bit by bit towards Chinatown. Along the way, he hitched a ride on a nightsoil truck.

At home, only did his sister revealed her bold plan of bribery of the soldiers, and how she willingly gave all the valuables, meant for his marriage, to exchange for his life.

For the next 3 and half years, both of Mei and Cheng’s households suffered extreme lack and much misery. There was insufficient food or commodities in the market.

The Japanese issued their own currency. The ‘Banana’ currency was used to barter goods. Pork , sugar and rice were sold once monthly, half kati for each family.

The locals supplemented food with sweet potatoes and tapiocas from their backyards. For clothing, they used old curtains and alter them into garments.

Mei’s father, Toh was in the Port when the torpedos started . He was alone in the vessel with his colleague, Ahmad.

Upon hearing the approaching planes, they bent down to avoid the torpedo shots. But one shot ruthlessly sliced Ahmad’s head off. The Malay man was killed instantaneously before Toh’s very eyes. Miraculously Toh was not harmed, his body fully intact.

Nonetheless, when Toh reached his Henderson Kampong home, he was in a state of bewilderment. He would act eccentric, even after the War. Witnessing the abrupt killing of his colleague was too much for him.

Those harsh years of the Japanese occupation brought much adversity. The locals lived in constant fear. It was mandatory to bow to any passing soldiers. Anyone who refused would be severely punished.

In schools, Chinese was forced to study the Japanese Language and had to learn the Japanese National Anthem. Only Japanese movies and propaganda films were screened in cinemas.

Against all odds, when the WWII ended abruptly in 1945, there was great jubilation and ecstasy .

On 12 September 1945, an impressive victory procession was held at the Padang.

Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender at the City Hall. The British flag was raised again and Singapore came under the British’s rule once more.

Every citizen, including Toh, Mei and Cheng was at this historical venue to witness the official ending of the War. There were much frenzied celebrations, with much jubilation that harsh times had ultimately ended.

After the War, normal living activities resumed. At work, Mei and Cheng met and were married a year later.

Mei and Cheng were my parents who lived through the Japanese Occupation. My late father lived many years to recount these true stories. My mother who passed on recently, recalled those difficult years frequently to me.

If they had not survived the War, it would be impossible for the writing of this account in memory of both my parents who later became Christians.

Thank God for preserving the family line, that the present generation has the privilege to know His name and become His children.

Thank God for what He has done in the past that the future generation can live on.

All Glory be to God! Amen

Note: Only names are fictitious, all others are true stories.

THE MIRACLE TREE OR MORINGA OLEIFERA

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:50:00 +0000

IMPROVE YOUR DIET WITH THE MIRACLE TREE, THE LEAST KNOWN NUTRITIONAL TREE OF THE CENTURY

Three months ago, I was having a conversation with a Indian friend. Somehow we talked about foods and herbs. Then she introduced to me a herb that has been existing here in Singapore, but known mostly by the Indians of Singapore.

The plant or the tree is called drumstick tree . I eventually went to The Little India of Singapore and bought some drumsticks and fresh leaves. Some of the pictures are shown here. They are inexpensive and so available, both air flown from India on a daily basis.
Let me explain the wonders of this plant. It is the most unknown most nutritious plant, all the parts of this tree can be used as nutrition to the body. However, due to economic reasons, the leaves and the pod are used more widely.

MORINGA OLEIFERA OR THE MIRACLE TREE
The botanical name for this tree is MORINGA OLEIFERA.
It is extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, amino acids so crucial for our body.
In addition, this plant contains anti-toxin and anti-oxidant materials which helps to strengthen the body’s immune system, for gout and arthritis, for lactating mothers, and much more.
It is of no wonder that this tree is known all over the world as the miracle tree.

I found this tree has been planted in Singapore, one of the example is at a house in the east side of Singapore, near Bedok.

The origin of this tree is from India, and was grown over thousand of years to treat various diseases and for nutritional supplements. This tree is known by different names in different parts of the world. Please see below for information.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE AS VERSUS OTHER FOOD

If you compare the nutritional values of this plant with other natural foods, you will have some ideas how nutritious this plant is.

