Tampines News Aug Sep 08

Our youth discuss

A batik thank-you

dual citizenship.

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CA • MI

2/03/2 ( P ) 11

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page 5

005

Our golden garden!

dinner for our PCF teachers.

• C i r c u l at i o n 6 0 , 0 0 0

• aug-sep

2008

Little feats at our

Olympic meet! Our annual PCF Sports Meet was held on 26 July at the Temasek Poly sports stadium. The theme this year was “Kids' Olympics” – quite fitting, if you saw how our little ones gave their all!

S

omething about gathering a few thousand cute kids in one place seems to help the weather. Just like our last sports meet, the weather was perfect for all the events – cool and dry. Our meet started with a small runner from each division passing a mock-torch to each of our five MPs, after which they declared the games open. And then the little

Olympians filed onto the track beaming and waving. It was quite a sight! If you had watched the recent Beijing Olympics, you would agree it was a great show. Our miniOlympics might not have been nearly so grand – but the kids put up a great show. A relay sprint where you have to hold up two inflated swimming rings, the minihurdles, the Tricycle Relay and the Golf-ball Dribbling Race were but some of the thrills and spills of the day. Our MPs ran some of the races with teachers and parents, balancing ping-pong balls and shooting plastic darts. You didn't think we'd let the kids have all the fun, did you? And just like the Olympics, a new record was set this year. Tampines East became the first division in six years to win the Challenge Trophy two years running. Congratulations!

Good morning, Street 83!

page 8

Welcome to the family! Singapore grew a little bigger at our GRC Citizenship Ceremony on 23 August, held at the Tampines East CC. Mr Mah Bow Tan presented some 150 new citizens with their citizenship certificates. Some were working professionals. Some were tots barely twice the size of the envelope their certs came in. All had big, big smiles!

ome a ecided to bec Mrs Santos d she was pregnant citizen whenn. “It’s a better place with her so have a good future and he can id. And she decided here,” she saampines because she to stay in T munity was friendly! felt the com

T

he Home Improvement Programme is the HDB's new, more flexible way of upgrading your home. It replaces the old Main Upgrading Programme and covers essential items like replacement of waste pipes, the electrical supply and fixing structural cracks. Upgrades done inside your flat will be heavily

subsidised, and you'll only pay for the ones you want. Polling for the first HIP in Tampines closed on 19 August, and Blocks 257 to 262 Tampines Street 21 were 95% in favour! The HDB will start work on the six blocks soon, and will be done by June next year.

We're 95% HIP!

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Tempo

Aug - Sep 2008

Ms Nethra urauditaran turned 18, aM just n d in Singapore she has been Mum and Dafor seven years. and Dad wan d are both citizens, her choice at ted her to make Singapore. “I 18 – so she chose the quality t’s safer here, and she said. “Anof life here is better,” self-sufficient,d Tampines is a the best place unique town. It’s to live!”

Ms Sun Yahui stayed Singapore for seven yein ars before deciding to apply for cit nship last year. She lives with ize her sister in Tampines, and they bo think it's a safe, comfortabth convenient place to call ho le and me.

Sharing for Ramadan O

n 6 September the Tampines Changkat Zone 4 RC held their annual Ramadan Porridge Distribution at Block 286 Tampines Street 22. Volunteers of all ages, including Ms Irene Ng, helped prepare, pack and serve hundreds of containers of porridge to Muslim families in need.

Mr Lim Kian Tiong used to be Malaysian, but he has been living and working here for about twenty years now. He’s in the IT business. “In Singapore, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort, you will be recognised,” he said. His wife, a Malaysian, is also considering Singapore citizenship.

O

ur National Day celebration was different this year in Tampines. Instead of each division hosting their own dinner, we all came together at Tampines Central Park for a huge party on 2 August. The park was packed with thousands! Dinner was buffet-style hawker food you

W

hy do you think people like Singapore? What makes people want to come or leave? Would allowing dual citizenship be a good idea to retain local talent? These questions were thrown to some fifty young people at a Youth Policy Forum on 19 July. The public forum was hosted at The Pod, a meeting room right at

queued for at neat little stalls, and we had the finalists of Tampines Idol to entertain us. But the best part was getting up to wave our flags and sing songs together with our MPs on stage. Big grins, loud cheers and being proud of Singapore. That was how we celebrated our 43rd National Day in Tampines. Together as one.

the top of the National Library. Admission was free – quite a few curious young ones walked in to take part! After short addresses by guest speakers Mr Sin Boon Ann, Mr Colin Low and Dr Gillian Koh, participants broke into groups for discussion, then each group gave a short presentation about their thoughts. Of almost ten groups, only one thought dual

citizenship was feasible. Most thought divided loyalties would not work – you need people you can count on in a crisis. The youths were almost all in favour of keeping the current system, where we all “march to the same drum-beat.”

