The mainstay of marital bliss, the domestic who undertakes all of the mundane duties around the house, is in strong demand. Ever since I have been coming to Singapore and especially since I now live here, it has been noticeable just how reliant many families are on their maids.
Now it would appear that the competition from other countries such as Hong Kong and Taiwan is creating problems for Singapore. In HK and Taiwan the wages for maids are higher and the promise of a guaranteed day off is very appealing to potential recruits.
Filipinas are the most expensive to employ followed by those from Indonesia and Sri Lanka. A Filipina is paid the princely sum of $300 to $350 per month but only after the agency that introduced her has claimed its $1,000 to $2,000 fee. Not forgetting the fact that one needs to house and feed the maid in question.
The other side of the coin is that Singapore has a strict policy against maid abuse and is swift to punish employers who abuse their servants. Not so in other Asian countries.
Still it would appear that the allure of higher pay and a day off are enticing maids to leave Singapore after one tour of duty and seek employment elsewhere.
Even though Singapore does officially have a 'day off' clause, families can choose to pay out for the day rather than let the maid actually take the day off.
I suspect this clause might be revoked if the problem of recruiting maids grows any further.
And no..... we don't have maid.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Saturday, 26 April 2008
The Big Smoke and Kebab Automata
It is fairly well known now that in 2010 Singapore will open not one, but two casinos.
It had been my hope that they would follow the enlightened lead of New Zealand and ban smoking from their gaming floors but alas, in today's paper we learn that they have given into the tobacco lobby and smoking will be permitted.
No doubt the government were lobbied hard and told of 'dire consequences' of failing to attract gamblers if smoking was banned, as it is elsewhere in Singapore.
This supposition is a fallacy but it is one that casino management and the tobacco lobby trot out whenever possible.
The biggest casino in New Zealand (Sky City) started out as a smoking establishment and the environment was foul. A few years later NZ's smoke-free legislation saw smoking banned in pubs, clubs and casinos.
Did the casino business plummet as a result? No it did not. There was an initial dip but the profits soon rebounded.
So Singapore had a golden opportunity to promote public health and set up the 'integrated resorts' as completely smoke-free attractions right from the outset. It is a great pity that they passed on this opportunity and they will rue the day when it starts to impact on their health budget.
To use Genting's so-called 'segregated smoking' and non-smoking zones as an example to be followed is quite frankly a joke!
The same can be said for the Australian casinos which were also held up as good examples in the press, of how smoking and non-smoking could be segregated.
I can say from personal experience in Australia and in Genting that such a policy simply doesn't work. Passive smoking in these places makes life hell for non-smokers as they involuntary ingest second hand smoke.
There is still time for the Singapore government to revoke this smoking policy and I truly hope they do for the long term good of visitors and their citizenry.
I am an ex-smoker who gave up in the early 1980's so I know how addictive, selfish and pervasive the smoking habit is. It is quite literally a dying habit.
In a totally different vein we had a very good Yum Cha (dim sum) lunch at Xin Fu Yum Cha which is on the second floor of the International Building at 360 Orchard Road.
They had several old favourites such as Phoenix Claws (chicken's feet to the uninitiated) and glutinous rice which comes wrapped in a large leaf.
What made their fare standout was the quality of the cooking, the generosity of their fillings and piquancy of their sauces.
There were some new offerings to try such as the 'Goldfish Dumplings' (pictured). These were not actually filled with minced goldfish - they had a prawn filling.
Another small dumpling that was excellent was their vegetarian variety which was filled with roughly chopped vegetables. Another new favourite is their chicken and abalone bao (steamed bun).
I spent a few minutes in Basement 2 of the Takashemaya department store this afternoon being bemused by a clever (Japanese?) invention - the automated kebab machine. See the video below.
What will they think of next?
It had been my hope that they would follow the enlightened lead of New Zealand and ban smoking from their gaming floors but alas, in today's paper we learn that they have given into the tobacco lobby and smoking will be permitted.
No doubt the government were lobbied hard and told of 'dire consequences' of failing to attract gamblers if smoking was banned, as it is elsewhere in Singapore.
This supposition is a fallacy but it is one that casino management and the tobacco lobby trot out whenever possible.
The biggest casino in New Zealand (Sky City) started out as a smoking establishment and the environment was foul. A few years later NZ's smoke-free legislation saw smoking banned in pubs, clubs and casinos.
Did the casino business plummet as a result? No it did not. There was an initial dip but the profits soon rebounded.
So Singapore had a golden opportunity to promote public health and set up the 'integrated resorts' as completely smoke-free attractions right from the outset. It is a great pity that they passed on this opportunity and they will rue the day when it starts to impact on their health budget.
To use Genting's so-called 'segregated smoking' and non-smoking zones as an example to be followed is quite frankly a joke!
The same can be said for the Australian casinos which were also held up as good examples in the press, of how smoking and non-smoking could be segregated.
I can say from personal experience in Australia and in Genting that such a policy simply doesn't work. Passive smoking in these places makes life hell for non-smokers as they involuntary ingest second hand smoke.
There is still time for the Singapore government to revoke this smoking policy and I truly hope they do for the long term good of visitors and their citizenry.
I am an ex-smoker who gave up in the early 1980's so I know how addictive, selfish and pervasive the smoking habit is. It is quite literally a dying habit.
In a totally different vein we had a very good Yum Cha (dim sum) lunch at Xin Fu Yum Cha which is on the second floor of the International Building at 360 Orchard Road.They had several old favourites such as Phoenix Claws (chicken's feet to the uninitiated) and glutinous rice which comes wrapped in a large leaf.
What made their fare standout was the quality of the cooking, the generosity of their fillings and piquancy of their sauces.
There were some new offerings to try such as the 'Goldfish Dumplings' (pictured). These were not actually filled with minced goldfish - they had a prawn filling.
Another small dumpling that was excellent was their vegetarian variety which was filled with roughly chopped vegetables. Another new favourite is their chicken and abalone bao (steamed bun).
I spent a few minutes in Basement 2 of the Takashemaya department store this afternoon being bemused by a clever (Japanese?) invention - the automated kebab machine. See the video below.
What will they think of next?
Friday, 25 April 2008
Mini Bar Blues & the Hostess With The Mostest
In today's Straits Times there is an article on the hotel of the future.
One of the reasons for the feature is the Food & Hotel Asia trade show that is currently on in the Expo Centre at Changi.
In the paper the article details some of the innovative features that one might expect to find, one of which I have recently experienced in the USA.
When I say "experienced" I should qualify this by stating that the experience was not that positive. I am of course referring to the computerised mini-bar which in theory automatically logs every drink removed from it and directly charges it to your bill.
In practice, it charges you if you so much as shift a single item of its contents to make way for your own items (which you may wish to cool down).
The computerised minibar is a classic example of an IT technology that no one really needs and which actually alienates its users. No doubt the rationale behind its introduction is that the concierge can quickly replace items that have been used.
What ever happened to walking into the room, opening the fridge door and looking?
Hostess-slapping also recently featured permanently in the local media.
No, this is not a new form of the Survivor game. It records a recent incident on a Singapore Airlines plane, where the wife of a local tycoon, one Madame Tan, apparently took exception to the attention that a hostess was lavishing on her husband (although the detail of what provoked this incident has never been fully explained in public).
Md. Tan has settled a civil suit out of court and in the past 24 hours the police prosecutor has dropped the case against her for 'voluntarily causing hurt', an assault-related charge.
This decision has not gone well with some Singaporeans who have seen employers being imprisoned for slapping their maids. A also questioned the dropping of charges on local television last night.
But there's a happy outcome for the hostess. She has received a payout from a very wealthy Singapore family and is soon to be married to her fiancée.
One of the reasons for the feature is the Food & Hotel Asia trade show that is currently on in the Expo Centre at Changi.
In the paper the article details some of the innovative features that one might expect to find, one of which I have recently experienced in the USA.
When I say "experienced" I should qualify this by stating that the experience was not that positive. I am of course referring to the computerised mini-bar which in theory automatically logs every drink removed from it and directly charges it to your bill.
In practice, it charges you if you so much as shift a single item of its contents to make way for your own items (which you may wish to cool down).
The computerised minibar is a classic example of an IT technology that no one really needs and which actually alienates its users. No doubt the rationale behind its introduction is that the concierge can quickly replace items that have been used.
What ever happened to walking into the room, opening the fridge door and looking?
Hostess-slapping also recently featured permanently in the local media.
No, this is not a new form of the Survivor game. It records a recent incident on a Singapore Airlines plane, where the wife of a local tycoon, one Madame Tan, apparently took exception to the attention that a hostess was lavishing on her husband (although the detail of what provoked this incident has never been fully explained in public).
Md. Tan has settled a civil suit out of court and in the past 24 hours the police prosecutor has dropped the case against her for 'voluntarily causing hurt', an assault-related charge.
