Driving holiday turns nightmare

By Elizabeth Soh & Jalelah Abu Baker

IT WAS supposed to have been a leisurely driving trip to a hilltop chalet in Endau Rompin National Park in Johor.

But it turned into a nightmare for 21 Singaporeans after rising flood waters cut off their only exit route and left them stranded in their vehicles, submerged in more than 3m of water.

To make things worse, a 1 1/2-year-old was ill and needed medical attention. But they were unable to get a strong enough cellphone signal to call for help.

Their ordeal ended only some 48 hours later when they were finally airlifted to safety by a helicopter on Tuesday.

Yesterday, three members of the group spoke to The Straits Times about their trip which had started brightly from Singapore on Saturday.

‘It was supposed to be a family trip, with colleagues and their families and friends,’ said oil sales representative Farahana Anwar Hassanuddin, 25.

‘The worst thing that we thought would happen was a flat tyre,’ added Ms Farahana, who counted her boss Andrew Fatipah, 34, and her colleague Sandhora Salleh, 27, an administrative officer, among the group.

They set out early on Saturday in four four-wheel-drive vehicles and eight dirt bikes, accompanied by three Malaysian tour guides.

The wet weather meant slippery conditions but the group managed to make the 55km ascent to the chalet in five hours.

They stayed the night at the chalet and, the next morning at about 10am, started their journey home. They had travelled about 6km and crossed one of the two bridges over Lembakoh River when a serious problem cropped up.

‘The second bridge was completely submerged in water. When we first reached it, the water was halfway up my waist; by the time we started turning around to return to the chalet, it was up to my neck and the first bridge was submerged too,’ said Mr Fatipah, director of Singapore-based firm Sapphire Oilfield Services. ‘We were basically trapped.’

Park officers were contacted via radio to help tow the cars – stuck in the muddy road – and they were able to reach the chalet five hours later.

Two cars managed to cross the submerged bridge safely but the other two cars required some effort.

At the chalet, the group contacted the police in Mersing as well as the Singapore consulate in Johor Baru via a satellite phone.

Mr Fatipah said the group was informed on Monday morning that a helicopter would arrive later in the day to airlift the toddler who had developed a high fever and was running out of milk powder.

But there was more drama to come.

In the evening, the helicopter came, but only to airlift a snake-bite victim at the chalet who was not part of their group, leaving the sick toddler and her distressed mother behind.

‘The mother was all ready to leave, carrying her bags and her daughter and standing in the rain for the helicopter,’ said Ms Farahana. ‘When the helicopter left, she just cried.’

Hearts sank when the group were told of their options: either pay RM1,600 (S$650) to rent two motorboats to ferry them back to Mersing; or wait two weeks for the flood waters to subside and the bridges to be repaired.

‘They told us if we took the boat, we would have to sign a waiver of any responsibility for our safety, and we said ‘no way’,’ said Mr Fatipah.

‘We were really desperate and so we kept calling the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help. Eventually with their help, we were rescued.’

They spent another night at the chalet. The next afternoon, on Tuesday, a helicopter, dispatched by the Mersing Fire Brigade, evacuated them to Mersing.

There, they boarded a bus supplied by the Singapore consulate to return home.

Mr Fatipah said the group, which had never been to Endau Rompin National Park before, was not told by their tour agent that it was closed and that it was very dangerous to travel during the monsoon season.

They had booked the trip with Tristan Park, a Singapore-based company specialising in all terrain vehicle tours.

The trio said if they had known about the weather conditions, they would never have gone.

Malaysia media reported yesterday that the tour agency had applied for a permit to visit the park last Saturday but it was rejected. Calls to the agency yesterday were unanswered.

The three of them, who were back at work one day after returning from Johor, said while the trip was an experience they would never forget, it would not deter them from exploring Malaysia or its parks again.

Quote of the Week

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like:
‘If you live each day as if it was your last,
someday you’ll most
certainly be right.’
It made an impression on me, and since
then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every
morning and asked myself:
‘If today were the last day of my
life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’
And whenever the answer has been ‘No’
for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

:: Steve Jobs 1955-2011 ::

Quote of the Week

“Developing a sense of good cheer in the face of adversity, you can specifically use adversity as the support for refuge and true spiritual development. I am discussing how you relate to your suffering, how you relate to your adversity, as it affects you in life and on the path.

Now, as you know, whenever you are suffering by way of the body, speech, and mind, be it physical illness or a mental affliction, this is a very big deal to you. Usually it appears as something major. Even if it’s minor, you make it into some great distress. If you lose a little money or if someone speaks nastily to you, it invokes a strong reaction. This is called “appearances arising as the enemy.” When your habituation to adversity reaches such a point that you actually fall prey to appearances arising as the enemy, it means that you no longer have patience for suffering.

…If you can’t bear the minor aspects of adversity in this, the best rebirth in cyclic existence, the precious human rebirth, what will you do when you’re reborn in the three lower realms? Samsara is so vast, so deep and limitless, and the number of sentient beings within samsara are equal to that. All of them want to be free; all of them desire liberation. You should consider then how unnecessary or pointless it is to think that your small problems in this fortunate life are so great, when in fact they really are not.

Any rebirth in this ocean of cyclic existence will by nature bring this type of discontent or suffering. Since you’ve been in this cycle of rebirths from beginningless time until now and you are still not free, it points out the fact that help is needed. Refuge is necessary. Adversity then becomes the support for training in refuge, which demonstrates that adversity is used to your advantage.”

