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http://www.asiaone.com/News/Educatio...821-83380.html

Thu, Aug 21, 2008
The Straits Times

I READ with interest Mr Zakir Hussain's article last Friday, 'Meritocracy's hidden danger' which gives a revealing insight into Singapore's brand of meritocracy.

The article states that about 53 per cent of Public Service Commission scholarships go to those who live in private property.

While there is general acquiescence that these scholarships are indeed awarded on the basis of academic performance and individual achievement alone, the preponderance of the socially privileged among them merits scrutiny.

These students largely hail from the crème de la crème of schools and have benefited from the various schemes that cater to the academically talented, such as the Education Ministry's Gifted Education Programme.
Their dominant social status arising from higher household incomes suggests that they possess the cultural capital required to 'make it' in life, as nurtured by their parents who are likely to have attained qualifications at the tertiary level.

In their scholastic journey, this group of students are likely to be enrolled in the Integrated Programme where, since 2004, they have been allowed to bypass the O-level examinations, in favour of taking the A Levels at the end of a six-year course.

This is a manifestation of greater elitism being built into the education system, where the same elite minority continue to receive value-added education throughout their schooling years at the expense of vast amounts of public funds.

As a result, Singapore's education system, which has always been held up as a model of social mobility for all, is attenuated because one group benefits from a distinct advantage over the others. The public perception that there is an inherent link between students from wealthier households and high academic achievement is pervasive.

Over the years, there have also been concerns about the attitudes of these students who are among the best and brightest and who are likely to secure positions of pre-eminence in society in the future. The raison d'etre for this stems from the fact that there have been several scholars who are known to have broken their government bonds in favour of more lucrative job offers, which smacks of individualistic competition and selfishness, among other factors.

There is the danger of a dichotomy developing in an increasingly stratified Singapore society, exacerbated by widening income gaps where the mentality of 'us versus them' prevails.

By then, the people's faith in our so-called meritocratic system would have shattered.

Muhammad Farouq Osman

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Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, August 26

SINGAPORE : Blood samples were taken from some 200 foreign workers following a reported case of sexual assault on an undergraduate at the Clementi Woods Park in June this year.

The foreign workers were working at construction sites near the park.

Confirming this, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said this was done with the consent of the workers.

Non—Constituency MP Sylvia Lim had asked for the legal basis for the police action in a parliamentary question.

In his written reply, Mr Wong said the legal basis for the procedure is found in the Registration of Criminals Act.

This provides for a person to give a body sample, including a blood sample, on a voluntary basis if the person was present at the crime scene when it was committed or is being questioned in connection with the investigation of a crime. — CNA/ms

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Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, August 26

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has prosecuted two local cleaning companies and their directors for failing to pay their employees’ salaries.
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Managing director of Home and Industrial Maintenance Services, Ang Ser Hock, pleaded guilty to not paying salaries totalling some S$31,268.22 to 53 employees.

Some of the workers were not paid for a few days’ work, while others went unpaid for one—and—a—half months.

The court imposed a four—month custodial sentence on Ang, after he told the Court he would not be able to pay any fines.

In the second case, the managing director of IMM & IMM Cleaning Services, Andrew Sivanesan, failed to pay salaries ranging between one and three weeks owed to 14 cleaners after terminating their employment contracts.

The company was fined S$1,500, and Sivanesan was fined the same amount.

Since 2007, MOM has prosecuted four cleaning companies for violation of the Employment Act.

Another five companies are pending prosecution for various offences under the same Act.

MOM said that it is stepping up education and enforcement efforts on employment conditions of workers, especially the lower salaried in sectors such as cleaning.

The ministry, in a statement released on Monday, reminded employers to pay salaries of workers within seven days from the end of the salary period.

Employers also have to pay their workers within three days of termination of their employment.

Those violating the Employment Act will be liable to a fine not exceeding S$1,000 per charge or to imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.

