A tribute : Stephen Loh

First of all , I would like to thank this man for being a good friend and a teacher of mine . He is 1 man who can tolerate our nonsense in sec 5 . The bond he formed with my class is unbelievable , especially for a man who has barely taught us for a year , we also meet often subsequently , to say the least Gary and I .

When the news of his death came , my mind became a blank . I was totally devastated and overwhelmed as I had wanted to meet him in the coming weeks to catch up with old times . I was wondering how did a man like him just died like that . He is simply a good guy

Students told in testimonials that he is a dedicated teacher who gives tuition even after working hours . We also learned that he is frugal through reading the newspapers which says that he is given 28k by his grandfather to buy a car , instead of doing so he used the money to further his studies . However , with us he splurged $400+ to give the class a treat on the last day of his lesson with us . I can never question his generosity .

It is such a shame he left too soon and to die by drowning is the last thing people would expect of a water sports athlete . No amount of tears will bring him back . We will remember the times we had together and I hope he's enjoyed his time with us too . *We will remember you

"Halal Pork" Dissemination

NTUC FairPrice has lodged a police report after it found a picture of “halal pork” allegedly sold by the supermarket chain making the rounds on the internet.

The photo shows a packet of FairPrice’s Pasar brand park bearing a green “halal” sticker. This sticker can be carried only on foods that are permissible according to Islamic law. Pork is considered “haram” or “forbidden” in Islam.

A Muis spokesman said: “We treat the case of the Muis halal certification mark on the packaging containing pork very seriously as the halal mark has been abused.”

As teacher Nurdianna Malik puts it: “Pork is a big taboo in Islam. This ‘joke’ is really insensitive. The Government has tried so hard to promote religious harmony and pranks like this make me sad because they detract strongly from such harmony.” *

It is appalling to learn the pernicious dissemination of ‘halal pork’ on the internet especially in this ostentatious stratum of religious harmony. Government’s effort to elevate harmony must have been hampered by this ruinous action. The culprit should be aware of this potentially harmful undertaking as the abuse of ‘halal pork’ would mean disintegration of religious harmony. Hopefully with the ongoing investigation and subsequent antidote to this bane, any interrelated issue would not arise and shrink S’pore’s unswerving religious harmony.

*an excerpt from thesundaytimes November 25 2007

Concern Over Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect, by definition, is a process by which the atmosphere is assailed by an excess of carbon dioxide. What happens is that carbon dioxide released in large quantities by industries collects at the lower part of the earth’s upper atmosphere. As a result, part of the heat that is reflected by the earth is absorbed by this carbon dioxide and returned to earth as heat. This shield, so to speak, lets the sunlight through to the earth but prevents some of the heat from the earth from escaping beyond it. It is believed that the earth’s climates will change with an increase in temperature by 5 to 9 degrees by about the year 2050. This heat will cause the release of poisonous gases on an unwary earth and in addition melt the polar ice and glaciers throughout the world and cause flooding. The chaos can well be imagined.

Now what is happening that is really alarming is that the destruction of plants continues-especially in the rainforest belt. In addition, factories continue to be built. The anticipated result is obvious. Since oxygen producers are decreasing and carbon dioxide producers are increasing, there will soon be too much carbon dioxide for the plants to neutralize. The full effects of the greenhouse effect may be felt.

This is certainly a cause for everyone’s deep concern and immediate actions must be taken to reverse the damage that is being done before it becomes irreversible. The world cannot speak and thus we have to speak for the world. Now is the time to come forward and heal the world for the earth’s deterioration is mankind’s detriment.

Speak for the Earth…

Britons bullying elderly Singaporean trishaw rider

The recent incident of Britons bullying the elderly Singaporean trishaw rider have caused a furore in the local populace .

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,146519,00.html?

This incident drew strong acrimonious reactions from the net community , I am no exception . One thing that was also brought to my attention was the insults directed at caucasians . The 3 Brits also deny any case of bullying and remains impenitent and these further exacerbate the problem .

Are these actions exemplary of the presumably inherent white superiority mindset of the caucasians ?