This decision has not gone well with some Singaporeans who have seen employers being imprisoned for slapping their maids. A also questioned the dropping of charges on local television last night.
But there's a happy outcome for the hostess. She has received a payout from a very wealthy Singapore family and is soon to be married to her fiancée.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Mas Escape
The long awaited report into the breakout of JI member Mas Selamat was released in the Singaporean parliament yesterday and the Minister's statement make interesting reading.
There was clearly a major breakdown in security vigilance at the detention centre and the officers responsible have been "removed" which, in the case of the two Gurkhas involved, probably means a one-way ticket back to Nepal on the first available flight.
The detainee was able to lull his captors into a false sense of security and when he visited the toilet, put his trousers over the cubicle door and left via an unsecured and un-barred side window. Presumably he had another pair of trousers under his top ones and if he hadn't, then I guess he would not have died of exposure in the Singapore climate.
It took 11 minutes for the guards to realise that something was wrong and raise the alarm giving Mas Selamat ample time to scale (?) a nearby perimeter fence and hot foot it.
The reports all state that it was unlikely he had any outside assistance in the planning and execution of this escape. Singaporeans I have spoken to find this difficult to accept and it may or may not be an accurate assumption. Either way his luck was in and he has vanished into the ether.
It also begs the question, where is he now?
Opinion is evenly divided between his rapid transit to the nearby Indonesian archipelago or that he is laying low in someone's HDB flat and waiting for the public and security personnel's focus to wane.
To undertake either of these options he must be getting, or have got, outside help. I guess only time will reveal the real story but in the meantime Singapore's security credibility has received a severe jolt. To the government's credit they have been as candid as they can in this matter and clearly security is going to be a lot tougher for detainees from this point on.
One other interesting point from a westerner's perspective is that the Minister responsible for Homeland security, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, is not being pressured to stand down. In New Zealand there would be an immediate baying for blood from the opposition benches.
Not so in Singapore. In fact the Prime Minister responded to such suggestions today by stating that he believed that public officials and ministers should not automatically be removed as a result of a lapses from their subordinates. I have to say that this appears a more balanced approach to me. After all a Minister's overall performance should be judged across his or her whole portfolio, over time.
Any lapses in matter of integrity are treated entirely differently and dismissal on these grounds will and do happen, no matter what the status of the individual is.
There was clearly a major breakdown in security vigilance at the detention centre and the officers responsible have been "removed" which, in the case of the two Gurkhas involved, probably means a one-way ticket back to Nepal on the first available flight.
The detainee was able to lull his captors into a false sense of security and when he visited the toilet, put his trousers over the cubicle door and left via an unsecured and un-barred side window. Presumably he had another pair of trousers under his top ones and if he hadn't, then I guess he would not have died of exposure in the Singapore climate.
It took 11 minutes for the guards to realise that something was wrong and raise the alarm giving Mas Selamat ample time to scale (?) a nearby perimeter fence and hot foot it.
The reports all state that it was unlikely he had any outside assistance in the planning and execution of this escape. Singaporeans I have spoken to find this difficult to accept and it may or may not be an accurate assumption. Either way his luck was in and he has vanished into the ether.
It also begs the question, where is he now?
Opinion is evenly divided between his rapid transit to the nearby Indonesian archipelago or that he is laying low in someone's HDB flat and waiting for the public and security personnel's focus to wane.
To undertake either of these options he must be getting, or have got, outside help. I guess only time will reveal the real story but in the meantime Singapore's security credibility has received a severe jolt. To the government's credit they have been as candid as they can in this matter and clearly security is going to be a lot tougher for detainees from this point on.
One other interesting point from a westerner's perspective is that the Minister responsible for Homeland security, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, is not being pressured to stand down. In New Zealand there would be an immediate baying for blood from the opposition benches.
Not so in Singapore. In fact the Prime Minister responded to such suggestions today by stating that he believed that public officials and ministers should not automatically be removed as a result of a lapses from their subordinates. I have to say that this appears a more balanced approach to me. After all a Minister's overall performance should be judged across his or her whole portfolio, over time.
Any lapses in matter of integrity are treated entirely differently and dismissal on these grounds will and do happen, no matter what the status of the individual is.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Happy, Happy Talk & Terminal Velocity
The day started poorly.
At 4am an electrical symphony outside the window of our condominium jolted me awake, the claps of thunder doing justice to the 1812 overture. With the ever increasing frequency of lightening permeating between the gaps in our blinds it was virtually impossible to get back to sleep.