— 938 LIVE/CNA/yb

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By NASSER SHIYOUKHI, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 27, 6:06 PM ET

BEIT AWWA, West Bank - A Palestinian couple locked their disabled son and daughter away for decades out of fear they would ruin the marriage prospects of a healthy child if discovered, police said Wednesday.
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The case highlights the shame felt by families who have children with disabilities in Palestinian society — made worse because of poor services and the practice of marriages between first cousins.

"This is sad, shameful and awful," rights activist Imad Abumohr said.

Few people in the rural town of Beit Awwa knew of Basam Musalmeh, 38, and his sister Nawal, 42. They were kept since childhood in two concrete rooms that stank of sweat and urine adjoining the family's house.

Police found them Tuesday night while searching for Hamas loyalists and criminals, said an official who asked not to be identified because the Palestinian Authority publicly denies it cracks down on the militant group.

Palestinian police commander Samih Saify said officers heard noises while searching the house and found the brother naked and the sister wearing a flimsy nightdress.

Their father was detained. Their mother died a few years ago, the family said. Police returned the siblings to the home because there was no other place for them. The family said their stepmother would care for them.

On Wednesday, the siblings appeared to have been bathed and freshly dressed. Their rooms were tidied, though the smell was overwhelming.

The brother and sister have not been diagnosed with a specific mental illness, said their uncle, Mohammed Musalmeh. They do not speak or recognize other people.

An Associated Press reporter walked into the sister's room, where she sat on a metal-frame bed wearing a dress. She did not appear to acknowledge the stranger's presence.

Abumohr said there was a shortage of institutions for the disabled in the West Bank. Saify said he hoped an Israeli institution could take the siblings.

Abumohr said the Musalmeh case was not unheard of.

He said last year they were called on to rescue a 17-year-old youth with mental disabilities who had been thrown into a garbage bin. Abumohr said the boy had scars on his stomach, neck, hands and feet where he'd apparently been tied up.

"I'm sure there are other cases of hidden people in the rural areas," he said.

The siblings' father, Ibrahim Musalmeh, married his first cousin and had eight children — five with disabilities who died in childhood; Nawal and Bassam; and another son, who has since married, the family said.

Arab communities often favor marriages between first cousins as a way of keeping inheritances within the family. It is not considered incest, and there is little awareness that such marriages increase the chance that children will have disabilities.

The siblings' uncle, Mohammed, said the family could not find long-term care for them and hid them to avoid bringing shame on the family.

Many Arabs stigmatize disabled children and refuse to marry their siblings, fearing they will bear children with disabilities.

Mohammed Musalmeh said the family did not want the brother and sister to be mocked.

"If they go outside, people will laugh at them," their 67-year-old uncle said.

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By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 27, 6:37 PM ET

BOISE, Idaho - A longtime sex offender was sentenced to death Wednesday for the 2005 kidnapping, torture and murder of a 9-year-old northern Idaho boy after federal jurors who watched video of some of the brutality deliberated just three hours.
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The jurors' recommendation was binding on U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge, who thanked them, dismissed them and then sentenced Joseph Edward Duncan III.

Relatives of the victim, Dylan Groene, remained somber as the jury's decision was announced. Duncan murdered Dylan's mother, older brother and his mother's fiance to kidnap him and his younger sister, who was sexually abused along with her brother but survived.

"We're happy with the verdict, but it's a shame — this should have been limited to one death," said Steven Groene, the father of the children. "He should have had the courage and the guts to kill himself before killing anyone else."

Duncan showed no reaction other than smiling as the verdict was passed to the judge.

He took Dylan and the boy's then-8-year-old sister, Shasta, to a remote western Montana campsite where he raped, tortured and threatened them before shooting Dylan in the head and burning his body. Jurors viewed horrifying video Duncan made of him sexually abusing, torturing and hanging Dylan until the boy lost consciousness.

"This defendant is dangerous. He is a predator who takes pride in his work," prosecutor Traci Whelan said. "He earned this day. His actions ... call out for the death penalty."

Duncan acted as his own attorney but had offered no response to prosecutors' closing argument.

"I have no argument," he told the court.

