TR EMERITUS

I like what I have read this morning and I welcome it, ie, prime locations such as the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) coastline projects will have a range of housing types from small rental flats to bigger flats. I have seen in numerous much bigger countries where prime lands are reserved for the wealthy and the influential people's luxurious housing and slumps gathered and grow in their city outskirts etc. Singapore is a very small country and the pressure to maximise the value from our limited prime land stocks is tremendous. It takes more than a strong sense of social justice and fairness to do the right thing. It also requires courage, conviction, common sense and wisdom to do it right too. I hope that the government will not merely do this as a token gesture to pacify growing groundswell of unhappiness among its citizens facing economic uncertainities, uncertain future or squeezed wages etc. I hope to see at least 10% to 15% of public flats constructed in GSW coastline projects being rental and smaller sized flats. For one, it has a higher likelihood of spreading and filtering potential financial gains wider among our population especially among the lower income earners and two, only allocate for sale and rental of such public flats to native Singaporeans and new citizens who have gotten our citizenship for at least 15 years and more. Native male citizens need to fulfill their obligations of serving and sacrificing for National Service and for such opportunities, the pap government shouldn't just squander them playing Santa Claus with 'untested' new citizens, whether consciously or not. Think.   Simon Lim        Read More →

Singapore prides itself in being a very “conservative” place. We like to tell the world that our success is based on “Asian Values,” which means that we value the family as the building block of society and that we value the needs of society over the rights of the individual. Hence, the basis of our social policies is the fact that its usually good for the family or at least prevents harm to the idea of the family. There is however, one area where “conservative” Singapore seems to be rather “open.” That is the area of sex, especially when it involves those who are well to do. We, have, for example a thriving sex industry. The official line is that when it comes to the lower end of the market, we need to give our foreign workers an outlet otherwise they’ll rape our women (read professional middle class Chinese) and at the higher end, we need to give our expatriate workers a chance to have fun so that they can do whatever they’re doing for Singapore. As for the local Singaporean guy …. Well, let’s just say that things get particularly interesting, especially if you’re educated and a working professional. Voyeurism for example, seems to be a big thing among the guys at university, if one were to judge by the number of cases of guys getting caught peeping into the girl’s showers. Then there’s the inevitable story of a working professional getting involved in this or that sexual scandal. The latest “sexual” story to hit Singapore’s press is the story of a doctor who sued a woman who accused him of sexual harassment for libel. Details of the story can be found at ST and CNA. This story has elements of a good drama. There is, for a start, money and brought two of our larger medical groups into the picture. Dr. Julian Ong is part of HC Specialist Limited, which is listed on the Catalyst Exchange and Ms. Serene Tiong is a business development manager of Thomson Medical Group. Taken from ChannelNews Asia Then there’s the twist in the personal relationships. Ms. Tiong sued Dr. Ong and a Dr. Chan for colluding to take advantage of vulnerable women patients and she claimed to be one of them. However, there is a twist, Ms. Tiong was Dr. Chan’s lover and sued at the point when she realized that she wasn’t in an exclusive relationship with him: [LINK] As was mentioned in the case, Ms. Tiong had never complained about being vulnerable and entered the relationship with Dr. Chan before she became his patient. If you take Ms. Tiong’s professional position into consideration, its hard to argue that Ms. Tiong was unable to give consent to any relationship with Dr. Chan. You can argue that Dr. Ong and Dr. Chan had discovered the truism of “hell hath no furry like a woman scorned.” This aspect raises a question that should be asked – namely the question of whether sexual harassment laws have been weaponized. While I don’t disagree that laws against unwanted sexual harassment should exist, we also need to have some clarity of what defines unwanted sexual harassment. For example, can a man be sued for sexual harassment if he compliments a woman on the way she looks? Sure, I know most women would argue that most cases the sexual harassment is real. I remember one of my part time waitresses complaining to me about a lewd remark that the main chef had made towards her. I tried to suggest that this was “boys crude humour,” but then she looked at me and said, “and how would you feel if someone asked your daughter if she preferred them circumcised,” I got the point and raised it with the restaurant owner during our nightly drinks session and the chef and the waitress ended up making peace. However, I also had a waitress who knew how to utilize sexual harassment accusations. I first discovered it when she was asked to apologies to the Filipino colleague for throwing a tantrum in front of the customers. She refused based on the grounds that the Filipino was constantly eying her up and staring her at her breast. Within a week, the Filipino told me that there was a rumor going around that he was molesting her. The accusations were not true. This was a man I had worked with for five years and had never given the hint of being flirtatious. This was confirmed by Flesh Ball who had a stint washing cups in the Bistrot and by a friend of my kid (a friend whom my kid was quick to point out was far better looking than the waitress making the accusations). It was a struggle to make the restaurant owner understand that the Filipino guy was being shafted royally. The same waitress then had another run in with a regular customer, and threatened him with sexual harassment accusations. As the Bistrot owner said “You know he’s touchy with the girls.” This was, once again not true, a fact that I confirmed with my daughter who was a witness to this man’s behaviour with the girls. So, while I do agree that men do need to know their boundaries and that sexual harassment laws exists for a good reason, we also need to be very clear as to what constitutes sexual harassment and there needs to be a clear standard of what is proof. An amount of “innocent until proven guilty” need to apply to sexual harassment like it does to everything else and while one can argue reasonably that women don’t pull the trigger unless there’s a reason to, we cannot deny that sexual harassment accusations can be and have been weaponized against men, unfairly and with ill intent.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.      Read More →

