When life gets too boring...

Fine if your life is a little boring, or somewhat boring, or very boring.  But when you feel you've had enough, you can make your way to Marine Parade Community Club where "life is never too boring".

Would you PUT your parents in a nursing home in JB?

Straits Times, Feb 10:
SINGAPOREANS could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested yesterday....
Mr Khaw added: ‘Of course many visit daily, but quite a significant number visit only during the weekends, so what is the difference in putting them in Johor Baru?’

Dear Mr Khaw Boon Wan,

How could you suggest to us to PUT our parents in a nursing home in JB?  I know it is very tempting because it would cost so much less across the causeway, just like seafood and DVDs but it would be very unfilial to do that, don't you think?  You know how it is with old people; they don't like to live in unfamiliar surroundings.  I know you are ex-Malaysian but many of us are not and we prefer to die here in our homeland.  If you have no qualms "putting" your parents into a nursing home in JB, that's fine with me but please don't drag the rest of us to hell with you.  It cannot be that we can afford to have so many golf courses but cannot afford to care for our elders.  So please go gather your well-paid scholar civil servants and come up with a better proposal that doesn't land us in hell.

Punishment for being unfilial.  Eeks I don't want to be ground to a pulp!!!

Fort Canning Park

We started lessons on Singapore history this year and my plan is to have lots of field trips to bring the subject to life.  Well, of course we are not very good at hanging on to our heritage, seeing how even the National Library at Stamford Road was demolished despite much protest from the public, but what remains is still worth a visit.  

Our first field trip for Singapore history was to Fort Canning Park last week.  Originally known as Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill in Malay), it is believed to have been the site of an ancient palace.  Sir Stamford Raffles built his home here and also used the site to experiment with crops.  In 1859 the site was handed over to the military.  The governor's residence was then demolished and a fort built on the hill which led to the name Fort Canning Hill.  

Our first stop - Spice Garden.  I doubt the botanic gardens that Raffles established on the site was anything like this.  I suppose the Spice Garden is just a reminder of the work he did on the hill experimenting with crops.  Here and there were little bowls containing spices you could touch and smell.  I thought that was a nice touch although later at home I realised I have a whole lot of different spices stashed away, still in their packaging, which I had bought last year during a short period of time when I was determined to learn to cook.

Brewing Chinese herbs

Sniffing pepper

Here we are at the Gothic Gates.  The letters IHS above the gates stand for Iota Heta Sigm, the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus.

A Christian cemetery once stood on the hill.  It was cleared and some of the tombstones were set into the wall surrounding the open field.  We walked along the wall and read the tombstones.  Many of the dead were infants and young children with very few aged above 50.

Tombstone of W.H.Stephenson, Captain of Ship Santiago, 

died Oct 31 1850 aged 41

And for one James Brooke Napier, a mere tombstone wouldn't do.  His father, William Napier, had a memorial built for his infant son.

James Brooke Napier Memorial

A stone's throw away stands The Cupolas designed by architect George Coleman (I think his tombstone is also somewhere on the wall), the first Superintendent of Public Works, whose projects included Armenian Church and Parliament House.

The Cupolas by George Coleman

After all that walking, we stopped for a rest at Fort Canning Centre where there were excavated artefacts on display.

Then it was on to the highlight of Fort Canning Park - the Fort Gate and Wall.  I told the girls Mummy and Daddy had some wedding pictures taken here at the gate.  The girls were a little freaked by the dark passageway at first but once they got over it, they had fun going up to the roof of the gate and down.

Close to the Fort Gate and Wall is the OMSQ - Old Married Soldiers Quarters which I suppose was the residence of married soldiers and their wives. Next to it was a swing, old but still fun to sit on.  As we sat on the swing enjoying the breeze and the beautiful surroundings, I thought what a nice place to live, but then again it probably gets really creepy at night.

After that, we went searching for the sally port.  A sally port is a hidden door that leads in and out of a fort.  There is only one sally port remaining at Fort Canning and I took quite a while to find it despite having a map in my hand (did I mention that I have a very poor sense of direction).  

While looking for the sally port, we came across a Cannonball Tree.  This is a South American tree introduced into Singapore some 70 years ago.  It has big attractive flowers and fruits that looks like little cannonballs.  It is not a common tree here so I was thrilled to find it. 

Entering the sally port

"Hidden" door of the sally port

Cannonball Tree.  Note the fruit in the centre of the photo.

Flowers of the Cannonball Tree

Near the sally port stands The Battle Box where General Percival made the decision to surrender to the Japanese.