With an eye toward kidnapping the two children, Duncan stalked their family. In 2005 he entered their Coeur d'Alene-area home and used a hammer to fatally bludgeon their 13-year-old brother, Slade Groene, his mother, Brenda Groene, and her fiance, Mark McKenzie.

Duncan was arrested and Shasta rescued weeks after the kidnappings when a waitress at a Denny's in Coeur d'Alene called police after recognizing the two as they ate.

Duncan pleaded guilty in December to 10 federal charges involving the kidnappings and the murder of Dylan. He pleaded guilty to the other three murders in state court, where he also could be sentenced to death.

After the verdict, the jurors were whisked away from the federal courthouse in two white vans so they could avoid the phalanx of media covering the hearing.

"The jury speaks the mind of the community," U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said. "By the verdict today, they have given voice to the victims."

In closing arguments, Whelan reminded the jury of Duncan's lifelong "pattern of violence," including a conviction for raping a boy at gunpoint in 1980. Duncan has told investigators he killed two half-sisters from Seattle in 1996, and he is charged with killing a young boy in Riverside County, Calif., in 1997.

Duncan may now be brought to Riverside County to stand trial in the death of Anthony Martinez.

Darlene Torres, Brenda Groene's mother, said she is glad the federal case is over.

"Justice has been served," Torres said. "It's been very painful."

She said that when she saw Duncan in court, "I seen nothing but an evil, empty, coldhearted shell."

It's hard to tell if the end of the federal case will offer any comfort to Shasta, her father said.

"I can't speak for Shasta, I can't get inside her head," Groene said. "Possibly now we'll have to be dragged through a court proceeding in California. If they go ahead with the prosecution, it would be such as waste of taxpayer money because he'll never spend a day in a California prison."

The heinousness of the evidence in Dylan's murder made it particularly difficult for the jurors to remain impartial as they deliberate, said Art Patterson, a jury consultant and senior vice president of the trial consulting firm DecisionQuest.

"Generally, for human beings, it's pretty hard to maintain impartiality when confronted with such horror," Patterson said.

"How could any juror not want to see this person removed from our list of living human beings? How could you live with yourself as a juror if there's any chance this human being could escape from jail and do something like this again?" Patterson said.

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Mon Aug 25, 2:47 PM ET

WYCKOFF, N.J. - If only Goldilocks had a cockapoo.
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A 15-pound cocker spaniel-poodle mix named Pawlee scared off a mother bear and her two cubs Sunday morning after they strayed into his owners' back yard.

Whether his bark was worse than his bite, Pawlee's tactic worked just fine. These three bears got the hint and took off.

"We had just let him out for the morning and he ran into the yard and started barking his head off," owner Fran Osiason said.

Osiason said her 9-year-old son, Jacob, went outside to see what the commotion was about and came running back in to report there were bears in the yard.

She was worried that the mother would come after Pawlee to protect her cubs, but the pugnacious pup, just 8 months old, had other plans.

His barking drove the two cubs up a tree, and they eventually climbed down and hopped over a fence with their mother and retreated into the woods.

Osiason said she, her son, husband Andrew and daughter Eden, 6, have had Pawlee since he was about 8 weeks old. She marveled at his fearlessness.

"He's a little fur ball," she said.

Northern New Jersey seems to breed feisty pets: In 2006, a tabby cat named Jack chased a bear up a tree in his West Milford yard.

Bears are not uncommon in Wyckoff, but Osiason said her family has lived there for about 10 years and had not seen any until Sunday.

With Pawlee on guard, they might not see another one anytime soon.

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Channel NewsAsia - Friday, August 29

SINGAPORE : Human resource practitioners need to adopt a different approach to attract and retain Generation Y workers, said the Singapore Human Resources Institute.
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According to its recent survey, 7 in 10 Generation Y workers aged between 19 and 30 think it is normal to job—hop, and they also want instant recognition for their work.

But this poses a problem for human resource practitioners.

"If we are not able to meet their expectations in that area, they may not feel committed to the position or to the company... and so they may leave after some years. That is something we need to tackle," said Joanne Lim, a HR practitioner.

