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That was my initial reaction to seeing those ugly trunks worn by the Singapore waterpolo team in the Asian Games. And after an initial “cooling down period”, I looked at them and went “eee… why like that?” again.

Not for an unnamed Singapore official in Guangzhou. He/she told The New Paper that it looked “obscene”. Next, Carol Tan, the resilience and marketing division director at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts denied any involvement with the design of the trunks.

 Ms Tan said: “We would have told them that their design is inappropriate as we want elements of the Flag to be treated with dignity.”

 Not their fault.

 Quite predictably, when team manager Samuel Wong heard about the complaints, he said: “There was no question of being disrespectful to Singapore or to the national flag. We sincerely apologise if it has offended anyone.”

A remarkable show of national pride, but Mr Wong and Ms Tan can save their apologies for me. I may find the design ugly and funny, but it will take a much bigger and thicker crescent moon to offend me. Apparently, the majority of Singaporeans are perfectly OK with the trunks. Even those who objected to them only had issues with the crescent moon and not with the stars. I’m not sure how small they’ll have to make the crescent moon to please everybody, but the last thing we need is for some puritanical prig to stand up and condemn the harmless trunks. And let’s not make the crescent moon too small or it’ll look paedophilic.

 The trunks may look ugly and/or silly, but as a patriotic Singaporean, I’m not even going to say that they are ugly and/or silly. I’m going to say that they look great on our waterpolo team and all my support goes out to them. May they do our country proud and wear it over that unnamed official’s head after the match.

Dr Chan Joon Yee is a dentist and blogger who loves mountain climbing and backpacking. Self proclaimed to be a dreamer, rebel and maverick, he writes at http://www.newagedentists.com/

Jonathan Wong’s arrest for possession of child pornography, and the subsequent revelation of the fact that he is a recipient of a Ministry of Education (MOE) teaching scholarship, has set many wondering if scholarship selection processes are adequate or sufficiently all-encompassing. Allegations that Jonathan had been previously dealt with disciplinarily in high school for serious offences have further compounded opinions. The report, “References And Interviews Are Key To Scholarship Selection” (November 20, 2010 by Miss Ng Jing Yng, makes the salient point that disciplinary records should constitute an important element of the application process.

Realistically, it is virtually impossible to determine an individual’s character and integrity in spite of the psychometric assessments, interview processes or personal statements. The Public Service Commission’s (PSC) over-reliance on “teachers and principals” to assess a student’s behaviour over a period of time might be misplaced. References are often biased by schools and teachers’ relationships with the students, and the pertinent desire to increase the number of scholars produced; further, applicants have been trained to handle a plethora of interview situations so as to be perceived favourably; while conduct grades are hardly accurate determinants of an applicant’s personality and overall disposition. Even as an all-round evaluation remains a tall order for scholarship boards, including a review of one’s disciplinary history would definitely render the selection process slightly more wholesome and holistic.

This is particularly important for a teaching scholarship, since educators are expected to be exemplary individuals not just in teaching-learning per se, but also as role models – in character and values – for their students to emulate. Even if there are blemishes on the records, the key is not to pass judgement right away, but to ascertain whether the student has genuinely reflected upon the mistake and progressed. We are not expecting scholars to be perfect goody two shoes; but people who learn, grow and mature with time.

With this episode, as the scholarship boards seriously review their methodologies and include reviews of their applicants’ disciplinary records, Jonathan should be given a second chance. Undoubtedly, his teaching scholarship would be revoked as he potentially faces up to five years imprisonment, but the MOE should help facilitate his rehabilitation process together with his family and friends. Even as his actions should never be condoned, Jonathan should be allowed to repent and think upon his actions, and speedily move along a recovery process.

His offences with regard to child pornography would certainly serve as a stern warning for many in Singapore and around the world. However, if his rehabilitation process can be followed through respectfully, it would reflect well on Singapore and the MOE.

Kwek Jinyao is a 19-year-old NSF, formerly from Hwa Chong Junior College. As an activist on education issues, he blogs at http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/ He feels that only with constructive criticisms and self-evaluation would people progress and prosper.

The identity of Singapore from the eyes of the world

                   Your Singapore, Clean and Green. In Today’s newspaper article dated 4^th November 2010, on top of focusing on Singapore’s cleanliness and greenery, a tremendous amount of attention was also put in perspective regarding Singapore’s strong performance in attracting businesses. Over the years, Singapore’s tax friendly, low interest rate climate, and low corruption, has triggered an influx of foreigners coming to Singapore.  With an environment that encourages diverse culture to thrive and one that focus on the interconnectivity among people, it is essential for Singaporeans to be more prepared to compete at a global level. Skills are the validation of pre-success in Singapore.