The Battle Box

Then we made our way to where Raffles' house once stood.  Along the way, we met a couple of 9 pound cannons and got bitten by more mosquitos (argh, forgot the insect repellent!).  When we got there, we had a quick look at the lighthouse and the flagstaff.  I wasn't very keen on these because they were just replicas and not the real thing.  I thought the most interesting thing there was a tree with huge leaves.

One of a pair of cannons that was meant to shoot 

9-pound cannon balls.  Playing a decorative role rather 

than a defensive one, the cannon was fired three times 

a day at 5am, 1pm, and 9pm to announce the hour. 

It was also fired as a salute and warning of town fires.

Replica of the original lighthouse

A couple of days before, I received our Family Season Pass to the museums so we visited a couple of museums that were in the same vicinity as Fort Canning Park - The Peranakan Museum before we went up the hill and Singapore Philatelic Museum after we came down.  The girls especially love the Peranakan Museum because they give out this "Family Treasures" activity sheet which you bring around and get it embossed with Peranakan symbols and at the back page there is a illustration of a kamcheng that you can colour in yourself.  What fun!

We had a great time that afternoon but I must be growing old because my legs were aching soooo bad that night.  Nevertheless I'm looking forward to more of our heritage excursions.

Babies Credit Scheme

The Jobs Credit scheme thought up by the Ministry of Finance to help save jobs has been debated in Parliament for the past 2 days. It appears this scheme is quite a good one because I read in the newspapers that most MPs are in favor of it and the Labour chief Lim Swee Say dares to put his full weight behind it so must be good lah.

How I wish the brilliant team that came up with this scheme were given the task of coming up with ideas for increasing the birth rate. The fellows who came up with the Baby Bonus scheme are not as clever and are very stingy. The scheme targets mainly would-be parents rather than those who already have children. I have three children but only got the baby bonus for the youngest one as the older two were born before the implementation of the scheme. They say that the scheme is meant to encourage couples to have babies, not to reward parents for having children so you don't get the bonus for children you already chose to have before the scheme started. Aiyah, why do they have to be so careful about giving out money? They should learn from the very generous MOF.

I think Lim Swee Say should be the Minister of Community Development. If he were calling the shots, he would extend the Baby Bonus scheme to cover all children, even those born before implementation of the scheme, and he would not limit it to the first 4 children born to a couple. Look at how all-encompassing the Jobs Credit scheme is. It is given to ALL companies, whether they have any intention of retrenching or not, whether profitable or not, whether local or multinational.

See what he says about the Jobs Credit scheme:

"Are we better off seeing more profitable companies turn unprofitable? If we want to truly succeed in saving jobs, we need the support and participation of all companies..."

"Companies that are profitable decided to make use of Jobs Credit to strengthen their bottom line. Some will expand to create more jobs."

Like that, then how about extending the Baby Bonus scheme to all children, even those born earlier and to all married couples regardless of whether they eventually have more children or not. Then I can strengthen my "bottom line" and maybe I will consider having more children. "Consider" only hor, no guarantee that I will have more children. After all, the companies are getting these credits even if they choose to go ahead to retrench staff; they are not held accountable. Similarly I should get the Baby Bonus even if I choose not to have any more children and I should be free to do as I please. Maybe instead of having more children, I could use the money to increase my children's allowances or send them for even more tuition classes or take the whole family on holiday.

There should also be no questions asked about how effective such a Baby Bonus scheme is. No need to monitor if the birth rate improves. MOF's Mr Poon Hong Yuen said, "If just because of this they rethink (retrenchments), then I think it’s already quite an achievement.” Let me apply this thinking to the proposed improved Baby Bonus scheme - if just because of this couples think of having more children, then I think it's already quite an achievement.

Lim Swee Say was happy to hear from NMP Cham Hui Fong that some companies, presumably the profitable ones who have no need and no intention of retrenching workers, are even planning to use the job credits to give their staff a wage increase. You see, good or not? Not only will some people not lose their jobs, they even get pay raise ah! So the scheme actually over-delivers even!

So I don't know why WP MP Low Thia Khiang, NMP Siew Kum Hong and even retired MOF Perm Sec Ngiam Tong Dow are calling the scheme flawed. Now I hope the MCYS will take a leaf from MOF and make the Baby Bonus scheme an all-encompassing one. At most just get couples to sign an undertaking that they will spend the money in Singapore rather than stimulate the French economy by taking cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu.

What say you, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan?