Xīn Nián Kuài Lè 新年快乐 - Fu Dao 福 到
05/02/2019
04/02/2019
Nián Yè Fàn 年夜飯 Reunion Dinner 2019
A reunion dinner "Nián Yè Fàn" 年夜飯 (also known as Tuán Nián 團年 or Wéi Lú, 圍爐 meaning "gathering around the family hearth") is traditionally held on Chinese New Year's Eve during which family members gather for celebration. It is considered to be the most important part of the celebration and every family member is expected to return to their families. Traditionally, married couples will go the the man’s parental homes (and to the woman's parents on the second day of the festivities).
Reunion dinner is supposed to bring everyone in the family harmoniously together, but for some reasons or other, not following the tradition, is causing tensions among families. This is especially so if one is celebrating his/her reunion with his/her parents as well as with the in-laws. It is therefore not surprising that one would have reunion dinners on a different earlier dates and nowadays, some hold it a week or two before the actual day. By doing so, the traditionalists believe that the Chinese New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner is losing or has even lost its meaning and significance.
To keep up with the tradition that Chinese New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner should be held on its actual date, and that married couples should return to man's parental homes, many families are compromising in order to make everybody happy:
- Eating reunion dinner twice, which means having the first dinner early, and then rushing off to do a second dinner by a certain time on the same actual day.
- Alternating the dinners yearly, one year with parent and following year with in-laws.
03/02/2019
17 things to do in Okinawa
From broad beaches to coral reefs to unique cuisine, Okinawa will give you a different Japanese experience
When it comes to visiting Japan, many would go to Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. But Japan can offer a lot more than that.
Apart from the Hokkaido region at the northern tip, Japan also has Okinawa at the southern end. Unlike the other areas of Japan, Okinawa has a tropical climate and is known as the “Hawaii of Japan”.
From broad beaches to coral reefs to unique cuisine, Okinawa will give you a different Japanese experience.
02/02/2019
NYGH teacher checked students' bra
CAUSED STUDENTS TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE; SCHOOL HAS APOLOGISED
A school did conduct a uniform check, and a teacher did proceed to check the colour of bra straps during the inspection. As it is, this is how it all went down.
According to Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News, a female teacher, believed to be the Secondary 4-year head, had unbuttoned students’ uniforms to verify the colour of their bra straps during the attire check. Apparently, Nanyang Girls’ High students are permitted to wear only white or beige undergarments.
Having supposedly done the attire check on behalf of the male form teacher, the teacher allegedly undid the collar buttons of students’ attires and pulled out their bra straps.
read more
You should never pull anyone’s bra strap, even if you’re a teacher doing an inspection
While some netizens are torn or even insouciant over the bra-strap pulling incident at Nanyang Girls’ High School, people have to understand (especially the ones telling girls “It’s nothing,”) that there is no way pulling a child’s underwear is okay unless it’s to save their life.
During a routine uniform check, though, an insensitive and borderline abusive teacher has gone too far and pulled on girls’ bra straps. Who does that? Why are you so interested in the color of their bras when you can see it through a white blouse if they were violating the dress code anyway?
And anybody who thinks that this is okay better get their underwear pulled this way and that without warning and see how they like it.
read more
Nanyang Girls’ High student defends teacher who only unbuttoned the shirt of one student to check bra straps
One student, however, has asserted that the incident was not as bad as the media made it out to be and that the teacher involved is kind and well-liked among students.
In a comment that has since gone viral, with over 1,000 reactions, Aurora Woo added that the teacher only unbuttoned the shirt of one student to check the colour of her bra straps.
A parent of a student at the school chimed in and agreed that the media over-exaggerated the incident. She added that she will “continue to support, believe & trust the school”.
read more
Nanyang Girls' High apologises after teacher pulls on students' bra straps during uniform inspection
Nanyang Girls' High School has apologised on behalf of one of their teachers who pulled on several students' bra straps, causing them distress.
The teacher in question was conducting a routine uniform inspection last Tuesday (Jan 22), and was checking that the colour of bra straps worn were in compliance with the school rules. As the form teacher was male, the checks were conducted by a female teacher.
