Voices of the millennials | An alternative take on Singapore youth news
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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hamizah Salikimen  /  10:11 AM  /    /  No comments
The Temasek Polytechnic Staff Association (TPSA), formed in April 1991, is an association for the staff of TP as well as ordinary members. They organise events such as the Chinese New Year festive shopping all the way to Johor Bahru as well as the 7-A Side Soccer Game and many many more monthly events.

The mission of TPSA is to be able to proactively engage all members through cultural, sports, recreational and social activities and their main goal is to create connections and nurture networks while enriching the experiences.

Despite the official Patron of the Association being the Principal and Chief Executive Officer of TP, more than 75 per cent of the association are ordinary members. You need not be a TP alumni or a TP staff to officially join the team! You just need spirit!

Embracing the TP Spirit during last year's Dinner and Dance
2 Days 1 Night Sibu Kelong Fishing Trip – 21 and 22 September 2013

What they would like to achieve:
a) To raise the standards of its members in the discharge of their duties and to assist them in upgrading and
     enhancing their skills;
b) To explore methods by which productivity of members in the Polytechnic could be increased;
c) To maintain and consolidate the status of the staff and to enhance the image of the Association;
d) To promote the interests and welfare of its members;
e) To foster and promote friendship and goodwill among its members;
f) To promote cultural, sports, recreational and social activities among its members thereby inculcating
    sportsmanship, team spirit, fair play, comradeship and personal enrichment

Most important factors:
Togetherness
Personal Development
Social Networking
Action-oriented

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Hamizah Salikimen  /  2:55 AM  /  No comments
The dying population of local talents in the music industry has been the talk of the town recently after Stephanie Koh aka StephMicayle's Youtube video went viral especially among the youths; with many agreeing to some of her points on creativity being limited/restricted in Singapore.

Her video tells us why she is not proud to be a Singaporean. One of the points touches on Singaporeans being small minded, lacking of creativity and the education system too rigid for creativity.

Although most netizens agree that her points are valid, some did not agree on her say on how 'majority' of Singaporeans are 'not creative', debating that there are plenty of talented, creative people and that the problem was lack of exposure.

With lacking platforms for budding artists, is exposure possible? Maybe.

A good example for this would be Still Sunrise. They are slowly yet surely sharing joy through their music one step at a time.








Still Sunrise performing at Temasek Polytechnic's singing competition - The Biz Factor.


Still Sunrise is a local indie-folk band consisting of four young lads, three of which graduated from Temasek Polytechnic. With a fresh start in their music career, they have flourished as performers and performed gigs every now and then.

Two of the members took part in MediaCorp's The Final 1 competition last year but didn't manage to win, however, they did not feel like they have lost in Singapore's 'creative industry' yet instead found a new reason to keep lovin what they love.

The Final 1 finalist, Yuresh Balakrishnan, said: "The ultimate goal is to have smaller goals every step of the way. There will never be a final goal. You need to take things slow.

"Just like how there used to be very divided music genres and scenes, but now there's more emphasis on local music. I think as a generation we’re more inclined to express ourselves artistically and we want to pursue different venues of art. Things look pretty optimistic to me."

Glen Wee said: "I would never be where I am today, if not for the singing competitions that I took part in."

Other local musicians such as Ko Xinyi and Nathan Hartono are one of the many musicians in Singapore whose fans agreed that they should be more exposed by now. With YouTube being their main platform for exposure, fans all over the world anticipate their videos and covers online. But why are majority of Singaporeans clueless about their existence then?

Selling EP albums in Starbucks or busking for fun in public are some of the examples of platforms the minority take to gain exposure in Singapore's music industry.

Glen added: "The thing that is most lacking in the music scene in Singapore is the fact that locals are unwilling to give them a listen – if they don’t support us, who will? The music and talents exist and they aren't bad at all. We just need more ears. So we will try harder, one step at a time.”

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Hamizah Salikimen  /  4:02 PM  /  ,   /  No comments
It has become a social norm for teenagers and young adults to have a Tumblr account (move over Facebook), but do they really know what lies beneath the 'reblogging' of all those trendy posts? Depending on the kinds of blog you follow, you get to look at different types of posts ranging from comedy content to fashion to even food posts from these blogs. But it's not all good stuff in there.

