Blog Posts by Daniel Teo

Want a glimpse of what Singapore was like about 40 years ago?

Then head down to the Singapore Science Centre, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary by showcasing vintage cameras, calculators, watches, photographs and other memorabilia that were buried in the centre’s foundation stone in 1973 by Dr Toh Chin Chye.

The Science Capsule, which contained the items, was dug up and was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on Tuesday.

Teo said, “Since the Science Centre Singapore was opened in December 1977, it has played a pivotal role in transforming the way students and the public discover and learn about the marvels of science and technology.

“Working closely with its partner, the Science Centre has captured the essence of key scientific developments through unique exhibitions, making science come alive to Singaporeans, young and old, from all walks of life.

“The Science Centre plays an important role, by exciting children about science and technology from a young age. This

A 27-year-old man is being referred to the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) for investigation after 21 puppies were found in the spare tyre compartment of a car at the Woodlands Immigration Checkpoint on Tuesday
 
According to a statement by the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) on Friday, officers noticed that the lone male driver was “visibly nervous” when his Singapore-registered car pulled over for arrival clearance.
 
The car was then directed for further checks and the officers found 14 pomeranians and seven pugs sedated and lying side by side after lifting the cover of the spare tyre compartment.
 
The puppies are currently under observation at AVA’s Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station.
 
The ICA and AVA would like to remind travellers against bringing live animals, birds and insects into Singapore without a proper permit.
 
It added that animals that are smuggled into Singapore are of unknown health status. In the case of dogs and cats, the foremost concern is the risk

UPDATE at 22 Nov, 4:30pm: Adds Gallup partner's advice to Singapore leaders on improving citizens' lives

Are Singaporeans unfeeling?

The city state has been ranked the most emotionless society in the world, according to a Gallup poll.

The U.S. pollster conducted the survey in over 140 countries and asked questions such as: ‘Did you smile laugh a lot yesterday?’, ‘Felt respected or well-rested?’ and ‘Did you experience the following feelings a lot during the day yesterday? (Enjoyment, physical pain, worry, sadness, stress, anger)’.

Only 36 per cent of Singaporeans polled responded affirmatively to the questions – the lowest behind Georgia, Lithuania, and Russia.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Philippines came up tops as the most emotional society ahead of El Salvador and Bahrain.

Yahoo! Singapore sought the views of Singaporeans on these survey results.

Jose Raymond, executive director of the Singapore Environment Council and district councilor of the North East Community Development

The target of $30,000 to clear opposition leader Chee Soon Juan's bankruptcy has been raised.
 
This was announced Monday on the website of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) where Chee is the secretary-general.

Chee revealed on 11 September that former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong have accepted his offer of $30,000 to settle his debts with them and get out of bankruptcy.
 
That news boosted the campaign of the Discharge CSJ Fund, which was set up to sell Chee's latest book Democratically Speaking and raise the target amount.
 
Chee thanked those who have contributed to the fund which was raised in just 10 days.
 
He said in the website, "I want to thank everyone who chipped in. It was a stunning success and it was the effort of the people who showed that they wanted to write the story of Singapore's Democracy."
 
Chee, who could stand for the 2016 general elections if his bankruptcy is cleared, went on to deflect the campaign attention from himself.

He added, "This campaign

Yahoo! Singapore asked our readers last Friday to submit their responses to ‘Zing’s “Letter to Singapore” wherein the author talked about falling in love with London and out of love with Singapore.

The 20-year-old waxed nostalgic for the former’s raw underground culture and juxtaposed it against the “jaded” feeling he or she felt for Singapore while growing up.

In response to our call, we received over 45 emails with majority of the writers expressing their love and taking a stand for their “home” Singapore while questioning the author’s criticism of Singapore given the latter’s tender age and lack of contribution to the nation.

Wong Weng Fatt, 41, a sales engineer, questioned how much of the world the author has truly seen in his/her 20 years of life to make such a sweeping judgment on Singapore.

He said, “Being 20 years of age, what does he truly know of the world? Yet in the musings, he waxes lyrically about how London allows one to be oneself. My question is does he truly know what

We asked last week if Singaporeans are becoming anti-foreigner in view of the taxi-Ferrari fatal crash -- and the result is a resounding yes.

Out of 19763 people who voted, 80% agreed that Singaporeans are turning xenophobic while the other 20% felt otherwise.

The much talked about taxi-Ferrari accident sparked nationwide interest in Singapore. The Ferrari driver Ma Chi was a China national from Sichuan and his high-speed collision into a taxi killed him along with cabby Cheng Teck Hock and Japanese passenger Shigemi Ito.

That gave already disgruntled Singaporeans another reason to vent their frustration at the government's pro-immigration policies which have resulted in over a million foreign workers and professionals into the crowded city-state.

Netizens swamped websites and forums, showing little sympathy to the Chinese expatriate and his family as anti-foreigner sentiment appeared to reach boiling point.

And the poll result reflects that sentiment, with many expressing their

Online attacks on the Chinese expatriate who drove the Ferrari in a fatal Bugis accident on Saturday have underscored simmering anti-foreigner sentiment in Singapore.

Ma Chi, a financial investor from Sichuan, China, smashed his million-dollar Ferrari into a taxi, killing himself on the spot and claiming the lives of cabby Cheng Teck Hock and Japanese cab passenger Shigemi Ito in hospital afterwards.

Netizens in Singapore have swamped local websites and forums, with majority of comments attacking the 31-year-old and inevitably foreigners in general, while those who expressed otherwise were slammed for their views.

Wolfie Densetsu, who commented on our Facebook page, believes Singapore needs to attract the right kind of foreigners, saying in one of the milder comments, ”Genuine foreign talent are always welcome, but not troublemakers."

Another user, Sin Kiang Chua, added, “A lot of foreigners are earning much much bigger bucks than locals, thus able to afford luxurious cars & housings. Not

A regular Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) serviceman was found hanging from a rope on Saturday morning in Changi Air Base, according to a statement from MINDEF.

2nd Sergeant (2SG) Suresh Seluras, an off-duty military policeman, was found stiff, unconscious and without a pulse when the SAF medic reached the site at 9:35am and tried to resuscitate him.

The 24-year-old was evacuated via an SAF ambulance to Changi General Hospital (CGH) at 10:25am as the medic continued resuscitation efforts en route to the hospital.

Suresh was pronounced dead at 10:53 am at CGH.

In the statement, the Ministry of Defence and the SAF said they extend their deepest condolences to the late serviceman's family.

The SAF said it is assisting the family in their time of grief and is investigating the incident. A police investigation will also be conducted, it said.

It is not the first death of a SAF serviceman this year.

Just last month, a 21-year-old full-time national serviceman died after suffering breathing