                   Being in Singapore for years since 1997, my friends had labelled me as a semi-product of Singapore. During some occasions, they even asked me whether I have developed the infamous “kiasuism”. I was delighted to see that the definition was found in the 1997 edition Australian Macquarie Dictionary. Kagda (1993) in Business Times refers kiasuism as the “negative complement of competitiveness”. Equipped with this unique Singaporean identity, it is even more so, necessary to inject foreign blood. This will exert Singaporeans to be collectively more driven to improve their skills in order to gain competitive advantage, not only among their peers to increase the overall performance level, but also over foreign talents.

                   Competition breeds commitment and willpower. These will eventually do Singaporeans good by having a healthy competition against foreigners, generally, in terms of universities and job placements.  2 weeks ago, Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said that Singaporeans need to strive for “excellence instead of just being competent”. I think the same could be applied to foreigners. Foreigners would need to understand that in order to obtain and sustain a job in Singapore, one has to be exceptional. This is why foreigners’ formal denomination is called foreign talents.

                   Just about a week ago, Standard Chartered regional CEO, Ray Ferguson denounced his British citizenship to become a Singaporean. Reason being, Singapore “has become a talent magnet and international headquarter” for foreigners. He could be the word of mouth in delivering compelling messages to friends that Singapore is a good place to stay in. Through positive viral marketing, it could motivate foreigners to have a vested interest in venturing to Singapore. This could grow the economy of the country.

                   What makes us the way we are? Conventional answers could be due to the stress level and state of mind. Just like in economics, when the barriers of entry are lowered, competitors will find it easy to enter the market. The more competitors there are in the market, the more skill-savvy the other companies have to be – be innovative, be creative and stay on as a worthy opponent to new comers.

                   Overtime, I feel that Singaporeans do need to develop “resilience” as their identity, with the notion of persevering until the end of their goal under volatile business environment. While a foreigner like me, who has stayed in Singapore for almost 10 years now and experienced the life of studying and working, are now embracing Singapore as my home. It is still a perfect environment despite the harsh reality that obtaining and sustaining a work in Singapore is and will be challenging. However, if it does enlarge my capacity and expand my learning agility like the speed of a Mass Rapid Transit, I will be more than willing to take up the challenge and inject “kiasuism” elixir unto me as a driving force to build a better live for my family and contribute to Singapore’s Gross Domestic Income movement.

 Fletcher Luhur is a 24-year-old Chinese-Indonesian student pursuing after his 2^nd Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Management at the PSB Academy. In his free time, he fiddles with his Canon DSLR to capture shots of artistic moments.

Imagine….stepping into a shopping mall wanting to have a great time shopping and spending your hard-earned money but all you could get was rude customer service or going home empty handed because nothing fits.

Imagine…your biggest crush ever telling you I will have you as a girlfriend/boyfriend if you are slim. Imagine always walking with blisters…

Imagine being rejected at an interview just because
you are obese….

I have been obese almost all of my life. If I have my health booklet with me now, I will have scanned for you my records since I was a baby. Recently, there’s been lots of news that 1 in 10 Singaporeans are obese. How healthy exactly is Singaporeans perception of obesity? Is it as healthy as the slimming ads we all see every time we switch
on the TV, flip the papers, browse the magazines? Or is it as healthy as the sizes on the retail shelves? Mainstream media is a very powerful marketing tool. Have you ever seen any ads prominently on main stream media to advise the morbidly underweight to put on weight? Or any health centres encouraging you to take up their fitness package to keep fit and healthy as compared to slimming ads?

The key is to be healthy, is it not? The thing is “SLIM IS NOT NECESSARILY HEALTHY” likewise “OBESE IS NOT NECESSARILY UNHEALTHY”.

I do not deny the fact that obesity does have higher risks of getting heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc…BUT these can be improved/avoided with proper lifestyle and education. I am an example who was mildly diabetic but with proper diet control, I am in the healthy range now. Perhaps, instead of 1 in 10 Singaporeans are obese, why not 1 in 10 Singaporeans have a higher need to adopt a healthy lifestyle? Obesity, at times are not by choice, there are obese people who inherited obesity. We will be very soon, like the United States of America. For those of you who have watched “Supersize Me”, you will realise its only a matter of time that we have a fast food joint every time we turn a corner. Lifestyle choices that we make in our daily lives are a very big part of us. I have friends who are slim but unhealthy and friends who are obese but the doctors are amazed at how healthy they are.

