Lee Kuan Yew, a concerned leader |
- Lee Kuan Yew, a concerned leader
- Singapore national mourning in public phase at Parliament House
- Report: Facebook emerges as most-visited site compared to Twitter or Google+
- Alaska through the eyes of a solo hiker
- Cuepacs: Revise salary scheme before May 1
| Lee Kuan Yew, a concerned leader Posted: 24 Mar 2015 05:56 PM PDT
Tang Chong Kuan, the manager at the community centre then, recounted this yesterday, illustrating how Lee was a concerned leader who took care of his constituents' everyday needs. " Lee had always been concerned about the needs of residents," said Tang, who was speaking at the tribute centre set up at People's Association's (PA) headquarters yesterday in memory of the organisation's founding chairman.
Keenly aware of the importance of racial harmony and social cohesion in the nation-building years, Lee set up PA on July 1, 1960, to oversee community centres in housing estates so the community had a place to bond. The PA also organises community visits by government leaders and fosters the emergence of community leaders, through Community Club Management Committees and Residents' Committees. Yesterday, past and present PA staff and members of the public began streaming in after the tribute centre opened at noon, with the numbers swelling to more than 3,000 within four hours. Queues formed to sign the condolence books, while many stayed behind to watch a tribute video to Lee, which was played on a large screen. A long-time PA staff member Peh Seow Kuan, who is now constituency manager of Tanjong Pagar CC, said Lee inspired her and her colleagues to take their work seriously. "When Lee was working, he was very serious and meticulous. And that made us feel like we should, in turn, try to be like him, and be serious in our work," said the 66-year-old. Long Khin Suan, a former regional officer with PA, added: " Lee was able to think of things in a wider picture, of things that we normally wouldn't be able to think of." He remembered the time when he and his colleagues had made a mistake and felt bad and guilty about it. But Lee did not blame them, saying that it was only a small matter. But Lee had a softer side that shone through when he attended events, said Peh. "He was actually really amiable, despite how serious he was all the time. He was quite friendly — it was so easy for people to talk to him," she said. " Lee would talk to the children of staff members and participants while at events. He would ask the children questions, advise their parents, and joke with them. He was a person who would always take care of other people." These contrasting sides of Lee was what PA chief executive director Ang Hak Seng admired the most about Singapore's founding Prime Minister. "He was a leader — a leader who would not hesitate to make difficult decisions, a leader who cared for his people, a leader with vision who made people have faith in him and follow him," he said. — TODAY  |
| Singapore national mourning in public phase at Parliament House Posted: 24 Mar 2015 05:52 PM PDT
Lee's casket will be carried on a ceremonial gun carriage in a solemn procession that will see it traverse the lawns of the Istana, before making its way through parts of the Central Business District. In doing so, it will afford Singaporeans, who have thus far travelled in droves to the various tribute centres nationwide, a way to pay their last respects in person to a man who has touched many lives. Preparations for the lying-in-state began yesterday, with barricades for queues and tentages for people to go through security scans set up outside Parliament House. A huge turnout is expected, with organisations and companies making plans to ferry their members and employees, respectively, to the venue. Credit Suisse and DBS, for example, are understood to have chartered buses to provide transport for employees from their offices. Several firms, including BNP Paribas Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore and law firm Rajah & Tann, have also allowed their staff to take time off from work to pay their respects. Staff of the National Trades Union Congress can also request for time off, subject to work exigencies, its spokesperson said. A BNP Paribas Singapore spokesperson said: "Mr Lee was instrumental in building Singapore into the key financial hub it is today and we believe that it is important for our employees to have the chance to pay their last respects to the founding father of this successful nation." StanChart Singapore CEO Neeraj Swaroop added: "Mr Lee Kuan Yew had dedicated himself to build a nation where there was none, pursued a vision for Singapore, and built a first class country that every Singaporean should be proud of ... For a man who had done so much for Singapore, this is the least that we can do." At 9am today, a coffin bearer party — led by Brigadier-General Ong Tze-Ch'in, Commander 3rd Division, and comprising eight officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police Force — would drape the state flag over Lee's casket, the highest state honour accorded to a leader. The coffin bearers would carry the casket and make their way to the gun carriage waiting just outside the entrance of Sri Temasek. Eight pallbearers, made up of people who had worked for Lee at the Istana and in his Office, would be behind the carriage as part of a 70m foot procession. The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Band would play Beethoven Funeral March No 1 during the procession, which would be led by his family members including Lee's three children — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang — and seven grandchildren. The carriage would