Youth on Keeping Talent

Aug - Sep 2008

Tempo 3

Construction on track!

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n the last issue of Tempo, you read how the Cycling on Footways study has resulted in an intregrated plan to link all of Tampines Town with cycling tracks. In the pilot phase of the plan, 2.3km of cycling tracks are to be built. If you are wondering when work will start – it already has! All our MPs came to the groundbreaking ceremony on 2 August, in front of Block 332 Tampines Street 32. The tracks will cost a million dollars and will be completed by the end of the year.

a v i V

Tampines West!

We held our bi-annual carnival at the open field next to Block 895A on 20 July in the style of all our Tampines West parties, Big, Bold and Bao Ka Liao – Hokkien for “it has everything”!

I

f a party only happens once every two years, you are going to expect something quite spectacular, aren't you? Some three thousand of us turned up with great expectations – and the party delivered! Viva! was held in the evening for the first time, and we took the chance to have a picnic under the stars. Families spread their groundsheets in front of the stage and, all through their dinner, enjoyed performances by schools in Tampines.

There was plenty of food on sale for those who did not want the fuss of bringing their own, and a flea market and exhibitions to browse. Mr Masagos joined us quite early in the evening, and just about managed to say hello to everyone before the stage show finale. That was when getai comedy queen Liu Ling Ling (you might recognise her from the 881 movie) came on stage, and she had us laughing all the way home!

In celebration of Teachers’ Day, all the Tampines PCF teachers were taken out to dinner at the Sheraton Towers on 30 August. It was amazing how different the teachers looked when they dressed up – and let their hair down, literally!

Teachers’ Treats T

he ballroom slowly filled with colour as the guests arrived. The theme for our dinner was “Batik Nite”, and just about everyone turned up in beautiful prints in all the colours of the rainbow. And even though you could hardly recognise some of the teachers because they looked so glamorous, as soon as the activities started, you saw they were the same people who played games and fussed over little kids for a living. They laughed, they danced and they cat-walked their outfits across the stage during the mini-fashion competition. And you should have heard the squeals when we tried to find out how many PCF teachers could squeeze into one sarong. The answer is sixteen. We think. (The truth is: everyone was laughing and no one remembered to count!)

Fun for the finest! Volunteers in the Tampines North grasssroots organisations, or GROs, were invited to a ten-course fun-lunch at the Bliss Garden restaurant on Saturday 30 August.

T

hey deserved it: their performance during the year had been rated top of the tables by the Peoples' Association. “Give yourselves a big round of applause,” said Mr Ong Kian Min, after announcing four-star awards for all the GROs in the division. Then the fun began. They played crazy games while they lunched and, on stage, they did everything from stand-up comedy to walking on eggs! It was a scream. Their prizes were great too. Nothing but the best for the best!

Mr Ong Poh Lim, BBM, accepting the Constituency Achievement Award for Tampines North’s outstanding achievement of having all 4-star Grade GROs.

Well done! T

o reward hard work and to help families in need, the Tampines Changkat CCC awards bursaries every year. The ceremonies were held on 12 and 13 July at East Spring

Primary School and the pavilion below Block 111 Tampines Street 11. Some $22,000 was awarded to 130 students in all. Keep up the good work, everyone! Aug - Sep 2008

Tempo 5

Moonlight Magic T

hey say the moon is at its fullest and brightest during the Mid-Autmn Festival. And if you look carefully, you can make out the little rabbit that lives in the moon, pounding herbs. Chang’Er, a pretty Chinese lady, lives there too. But don’t point right at the moon, or you’ll get your ears cut off! Or so some cheeky parents tell their children. Whatever version of the story you heard about the rabbit, Chang’Er or short ears, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a great time for us to get together and celebrate with mooncakes and lanterns. Have a look at the great time we had eating, playing and chit-chatting under the moonlight, all over Tampines!