An unhappy parent contacted Shin Min Daily News, and according to the report, complained that the teacher's conduct was inappropriate.
read more
Nanyang Girls' High apologises after attire check made students 'feel uncomfortable'
Nanyang Girls' High School has spoken to its students and is monitoring the affected girls following the attire check. PHOTO: ST FILE
Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH) has apologised to students & parents after an incident emerged during an attire check on Jan 22.
Chinese paper Shin Min Daily News reported that a female teacher, believed to be the Secondary 4 year head, had unbuttoned students' uniforms to check the colour of their bra straps during the attire check.
Shin Min reported that NYGH students are allowed to wear only white or beige undergarments.
read more
南洋女中老师被指拉女生肩带查内衣颜色 校方致歉
南洋女中老师被指突击检查女学生内衣颜色时，竟打开衣领纽扣，直接拉扯出内衣肩带，引发家长学生不满，校方致歉。
一名南洋女中学生的家长日前联系《新明日报》，申诉一名老师上周二（1月22日）进行突击检查时的行为，并不恰当。
这名家长指出，由于学校的校服是白色的，校方有规定，学生的内衣必须是白色或肉色，不能是任何其他颜色。请订阅或登录，以继续阅读全文！什么是早报订户新闻？
read more
Whitley Sec: Video of teacher pulling student's T-shirt happened in Sep 2018, boy was being disruptive
A video that re-emerged on social media recently showing a teacher pulling a Whitley Secondary School student by his T-shirt actually happened in September 2018, says the school.
The video was posted on Rilek1Corner's Facebook page on Monday (Jan 21) and has since garnered over 167,000 views.
In the video, the female teacher is seen pulling the boy by the collar of his T-shirt to stand-up and gestures for him to leave the classroom amidst cheers and jeers from his classmates.
read more
Pre-school teacher who humiliated 5-year-old boy suspended
A pre-school teacher who humiliated a 5-year-old boy for spotting long hair has been temporarily suspended by the school. The boy’s father had written a lengthy email post on Saturday (9 Jul) recounting how the teacher made his son stand in front of the class for sporting long hair, and put a “girl hair clip” on him, “much to the amusement of all the other kids”. The teacher further threatened to repeat the action the next school day if the boy did not cut his hair by then.
In his Facebook post which has since gone viral with over 2000 shares, the boy’s father Eric Cheong said that his son told him that he felt like dying. The father, painted the teacher who he identified as Ms Theresa, as ‘monster’ who the pre-schoolers were terribly afraid of. Eric said:
Primary school teacher investigated for abusive punishment of students
Several parents, unhappy with how a mathematics and science teacher was disciplining students in Gongshang Primary School, have lodged complaints with the school & the Ministry of Education (MOE).
According to the parents, the female teacher from the school in Tampines -- who has been relieved of her teaching duties & cannot be named as investigations into the case are still ongoing -- had resorted to abusive punishment of her students in the classes she taught.
The punishments ranged from the students being called names, having to kneel beside the teacher’s table, and getting objects thrown at them.
read more
Teacher's Apology Did Not Placate The Boy
“Justin” goes back to his seat for a while before going to another student’s table. The teacher shouts his name and the boy went back to his seat.
That was when the boy tells his teacher not to shout at him saying: “Am I deaf? Just answer my question…you should not shout, I’m not deaf, okay...Who ask you to shout? I’m deaf, ah?”. “Justin” demands that the teacher says sorry to him.
The teacher is heard apologising to the student for shouting and saying that “Justin” has to sit down.
read more
A school did conduct a uniform check, and a teacher did proceed to check the colour of bra straps during the inspection. As it is, this is how it all went down.
According to Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News, a female teacher, believed to be the Secondary 4-year head, had unbuttoned students’ uniforms to verify the colour of their bra straps during the attire check. Apparently, Nanyang Girls’ High students are permitted to wear only white or beige undergarments.
Having supposedly done the attire check on behalf of the male form teacher, the teacher allegedly undid the collar buttons of students’ attires and pulled out their bra straps.
read more
You should never pull anyone’s bra strap, even if you’re a teacher doing an inspection
While some netizens are torn or even insouciant over the bra-strap pulling incident at Nanyang Girls’ High School, people have to understand (especially the ones telling girls “It’s nothing,”) that there is no way pulling a child’s underwear is okay unless it’s to save their life.
During a routine uniform check, though, an insensitive and borderline abusive teacher has gone too far and pulled on girls’ bra straps. Who does that? Why are you so interested in the color of their bras when you can see it through a white blouse if they were violating the dress code anyway?