We have stigmatised, many of us, obese people. Obesity means unhealthy, untidy, undesirable, undeserving… I, at least 50% overweight, since Secondary School, have excelled at work and school. I have always been the leader and never have let obesity be the obstacle. I have never let the excuse of “no clothes can fit me” or “I am obese” to bring me down at interviews. However, there’s still always this bit in me that resisted shopping and going out with slim
pretty girlfriends when I was younger. Stepping into a retail shop, before you could check on anything, the sales girl will tell me, “Sorry, don’t have your size.” or they won’t even bother serving me. Is that healthy? No, its not! It’s detrimental to my emotional health.

How about that?

Why don’t most retail shops in Singapore carry sizes up to UK24, like in the United States? Does being Asian mean being smaller? I beg to differ. It’s super irritating to see signages at the selected few retail shops, that sell plus size clothes indicating that they have sizes for up to XXXXXXL…and I have to count how many X’s there are.
If one day, UK18 (XXXL) is equivalent to M size, that will make the current size S, XXXXXS, now you may start counting! Being plus size doesn’t mean that I have to wear black clothes, ugly designs, and clothes with no cutting. Instead, we have the need, like every other man or woman to dress up to the nines, wear stylish clothes that flaunt our curves, colours that make us happy. We have every right and every need.

Look at plus size actors and actresses in Hollywood. There they are, standing tall, bright and cheerful in pretty clothes and winning awards on the red carpet. Why so in Singapore that most plus size actors/actresses are being made comedian roles or being made a mockery of most of the time? Media…media…media…why does it have to be typecast this way? Tsk Tsk Tsk…Do you know that there are
obese people out there who can act, sing and dance really well?! I, for one, got praised for dancing most of the time and was a pretty good actress in my ELDDS days in non-comical roles! We should not live in stereotyped lives, lives that others made out for any kind of people. The media is simply the media, they do what they do, we
have to just accept that. And we in turn, do what we do.

The point is, after all, we are all human. Regardless of whether you are slim or obese, you only have one life in this world! Would you rather your life be wasted moping around or create and empower your own life and live it to the fullest?! If you are obese and you are at home, living in darkness and sadness, its time for you to accept the world as it is, and live your own life. Take the first step, be confident. It’s your life, no one has any control over it except yourself. If you are a non-obese person, always giving negative remarks, or perhaps, one of those sales persons at the retail shops, perhaps its time for you to accept us for who we are. We are no different from any other person except for the size. We may be obese but we are not necessarily unhealthy! Remember that.

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Erica Sim is the owner of Online shopping portal Big N Beautiful, providing clothes for plus size women and empowering them to be comfortable in their own skin. She blogs at http://bab.com.sg/blog/

Gone are the days of serenity in the heartland. With the recent murder of Darren Ng at Downtown East, Pasir Ris is no longer the safe haven that everyone makes it out to be. Yes, many of us Singaporeans are aware that the crime rates in Singapore are low, with murders happening very rarely. There is nothing shocking about that. However, what really got the entire nation gasping was the fact that the murder took place at the Ehub in Downtown East, a mall where throngs of people patronize daily. Violence is taking a public stand now. People are not afraid to kill others right before the eyes of the public. What is this world turning into? Tsk.

While reading the various articles, the only questions that kept screaming out were ‘What were the killers thinking?’ and ‘Have they not considered the consequences of their actions?’ What perturbed me the most about the murders was that those boys had the courage to kill Darren in front of parents and children and laugh it off. Did they spare a thought for the trauma that those poor, innocent kids could have in the years to come?

My mum was reading the papers and cursing the murderers with every breath. She wants them dead, and so did a lot of other people I know. No one could actually fathom how anyone of average intellectual capacity would do such a despicable act. The public outcry is apparent, and most people are for Darren. However, there are some who feel Darren’s death was imminent and that he ‘deserved it’. But seriously, who actually deserves to be killed for such trivial matters? If I had a penny for every time I stared at someone, I would be a millionaire by now.

So what will be a deserving form of punishment for the four murderers? Some people suggested a public hanging, slow slicing, and other nonsensical forms of torture. I’m definitely not going to consent to all those mentioned above as we Singaporeans are not barbaric. Initially, I was supportive of the idea of a death sentence. I was adamant to see the murderers pay for their mistakes with their lives. I hated them for causing so much pain. The court should spare them no leniency.