It is 3 times more iron than spinach
It is 4 times more vitamin A than carrot
It is 4 times more calcium than milk
It is 2 times more protein than milk
It is 3 times more potassium than banana

The vitamin contents of this tree are as follows:
Vitamin A, vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin C, Calcium, Copper, Iron, magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Zinc.
Amino acids are arginine, histidine, isoleucine, lysine,methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine

USES OF MORINGA OLEIFERA
The use of Moringa Oleifera are as follows:
• Strengthen the immune system
• Cleanses body from toxins and heavy metals
• Exterminate parasites in the intestines
• Support treatment during radiation and chemotherapy
• Support treatment during lack of appetite in children and adults
• Help with osteoporosis treatment
• Help with diabetes treatment
• Intestine infections
• Gum infections
• Prostate infections
• Various skin disease
• Breathing disease
• Headaches and migraines
• Arthritis
• Gout
• Hair loss

MORINGA SUPPLEMENTS

Consistent intake of Moringa will help the following supplement :
1. Prevent glaucoma and cataract
2. Treat insomnia
3. Increase sperm count and motility
4. Rebuild weak bones and prevent osteoporosis
5. Enrich anemic blood, prevent anemia
6. Increase milk flow for lactating mothers, nourish breastfed babies
7. Decrease liver disorder
8. Relieve colds
9. Promote a healthy circulatory system
10. Provide anti-inflammatory effects
11. Combat malnutrition
12. Prevent childhood blindness
13. Promote normal serum cholesterol
14. Enhance red blood cells
15. Mitigate the aging process
16. Remove fine lines and wrinkles
17. Aid metabolism and digestion
18. Stimulate the brain and enhance mental alertness, alleviate stress
19. Improve strength and endurance
20. Ease the symptoms of menopause , hormonal changes and depression

MORINGA IN VITAMIN FORMS
I have bought several ready prepared Moringa Oleirfa in powder and tea bag forms. This is for those who have no available stocks of the tree or they are too busy to purchase the fresh ones on a regular basis.

I found the followings from some companies and have bought them.

These are in powder forms from 4 companies:

1) Ilovemoringa.com

2) Enjoymoringa.com

3) Themoringa.com

4) Moringaoleifera.org
5) moringa.com.my

After all the explanations, I would encourage you, the readers to introduce this plant into your diet, whether you take them in the fresh natural form, if available in your country, or to take then in vitamin forms.
You may read more from the following websites:
http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/names-of-moringa
http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa

DIFFERENT NAMES OF MORINGA IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

Other names for the Moringa in English include:
Drumstick tree, from the appearance of the long, slender, triangular seed pods.
Horseradish tree, from the taste of the leaves, which can serve as a rough substitute for horseradish.
Ben oil tree, from the oil derived from the seeds
The Chinese name of the Moringa (辣木), pronounced "la mu" in Putonghua and "lat mok" in Cantonese, means "spicy (hot) wood", and is reminiscent of the English name "horseradish tree".
In some Indian languages, the name is phonetically somewhat similar to "moringa", while in others it is quite different:

In Tamil it is called Murungakka in singular form, the plural form being Murungakkai.

In Hindi it is called Munuga.
In Marathi is it called Shevga.
In Kannada it is known as Nuggaeekayee.
In Telugu it is called as Mulakkaya.
In Gujarati is it called Saragvo.
In Oriya is it called Munika.
In Bengali it is called Sojne danta.
In Kerala state its known as Muringa Tree and the fruit called Muringakka in Malayalam.
In Nepali it is known as Sajiwan or Swejan.
In Guyana it is called Saijan
The Tagalog name, in the Philippines - Malunggay - is also phonetically similar to "moringa". In Ilocano, another Filipino language, its called Marungay. It is called "Kamunggay" in Bisaya.
In Haiti, the moringa is called the benzolive (or benzolivier).
In Nicaragua the plant is referred to as Marango.
In Indonesian, the moringa is called kelor. In Javanese, it is called limaran.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS DIABETIC? READ ON!!! IT CAN HELP SOMEONE OR EVEN YOURSELF

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:58:00 +0000

UNDERSTANDING
DIABETES

Recently, I took a taxi to Gleneagles Medical Centre. In the course of talking with the Malay taxi man, I found that he is also a diabetic.