Hit two birds with one stone! As of today, online selling is the best platform to earn. It goes hand in hand with creativity. Show your artistry with the handmade items and make money at the same time. Explore and enjoy making various handmade crafts while owning a business. Are you interested in selling handmade crafts online? Start with a small niche in the eCommerce world. Develop talents and skills with handmade products. In time, you’ll become a full-grown business. But first, know the pros and cons of online selling. Choose the best website for your venture. Selling Handmade Crafts Online: Advantages and Disadvantages Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your new endeavor. Look at how beneficial a good website for your online business. Advantages Work from home at your own desired schedule Sell handmade crafts you’re passionate to create Quick product line change Establish a loyal and repeat customer base since your store has no physical limitations Various websites and marketplace to sell Disadvantages Challenging especially when finding the perfect niche of handmade crafts Sourcing materials, production and order fulfillment is time-consuming Consistent handmade crafts with exceptional quality Repetitive work may become boring and tiresome Based on this, you’ll know how good selling handmade crafts online is. Top Websites to Sell Handmade Crafts Online Looking for the best spot to sell handmade crafts is now better. There are many eCommerce sites to choose from. Sign up to the top websites to sell your handmade product. Absolute Arts Are you an artist looking to promote and sell products? Sign up at Absolute Arts. It is an online marketplace for artists to sell unique masterpieces like paintings and sculptures. List up to 20 of your works of art for free. Do you have more than 20 works? Choose for other subscriptions and have less commission taken from sales. Also, other features become more accessible. BigCommerce Looking for an online store creation? BigCommerce is the platform you need. It walks through the process of creating and maintaining a digital store. Set up a BigCommerce account. It features your products and sells them through another marketplace. It helps business owners in just about any industry - selling handmade crafts online included. Cratejoy Cratejoy offers an interesting way to sell crafters. Handmade crafts are given in the hands of people all over the world. Basically, it is a subscription box company. Create your own subscription box and feature the handmade products. Tools and resources needed for box creation are already provided. Have access to free listings, Cratejoy customers, and different payment sites. eBay eBay is known as the online auction website. Different items like handmade crafts are sold on this website. Take note that listing fees are applied. Another fee is added upon the final sale price. Etsy The most well-known handmade craft online selling website is Etsy. setting up your own shop is easy and free. It's an excellent money selling site for one-of-a-kind items. A transaction fee of 3.5% per sale is charged. But, there are tons of free tools and guides to using for a smooth sale. Get paid in a number of ways like Google Pay and PayPal. Facebook Marketplace Do you want to sell your handmade crafts but don’t know where to find buyers? Facebook Marketplace is a perfect choice. Everyone uses Facebook nowadays. Finding a new home for your crafts is easier. Simply use a Facebook app or website. Put up pictures, descriptions, and prices. Wait for an interested buyer’s message. Promote handmade items by sharing your listings with your Facebook friends. Handmade at Amazon Amazon reached out to other sellers, specifically handmade crafters. Handmade at Amazon is a sub-site of Amazon for handmade items. Although the fees are higher, it offers great earning opportunities since it is affiliated with Amazon links. Instagram The hottest social media channel where you can sell handmade crafts online. Instagram is the perfect place to feature artwork, digital goods, clothing, and handmade crafts. Build an audience with people interested in your stuff. Upload a quality photo of your work. Combine it with relevant hashtags. Keep the channel active by posting at least 2 or 3 times a day. Gain more followers by directing people to your website. Place a link to your shop site in the bio. You may also sell directly to followers. Send a direct message with the items they might be interested in. Always collect payment first before sending out handmade crafts. This ensures your hard work is paid off. Shopify Create your own online shop with the best shop building company - Shopify. Anything is possible here. With the various tools and integrations, the process of owning and working in a shop is possible. Sign up to Shopify. Set up your own Shopify website. Design it and start adding products. Access 24/7 support to keep business intact. Shopify has a monthly fee but it offers two weeks free trial. Zibbit Zibbit caters to sellers who sell all sorts of arts. Fine arts, craft supplies, vintage items, photography products, handmade crafts, and more. The monthly plan is affordable - it includes zero listing fees or commissions and a selling website with a custom domain. Today, there are more new options for artisans to showcase and sell artworks online. Research into sourcing materials is a must. Choosing the best marketplace available is next. Find the platform that works perfectly for your business logistically and financially. Grab this opportunity. List your handmade crafts online to the best website.      Read More →