And then, things took a turn today.

After looking at the photos of Darren’s wake in The New Paper, it dawned on me that there could be four more wakes coming up, and four more sets of pictures of people weeping for four lives lost. We already know that their deaths will not bring Darren back. We definitely know that their deaths would bring more sorrow and pain. So why are we becoming the murderers now? Some people may scream that this is absurd and that the murder warrants a death sentence. However let’s look at the issue from this new perspective: – The guilt of having killed someone is enough to haunt them for life. Death is only just going to end it quicker for them.

I think they have already got what they deserved.

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Kenneth Teng is currently a first-year Business student at the Nanyang Technological University. He’s a closet introvert and a social butterfly, all at the same time. He blogs at http://www.omgitskennethteng.wordpress.com.

Is Temasek Review credible?

Like last week’s Toto results, it is impossible to predict if an anonymous blog will be credible. Miscreants and hotheads do exist out there to sow discord and spout untruths. But on the flipside, some anonymous blogs can be a revelation. So, how do we judge Temasek Review, an anonymous Singaporean blog set up with the intention of offering “independent, balanced and unbiased coverage on socio-political affairs in Singapore?” Here’s how to start: Avoid dismissing anonymous blogs immediately, simply because they can add much value to public debate. Take for instance Colby Buzzell, a former US soldier who operated an anonymous blog offering first-hand accounts of the Iraqi War. For him, staying anonymous is a matter of necessity, not preference. Similar cases are common even before the Internet era: Former US President Richard Nixon was brought down during the Watergate Scandal because of a secret informer nicknamed Deep Throat, later revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt.

So, let’s judge a blog by its content. I will give Temasek Review praise where it is due: It prospers because it capitalises well on the anger and dissatisfaction felt by a segment of Singaporeans towards the government. Its articles on foreign talent, rising prices, and human rights draw significant viewership and heated debate, and it appears to be earning some income off advertisements. On the other hand, Temasek Review is anything but “unbiased”, despite its lofty claims. It is an echo chamber where Singaporeans feed off one another’s rage, where insults are hurled at those who offer differing opinions. Too often, emotions prevail over rational debate.

As a media consumer, I detest its brand of character smearing. On Temasek Review’s long hit list includes: Jack Lin, a leader of the YPAP, Ng Wan Ching, a journalist at a local paper, and most recently Braema Mathi, an activist. The website’s attack on Jack Lin comes across as particularly vicious and immature: The insinuation that the YPAP leader is gay is besides the point and even drew flak from its own readers. So much for taking a higher moral ground than the mainstream media, which it declares to be an ideological opponent. But here’s an encouragement: I do read Temasek Review every once in a while because it produces the occasional gem. But for it to be taken seriously by the wider public, it must change its approach.

Terence Lee is a final-year Communication Studies undergraduate at NTU and his interests range from religion and mass media to politics and environmentalism. He blogs at http://irreligiously.blogspot.com.

The “Ulu Pandan bear” – bedek or not?
 

So everyone is asking, ‘bedek’ or not?

Well, first the species – this looks like the black bear, without the distinctive hump of the grizzly. It appears to be too large to be the Malayan Sun Bear which stands at up to 1.5 metres. It is heartening that people have mentioned this Southeast Asian native species as a candidate though.

Singapore has a long history of non-native species, enough for Frederick Nutter Chasen of the Raffles Library and Museum to comment as early as 1925 that it “…must be remembered that very large numbers of mammals are imported into Singapore each year for trade purposes. Individuals very frequently escape and are just as often captured or shot and brought to the Museum with the laconic statement that they were obtained in Singapore”.

So local naturalists have learnt to be cautious. Several are sharing the news clip on Facebook but without comment – reserving judgement since the photos and video are unclear. So no one is sure thus far.

The police and ACRES are on the case and have apparently taken into account the onset of Halloween, celebrated increasingly in Singapore as yet another chance to dress up, party and eat chocolate. With the emphasis on dress up. A check with costumed stores drew a blank. Assuming they are not in on the caper as well although you would think the thought of having the police comb Ulu Pandan woods would induce a confession.

Are authentic costumes available? Well, Animatronic has a decent black bear costume, and Burt the Black Bear travels to various locations so perhaps he’s here to promote something.