And anybody who thinks that this is okay better get their underwear pulled this way and that without warning and see how they like it.
read more
Nanyang Girls’ High student defends teacher who only unbuttoned the shirt of one student to check bra straps
One student, however, has asserted that the incident was not as bad as the media made it out to be and that the teacher involved is kind and well-liked among students.
In a comment that has since gone viral, with over 1,000 reactions, Aurora Woo added that the teacher only unbuttoned the shirt of one student to check the colour of her bra straps.
A parent of a student at the school chimed in and agreed that the media over-exaggerated the incident. She added that she will “continue to support, believe & trust the school”.
read more
Nanyang Girls' High apologises after teacher pulls on students' bra straps during uniform inspection
Nanyang Girls' High School has apologised on behalf of one of their teachers who pulled on several students' bra straps, causing them distress.
The teacher in question was conducting a routine uniform inspection last Tuesday (Jan 22), and was checking that the colour of bra straps worn were in compliance with the school rules. As the form teacher was male, the checks were conducted by a female teacher.
An unhappy parent contacted Shin Min Daily News, and according to the report, complained that the teacher's conduct was inappropriate.
read more
Nanyang Girls' High apologises after attire check made students 'feel uncomfortable'
Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH) has apologised to students & parents after an incident emerged during an attire check on Jan 22.
Chinese paper Shin Min Daily News reported that a female teacher, believed to be the Secondary 4 year head, had unbuttoned students' uniforms to check the colour of their bra straps during the attire check.
Shin Min reported that NYGH students are allowed to wear only white or beige undergarments.
read more
南洋女中老师被指拉女生肩带查内衣颜色 校方致歉
南洋女中的学生和家长不满老师解开学生衣扣，拉出内衣肩带查看。(示意图)
南洋女中老师被指突击检查女学生内衣颜色时，竟打开衣领纽扣，直接拉扯出内衣肩带，引发家长学生不满，校方致歉。
一名南洋女中学生的家长日前联系《新明日报》，申诉一名老师上周二（1月22日）进行突击检查时的行为，并不恰当。
这名家长指出，由于学校的校服是白色的，校方有规定，学生的内衣必须是白色或肉色，不能是任何其他颜色。请订阅或登录，以继续阅读全文！什么是早报订户新闻？
read more
Whitley Sec: Video of teacher pulling student's T-shirt happened in Sep 2018, boy was being disruptive
A video that re-emerged on social media recently showing a teacher pulling a Whitley Secondary School student by his T-shirt actually happened in September 2018, says the school.
The video was posted on Rilek1Corner's Facebook page on Monday (Jan 21) and has since garnered over 167,000 views.
In the video, the female teacher is seen pulling the boy by the collar of his T-shirt to stand-up and gestures for him to leave the classroom amidst cheers and jeers from his classmates.
read more
Pre-school teacher who humiliated 5-year-old boy suspended
A pre-school teacher who humiliated a 5-year-old boy for spotting long hair has been temporarily suspended by the school. The boy’s father had written a lengthy email post on Saturday (9 Jul) recounting how the teacher made his son stand in front of the class for sporting long hair, and put a “girl hair clip” on him, “much to the amusement of all the other kids”. The teacher further threatened to repeat the action the next school day if the boy did not cut his hair by then.
In his Facebook post which has since gone viral with over 2000 shares, the boy’s father Eric Cheong said that his son told him that he felt like dying. The father, painted the teacher who he identified as Ms Theresa, as ‘monster’ who the pre-schoolers were terribly afraid of. Eric said:
“What has happened to my son today is just one of the many, I would have to say improper conducts, for an early childhood teacher to be exhibiting. A few other parents also feedback Ms Theresa would use marker or pen that she is holding to poke on our children’s foreheads when they answered wrongly to her questions. She will use a water spray and spray into the kid’s mouth if they ever seen yawning in her class. She had in a few situations, tied up the kid’s legs together if they swing their legs in class. Just last week, my boy’s classmate vomited in class and she had the decency to make the kid clean up the vomit by herself, even though she was unwell.”read more
Primary school teacher investigated for abusive punishment of students
Several parents, unhappy with how a mathematics and science teacher was disciplining students in Gongshang Primary School, have lodged complaints with the school & the Ministry of Education (MOE).