The survey also revealed that Generation Y workers prefer younger supervisors who are aged 40 and below, and they expect them to be open minded, understanding and easy to get along with.

"If employers can better understand this group of people with regards to their value system, the way they would like to be seen and work, the way they want to collaborate with the older generation in the workforce, then I think we can better harness ways on what this (group of) Gen Y workers can bring to the business," said David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute.

The institute said companies should review their existing HR practices and adopt more flexible policies for this group of workers. — CNA /ls

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Welder put out of nut misery

JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA - The welder who was hospitalised after he used a nut to elongate his penis was finally put out of his misery when doctors removed the offending spare part.
It is learnt that staff from the Hospital Sultanah Aminah drained out some of the blood and cut away some skin on the upper layer of his organ to remove the nut.


The 20-something welder was trying to increase the length of his penis ahead of his engagement next week by weighing himself down with the nut when the nut got stuck following an erection.

Director Dr Daud Abdul Rahim said doctors got the nut off at around 11pm on Friday.

The patient is now recovering and we hope to discharge him today,? he said.
Dr Daud declined to say whether the patient would suffer any long-term injuries.

The welder, who works in Singapore, but is from Taman Sri Skudai, sought treatment at the hospital on Thursday afternoon after he was unable to get the nut off himself.
Both hospital authorities and the state Fire and Rescue Department were involved in attempts to remove the nut.

This is the second case in the past week involving objects stuck on penises.

On Aug 25, firemen were summoned to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur to cut a steel ring from a patient?s penis after numerous attempts by doctors failed to dislodge it.


It is believed the patient, in his 20s, had slipped the ring onto his penis to increase his sexual prowess.

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The key to a long life could be as simple as getting a second wife.

Research suggests that men from polygamist cultures live 12 per cent longer than those who limit their affections to one woman at a time.

It is thought men benefit from having a fuss made over them by a gaggle of women.
They may also better care of themselves into old age when they have a large family to feed, this week's New Scientist reports.

Sheffield University researchers uncovered the 'benefits' of polygamy by scrutinising World Health Organisation data on marriage practices and on life span.

The analysis shows that men who live in countries where it is common to have more than one wife tend to outlive their monogamous counterparts.

The finding took into account a country's economic situation to minimise the effect of better nutrition and healthcare in monogamous Western nations.

It is thought that the pressure of having to provide for a big families may lead to men taking better care of their bodies and their health. They may also benefit from the care and attention of several wives.

Lance Workman, an evolutionary psychologist at Bath Spa University, said: 'If you have got more wives to look after you, they might fuss over you and that might help you live longer.

'We know that in monogamous societies married men live longer than bachelors.'

Evolution may also have a role to play, with the fierce competition for women in polygamist societies ensuring only the fittest specimens get the girl - and have children.

Good genes would be passed on, endowing good health on future generations.

Dr Workman said: 'If you look at polygamist societies, men are quite competitive towards other men because the pressures are bigger.

'The most successful men can have four or five wives, whereas the least successful don't have any. The females go for bigger, stronger, wiser.'

In some war-like tribes, the men with the most murders on their hands command the most wives, he added.

Chris Wilson, an evolutionary anthropologist from Cornell University in the US, agreed there could be benefits to being surrounded by women in old age.

'It doesn't surprise me that men in those societies live longer than men in monogamous societies where they become widowed and have nobody to care for them,' he said.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1047659/Why-having-extra-wife-lead-longer-life.html

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Jeanna Bryner
Senior Writer
LiveScience.com Mon Sep 1, 8:46 AM ET

Layoffs can turn social butterflies into near hermits who shun such outlets as book clubs and even church groups, finds a new study.
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Workers who experienced just one layoff or involuntary loss of a job were 35 percent less likely to be involved in their communities than their always-employed counterparts, according to the survey that will be published in the September issue of the journal Social Forces.

The researchers suggest the reason could come down to tit for tat, or an attitude of "you don't scratch my back, why should I scratch yours?"