Courses at the CCs for the Children’s Holidays

Tampines Changkat CC, 13 Tampines St 11, Singapore 529453. Telephone 67811806 Tampines Central CC, 866A Tampines St 83 #02-01, Singapore 521866. Telephone 67858292 Tampines East CC, 10 Tampines St 23, Singapore 529341. Telephone 67863227 Tampines North CC, 2 Tampines St 41, Singapore 529204. Telephone 67832900 Tampines West CC, 5 Tampines St 3, Singapore 529705. Telephone 67837910

Course

Community Club

Day / Date

Time / Session

Little Typist

Tampines Central

Mon – Wed 24 - 26 Nov

3.30pm -5.30pm ( 3 sessions )

Ceramic Art for Children

Tampines Changkat

Mon / Tue 17 & 18 Nov Thurs / Fri 20 & 21 Nov Mon / Tue 24 & 25 Nov Thurs / Fri 27 & 28 Nov Mon / Tue 1 & 2 Dec

Children Ballroom Dance – Latin (Elementary)

Tampines East

JK Pop Dance ‘Japan & Korean’ Hip Hop

Archery

Tampines North

Tampines West

9.30am - 11.00am ( 2 sessions )

(1) 7.30pm-8.15pm Tuesday ( 8 sessions ) 4 Nov - 23 Dec (2) 8.15pm-9.00pm ( 8 sessions ) Sunday 9 Nov - 4 Jan

Thursday 27 Nov - 8 Jan

3.00pm - 5.15pm ( 10 sessions )

8.00pm - 10.00pm ( 6 sessions )

Fee for Fee for PAssion Non- Material Fee Member Member

Trainer

$ 48.00

$ 58.00

Participants will get to learn typing in a fun and easy way. Mr will be taught methods to recall letter positions on Edmund They the keyboard and correct positioning of the fingers. Chia For age 8yrs and above.

$ 26.00

$ 36.00

$ 13.00

Ms Lyn Soon Lian

Participants will get to know different types of clay and practise simple clay moulding to express their creativity. Kids will learn through hands-on guidance and enjoy lots of fun and laughter through working at an art project. For age 7 to 11 yrs old.

$ 70.00

$ 80.00

-

Ms Eileen Ho

Ballroom Latin comprising Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Pasodoble and Jive. For age 6 to 12 yrs old.

-

Ms Chua Chun Yun

Grooving to the tunes of Japanese and Korean Hip Hop or mainstream Pop, the dance style covered is more old school dance technique oriented, covering styles such as locking, waving, popping and wacking. It is a class that emphasizes groove, rhythm and bounce. For age 6 to 12 yrs old.

Mr George Loh

In this course, children will learn the basic techniques of archery, an understanding of the equipment and its setup, safety procedures and range rules. This sport helps kids to enhance and hone their physical and mental abilities. In addition, they will learn techniques to control their body movements, develop stamina and mental steadiness. For age12 yrs old and above.

$ 60.00

$ 60.00

$ 65.00

$ 70.00

-

General Outline of the Programme

Earn double Link Points when you sign up online @www.one.pa.gov.sg 6

Tempo

Aug - Sep 2008

I

f you've often thought the community garden at Block 279 Tampines Street 22 was quite nice, you'll be glad to hear that NParks has given it a gold rating at this year's Community in Bloom awards! Mdm Sharifah, one of the regulars at the Changkat Zone 5 garden, said the ten regular gardeners and their friends worked extra hard during the competition, and everyone was pleased to win gold. You'd be amused at how this beautiful garden started. Mdm Sharifah

was chatting with an auntie on her way to the market, and found out she was going to buy herbs. “Why not grow our own?” was the question that came to her. And after some discussion at the RC, she had the answer!

Our Golden Garden Celebrating with Mr Mah

W

e celebrated National Day together with hundreds of elderly residents on 3 August. And we had a special guest – Mr Mah Bow Tan! The National Day lunch was organised by the Tampines East Silver Connect and the Zone 1-8 RCs. Held at the Kheng Chiu Happy Lodge at Tampines Avenue 4, there was a qigong demonstration by a veteran lodger and karaoke to keep us entertained while we enjoyed good food.