According to the parents, the female teacher from the school in Tampines -- who has been relieved of her teaching duties & cannot be named as investigations into the case are still ongoing -- had resorted to abusive punishment of her students in the classes she taught.
The punishments ranged from the students being called names, having to kneel beside the teacher’s table, and getting objects thrown at them.
read more
Teacher's Apology Did Not Placate The Boy
“Justin” goes back to his seat for a while before going to another student’s table. The teacher shouts his name and the boy went back to his seat.
That was when the boy tells his teacher not to shout at him saying: “Am I deaf? Just answer my question…you should not shout, I’m not deaf, okay...Who ask you to shout? I’m deaf, ah?”. “Justin” demands that the teacher says sorry to him.
The teacher is heard apologising to the student for shouting and saying that “Justin” has to sit down.
read more
01/02/2019
CPF: "The gift that keeps on giving"
CPF Board ad encouraging members to gift loved ones
The advertisement, called ‘Birthday Gift’, was launched earlier this month. In a 30-second long clip, a couple can be shown celebrating the wife’s birthdays after the first year of marriage, the fifth year of marriage and the tenth year of marriage. The husband gifts the wife a bouquet of roses on her birthday after their first year of marriage and expensive jewelry four years later.
On her tenth year of marriage, the husband gifts his wife “a gift for the years ahead”. The wife is extremely joyful to discover a statement from CPF Board, showing that her husband has topped up her Special Account under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme.
The wife exclaims “Wow,” before teasing her husband, “So how are you going to top this next year?” as the advertisement asserts, “The future is closer than you think – Be ready with CPF”.
read more
Bold T-shirt about CPF goes viral as PAP group calls for higher CPF contribution rates for seniors who “need to be even more self-reliant”
A picture of a man publicly wearing a bold T-shirt calling for the authorities to return his Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings has been going viral online. The picture first surfaced on Reddit before making its way to social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.
The picture of the bold T-shirt is circulating online as issues over CPF’s withdrawal age, payout mechanism and contribution rates have come to the forefront in recent weeks.
Just yesterday, the People’s Action Party Senior Group (PAP.SG) released a 21-page position paper calling for higher CPF contribution rates for senior citizens. The group is calling for the contribution rate for workers aged 55 and older to be raised to 37 per cent.
read more
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CPF contribution rate for workers above 55 should be raised:
(From left) Members of the People's Action Party Seniors Group members Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Mr Henry Kwek, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Ms Joan Pereira, Dr Chiang Hai Ding at a press conference at the PAP headquarters on Jan 30, 2019. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A group in the People's Action Party (PAP) that champions elderly causes is calling for a number of changes to how seniors work, retire & live.
Among other things, the PAP Seniors Group (PAP.SG) - led by chairman Tan Chuan-Jin - is proposing for the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rate for workers beyond the age of 55 to be increased “so that all members continue to enjoy the same level of (contributions) regardless of how old they are”.
The rate for those aged 55 and below is 37%, with employers contributing 17%.
read more
Totally illogical to suggest CPF payout term of 28 years where there is no one to receive balance payout
Like the others, I had received a letter from CPF informing me to either apply for a monthly retirement payout at 65 years old, or delay it to 70 years old for a better payout sum. This was nothing new as it had been reported in the news and critiqued by many SIngaporeans including an ex-PAP MP Mr Inderjit Singh. However, the one thing that shocked me was that I could only receive $482 monthly from June 2019 under the CPF Retirement Sum Scheme, and this payout would last about 28 years, when I would be 93 years old.
How can the Central Provident Fund Board decide on the terms of payment for my own money? I would like the Finance Minister to clear the air – does CPF savings belong to each individual member?
I then wrote in and requested for a 20-year payout so as to increase my monthly payout, the reason being Singapore’s life expectancy was 85.4 years (based on statistics reported in the media.) The CPF simply rejected it and cited “current policies” as the reason.
related: MPs oppose automatic CPF payouts at age 65
read more
CPF Board Accused of Barring Member from Full Withdrawal of Savings Before 93 Years Old
A CPF member has accused the CPF board of barring him from withdrawing the full amount from his Retirement Account before he hits the age of 93.
