Mayor Zai's Blog

Learning Science through Visualisation

MAYOR ZAINUDIN NORDIN’S SPEECH POINTERS

LEARNING SCIENCE THROUGH VISUALISATION FORUM

IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LAUNCH OF DAN’S DYNAMIC

DICTIONARY ON SCIENCE 2^ND EDITION

SATURDAY, 8 MAY 2010, 11.00AM TO 1.00PM

WOODLANDS REGIONAL LIBRARY

________________________________________________________________

Ms Jennifer Yin, Director

Language Councils Secretariat,

National Library Board

Ms Trudy Loh, Assistant Director

Language Councils Secretariat,

National Library Board

Dr Noel Kok Hwee Chia,

Asst Professor, Early Childhood and Special Needs

Education Academic Group, NIE

School Principals,

Teachers,

Parents,

Children,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to all

How I get to know Daniel

• Eight years ago, Daniel, his sister, Alicia and his mum, Janette would often meet me at my Meet-the-People’s session to discuss how Daniel could raise funds for the less fortunate in the society. They would often wait till I have seen the last resident for the evening, and that is usually way past midnight!

• At 14, Daniel came up with this wonderful idea of compiling a science dictionary where science words are not defined just in text but with funny, creative pictures which are all hand drawn. It’s no coincidence that Daniel incorporated pictures in his science dictionary because doodling was a way of expressing himself while he was coping with his speech impediment.

• Daniel has never looked back since. He has been raising funds for charitable organizations and not-for-profit organizations from the sales of his dictionary and his business, albeit a social one, is still making enough revenue to keep itself afloat!

• And today, I am proud and honored to announce the launch of the second edition of Dan’s Dictionary on Dynamic Science.

Beneficiaries of charity sale

• In conjunction with the 2^nd edition launch, Daniel has generously pledged the sale proceeds of 500 copies of Dan’s Dictionary, amounting to $10,000 to Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC).

• The $10,000 donated to the CDC would go towards helping our children from low-income families who are currently attending the Credit Suisse-Central Singapore Nurture Programme;

• From our volunteers’ interaction with these children, we realized that they have lower self-esteem, confidence level and motivation as compared to their peers.

• Most importantly, they probably have very little or no opportunities to attend confidence building or leadership training course other than those organized by the schools.

• Hence, with this donation, we will be sending some of these children to a leadership training camp during the school holidays.

Comcare Local Network – mobilizing the community

• When Prime Minister launched the Central Singapore ComCare Local Networks in 2007, we knew that the CDC will have a daunting task to mobilize all the community partners to do our best to help those who are less able in our community.

Daniel’s journey encapsulated two key things of mobilizing the local network:

• The more able helping the less able
• Assisting the needy in an innovative way

• Despite the adversities he faced while coping with this Specific Language Impairment, Daniel not only overcame but rose above them to become one who gives help to those in need. In retrospect, his condition shaped him into the successful social entrepreneur he is today. It allowed him to fully understand the less advantaged in our society, which allowed him to do something for the less fortunate.

• If volunteering only conjures images of visiting the seniors in old folks’ homes, or asking the public to donate their loose change, I would like to urge everyone to think again. Daniel wasn’t satisfied to help those who need help via conventional ways. He decided to do something ‘daring, different and dependable’. Thus, he decided to do what he is good at – communicating through doodling and drawing: Something that arose from his challenge was turned into strength.

• Why didn’t we think of that? Helping those who need help and making a difference in someone else’s life could be just simply doing what we enjoy! I think Daniel’s life journey gives a new perspective to what giving and volunteering means.

• Our society definitely can do more with more Daniels, be it a Daniel doing solo work or a group of Daniels putting their efforts together. It’s not possible for the government jump in to every time there is a gap to be plugged in, and that is why we need to continuously build a network of individuals, VWOs, grassroots or corporate organizations to tap on their passion and desire to contribute to the community.

Appreciation to National Library Board

• I would like to extend my appreciation to NLB for jointly organizing this event with the Central S’pore CDC

• NLB has also kindly purchased copies of Dan’s Dictionary and making it available for loan at the public libraries.

Closing

• As a father to 3 young daughters, 2 of whom are schooling, I’m also very interested to find our more about visual learning from Prof Chia. I look forward to an engaging forum with all of you later.