We all had great smiles for Mr Mah as he toasted each table. And all of us cheered and waved our flags for Singapore. Aug - Sep 2008

Tempo 7

Mr Soh told Mr Sin that his application for a job in Sentosa was rejected because he was too old. Mr Sin said he should come to a Meet-the-People session to see if anything could be done. “This is the first home I moved into since I got married, and it will be the last place I'll stay!” said Mr Rosli. “Tampines has everything – why would I want to move?”

The Hainanese Mok family has been here for decades. “Do you speak Hainanese?” Mr Mah asked in the dialect. “A...little bit,” said the daughter. She got it right after only two tries, too!

It seemed everyone in the block that Ms Irene Ng visited didn’t believe in sleeping in – less than a fifth of them were at home! Ms Ng finished a little earlier and spent the time discussing how to solve common problems around the blocks with RC members.

Good morning! Four blocks along Tampines Street 83 woke up to a pleasant surprise on 24 August when they answered the doorbell. Their MPs were visiting residents to find out how they were getting along.

Brown cow now, how? There are so many ways you can have delicious beefy goodness (we're still sore about them taking it out of Bovril), but you'll tend to find it done three ways around town: filleted as steak, as a rich rendang, or with noodles. Here are three places to go if you feel like beefing up!

A

ston's has just moved into the Kopitiam at Block 139 Tampines Street 11 – good news for Western food lovers. The group of restaurants is known for their great, affordable food, and this branch is no exception. The outlet manager, Mr Roderick Lim, told us Mr Aston Soon started the business to bring restaurantquality steaks to the heartlands at low prices. Their steaks are all ordered fresh daily and then chilled for the day. And their cooks are all specialised – one cook will only cook beef, one will only cook chicken, and so on. We tasted the result of all that quality control in our extra cut prime ribeye. Aston's is doing everything right! Our order for medium-rare was taken quite seriously, and our steak was done perfectly. And you get to pick any two side dishes you want. We won't go down the list because it's so exhaustive – but they're all good. Mr Lim told us customers spend between $6.90 - $15.90 for a meal. Our steak cost $15.90, which we thought was great for a superb meal. Open 11am to 10pm, closed once every month.

P

anggang² Corner is at the Rasa 21 coffeeshop at Block 201D Tampines Street 21, and you'll find a wide variety of Malay dishes here, along with their Panggang (roasted over an open fire) dishes. But what caught our eye, our taste buds and ultimately, our wallet, was their beef rendang. Mr Poh Tian Hong runs the stall, and does all the cooking with the help of a Malay lady. He was the head chef in an Indonesian restaurant for twelve years before this – he really knows what he's doing! Our beef rendang was lean and tender, and covered in sauce that was a little spicy, but so tasty you won't want to stop. Freshness seems to be the key. All ingredients are fresh daily, and cooking starts at 6am! Right now, Mr Poh is waiting for Ramadan to end. “When everyone fasts, our business drops by a lot!” We don't think he'll have trouble getting customers once the fasting month ends. Not with food this good. Our nasi padang with beef rendang cost $4. Open 6.30am to 10.45pm daily.

T

asty Beef King is at the Kopitiam on the fourth floor of Tampines Mall, and if you feel like beef noodles or soup, this is the place to go. The stall is run by Mr Chan Yuet Ping, who used to be the head chef at the Sheraton Towers in Hong Kong. Mr Chan's interest in cooking started when he was 17 years old, and he learned his cooking by starting as a kitchen helper and learning everything he could on the job. Going by how good his food is, we don't think he would have taken long to rise up the ranks! Our orders of beef noodles and dry beef with egg noodles came with thick slices of tender beef, and chunks of tasty beef brisket. The sauce that came with our noodles was great, and the soup served as a side was so good it seemed criminal to have just one bowl. It's no wonder, though. Ten hours of preparation go into the soup! Mr Chan makes everything himself, down to the chinchaluk dip, and you'll taste the care that went into it. And here's a tip from the cook himself – for the best beef experience, you'll want to come later in the day, when the beef has had time to soak up more flavour. Beef noodles cost from $4 to $5, and the stall is open 10am to 10pm daily. Aug - Sep 2008

Tempo 9

Ten Honoured! Ten of our grassroots leaders in Tampines were honoured for their service to the community on National Day. Our congratulations and heartfelt thanks go to them for their time and all their hard work!

