ST: Spore's population is 4.84 million

From the Straits Times on 17 June 2009:

SINGAPORE'S population grew 5.5 per cent last year to reach 4.84 million, due largely to the influx of foreigners. The number of residents, that is, Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PR), rose 1.7 per cent to 3.64 million in June last year, said a report released by the National Population Secretariat (NPS) on Wednesday. There were 79,167 new PRs in 2008 - up 15, 540 from 63,627 the previous year and 20,513 new citizens, an increase of 3,179 from 17,334 over the same period. More than half of the new residents aged 20 and above had at least post-secondary education which shows that Singapore continues to attract talented foreigners. With more foreigners settling in Singapore, NPS said it has become 'more important' to help them integrate. NPS also said that Singapore continues to face the long-term demographic challenge of low fertility and ageing population. Singapore's total feritility rate of 1.28 in 2008 remained below the replacement level of 2.1. The proportion of residents aged 65 years and above also continues to increase to 8.7 per cent last year from 6.8 per cent in 1998. These trends underscore the need to 'continue working on long-term strategies to build a sustainable population, in spite of the economic downturn', added NPS. NPS also continues to engage thousands of Singaporeans who are overseas for work and studies through its Overseas Singaporean Unit to help them stay connected with home. As of June last year, there were more than 180,000 Singaporeans overseas.

Wow, over 50 percent of the new PRs over 20 in Singapore have at least post-secondary education and the ST calls our foreign talent policy a success in attracting talented people.

On the other hand, over 80 percent of each P1 cohort in Singapore go on to attend ITE, Polytechnic and Pre-University.

We the people of Singapore must be uber-talented.

And to the talents in Singapore Press Holdings, keep up the good work in nation-building.

The MSG scare

I am pissed.

The blogger at the boy who knew too much claims that, in his own words, that he has a heightened sensitivity to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and that many westerners experience the 'Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' when eating MSG-laden food. In particular, based on absolutely no rigorous medical research, he believes that Chinese people have some special ability to clear MSG from their system due to genetic adaptation whereas westerners don't.

This is of course bunkum because:

1. Glutamates occur naturally in food, especially fermented/aged ones like soy sauce, fish sauce, ripe tomatoes, meat, and Parmesan cheese. The Italians get on fine with tomatoes and cheese.
2. Our bodies make glutamate on its own and breast milk is especially high in glutamate to entice babies to suckle.
3. MSG was only chemically isolated in the 20th century. Hence, its use as a food additive started only in the 20th century. Pray tell, how did Chinese people adapt to something they have only started adding to their food barely a century ago?
4. Marmite, frequently cited as the most-missed foodstuff by British expatriates (of whom the blogger is one), is a yeast-extract that contains very high concentrations of glutamates, much more than soy sauce. They use it on their toasts and in their soups. Mysteriously, you never hear about the Brits feeling dizzy or getting headaches from their beloved Marmites. Ditto for Vegemite, the perennial Australian favourite.
5. Glutamates are used extensively in flavouring chips, crisps, fast food, canned soups, etc, all of which are consumed in copious amounts in the UK. Apparently, one never hears of the Brits suffering from an epidemic of the so-called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

Moral of the day: Don't make baseless claims about something you know squat about, even if you have many gifts (or so you claim). Ching Chong also has access to the internet.

The Kent Ridge Common

I must say that I am impressed by this new independent student daily from the National University of Singapore. I wish I had something like this to read during my time in NUS. As an undergraduate in NUS many years ago, I found the student publication like The Ridge to be feeble and boring. Instead of addressing pertinent issues like scholarships for foreigners, ways to improve undergraduate science education and NS service obligations for undergraduates, The Ridge, which I only read very occasionally, would concern itself with mundane issues like the allocation of ECA points or the frequency of shuttle buses. Most of my classmates did not even realize that The Ridge existed as it was largely irrelevant to their university lives. The Kent Ridge Commons is refreshingly different.

I'm definitely subscribing to its RSS feed.

Why I don't use plastic bags

Ever since I bought my car and begin grocery shopping on my own, I've tried to avoid using plastic bags. Instead, I use regular reusable shopping bags like these or a cardboard box (I have a few of these at home). The former cost 1 USD each and don't break or tear as easily as disposable plastic bags.

One practical reason why I do not use plastic bags is because they tear easily. Some people use them for a garbage disposal but I don't because they usually have holes in them. A stray chicken bone or prawn shell can easily pierce the flimsy plastic material. Once a hole is made in the bag, rubbish can leak into the bin and dirty it. Hence, it is a better idea to use regular garbage bags.

Another reason is that I usually get more plastic bags than I need. After a trip to the local grocery place, I get about ten plastic bags, sometimes more. That's really more than I need even if I were to use them for garbage disposal. Before I stopped using plastic bags, I would save the plastic bags I got from my grocery shopping. Within half a year, I accumulated a whole box full of bags that I could not use up. Furthermore, many of them had holes in them and could not be used for garbage disposal. In the end, I had to bring them to the plastic bag recycling bin at the grocer's. I'm sure many people simply throw away their excess plastic bags.

What finally led me to use reusable shopping bags was when I read about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Because plastic bags tear so easily, pieces of them are blown from landfills, which don't have to be near the sea, and accumulate in the oceans. The plastic remain in polymer form and after they are broken down into small enough pieces, they enter the food chain. I don't have to tell you what a bad idea it is to have fish nibbling or seabirds choking on small pieces of plastic.

It is not difficult to switch to using reusable shopping bags. They are actually convenient (since they are more durable), make housekeeping easier (less clutter) and reduce the amount of plastic that goes into our seafood.

Please make the switch.

Public transport in Singapore

A thought has occurred to me:

There are two primary modes of public transport in Singapore - the Rapid Transit System (RTS), a.k.a. trains, and buses. Buses run on diesel, the cost of which is sensitive to the fluctuating price of oil, and trains run on electricity. Given the scarcity of petroleum and the volatility of its price, isn't it wiser to expand the train network and reduce the employment of buses in our public transport system?

With the advent of new energy technologies, it is quite likely that electricity generation in Singaporem which is almost wholly dependent on gas, could be supplemented or even replaced by solar, nuclear or even coal sources. In any case, the price of gas is considerably less volatile than that of oil and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future.