~ Gyatrul Rinpoche, Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga

Singapore workers earning more

Singapore workers earning more
Mid-point in range of incomes up 5.3% from last year to hit $2,633

By Cai Haoxiang

THE monthly salary of Singapore workers went up this year, for the second year in a row.

Their median income – the mid-point in a range – was $2,633 in June compared to $2,500 a year ago, a 5.3 per cent increase led by economic growth and a tighter labour market.

The rise is even steeper when part-time workers are taken out of the equation, according to a Manpower Ministry report yesterday on the earnings and employment of residents, including permanent residents.

It shows full-time workers’ median income to be $2,925 a month against $2,708 last year – an 8 per cent rise.

After taking into account projected inflation of about 5 per cent, their real wages rose by an estimated 2.8 per cent, said the ministry’s Singapore Workforce 2011 report.

But for all workers, including part-timers, the real wage increase was just 0.1 per cent, said labour economist Hui Weng Tat of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Noting the Government’s goal to raise real median incomes by 30 per cent over 10 years, Dr Hui said it would require an average increase of 2.7 per cent a year.

‘Attention thus needs to be focused on improving the wages and work opportunities of the 194,700 part-time workers, as they are increasing in number, and half of them indicate they want to work longer hours,’ he added.

The report also disclosed for the first time median income figures that include the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions of employers.

With CPF, the income of full-timers soared to $3,250, which is $250 more every month than last year.

Explaining the new move, a ministry spokesman said employer CPF contributions form a ‘significant part of compensation… and can be used for housing and health care’.

Hence, it will publish the figures yearly to give ‘a more complete picture of residents’ income growth’, she said.

The rise in income this year builds on last year’s increase, which was a turnaround from the decline caused by the 2008-09 recession.

Last year, the strong economic recovery lifted the monthly income by 3.3 per cent, from $2,420.

This year, the increase is fuelled largely by strong employment growth, especially in the services sector, coupled with curbs on the inflow of unskilled labour and stricter conditions for employing skilled foreign workers, said economists interviewed.

‘Wages were pushed higher with the big projects like the Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa resorts needing a lot of labour, together with the tightening of foreign worker inflows like increased levies,’ said National University of Singapore economist Shandre Thangavelu.

These moves pushed the employment rate to a new high of 78 per cent for residents aged 25 to 64.

At the same time, immigration conditions were tightened, causing a decline in the number of permanent residents.

As a result, the resident labour force went up by just 1.6 per cent to 2.08 million, compared to an annual average of 2.6 per cent in the past 10 years.

On the other hand, more older residents and women were working this year.

A record 61.2 per cent of residents aged 55 to 64 were working, up from 59 per cent a year ago.

Similarly, with women aged 25 to 54, the number of employed rose to 73 per cent, from 71.7 per cent last year.

Labour leader Cham Hui Fong cheered the increases in these two groups, saying they show that efforts of unionists are paying off. Said Ms Cham, assistant secretary-general of NTUC: ‘Companies are now prepared to hire and spend time training these workers.’

Also, more government funds are available, she added, citing the Advantage scheme that helps companies redesign jobs for older workers.

Another is the Inclusive Growth Programme, which gives grants to companies to invest in high-tech equipment and redesign jobs for low-wage workers in return for raising their pay.

‘We hope these schemes will continue because we need to build up the momentum,’ said Ms Cham.

Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma

Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma
Book 11
Principles of Zazen
(Zazen gi)

Studying Zen is zazen. For zazen, one should have a quiet place. Spread a thick sitting mat. Do not let in drafts or vapors; do not admit rain or dew. You should secure and maintain the spot where you place yourself. There are traces from the past of those who sat on a vajra [seat] or sat on a rock; they all spread a thick layer of grass to sit on. The place where you sit should be bright; it should not be dark either day or night. The technique is to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.

Cast aside all involvements and discontinue the myriad affairs. Good is not thought of; evil is not thought of. It is not mind, intellect or consciousness; it is not thoughts, ideas or perceptions. Do not figure to make a buddha; slough off sitting or reclining.

You should be moderate in food and drink. Hold dear the passing days and nights, and take to zazen as though brushing a fire from your head. The Fifth Ancestor on Mt. Huangmei worked only at zazen, without any other other occupation.

During zazen, you should wear your kesa. Put down a cushion. The cushion is not placed completely under your crossed legs but only under the rear half, so that the mat is beneath the legs and the cushion beneath the spine. This is the way that all the buddhas and ancestors have sat during zazen.

Sit in either the half lotus or full lotus position. For the full lotus position, place your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh. The toes should be even with the thighs, not out of alignment. For the half lotus position, simply place your left foot on your right thigh.

Loosen your robe and underwaist, and arrange them properly. Place your right hand on your left foot and your left hand on your right hand. Put the tips of your thumbs together. With your hands in this position, place them against your body, so that that the joined thumb tips are aligned with your navel.

Straighten your body and sit erect. Do not lean to the left or right; do not bend forward or back. The ears should always be aligned with the shoulders, and the nose aligned with the navel. The tongue should be placed against the front of the palate. The breath should pass through the nose. The lips and teeth should be closed. The eyes should be open, neither too widely nor too narrowly.

Having thus regulated body and mind, take a breath and exhale fully. Sitting fixedly, think of not thinking. How do you think of not thinking? Nonthinking. This is the art of zazen.

Zazen is not the practice of dhyâna. It is the dharma gate of great ease and joy. It is undefiled practice and verification.

Treasury of the Eye of True Dharma, Principles of Zazen, Number 11.