Those of you who have lived or travelled in the tropics will know that when there is an electrical storm it is usually an impressive and forceful display.
Having breakfasted a couple of hours later it was time to catch the MRT which, because of the weather, was slightly delayed in its schedule. The result being that there were more than the usual passengers queuing for a place at every station enroute.
I had the singular misfortune to be wedged between a door partition and a Chinese national worker who stank of stale whiskey from the previous night's socialising.
When one disembarks at Buena Vista station it is a short walk across an over bridge to the bus stop to catch the 95. Singaporean pedestrians move at a variety of paces in the morning and I have noted this in a previous commentary.
Today I got stuck behind the "Road Block", a woman of ample girth whose bovine turpitude meant that those behind such as I, had to slow to her pace. She did not of course choose to move to the side to let others past but hogged the centre line with the precision of a Malaysian taxi driver.
Needless to say, when we finally crossed the street nobody was in a jovial mood. At the point of exit stands a young man who thrusts out copies of the New Paper to those who wish to take a copy.
This paper has its uses but good journalism is not one of them. Most use it as an improvised fan to get air moving around their faces as they stand in the fetid shelter of the bus stop.
Today as I waited for the 95 bus I did something unusual - I opened the paper. The feature story? Another expose on the inadequacies of Heathrow Terminal 5.
This story has been playing in the press since the terminal's grand launch and I suspect the inference one it meant to get is how much better Changi's new terminal is to the prize botch up of the Brit's new transport terminus? However one such story on this subject would suffice.
At least the English can laugh at themselves and a song penned on this subject by two amateur musicians has made it to #5 in the local charts (see video below). And when you have watched the video you might also wish to try out the online game in which British Airway's CEO, Willie Walsh, attempts to move luggage on the Heathrow terminal belt.
Of more interest in today's rag is a story on the mercantile wonders of British engineering which suggests that had the Titianic used good quality rivets it may not have sunk so quickly.
The other main feature in the New Paper is the identification of Singapore's happiest man - a gentleman who won a competition to find such a stalwart.
Lord Bittleston of Newnham was reportedly one of the judges, although with respect to the gentleman concerned, his name means absolutely nothing to me. No doubt a minor aristocrat from the British Isles?
Mr. Goh, who is now officially Singapore's happiest man, can remove the smiley face stickers that have been adorning his fingers in every publicity shot and look forward to his prize - three days in the resort town of Phuket.
No wonder he's smiling.
At 4am an electrical symphony outside the window of our condominium jolted me awake, the claps of thunder doing justice to the 1812 overture. With the ever increasing frequency of lightening permeating between the gaps in our blinds it was virtually impossible to get back to sleep.
Those of you who have lived or travelled in the tropics will know that when there is an electrical storm it is usually an impressive and forceful display.
Having breakfasted a couple of hours later it was time to catch the MRT which, because of the weather, was slightly delayed in its schedule. The result being that there were more than the usual passengers queuing for a place at every station enroute.
I had the singular misfortune to be wedged between a door partition and a Chinese national worker who stank of stale whiskey from the previous night's socialising.
When one disembarks at Buena Vista station it is a short walk across an over bridge to the bus stop to catch the 95. Singaporean pedestrians move at a variety of paces in the morning and I have noted this in a previous commentary.
Today I got stuck behind the "Road Block", a woman of ample girth whose bovine turpitude meant that those behind such as I, had to slow to her pace. She did not of course choose to move to the side to let others past but hogged the centre line with the precision of a Malaysian taxi driver.
Needless to say, when we finally crossed the street nobody was in a jovial mood. At the point of exit stands a young man who thrusts out copies of the New Paper to those who wish to take a copy.
This paper has its uses but good journalism is not one of them. Most use it as an improvised fan to get air moving around their faces as they stand in the fetid shelter of the bus stop.
Today as I waited for the 95 bus I did something unusual - I opened the paper. The feature story? Another expose on the inadequacies of Heathrow Terminal 5.
This story has been playing in the press since the terminal's grand launch and I suspect the inference one it meant to get is how much better Changi's new terminal is to the prize botch up of the Brit's new transport terminus? However one such story on this subject would suffice.
At least the English can laugh at themselves and a song penned on this subject by two amateur musicians has made it to #5 in the local charts (see video below). And when you have watched the video you might also wish to try out the online game in which British Airway's CEO, Willie Walsh, attempts to move luggage on the Heathrow terminal belt.