Mr Patrick Tan Yak Khoon, BBM Chairman, Tampines Central CCMC Tampines Town Council Member

Mr Jaini Bin Sirang, PBM Member, Tampines Central CCC

Mr Khoo Tian Siang, PBM Chairman, Tampines East Zone 6 RC

Mr Kwek Theng Swee, PBM Member, Tampines East CCC

Mr Low Chor Keong, Jonathan, PBM Member, Tampines West CCC Tampines Town Council Member

Mr Mohamed Azahari bin Mohamed Said, PBM Chairman, Tampines Changkat Zone 4 RC Tampines Town Council Member

Mdm Rajisvary d/o Vairappan, PBM Chairperson, Tampines North Zone 6 RC Tampines Town Council Member

Mr Tan Hai Yang, PBM Vice-Chairman, Tampines Changkat Zone 2 RC

Mr Tay Beng San, Edwin, PBM Chairman, Tampines North Zone 7 RC Tampines Town Council Member

Mdm Tay Sok Cheng, PBM Chairperson, Tampines West CC WEC

A packed party

The Tampines Palmsville RC brought Racial Harmony Week to the residents of the Moral Home for the Disabled on 13 July. We had a buffet lunch, games, karaoke and a magic show – it was a rather packed party!

Are my ears ok? The trouble with splendid costumes is, the better they look, the more you’ll fret about something going wrong with them. The Chinese dancers of Junyuan Primary kept ear-checks on their tiger costumes to a minimum, and with big grins, took the Silver Award at Singapore Youth Festival held on 2 August! Our Malay dancers and school choir did equally well and brought back Silvers as well. Everyone was happy that our many, many rehearsals paid off.

Ten great years and counting It’s great that Junyuan Secondary’s anniversary falls on 8 August. It’s so close to National Day, it feels like everyone’s cheering our birthday all across the island. To celebrate our tenth anniversary this year, we had a funfair organised by our students and their parents, a newspaper collection, and a walkathon that raised $20,000 for the Community Chest!

That’s Teacher? During our International Friendship Day celebrations at Ngee Ann Secondary, it was a little hard to recognise our teachers. From sleek office wear one day, suddenly Ms Tan was in a cheongsam, Mrs Fatimah was in a gorgeous baju kurong, and Mr Lim, for some reason, was dressed like a Saudi Arabian oil baron! We also had a quiz, and international music played over the speakers for a week. It took at least that long for us to get over seeing our teachers in those outfits.

School Watch Learning from each other Some twenty

students from Primary Four, Five and Six from Griffiths Primary School got a real treat in late May, when we went to Dalian Primary School for a cultural exchange. Together, we experienced classroom life there, learned new skills like caligraphy and brush painting, and visited neat places like the Tiger Beach Gardens and the Friendship and Victory Pavilions. It was a great trip!

This, that and the other Culture in harmony

You’re looking at the intrepid explorers of the Changkat Zone 1 RC. On 6 September, we visited Haw Par Villa, the Henderson Wave, Mount Faber and the PA Market of Courses at the Ulu Pandan CC. An epic journey by any standards!

The pavilion next to Block 106 Tampines Street 11 was filled with little dumplings of colour on 16 August, during the Changkat Zone 3 RC’s Culture in Harmony Block Party. You should have seen the number of kids who turned up in their traditional costumes! They all had fun too – this little Chinese girl was quite excited about getting her hair braided, Indian-style.