• Of course, I urge for your generous support in purchasing Dan’s dictionary during the sale & autograph session after the forum.

• Have a fruitful afternoon. Thank you.

RHB Singapore Cup Draw 2010

Speech by Mr Zainudin Nordin, FAS President, Mayor of Central Singapore District and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC at RHB Singapore Cup Draw on Saturday 01 May 2010 at Bukit Panjang Plaza

Dearest Friends in Football,

We are gathere here today, in the heartlands of Singapore, to witness a very special draw for the RHB Singapore Cup. For the first time in the history of the competition, RHB Bank has elected to hold the draw at the heart and soul of the community. In doing so, RHB Bank is bringing this year’s RHB Singapore cup competition closer and more accessible to Singaporeans from all walks of life.

This year will mark the sixth year of RHB Bank’s partnership with the Singapore Cup, having first come onboard in 2005. It has been a privilege for the Cup to be associated with the bank that has been noted for not just its support of local football, but also their pioneering approach to business service which has seen them become the first full bank to be conferred the prestigious S-Class (Service Class) award by SPRING Singapore as well as numerous other awards for service excellence.

RHB Bank has been actively involved in the community, partnering with the St Andrew’s Parent-Teacher Association of the Saints Football Club to create a wholesome learning environment for children to learn and love the game of football. Earlier this year, RHB Bank partnered the FAS to conduct a football clinic for under privileged children from the Association of Persons with Special Needs.

Today, they again bring us an innovative way to increase the level of public excitement with the Singapore Cup, after the success of last year’s Draw which took place outdoors for the first time in the heart of the Business District at Raffles Place.

There has always been much romance associated to knockout competitions and so this Draw is integral to the Cup competition, seeing how any team can stake a claim to the Cup. Sometimes, they do it through the hard work of achieving ‘giant-killings’ and upsets, while other times it is purely attributed to ‘the luck of the Draw’ and that is the beauty of this knockout Cup competition.

Over the years, the RHB Singapore Cup has steadily progressed to become one of the region’s top club knockout competitions. Regional clubs from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have entered the fray in an attempt to claim the coveted cup trophy. Etoile FC – who are now part of our S.League competition and performing very well, will compete in their first ever RHB Singapore Cup alongside fellow newcomers to Singapore football, Beijing Guoan Talent, having already won their first silverware by winning the League Cup crown in February. Over the years, the Thai sides have stood out, with Bangkok Glass making the final of last year’s competition only to lose out to Geylang United by a solitary goal.

This year, we are pleased to welcome the four invited teams in the draw for this year’s RHB Singapore Cup. The four temas are: Thailand’s Bangkok Glass, Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown, Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC and Australia’s South Melbourne. Two of these teams, Kitchee SC and South Melbourne will be competing in the RHB Singapore Cup for the very first time and reflects the continued reach and growth of this competition.

I am sure the S.League teams are relishing the opportunity to play against some of these new teams in the RHB Singapore Cup 2010 and fans can expect some pulsating football action.

Singapore football has been on the rise, and elevating the overall competition of football in Singapore is one of the key strategies identified in the FAS Strategic Plan launched recently. The S.League is recognized as one of the top leagues in Asia. This year has seen an increase in attendance, viewership, website traffic and media coverage for the S.League and I am confident that with such quality foreign and local teams in this year’s Draw, the 2010 RHB Singapore Cup will be more engaging and exciting to the fans out there.

On this note, I would like to wish the teams all the best for the draw and an exciting RHB Singapore Cup campaign ahead!

Sponsorship Launch of Tiger Airways

SPEECH BY MAYOR ZAINUDIN NORDIN, MAYOR CENTRAL SINGAPORE DISTRIC AND PRESIDENT OF FAS AT THE SPONSORSHIP LAUNCH OF TIGER AIRWAYS HELD ON TUESDAY, 30 MARCH 2010 AT 1.30PM AT VIP LOUNGE, LEVEL 3, JALAN BESAR STADIUM

1.      Good afternoon, Rosalynn Tay, Managing Director, Tiger Airways, Friends in Football, Members of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen.

2.      It gives me great pleasure to welcome on board Tiger Airways as the Official Airline Partner of the National Football Academy. 