The reason why I said that he is also a diabetic, because it seems that everywhere I turn to, there is someone who is his or herself diabetic or has someone in their cycle of friends that is diabetic.

I understand from some medical reports that almost 15% to 20% of the peoples in Singapore, maybe even in the affluent countries are diabetic.

I have a personal experience on this matter. My mum suffers from this sickness for almost 33 years . At first, none of her children paid much attention to it, as she always played down her symptoms of the sickness, which is constant thirst, frequent urination , hunger and tiredness.

During those years, she was under the attention of a general practioner and eventually an endocrinologist. It begun with simple diabetic medications to eventually insulin injections.

In 1998, her endocrinologist diagnoised ,in addition to her diabetes, that she had 3 blocked heart arteries. We were shocked that a simple sickness could develop to something so serious and life-threatening.

Immediately after this discovery , she underwent a triple heart bypass operation in Mount Elizabeth Hospital that costed about S $ 120,000/- including 2 weeks stay in the hospital.

Anyone suffering from this sickness or has a family history must be aware that this sickness can lead to complications like heart problems and kidney problems. It is thus prudent to take careful measures in their intake of the right food and to start doing regular exercises without delay. I will discuss in detail the type of foods to take and what foods to avoid.

Let me explain what happens in our human body. Our blood has sugar in the bloodstream. This level of sugar is to ensure that we have energy to do things, to walk, and to do physical activities.

The level of sugar in the blood is controlled by the organ pancreas, which is behind the stomach. The pancreas controls the production of insulin that regulates the blood sugar level . If the blood sugar is too high due to high intake of high glucose food, the pancreas will produce sufficient insulin which is a hormone, to bring the blood sugar back to normal.

Diabetes happens when the pancreas begin to malfunction due to aging, hereditary, reasons, sickness and many other factors, like stress.

To find out about one's potential of being a victim, one could request a doctor to carry out a simple test called the oral glucose tolerance test. Usually the individual arrives at the clinic early in the morning after an overnight fast. A blood test is taken to find out the level of the sugar in the blood after the fast.

After blood has been drawn out, the individual will be given a bottle of high glucose solution. He/She will have to return 2 hours later, and a fresh set of blood is drawn. Both blood samples are then sent to the laboratory for analysis. The difference is these two figures will ascertain whether the individual is diabetic.

The readings of the blood sugar is recommended as shown below:
1.   72 to 108 mg/dl   ( 4 to 6 mmol/L) as ideal ( after overnight fast )
2.   110 to 145 mg/dl ( 6.1 to 8.0 mmol/L ) as optimal
3.   150 to 180 mg/dl ( 8.3 to 10 mmol/L)   as sub-optimal
4.   above 190 mg/ dl ( above 10.5mmol/L)   as   unacceptable

I will now discuss the foods that a diabetic can take and what foods they should reduced in their daily meals.

Avoid high glycemic foods like white bread, potatoes, yam, pancake, doughnut, biscuit, white flour and rice (other than basmati rice). Avoid fast foods ,ice cream,fruit juices with added sugar.

Be careful of sweet fruits like durian, water melon and mango. Only consume them in small quantity and divide them into small portions of few meals.

Some of the foods that can help lowering the sugar levels are as follows:

1. mini- bittergourd ( momordica charantia) , known as Ampalaya in Philippines

2. petai seed (parkia speciosa), known as bitter bean, sticky bean

3. cinnamon stick ( cinnamomum zeylanicum) - take 6 grams daily on food throughout day.

4. Garlic ( allium sativum )

5. Onion (allium cepa )

6. Avocado ( persea Americana)

7. Cherries ( prunus sertina)

8. Lemon ( citrys limonium )

9. Artichoke ( cynara cardunculus)

10. grapefruit ( citrus paradise)

11. Asian Ginseng ( panax ginseng)

12. Starfuit (averrhoa carambola)

13. Green Tea ( camellia sinensis)

14. Oyster Mushroom ( pleurotus ostrestus )

Keeping sugar level under control is a tedious and lifelong commitment. There is no room for laziness or slackness. The affected person should obtain a glucose reading meter, available in most pharmacies. He/She should check on the blood glucose level 2 hours after eating and compare the reading with the standard guidelines given and act accordingly.