Of more interest in today's rag is a story on the mercantile wonders of British engineering which suggests that had the Titianic used good quality rivets it may not have sunk so quickly.
The other main feature in the New Paper is the identification of Singapore's happiest man - a gentleman who won a competition to find such a stalwart.
Lord Bittleston of Newnham was reportedly one of the judges, although with respect to the gentleman concerned, his name means absolutely nothing to me. No doubt a minor aristocrat from the British Isles?
Mr. Goh, who is now officially Singapore's happiest man, can remove the smiley face stickers that have been adorning his fingers in every publicity shot and look forward to his prize - three days in the resort town of Phuket.
No wonder he's smiling.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Of Atuomania and Arabs
Stay long enough in Singapore and one succumbs to atuomania.
The 'atuo' stands for 'another totally useless object' and the manic variation manifests itself as an irrational desire to purchase objects, solely on the basis of a 50 to 70% sale price and irrespective of whether one actually needs the object or not.
Today's 'atuo' purchase was an OSIM eye massager for the princely sum of $S148 (we passed on the $4,500 massage leather chair after one pummelled us into submission in Plaza Singapura).
Once I got the massager home and discovered how to switch the heat function off, the sensation was quite pleasant. The device is designed to relieve eye strain and stress and as I spend a lot of time in front of a PC screen, it seemed like a good idea to get one. At least that's what the salesman intimated.
After tightly adjusting the velcro strap around one's head, it is simply a matter of selecting the programme variations of choice - heat or no heat, gentle tapping or Thor style hammering and finally, the amount of air pressure. The last setting is somewhat critical and the first time I tried the unit out on too high a level, the sensation was akin to having one's eyes gouged out by a drunken masseuse.
There is one inherent design problem with this gadget and no doubt you have spotted it?
If one has followed the printed instructions and tightly bound the eye pad to one's head, it is impossible to read the instructions further.
This results in a feverish fumbling as you struggle with the keypad and its very slightly raised control buttons.
Now which was heat? No not that one - that's tapping. No, not that one either ..... as the pad rather painfully vibrates on the bridge of the Caucasian nose.
So what will this item be good for after the novelty has worn off? No doubt after staring at the credit card statements that record such follies I will be in need of its use.
News yesterday of the fall of another colonial icon to Arab merchants. This time it is Robinson's department store in Orchard Road and the new owners are from Dubai. Having recently signed up for the OCBC Bank's Robinsons Card which entitles us to lots of discounts on 'atuo' items such as the one above, we read in this morning's paper that the bank has sold its shares in the store. No doubt this will eventually mean that our card will become redundant in the scheme of things?
This however might be a blessing in disguise.
The 'atuo' stands for 'another totally useless object' and the manic variation manifests itself as an irrational desire to purchase objects, solely on the basis of a 50 to 70% sale price and irrespective of whether one actually needs the object or not.
Today's 'atuo' purchase was an OSIM eye massager for the princely sum of $S148 (we passed on the $4,500 massage leather chair after one pummelled us into submission in Plaza Singapura).Once I got the massager home and discovered how to switch the heat function off, the sensation was quite pleasant. The device is designed to relieve eye strain and stress and as I spend a lot of time in front of a PC screen, it seemed like a good idea to get one. At least that's what the salesman intimated.
After tightly adjusting the velcro strap around one's head, it is simply a matter of selecting the programme variations of choice - heat or no heat, gentle tapping or Thor style hammering and finally, the amount of air pressure. The last setting is somewhat critical and the first time I tried the unit out on too high a level, the sensation was akin to having one's eyes gouged out by a drunken masseuse.
There is one inherent design problem with this gadget and no doubt you have spotted it?
If one has followed the printed instructions and tightly bound the eye pad to one's head, it is impossible to read the instructions further.
This results in a feverish fumbling as you struggle with the keypad and its very slightly raised control buttons.
Now which was heat? No not that one - that's tapping. No, not that one either ..... as the pad rather painfully vibrates on the bridge of the Caucasian nose.
So what will this item be good for after the novelty has worn off? No doubt after staring at the credit card statements that record such follies I will be in need of its use.
News yesterday of the fall of another colonial icon to Arab merchants. This time it is Robinson's department store in Orchard Road and the new owners are from Dubai. Having recently signed up for the OCBC Bank's Robinsons Card which entitles us to lots of discounts on 'atuo' items such as the one above, we read in this morning's paper that the bank has sold its shares in the store. No doubt this will eventually mean that our card will become redundant in the scheme of things?
This however might be a blessing in disguise.
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