3.      We are proud and privileged that a leading company such as Tiger Airways is with us on our journey towards greater football excellence. It is indeed a strong endorsement for the future of Singapore football.

4.      We are glad that Tiger Airways recognise the importance of youth football in Singapore, and are helping our youth footballers fulfill their potential by facilitating their regional exposure.  

5.      The Youth Olympic Games squad together with the National Football Academy and the Girls’ Football teams will greatly benefit from this partnership with Tiger Airways.

6.      With Tiger Airways Singapore flying to 19 different destinations in eleven countries and territories in Asia and Australia, it will meet the travelling needs of the teams as they get to compete against quality opponents in Australia, China and other footballing nations in the region.

7.      It is a tremendous boost for the teams as they can gain more experience travelling and playing overseas. This is in line with the FAS Strategic Plan as we look to progress Singapore football from Asean’s best to be among the best in Asia.

8.      We will continue to seek mutually beneficial partnerships with companies in various industries to help us grow Singapore football.  With Tiger Airways coming on board, I would like to encourage other companies to take advantage of the many sponsorship properties in Singapore Sports and join us to achieve greater sporting excellence in our country.

9.         Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tiger Airways and to welcome them into the football family and we look forward to an exciting and fruitful collaboration.

Prevention of Terrorism

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR ZAINUDIN NORDIN, MAYOR CENTRAL SINGAPORE DISTRICT, MP FOR BISHAN-TOA PAYOH GRC, AT HOME TEAM SOUTHERN SECTOR WORKSHOP 2010 ON 20 MARCH 2010 AT MULTI-PURPOSE HALL OF 1ST CD DIV

Co-Chairmen of the Home Team Southern Sector,

Lieutenant-Colonel Yong Meng Wah

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ng Yeow Boon

Grassroots Leaders,

SSWG (Safety and Security Watch Group) Members,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

            Good Morning.

2. It is my pleasure to be able to join you in the Home Team Southern Sector Workshop 2010 today. It is a great opportunity to address all of you and to emphasise the importance of ensuring security and safety in Singapore, particularly Central District of Singapore which incidentally also encompasses most of the boundaries under Home Team Southern Sector. I believe from the exhibition and the opening speech from Lieutenant-Colonel Yong, all of you present are very well aware of the myriad of activities undertaken in Southern Sector over the past year.

3. This workshop is an annual flagship platform for Home Team Southern Sector to share ideas and best practices, critical in enhancing the joint partnership between Home Team and the community. More importantly, as we all gather here today, it also provides all of us an invaluable opportunity to strengthen this social network underpinning national security and safety.

Theme of the Workshop: “Taking Initiative, Getting Everyone Ready”.

4. As we are well aware, 2009 was a tumultuous year for Singapore. Although the world suffered its worst recession in 60 years, Singapore’s economy contracted by only an average of 2.0% in 2009, which was considered fortunate. This however, was only made possible through collective efforts of our people as well as the government’s prompt response, for example via Resilience Package which helped reduce excessive job losses.

5. As emphasized by our Prime Minister during the National Day Rally last year, social cohesion in terms of maintenance of racial and religious harmony through tolerance and restraint is critical for the continuous peace. Staying united and shaping Singapore’s future together with the Singapore spirit is vital for us to ensure Singapore’s continuous stability and progress.

6. Singapore enjoys international acclaim for its excellent security infrastructure. Whilst modern technology can help in some ways, I personally believe that a sophisticated hardware can yield limited capabilities without “HEARTWARE”. Thus, the theme today is apt and is something we should promulgate. This concerted approach involving close collaboration between the Government and people working hand-in-hand or we call “HEARTWAVE” to confront to Singapore’s accolade as one of the safest cities in the world.

7. The Southern Sector faces multi-faceted challenges as it houses Singapore’s prime financial and commercial districts, and numerous tourist hotspots, all which are attractive potential targets for terrorists. Therefore, “HEARTWARE” is a critical component in enhancing safety and security within the Southern Sector.