 
According to STOMP, Wilson Tay says, “My son took this video on his handphone, and after many views we realised it could quite simply be a bear! After it caught sight of us and started heading our way, it made sense to drive off without hesitation.” That is a sensible strategy but the clinical nature of the video clip has many thinking twice. The cynical almost immediately dismissed it in no uncertain terms as a hoax. After all, assuming the quotes were not edited out of context, the audio on the track does not, *ahem*, bear out the quote. Here is a close-up of that video below, looped a few times so you can observe and decide for yourself:

 
I thought the manner and appearance of the ‘bear’s face when it looks at the eye-witnesses and then turns away was odd; the poor quality video was too concisely edited; they uploaded it to STOMP but do not report calling the police and the voice-over saying “Singapore, got bear one, ah” is too well placed and contradicts the statement in STOMP which says, “after many views we realised it could quite simply be a bear”. Ditto the second phrase. And the absence of faecal samples, claw marks and the like in the vicinity (according to ACRES).

Meanwhile, while we ponder, the ‘bear’ has gone onto twitter to taunt us, purportedly after a lady dropped her phone and ran off, screaming. Follow the bear, who isn’t resorting to puns so far, @UluPandanBear!

 N. Sivasothi a.k.a. Otterman is a biologist who enjoys communicating science and has been using blogs since 2003 http://blog.sivasothi.com .

The shocking suicide of a college student whose sex life was broadcast over the Web illustrates yet again the Internet’s alarming potential as a means of tormenting others and raises questions whether young people in the age of Twitter and Facebook can even distinguish public from private.

Cruel gossip and vengeful acts once confined to the schoolyard or the dorm can now make their way around the world instantly via the Internet, along with photos and live video.

“It’s just a matter of when the next suicide’s going to hit, when the next attack’s going to hit,” said Parry Aftab, a New Jersey lawyer who runs the website WiredSafety.

Last week, Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and another classmate allegedly used a webcam to secretly broadcast his dorm room sexual encounters with another man. The two classmates have been charged with invasion of privacy, with the most serious charges carrying up to five years in prison.

The suicide of Clementi, a shy, gifted 18-year-old violinist, shocked and disturbed gay rights activists and others on campus.

“Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have happened,” said Rutgers student Lauren Felton, 21, of Warren, N.J. “He wouldn’t have been outed via an online broadcast, and his privacy would have been respected and he might still have his life.”

The Associated Press found at least 12 cases in the U.S. since 2003 in which children and young adults between 11 and 18 killed themselves after falling victim to some form of “cyberbullying” — teasing, harassing or intimidating with pictures or words distributed online or via text message.

In probably the best-known case, 13-year-old Megan Meier of Daddenne Prairie, Mo., hanged herself in 2006 after she received messages on MySpace — supposedly from a teenage boy — cruelly dumping her. An adult neighbor was later found guilty of taking part in the hoax, but the conviction was overturned.

Earlier this year, 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington of West Islip, N.Y., who had landed a college soccer scholarship, killed herself after receiving a stream of nasty messages.

Gregory Jantz, founder of A Place of Hope, a Seattle mental health care center, said young people who use the Internet to spread something damaging about others often don’t realize how hurtful it can be because many of them have grown up in a world that has blurred the line between public and private.

“Our kids are in a different zone now,” Jantz said.

Aftab said young people who would never bully someone face to face do it online in part because of the often-false sense of anonymity that the Internet provides.

“They’ll also jump on because they don’t want to be the next target,” Aftab said.

In Clementi’s case, prosecutors said that his roommate, Dharun Ravi of Plainsboro, N.J., and Molly Wei of Princeton, N.J., both 18-year-old freshmen, transmitted a live image of Clementi having sex on Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi’s suicide. Lawyers for Ravi and Wei did not return calls.

Luanne Peterpaul, vice chairwoman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality and a former New Jersey prosecutor, said authorities might be able to pursue the case as a hate crime under state law if they are able to establish that the defendants acted because they believed Clementi was gay.

Ravi posted a message on his now-closed Twitter account on Sept. 19: “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”

Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan said in a statement: “We will be making every effort to assess whether bias played a role in the incident, and, if so, we will bring appropriate charges.”

A lawyer for Clementi’s family did not respond to requests for comment on whether Clementi had come out to friends and family about his sexual orientation. He also said the family had no comment.

The mourning continued at Rutgers; in Ridgewood, the suburban New Jersey town where Clementi grew up and attended high school; and across New Jersey.

Clementi’s violin teacher for the past five years could not believe he had taken his own life.