Writing to The Online Citizen, Zol claims that upon turning 65 years old this year, he was informed that he can “only receive S$482 monthly from June 2019 under the CPF Retirement Sum Scheme, and this payout would last about 28 years.”
By that time, he would be 93 years old. Zol said that he wrote to the CPF Board to request for a 20-year payout so as to increase the amount of payout he would receive every month. However, this request was turned down by the CPF Board.
read more
Lim Tean: “the CPF is a virtual confiscation of your money”
“To me, the CPF is another grave abuse of process.” He explained how he sees the CPF. “I tell you this, and I don’t mince my words, (if it were up to me) I am going to totally scrap the CPF and revamp the system because it is broken.”
He closed his speech by emphasizing the need to rediscover the purpose in Singapore. “We need the creativity and innovation which is lacking in our society today.
I hope that our bicentennial will be an occasion when we will rediscover and we will restore our nation to the exceptionalism that all of us have come to expect.”
related: CPF members should not continue to live in denial
read more
Don't blame the people for CPF rumour
The people should not be blamed for starting the rumour about Central Provident Fund (CPF) payout being delayed till the age of 70 (CPF Board refutes claims that payout age raised; Jan 20).
And it is true that if a person does not do anything, then the payout will indeed start at the age of 70.
If the payout is supposed to be at the age of 65, then that should be the default age, & anyone who wants a later payout should have to indicate to the CPF Board that they want it at a later age.
read more
2 MPs table parliamentary questions on mechanism for CPF payouts; others see no major issues
2 Members of Parliament (MPs) have tabled questions for the next Parliament sitting in February on the Central Provident Fund’s (CPF) retirement payout scheme.
This comes after a letter on the issue was posted online, sparking discussions on whether the monthly payouts under the Retirement Sum Scheme should be made automatic when CPF members turn 65.
Along with the letter was a claim that CPF had “quietly” shifted its payout age from 65 years old to 70 years old. This was later debunked by the CPF Board in a Facebook post.
related: Claims that CPF 'retirement payout age' shifted to 70 not true: CPF Board
read more
Netizens skeptical with CPF Board’s explanation on rumour that retirement payout has not been increased to 70
Since 15 January, you might have seen a post circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp that the Government had quietly shifted the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Retirement Payout age from 65 to 70.
However, the message circulating online is false and the payout eligibility age for the Retirement Sum Scheme is indeed 65 for those born from 1954 onwards, and this had not changed since it was announced in 2007, said CPF Board on Saturday (19 January).
The confusion happened due to a letter CPF sent to its members who are approaching their eligible payout age.
read more
Ex-PAP MP Inderjit Singh joins chorus of voices against CPF payout mechanism
Former ruling party parliamentarian, Inderjit Singh, has joined the voices of Singaporeans urging the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to change its automatic withdrawal age from 70 to 65, which is the retirement age in Singapore.
Last week, a picture of a letter sent by CPF Board to a senior citizen went viral online. The letter informed the 65-year-old member that he can receive higher payouts if he delays the start of his payouts and even states that he would only start receiving payouts when he turns 70, automatically by default, if he does not do anything.
Some netizens responding to the picture believed that the authorities have shifted the “retirement payout age” to 70. Clarifying that this isn’t true, CPF Board said in a statement that the Payout Eligibility Age (PEA) is 65.
read more
related:
Josephine Teo: CPF Board can do better
CPF: "The gift that keeps on giving"
Social Media On CPF Advisory Panel Recommendations
CPF Advisory Panel Recommendations
Major CPF policy shift on the way
Myths And Misconceptions About CPF
The CPF Conundrum
Return Our CPF – MediShield Life
The MediShield Life Conundrum
Medishield Life Review#ReturnOurCPF@Hong Lim Park
That CPF Cheongsam Lady
That old lady and her CPF
CPF: One of the World's Top 10 Pension System
CPF Advisory Panel RecommendationsCPF Advisory Panel Recommendations
Major CPF policy shift on the way
Myths And Misconceptions About CPF
The CPF Conundrum
Return Our CPF – MediShield Life
The MediShield Life Conundrum
Medishield Life Review#ReturnOurCPF@Hong Lim Park
That CPF Cheongsam Lady
That old lady and her CPF
CPF: One of the World's Top 10 Pension System
Labour chief Lim Swee Say clarifies CPF comments
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