In addition, it is prudent to have some glucose tablets readily at hand. Again, this is available at most pharmacies. This is used for diabetic who find themselves hypoglycaemic or shaking because their food intake has been burned up and their glucose level have drop drastically. Don’t despise this simple tablet, because it could save you from fainting and even unwanted injury from falling due to shaking and dizzy spells.

Ok, I have only so much to share with you. Please use it to educate your friends , family members who are in this category.

I wrote this blog for the Malay taxi man who asked me all about diabetes. I hope he will get to read it and be familiar with the right foods to take. Take good care and help bring the diabetes population down.

Remember to eat healthily and to exercise frequently. The quality of your health and length of your lifespan are in your hands.

Nathanael to change the avatar on Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:14:00 +0000

For little Nathanael to change the icon of facebook.

My message to Nathanael Tan : The 3 headed dragon is not good and suitable for little christian boys! Please use something cuter like Nemo, Winnie the Pooh. This is what I want to explain:

My 8 year old nephew used a 3 headed green dragon icon for his facebook profile. I would like him to change to something cuter, like Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse and many others that I displayed here.

I believe an icon represents a person , just like a person's name. Many parents would take a lot of effort to name their new-born baby carefully , some also consulted astrologers before names are given to their children.

Thus an icon represents someone or some places, like Sydney Opera House represents Australia, the London Bridge for England, the Statute of Liberty the United States and the
"Durian" ,our Esplanade represents Singapore.

Before anyone jumps into any conclusion that I am being superstitious, and fussy, let me relate to you what is happening around us.

Example 1 : Many churches in Singapore will not encourage their members to read the Harry Potter Books series, because of its many references to witches, curses and other strange , weird spiritual stories mentioned in the books.

Example 2 : One pastor from my mum's church in Pasir Panjang also discouraged the members' usage of the toy "Pokeman" many years ago.

Many of the modern and new age toys are so gross and so gaudy ,they are so ugly and unattractive, some of them look so evil and so devilish, not a bit child-like. Why do people would buy for their children toys like Superman, Transformer, and many devilish looking toys!

What had happened to all the cute childhood toys that we had, such as Snoopy, cute little girls, and puppies.? I don't remember much about childhood toys because we did not have much toys then, we only played with plants and ran along drains and in the open fields. So simple, so available yet so natural ! No strange toys, no dragons, no monsters!

One last thought, why I won't use a dragon icon. In the Bible , the dragon is portrayed as the devil, Satan, the fallen angel who rebelled against God Almighty. If you are familiar with the Bible, read the book of Revelations.

So do not use any picture of dragon for all yours works or artworks for your home or leisure. Do use something simple and beautiful like those shown here:

Bye, Nathaneael, may you be like a cute boy for now ,like this little penguin.

Be a blessed child.

SINGAPORE LOW BIRTH RATE--MY COMMENTS-- voted one for the 5 best answers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:24:00 +0000

QUESTION BY YAHOO ANSWER , Singapore
Should we also “turn off the lights” to help boost Singapore’s low birth rate?
South Korea's health ministry, which is charged with boosting the nation's low birthrate, is turning off the lights in its offices once a month to encourage staff to go home early and make more babies. The ministry said in a statement Wednesday the switches will be flicked at 7.30 pm every third Wednesday in the month to "help staff get dedicated to childbirth and upbringing".

Singapore is facing a similar situation and the government is looking to encourage more matchmaking companies to be formed.

Is this another solution for Singapore’s low birth rate and why?
20 Jan 2010

----------------------------------------------------------
My Answer: ( voted one of the top 5 best answer) submission was under pen name of "Surprised

Frankly no. Solving the low birth rate can't be so simple. Who can ensure that the early time off from work will bring everyone home to do what the government plans for them to do?

Solving the low birth rate problem is not so straightforward.

I feel the government has, to date, not fully succeeded because they are only trying to solve this matter as a piecemeal issue and not as a integration of many other problems that ought to be solved concurrently and simultaneously to bring about the desired goal of a higher birth rate.

What the government is currently doing should be enlarged and refined.

Firstly, reduce stress in work further. Follow the South Korean on the early time -off from work but expand on their idea.