pass by a military line of honour comprising 48 personnel from the SAF Military Police Command, and 20 representatives from Lee's Tanjong Pagar ward and Lee Hsien Loong's Teck Ghee ward. After the foot procession, the carriage would proceed towards The Istana main buiding, making its way past a garden. A dozen Istana landscape technicians and horticulturalists would be lined up along the entrance to the garden. At The Istana Plaza, President Tony Tan and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong would offer their respects, along with 90 staff from the President's Office, and the Prime Minister's Office, and 24 Ceremonial Guards. As the carriage comes to a stop, a bag piper from the Singapore Gurkha Contingent will play "Auld Lang Syne." The carriage would then make its way out of the Istana grounds, with 24 Ceremonial Guards from the SAF Military Police Command forming a line of honour at the main gate as a mark of respect to the Republic's first Prime Minister. Leaving the Istana, the carriage will pass through Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road enroute to Parliament House where the casket would be received by the Chief of Defence Force Ng Chee Meng, Commissioner of Police Hoong Wee Teck, Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yaacob, as well as the Prime Minister and the rest of the family. Unlike previous state funerals for the country's leaders, the state funeral for Lee will see, for the first time, the tri-service chiefs — Chief of Army Perry Lim, Chief of Navy Lai Chung Han and Chief of Air Force, Major-General Hoo Cher Mou — being part of the first Vigil Guards, which would also consist of Lieutenant-General Ng and Major-General Chia Choon Hoong, Chief of Staff-Joint Staff. The traditional mounting of Vigil Guards during the lying in state period symbolises the highest form of respect accorded to the deceased. Lee's friends and former colleagues will also hold vigil at Parliament House. They will be joined by representatives from various national agencies, as a reflection of his diverse contributions to nation-building, the Government said. Members of the public who wish to pay their last respects at Parliament House can do so from 10am to 8pm daily from today to Saturday. A state funeral service will be held on Sunday afternoon at the National University of Singapore's University Cultural Centre. — TODAY |
| Report: Facebook emerges as most-visited site compared to Twitter or Google+ Posted: 24 Mar 2015 05:47 PM PDT
While 73 per cent of those surveyed said they visited Facebook at least once a month, only 42 per cent of them said they were truly active users. 36 per cent of respondents said they had logged into Twitter, 29 per cent to Google+ and 25 per cent to LinkedIn over the past 30 days. In terms of contributions, only 22 per cent of respondents had posted to Twitter, 21 per cent to Google+ and 13 per cent per cent to LinkedIn. While social network users often spend two hours per day on the sites, certain services appear to be more addictive than others. For example, nearly 75 per cent of active Facebook users said they log into the site at least once daily. The majority of active users of YouTube, Google+, Twitter and Instagram also visit the platforms at least once per day, while most active Tumblr, LinkedIn and Pinterest users log in just once a week at the most. Users love to like on Facebook Facebook is the social network where users are most likely to have read an article posted to their newsfeed: 53 per cent said they had read at least one in the past 30 days, compared to 45 per cent of Google+ users and 42 per cent of Twitter users. Facebook is also the platform where internet users are most likely to express their approval of content. 70 per cent of those surveyed reported using the Like button on Facebook at least once a month, compared to just 33 per cent who used the +1 feature on Google+ or retweeted a message on Twitter. Finally, despite the growing popularity of mobile apps for social networking, PCs are still the primary device used to access the sites. 60 per cent of respondents said they still log in at least once a month from a PC, compared to 40 per cent from a smartphone and 20 per cent from a tablet. The study was carried out by GlobalWebIndex, which conducts quarterly surveys of over 40,000 internet users aged 16 to 64 from 32 countries around the world. ― AFP-Relaxnews |
| Alaska through the eyes of a solo hiker Posted: 24 Mar 2015 05:45 PM PDT Duration: 3:40, Published 25 Mar 2015 Alaska is the perfect place for outdoorsy people interested in exploring pure, uncontaminated nature. Adventurer Morgan S was brave enough to go backpacking across central Alaska by herself with a few supplies and her camera. |
| Cuepacs: Revise salary scheme before May 1 Posted: 24 Mar 2015 05:34 PM PDT
Its president Datuk Azih Muda said Cuepacs was confident it would not involve a big increase in the allocation of government expenditure. "We are confident of the government's capacity after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and request the enforcement date for this scheme to be effective from January 2015 for all," he told reporters after attending An Evening with the President of Cuepacs Malaysia programme here yesterday. Azih said the government should conduct a review of salaries deferred over the past 15 years due to the rising cost of living being so high at present. He also hoped Cuepacs would be given access to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the the near future to submit complaints and grievances of civil servants from across the country. — Bernama |
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