“He was a very genuine and, I guess, you could call it a shy person,” said Khullip Jeung, 33, who teaches out of his home in Fort Lee. “But when he played the violin, it was different. He had a strong voice. He knew what he wanted to say. And he spoke through his violin. And I think that is the real Tyler that I knew.”

Childhood friend Mary Alcaro, who played in a summer music academy with him, said Clementi had been destined for greatness.

“I’ve never heard anyone make a violin sing the way he did,” she said in an e-mail.

Even Gov. Chris Christie had something to say.

“As the father of a 17-year-old, I can’t imagine what those parents are feeling today,” he said. “Those people who led him to that bridge are going to have to bear that responsibility for the rest of their lives.”

Students at West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional High School, from which Ravi and Wei graduated, remembered them as nice people who were not in any way homophobic.

Ravi had gay friends, said Derek Yan, 16, a junior. Yan said he chatted online with Ravi about what college life was like, and Ravi “said he was lucky to have a good roommate. He said his roomate was cool.”

The author is Gilbert Goh and he is the Founder of DontCyberbully.com, an educational support site. He runs this multi-disciplinary active site so as to provide solace to cyber sufferers.

John is 25 and recently graduated from the local varsity.  Just fresh out of school, getting a job quickly is the order of the day.

Like so many young Singaporeans, aspirations naturally accompany the launch of one’s career and the newly found earning power.  If the Singapore Dream is still judged by the attainment of the materialistic benchmark of 5 ‘Cs’, then we should not be surprised that the motivation to flash an American Express card, drive a BMW, reside in Sentosa Cove, tee-off at Singapore Island Country Club and have a handsome savings account in a private bank will be the things that dreams are made of.

For a young adult, is this increasingly out of reach and may also be too backbreaking to achieve?  The media and in particular, the Internet have combined to bombard the new job seekers with visions of high life and images of glitzy living.  If you look around the swanky offices in Raffles Place, drinking a $6 frappuccino daily, surfing on an iPad or totting around a Louis Vuitton bag may seem to be more of a necessity than luxury in this era.  Whether one has the ability to fuel the lifestyle or seek debt to underwrite it is always the worrying question.  Perhaps this come as no surprise that the recent report from DP Credit Bureau showed up that younger Singaporeans are increasingly defaulting on their debts and facing pressure to effectively manage the credit they are given. 

And consumption-related debt may not be the only liabilities shouldered by the young people in their 20s.  The increasingly out-of-reach real estate prices translate into bigger mortgages with higher repayment costs but on the other hand, wages have not matched the astronomic rise in property prices.

So is the case with university loans.  Soaring tuition fees and the gradual reduction subsidies mean that students may be graduating with tens of thousands in loans before they even kick off their careers.

And if you add the costs of getting hitched or starting a family into the equation, the numbers can get quite mind boggling!  Wedding photo-shoots in Australia, banquet dinner at a 5-star hotel, honeymoon in an African safari park.

Before a set of loans gets repaid, more are being chalked up.  It all adds up.

Can the ‘neo-generation’ cope anymore?  Or would the feeble economy and the spectre of another global financial crisis turn them into a ‘ninja generation’ instead?  No income, no job and no assets.  The dream is out of reach and it is time to face reality.

Lincoln Teo is the General Manager of DP Credit Bureau and feels passionately about all things related to credit.

Personally, I’m not a risk taker. I’m a saver and a hoarder, garang guni if you’d say so. Some of my friends are making money from buying shares, but I wouldn’t follow blindly yet too lazy to get educated. I park my funds in 1 life insurance, 1 fixed deposit 1 reit (something like a share but it gives quarterly dividends=cash) and 2 savings accounts. Very simple, nothing complicated. I’m not sure if it covers me completely though.
I discipline myself to save at least half of what I earn, and then dip into this savings when I reward myself with something expensive. With money, comes power. On average, a Singaporean owns 5 credit cards. The highest age group that defaults on credit card payments is the 21-29 year olds. Certainly a high roller by then, interests snow balling.
Credit cards are Evil.

How else can we then spend within our limits, purchase online (very important for Gen X who are not old enough for debit/ credit cards), and sign signatures (act rich) for purchases like our parents do?
DBS Visa prepaid Card. designed and issued exclusively because of the YOG, these cards can be pre-loaded up to $500 and can be used for retail, online, overseas or locally. Wherever Visa card is accepted, it also doubles as an Ez-link card. The easiest way to get them is at Singpost. You can activate and top up at one stop.