This idea can be expanded further by giving pay leave for couples to go away on some weekends using chalets on a subsided basis . This will allow both couples to be more physically relaxed and would prepare their state of mind for what they have to do .

Procreation is a creation of a new life, how can it be achieved in such a rush? Let them slow down for their emotions to gear up for the passion of procreation.Then the success rate of a new baby is higher.

Next, whilst the government understands the high cost in prenatal preparations for both mother and the unborn child, they can do more.

This suggestion may seem petty and trivial but every little help counts, Ok?

Help them with some incentives like free gynaecologist check-up, free supplements of milk and vitamins, and even a small allowance for their preparatory needs of a new child arrival.

Thirdly, the incentives and rewards given to the new parents to raise another child is not attractive and conducive enough. Whilst it presently do help parents , the duration for these assistance is too short.

Why only help the child up to a certain age, why not longer? Why not up to junior college level?

I understand other richer countries give every child a sum of money until 18 years old. The child also gets free education for many years and even their tertiary education heavily subsided( only 10% of school fees to be paid)

Understandably, when doing future financial planning, and if they have to provide for the high cost for their child 's future education, parents will tend to take the easy way out to solve their decision-making , i e not to have any more babies. The less children, the less financial worry, right?

If the government is willing to help with this problem , it may unplug some of the reservations of some couples to decide on having another baby.

Another thing the govenment should look into, is to ensure that the housing needs of a larger family be addressed.

Now most of the housing flats are mainly 3 bedrooms or less. The impression given to family is to to have less children, not more, because there is no plan for the third child to be housed.

In line with government 's aim for larger family , the housing board should start to build 4 bedrooms apartment, so that the perception on lack of space and room for additional child will never be a turn-off for a potential new birth.

These are only some of the possible things the Government can look into depth and analyse carefully before they implements it, if found suitable.

We are now a well to do country. Use part of this wealth to invest into the demograpy of the country before it reaches a point of no return where couples are too exhausted and turn -off with too many unsolved child -raising issues .

The Fallen Miss Singapore Ris Low and her recurring appearance in the media

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:05:00 +0000

QUESTION BY YAHOO ANSWER, Singapore

Ris Low . Enough of her already or you want more ? And why ? 20 Jan 2010
The following is my comments and was voted as Best Answer
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(link :http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnFe3sYrS.yMrL9mZRRwPhT54gt.;_ylv=3?qid=20100118101532AAFNJ5h&show=7#profile-info-c5cde7974e0f32c898ebe3f50f6f5d04aa ) -- submission was under the pen name of "Surprised"

My comments:

I think it is best for everybody to stop reporting the whole issue of Ris Low immediately.

1. If you were Ris Low , you would read all these posted comments and criticisms . Sadly to say, they are mostly hate-mails than encouragements. How long does she want herself to be bashed up with these negative comments again and again and again?

Does she not has any pride? Does she enjoy all these negative feelings of herself??

2. Why does the media use her numerous times to generate more news and public sentiments for themselves? In short , the media use her negatively and she was used negatively knowingly or unknowingly.

Doesn't the media realise ,by now , and understands the feelings of the general public and what the public wants?

Is the media so insensitive to poach on this subject time and again?

There are so many important and pressing life and death issues to report about that are happening around us . Why waste your time and resources on her so many times?

Who cares about her plans when compared to so such sufferings of so many people and children in this world?????

So many people are dying in the world and suffering so greatly. Spend some time watching CNN and BBC, even CNA and you will see many peoples struggling in their countries facing terrorisms, floods, extreme cold weather , bankruptcy,fatal accidents and of course, the latest , the shocking and sudden earthquake in Haiti which leaves so many local residents without food and water or roof over their head for several days.

Ris Low's future plan and her failure suddenly becomes so minute and insignificant.

It is time for the media to step back and re-focus their perspective .

It is better for the media to report on those current news that brings out our compassion that spurs us to some action of some kinds like giving donations rather than to report on such petty news that stir up our resentment more and more.

I beg you, media ,Ok, please no more on Ris Low , her life or her future plan.

She can go on her life quietly with whoever she wants or with whoever wants her or her story or her experience.

Please !!!!!! no more of her, I am going to pass out from negative feelings that is generating within me!!!!!