Aug - Sep 2008

Tempo 11

Upcoming Events EVENT

DATE

TIME

VENUE

ORGANISERS

CONTACT

PHONE

Dandia Nite

18 Oct

7pm to 10pm

Festival Park

Tampines East Zone 4 RC

Judith Lee

9766 3459

Hari Raya Dinner

19 Oct

7pm

Tampines North CC

Tampines North GROs

Tampines North CC

6783 2900

Hari Raya Celebrations

25 Oct

7pm

Tampines Changkat CC Multi-Purpose Hall 1

Tampines Changkat GROs

Tampines Changkat CC

6781 1806

2pm-4pm

Multi-purpose Hall @ 866A Tampines St 83

Tampines Central CC IAEC

Mr Shawn Lee

6785 0004

25 Oct

IAEC Deepavali 2008 Hari Raya Dinner

25 Oct

7.30pm to 10pm

Sheltered Lanes connected to Blk 209

MAEC, Zone 3 and Zone 5 RCs

Mr. Aziz Hassan, PBM

9751 8645

Halloween Party

25 Oct

7.30pm

Tampines North CC

Tampines North GROs

Tampines North CC

6783 2900

Deepavali Celebration

8 Nov

7.15pm

Tampines North CC

Tampines North GROs

Tampines North CC

6783 2900

Blood Donation Drive

9 Nov

8.30am to 3pm

Tampines East CC MPH

Tampines East CDEC

Mdm Pang

6786 3227

Walk-A-Jog

Every 1st Sunday of the month

8am

Estates in Tampines West

Tampines West CSC

Mr Richard Lim

96782528

Every Friday

6pm-10pm

Block 924 Tampines Street 21, Senior Citizens’ Corner

Tampines Palmspring RC

Mr Kua

96468203

Every Saturday Every Sunday The 2nd weekend of the month

Call for details

Tampines Palmsville RC SCEC

Mr Lim Yok Cheng

98515773

Tampines Changkat CC

Ms Winnie Whye

67811806

Tampines West CCC & Tampines Green RC

Mr Tan Teng Chuan

97865115

Herbal foot spa / Foot reflexology / Shoulder & neck massage Senior Citizens’ Tea Party Gathering Tampines Changkat Qigong Practice Tampines Flea Market

8am-9am 4pm-10pm

Block 916 Tampines Avenue 4, Senior Citizens’ Corner Tampines Changkat CC Basketball Court Walkway along MRT line near Block 158 & 159 Tampines Street 12

spot the ball contest

Town Council

Mailbox

H

Dear Sir

ere’s a picture taken at the Tampines PCF Sports Meet on 26 July. We have retouched the photo to hide the ball. All you have to do is draw a circle showing the approximate size and position of the ball the kid in the forground is kicking in the original photograph to win a prize!

My compliments and appreciation go to the cleaners of Tampines Street 41. While I was out in the early hours of Sunday, 31 August, I saw them cleaning the prayer items left behind from the night before, the last day of the Seventh Month. Thank you very much!

Name: NRIC:

Ms Gan

Address:

Winners

Here are the lucky winners of the contest in the June/July issue of Tampines Tempo:

Send your completed entry by 31 October to: Spot the Ball Contest (Aug/Sep 2008) Tampines Town Council Block 136 Tampines Street 11 Singapore 521136 This contest is open to all residents of Tampines GRC except staff members of Tampines Town Council and their immediate families. The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence or enquiries will be entertained.

Tampines Tempo is a bi-monthly newsletter published by Tampines Town Council and delivered to the letterboxes of all HDB households in Tampines GRC. Copies of the newsletter can also be collected from the Town Council office and the five Community Clubs in Tampines.

© Singapore, 2007. All rights reserved. The Publisher makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of information in Tampines Tempo but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

Editorial Committee: Advisor: Mr Ong Kian Min Chairman: Ms Jeanne Cheng Vice Chairman: Mr Eddie Soh, PBM Secretary: Ms Adelene Yeo Members: Mr Tan Chim Poh David, PBM; Mr Foo Hee Payau; Mdm Adeline Goh Oi Cheng; Mr Vadiveloo Murugian, PBM; Mdm Rajisvary d/o Vairappan, PBM

Abdul Aleem B. M. Ghouse Chong Suan Yan Eddie Law Soon Sun Hung Yi Guang Joel Hassan Bin Nabam Ng Bee Lian Jane Nor’armuli Ng Jing Yi Seah Poh Seng Teo Choo Lian

SXXX9713G SXXX8126A SXXX4908G SXXX6583Z SXXX7575C SXXX0499F SXXX1585F SXXX2548C SXXX0385Z SXXX1404D

Please show your IC to collect your prize from the Town Council by 15 November.

Published by Tampines Town Council Block 136 Tampines Street 11, Singapore 521136 General enquiry: 6781 2222 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.ttc.org.sg