Despite the positive coexistence of social networking and microblogging, Tumblr has become a usual platform for teens to post substantial amount of suicide notes. Tumblr bloggers are posting/reblogging suicidal thoughts at an overwhelming rate; setting other Tumblr users on edge and the authorities on high alert.

Tumblr now has a SUICIDE WATCH tab and blog where users can report the URLs of blogs that have suicidal content in them. Tumblr Suicide Watch helps victims who have suicidal thoughts and helps the community to prevent even more deaths amongst the youths.

Posts such as these are pretty much common in Tumblr:




Or these: 



And these:




Also those from the ones claiming to have thought about death e v e r y  d a y. 
Just look at the amount of reblogs and likes:



It's time to THINK and REFLECT. Why is it that the society seems to be the one that engulfed a whole load of kids to the ground? Why is it more prevalent despite the actions taken to prevent suicides? 

The reason? Simple. 

It's the need to love and be loved in return. 

As cliche as it may seem, LOVE is what every single being needs to be able to feel like they belong. Show a little love; a simple hi will turn that frown upside down. A simple hug will brighten a student's gloomy Monday. A simple joke will let him laugh away his pain. 

Everyone should learn to love. Make peace, not war. 

You know it's TOO MUCH when you hear people say that all these suicide thoughts are "totally normal". It may seem crazy to some but there are those who think that suicidal thoughts are pretty darn normal and "satisfying".

The amount of influence these posts have on our local youths are alarming with 19-year-old *Alicia saying she feels like she belongs online with these people as it offers her a sense of belonging. 

She said: "Sometimes life is just too stressful, and I see these posts and I feel like I genuinely understand what those people are going through and I feel better because I am not alone. It's not trying to seek attention or just being stupid. It's a serious matter and sometimes the thoughts in my head are strong enough to want me to do it but I never had the courage. It's a pity."

Another 19-year-old, *Nicole said: "I am a lesbian and I used to have suicidal thoughts in Secondary school because I felt nobody will accept me for who I am. I starve myself. I take pills. I taped my room shut and gas myself but never succeeded to end my life. I just felt so sad then that I wasn't able to show people who I truly was. The girl I loved rejected me then so I wanted to just... die."

*Nicole is now a survivor and is happy studying in a Polytechnic with friends who truly love her for who she is. 

She added: "Youths rely on social networking blog sites such as Tumblr to genuinely look for a reason to live. If they are dead set on taking their lives, they would do it. If they post it up, they are most probably still unsure or hesitant."

For a mental note, the video below shows the prevalence of negligence in mankind which created the sadness and grief within them, leaving death as a final option. 






Get HELP: Call Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) at 1800-221 4444 or email SOS at pat@samaritans.org.sg 
"You think you die alone, but that's not true. Nobody is alone in this world." 




*Names changed for personal reasons. 
Hamizah Salikimen  /  12:26 AM  /  No comments

The most entertaining in flight safety video the world has ever seen has hit 7 million views within a month. Virgin America certainly puts 'Virgin' into context right here. Kudos to Richard Branson and the team for giving another meaning to flight entertainment. 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Hamizah Salikimen  /  12:31 PM  /  No comments

With the rising cost of living in Singapore, the youths are looking into other options to striving in a more stress-free environment and a content lifestyle, claiming that it will be more of a challenge for the younger generations to strive in the overcrowded island of Singapore. 

Click on the video below to watch what some of them have to say.


"For us, 4 dollars a day is just enough for daily allowance. Anything less than that isn't enough because a plate of rice in the school canteen already cost us 2 dollars," said 13 year old student on her daily expenses when comparing to a dollar Nasi Padang 10 years ago.

She also stated that Singapore's education is getting more challenging, with algebra already covered in her primary school days. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Hamizah Salikimen  /  10:33 PM  /  No comments

Workers repairing the damaged kinetic rain 
sculpture located at Terminal 1, Changi Airport
                                          Photo: The New Paper


Vietnamese woman on metal net grabbing 
hold of as many raindrops as she possibly can 
                                                       Photo: STOMP


Hamizah Salikimen  /  10:24 PM  /  No comments


The Straits Times news portal being 
hacked by The Anonymous Collective
                                Photo: ChannelNewsAsia

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