TR EMERITUS

By Brandon Lee [email protected] Jordan 2 Singapore 1 Lions outplayed as Jordan takes final qualification spot A 27,000 packed stadium with Jordanian fans in Amman and harsh windy conditions were prelude to a technically challenging game for Singapore. Besides the unfamiliar weather conditions and a hostile crowd, the Lions came into this game less prepared than they would have liked to as the hosts had provided sub-standard training facilities. The Jordanians always looked hungrier as they took first initiative in attack. They showed confidence in attack with delightful flick-ons in midfield to unlock a disciplined Singapore team that defended in numbers. It took just eight minutes for their attack to pay dividends as striker Odai Yousef Ismail brought the home side ahead with a well placed header. Rising above Precious, he headed in from a cross on the right from winger Amer Deeb. Singapore was quick to pile on the attacking pressure after conceding the goal. Two quick corners were won, but neither posed much danger to Jordan. The wave of attack fizzled out quickly, as the Lions were held captive in their own half by Jordan. Another fast paced attack found Odai through on goal for a shot and it took by an excellent save by Lionel Lewis and an eventual clearance by Daniel Bennett to nullify the attack. Moments later, Deeb found Odai again with a pin-point cross from the right. Odai turned easily to beat Precious and unleashed a fearsome strike only for Lewis’ to brilliant reaction save to bail the Lions out once more. It took 41 minutes, but Singapore finally had its first shot on target as Noh Alam Shah headed straight at the keeper from Qiu Li’s cross on the left. By that point, the match was fast turning into a target practice session for the Jordanians. The Lions went into the break only a goal down and were perhaps a tad lucky. Before the fans got back to their seats after half-time, Noh Alam Shah equalized with a very deft strike to the left corner of the Jordan goal. The goal breathed life into the Lions as they rediscovered confidence and piled on the attacking pressure. Good times did not last long for Singapore as the Lions’ defence caved once more from a corner on the 57th minute. Anas Bani Yassein was completely unmarked at the far post as he headed home easily to bring the home side back on the lead. Jordan had a couple of chances before the end of the game but failed to capitalize on any of them. Unmatched in every department, the Lions could only put in toothless spurts of attacks in the dying moments of the match. It did not matter in the end, but with Thailand losing in Tehran, any equalising goal from Singapore would have been enough for the team to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup. Campaign Analysis Despite finishing bottom of Group E, there are a lot of positives to take away for the Lions in this qualifying campaign. The fact that the team was still in the qualification race before the final game of the Group bears testament to the resolve the team had shown throughout. The gulf between ourselves and Asian powerhouse Iran was evident over the two legs (we lost 6-0 and 3-1), but we have proven to be a fair match against both Thailand and eventual qualifier Jordan. Our match up against Thailand over two legs was interesting because of our regional rivalry and we proved that we can beat them, when Aleksander Duric’s goal sealed a famous victory in Bangkok in November last year. In Hariss Harun, we have one of the most promising central midfielders of our time. He is only just 19 and is already a key player in the team. He was easily our best player against Jordan and he never looked overawed by the atmosphere. If FAS can provide support and opportunity for him for an overseas stint in the near future, it can only be a good thing for him and the national team. Noh Alam Shah, who scored the goal, has three goals to his name for this campaign – an impressive return considering the quality on the display. At 29, he may not get any quicker, but by playing league football in Indonesia, he can only get more experienced in the next few years. The overall performance, together with our respectable showing during the 2010 World Cup qualification, showed that all in all, as a proper national team, we had improved much over the years. Bear in mind that our other regional rivals (besides Thailand) had done a lot poorer at this stage, yet we have one of the smallest pool of professional players to choose from. These two campaigns, albeit unsuccessful, can form the bedrock of our development. The next major pan-Asian campaign for the national team would be qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. That will probably kick off a couple of years from now, but this period of time is crucial in terms of personnel matters. Some senior players will opt for retirement, to allow young blood come through the ranks in the coming months. Optimism (or blind faith, as some might say) aside, part of the success of the team depends on the support from local media and fans. Rather than lamenting the failure of the team, this editorial team had decided to stand behind the team and hope that our next qualifying campaign will eventually turn out to be successful. About the Author - Brandon is a freelance writer who strives to be a model citizen. He likes Green Tea without the tinge of Jasmine.  Read More →

OPINION During a recent parliamentary session, PAP MP Ong Ah Heng from Yishun Central admitted quite frankly that he had sacked Singapore elderly workers and replaced them with foreigners in his constituency in his impassioned defence of foreigner workers: “I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse,” he said. (read article here) Let us recall two elderly Singaporeans who are forced to work well into their twilight years because they cannot afford to retire. We leave readers to judge for themselves if they are really as "lazy and too old" as described by MP Ong Ah Heng: Case #1: Interview with a 80 year old Toilet attendant Prologue: On 10 February 2009, Lianhe Wanbao published a feature of an elderly couple working as toilet attendants who have to eat outside the public toilet daily just to earn a few extra cents. (Read article here) We caught up with Madam Chen Ying to record this interview with her to shed more light on her daily life. PART 1 Read the full interview here PART 2 Read the full interview here Case #2: Struggles of a 76 year old Singapore street scavenger Prologue: Zheng Jie Wo struggles to load another empty box onto her trolley. At 76, she is besieged by joint pain brought on by a life of hard work. She can barely push the trolley that she uses to collect Singapore's discarded cardboard, cans and paper. "I still have to work even if it is painful. It hurts here in my joints and here to. I have got chronic arthritis." Zheng has been living on the streets for about seven years. Read the full interview here  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In one of the most stunning and outlandish remarks made to date by a PAP MP on the Budget, Mr Koo Tsai Kee seems to have forgotten to put on his thinking cap in his eagerness to please his superior Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Tanjong Pagar MP Koo Tsai Kee who is also the Minister of State for Defence heaped generous praises on DPM Teo as being the "best man" to lead the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council because of his long years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Mr Koo claimed that SAF has been "practising productivity all this while" because "there are no foreign workers or foreign talent in the SAF, which is made up entirely of Singapore soldiers." "The SAF, despite its manpower constraints, has been able to face up to a widening range of security threats in recent years under Defence Minister Teo....And I am not saying this because he's my boss," he added. With due respect to Mr Koo, one need not be a MP or Minister of State for the matter to realize the simple fact that foreigners will not be employed by SAF or any armies in the world for security reasons unless they are mercenaries and any Singapore male who has served two years of National Service will be able to attest to the amount of wastage which is going on within SAF. It is an oxymoron to deduce that SAF is "productive" just because there are no foreigners on its payroll. As for his "trust" in his superior, it appears to be misplaced too. DPM Teo told CNA a few days ago that Singapore has made "progress" previously in its productivity drive: “We have made good progress in the past in our productivity drive and that is why we have been able to move our economy forward and have good jobs for many Singaporeans. But this is a constant effort and we have to renew and re-double our efforts,” he was quoted as saying. However, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Singapore's productivity has been dropping for the last three years with the steepest decline in 2008 at 6.6 per cent. It averaged a miserable 0.7 percent increase per year for the last decade, the lowest among developed nations. How such a dismal performance can be misconstrued as "good progress" is anybody's guess. Singaporeans should not place too much hope on either DPM Teo or Mr Koo to spear-head Singapore's productivity drive to reach its lofty target of 3 percent increase per year for they still seem clueless of the reality on the ground.  Read More →