Friday, June 19, 2015

Homeless Malay Boy with $7 left in his wallet


He left his family in Trengganu to work in Singapore. Only 18 years old, he was looking forward to supplement his family income. He is the only son in a family of 4 children and his father works as a driver. 

He paid an agent $3000 and landed a job in as a cashier in a food court in January. Soon, he found himself having to pay fot the cash shortfall resulting from his oversights. He was getting paid less than the $800 salary that he was supposed to be getting and took some money from the tills to top up his ez link card and to cover the shortfalls. He was arrested in May and spent 2 days in remand. Shortly after he was released on bail, his employer cancelled his work permit and evicted him from his lodging.

His bailor friend provided him with a place to shower but by 6 pm everyday, he has to leave before his friend's wife returns home. They are newly married and it was not appropriate for him to bunk in. So for the past couple of weeks, this boy has been sleeping everywhere and anywhere. One night, while he was sleeping out in the open at Siloso beach, someone stole his watch and ipad.


I met him at the foot of the block of flats where his friend lives. He looked lean and has been fasting. He speaks in English but slowly and told me that the police are still investigating his case.They have asked him to report next month and he has no income anymore. With only $7 left in his wallet, he does not know where his next meal will come from after that is spent. My friend Lai Lan, who brought his plight to my attention, has liaised with the Malaysian embassy but does not know if they have written yet to the police to expedite the case. She intends to follow up.

He says he has taken not more than $250 in total but his boss has forcefully taken $400 from his wallet before he was evicted. He felt helpless at the injustice he has suffered and hopes to go home as soon as possible. But he is now stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no job, no money and no roof over his head. At only 18 years old and marooned in a foreign land, one cannot help but feel sorry for him. And his parents would be worried sick.


The immediate concern was to provide him with shelter to keep him safe and warm. Nor Lella Mardiiiah, a volunteer with Project Awareness, kindly agreed to provide him shelter. But before leaving for the shelter, we brought him for dinner, shop for his toiletries and rations, top-up his mobile pre-paid card and pass him $50 cash. Having settled him in at the shelter I asked him to show me his family photo but unfortunately the only photo he has was in the ipad that was stolen from him. I told him to contact his parents and he could finally assure them that he was safe. 

After so many weeks, he finally has a fresh change of clothes and a bed to sleep in. Before leaving him at close to midnight, he shook my hands and I finally saw it. His big smile.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Resignation as Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party


On 25 January 2015, I was elected as the Secretary-General of the National Solidarity Party (NSP). On 15 June 2015, I resigned from my position. Many have asked me for my reasons and out of respect for the party and its President, I had to wait for their official statement to be released before I am free to answer all the queries and concerns.


The party's official statement has now been released and the reasons are stated clearly in the statement. I am thankful to the party for allowing me to carry out a number of initiatives, such as NSP Unity Day, NSP Sports Day, NSP Retreat, NSP Kindness Day, SG50 video production, upgrading of the party's social media and the formation of the Youth Wing. If there is a single reason why I choose to finally step down after putting in so much time, energy and resources in such a relatively short time, I can only say it is due to incompatibility issues.


As stated in the party's statement, I will continue to focus on my social and community work and my charitable pursuits. These are the involvements that led me into politics with the hope of being able to influence the policies of the day in a positive way. I will continue to play my roles as volunteer, counsellor, mediator and community worker. And my role as the people's politician will indubitably continue as well.



Thank you to the members and supporters at National Solidarity Party (NSP) for all your supports during my tour as Secretary-General, and thank you to the President of NSP Mr Sebastian Teo for your trust and encouragement too. My supporters and readers, with each of your support, my journey in politics will continue.

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有记者朋友问我一些问题,就让我在这里回答他所提问的问题:

1)为什么要请辞?

请辞的念头开始时候是有点困扰,可是经过细心观察和深思考候,就长痛不如短痛决定请辞。但在某个层面上,这确实是一个痛心的决定。

2)随着大选脚步越来越近,这时离党可能带来负面效果,这层因素您曾考虑吗?

我想对我对党来说,负面的效果是避开不的,但是如果我们一直怕这个和怕那个的,那我们根本做不了应该做的事,而且托尼带水很可能会威胁到前景。曾经看过这么一个说法,成功的人不是赢在起点而是赢在转折点,我坚信时机对了我们就要改。

3)接下来的政治动向?

大选是越来越近,那是我们都很关注的事情。我的政治观念以人民利益为主,而我是因为从志愿工作旅程受到启发而决定踏入政坛。接下来,我还是会继续投入志愿工作再另做打算!“乘风破浪会有时,直卦云帆及沧海”,这只是我政治生涯的一个转折点而已。

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Eunos Flat Cleaning on 6 June 2015


They came with brooms, mops, brushes and pails in response to the call by Project Awareness for volunteers to help clean up Mr. Lim's flat. 


The fumigation has been completed and it's time to scrub the badly stained floors, walls and ceilings before the painting work can begin. The furniture had to be moved out and there were dead insects and cockroach eggs everywhere. Lizards scurried around and Mr. Lim helped to move his belongings to the corridor.


The rooms were in a terrible state of disrepair. The kitchen sink had corroded and the volunteers went about their chores without fuss. The RC volunteers came shortly thereafter. They appeared to be taken aback at the sight but soon found the courage to enter the flat to help.


I was surprised that they were mostly elderly folks but their volunteering spirit was truly commendable. Some began to help peeling out the broken vinyl floor tiles in the bedrooms whilst others helped in scrubbing the walls.


With the hard work from everyone, the cleaning was completed right after noon. The painters came later and by evening, the flat was painted. But there's some other work to be done on another day.