Need for Initiative amongst Community

8. The threat of terrorism remains very real and Singapore, as a small and open country, cannot insulate completely against terrorism. With the appeal of extremist and terrorist ideology ever evolving, terror groups are capable of getting new recruits via new methods such the Internet and social networking platform as blogs and Facebook etc. Although authorities have been vigilant in counter-terrorism initiatives, the death of Noordin Top and the recent arrest of 10 terrorist suspects from Yemen, Nigeria, Jordan and Syria in Malaysia are still a grim reminder of our susceptibility to terrorism. Trans-national terrorist groups have shown persistence and adaptability in their efforts to inflict harm not just in terms of human casualties, but also in disrupting a society’s way of life. Thus, there is no better means to circumvent terrorism other than vigilance of our own people, over and above the counter-terrorism activities undertaken by the authorities.

9. In this regard, it is heartening to note that more and more of our community partners have been taking greater initiative to ramp up their security and safety efforts. For example, I understand that there are premises such as the Toa Payoh Industrial Park that have set up voluntary Company Emergency Response Team, or CERT, to tackle emergencies before the arrival of the SCDF despite not legally obligated to do so. It is a positive trend that we hope that other community partners would emulate and entrench. Some other ways in which this can be achieved include organizations taking the lead to engage authorities in conducting exercises and training to their staff. This is the “HEARTWARE” we hope we can be replicated across the community.

Getting everyone ready.

10. Of course, there is no let-up in the efforts by the authorities to guard against terrorism. As subject matter experts, the authorities stand ready to assist the community to gear up for any crisis, in terms of contingency preparedness and readiness. This will continue to be the focus of the Home Team Southern Sector and related agencies.

11. It is critical that every person and organization, regardless of its nature and size, are adequately prepared for any crisis. To this end, Home Team Southern Sector has gone one step further by working with various stakeholders in the development of a comprehensive and integrated contingency plan, to further prepare and protect the community against emergencies within a precinct. For example, the Southern Sector is in the midst of working out the integrated contingency plans in Jurong Island and Sentosa. These are but only 2 examples which can be replicated across the different communities in Home Team Southern Sector, as part of the larger national resilience buildup.

Conclusion

12. As the saying goes, “Terrorists only need to succeed once, but the authorities have to succeed all the time”. Thus, notwithstanding the challenge of sustaining vigilance and maintaining a high level of preparedness all the time, we must not rest our laurels and let our guard down. We hope that through the community taking initiative in enhancing their own safety and security, and getting everyone ready to deal with any contingency, through the partnership with the Home Team and related agencies, it will lay a solid foundation for a safe and secure best home for all Singaporeans.

13. On that note, thank you and have a fruitful workshop.

Inter-Faith Harmony

INTER-FAITH CARNIVAL AT BISHAN

SUNDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2010

Masjid An-Nahdhah

Inter-Faith Harmony in Bishan – Toa Payoh GRC

       I.            Inter-Faith Carnival

1.    This is an annual event organised by the Bishan – Toa Payoh GRC IRCCs, to promote racial and religious harmony. Through this carnival, participants of all races and religions gather together to celebrate the peace that we enjoy today in Singapore. One key highlight of the carnival is the inter-faith dialogue, with religious representatives giving a presentation on their religions.

2.    This is the first time the inter-faith carnival is being organised in a religious place of worship. This goes to show that religious organisations are becoming more open with sharing their religious perspectives, and such moves will continue to build stronger relationships between the diverse communities and promote racial religious harmony.

     II.            Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles

3.     The Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCC) being in the second term, starting from April 2009. IRRC comprise representatives from the religious organisations and the community as a whole. Events organised by the IRCCs aim to educate the participants on the various religions, such as the origins, religious practices and the significance, taboos and clearing myths. This is done to promote religious understanding, cooperation and building trust.

4.    Points made during the Youth Racial Harmony Ambassadors Programme Finale. These were

a.     People are the only natural resources in Singapore. This Government can set the policies but it ultimately boils down to the people who decide the extent and level of harmony that we will have in our country.

b.    The growth and prosperity of our country very much depends on our people and the relationships between our diverse communities.

5.    The greater need for IRCC members to ensure continuity and sustainability in its efforts. The IRCCs, being the local-level inter-faith platforms, offer an avenue for the religious representatives to know and work with each other. These relationships should be maintained to ensure that the cohesive society that we enjoy now will continue for generations to come.