"Social engagement often involves an element of social trust and a sense that things are reciprocal - that you give some support if you get some support, and you benefit from society if society benefits from you," said lead researcher Jennie Brand, a sociologist at UCLA. "When workers are displaced, the tendency is to feel as though the social contract has been violated, and we found that they are less likely to reciprocate."

Dirt on downsizing

The results were based on data on nearly 4,400 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has tracked a group of 1957 Wisconsin high school graduates for more than 45 years. Born between 1939 and 1940, the participants are of an American age group that is inclined to participate in community and social groups, the researchers say.

Of the six forms of involvement, youth and community groups experienced the strongest exodus by displaced workers followed by church and church groups, charitable organizations and leisurely activities. Professional and political groups remained just as popular on average in displaced and non-displaced workers.

"Displaced workers may be more likely to keep up with professional groups than other groups because they're trying to make up for lost ground with respect to their careers," Brand said.

Workers who got flung out of their jobs during their peak earning years, between the ages of 35 and 53, were the most likely to withdraw from the social buzz throughout their lives. Employees who got the boot between 53 and 64 years of age, at the tail end of their careers, were just as likely to participate in social and community groups as their non-displaced counterparts.

"Being laid off doesn't appear to be as socially damaging for older workers as younger ones," Brand said. "The shame factor of downsizing your lifestyle just isn't there, because your peers may be downsizing as well and you can play off your displacement as an early retirement even though it may be forced retirement."

Double whammy

The latest findings have considerable ramifications, Brand said.

"Whether citizens participate is important for the effective functioning of neighborhoods, schools, communities and democracies," Brand said.

In addition, such withdrawals from society can cause a vicious cycle of unemployment. "If workers withdraw socially after being laid off, then they're experiencing double-jeopardy," Brand said. "They're losing their jobs, and then they're not participating in society, so they're not keeping up with social contacts that might help them find a new job."

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Mon Sep 1, 10:50 PM ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested members of a gang suspected of murdering more than 100 disabled or elderly people and selling their corpses in a bizarre scheme to avoid cremations, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
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Burials have traditionally been seen as the most respectful way to handle the dead in China, but were discouraged after the Communists came to power in 1949 to conserve farmland and eradicate superstition.

The bodies were bought by wealthy families and sent for cremation in lieu of deceased relatives who were then secretly buried, the South China Morning Post reported.

The killers would trail their victims, usually mentally disabled or elderly people, "drag them into vehicles in remote areas and either strangle or poison them", the newspaper said.

An unnamed police officer from Puning, in southern Guangdong province, said about seven suspects were arrested three weeks ago when police discovered the gang while investigating a homicide, the Post said.

Corpses would sell for 10,000 yuan (818 pounds) each, it said, without specifying the charges against those being held.

($1 = 6.825 yuan)

(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, September 2

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says Singaporeans who do not have a pressing need to travel to Bangkok are advised to postpone their travel plans to a later date.
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This follows the declaration of a state of emergency in the Thai capital on Tuesday morning.

Singaporeans intending to travel to Thailand should closely monitor news developments there, says the MFA.

Should they decide to travel, they are advised to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at its website at www.mfa.gov.sg.

A ministry’s spokesman says this would enable it and the Embassy in Bangkok to contact Singaporeans and render them the necessary consular assistance in case of emergencies.

When in Bangkok, Singaporeans are advised to avoid areas where there is a risk of disturbance, like the Government House.

They should also take the necessary precautions for their personal safety.

The MFA stresses that during this period of uncertainty, Singaporeans are advised to monitor the local news diligently and be prepared to face inconveniences in their travel. They are advised to buy comprehensive medical and travel insurance.

Should Singaporeans require assistance, they can contact the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok or the MFA Duty Officer.

The telephone number in Bangkok is 001—66—(81) 844—3580, while the Singapore numbers are 6379 8800 or 6379 8855.

The MFA says that as a close friend of Thailand, Singapore has been following the recent political developments there with sadness and concern.

Responding to media queries, an MFA spokesman says Singapore hopes all parties will respect the law and exercise utmost restraint to enable normalcy to be restored as soon as possible.

— CNA/ir