My Online ST Forum Letter: Tackling loan-sharking means taking aim at gambling sources too (ST 20 Jan)
Jan 20, 2010
Tackling loan-sharking means taking aim at gambling sources too
Indeed, those who approach loan sharks to feed their gambling addiction do not need our sympathy. We have read of how hardcore gamblers end up when the habit is chronic.
Loan sharks feed on the weakness of gamblers to entice them with their high-interest loans, and if we can tackle the addiction of our gamblers, we may have nipped the problem in the bud.
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My Published Letter: Help borrowers find hope (Today 14 Jan)
I refer to the well-written report “Authorities armed to the teeth” (Jan 13).
The Government is to be applauded for providing the relevant authorities with more power to tackle the growing loan-sharking problem before the opening of the integrated resorts. Gambling and loan-sharking go hand in hand.
There was a serious recession last year, so illegal money lending grew as the unemployed searched for funds. There is only so much that a person can borrow from friends and relatives. For some, loan sharks might even be their first choice of lender as it saves them the embarrassment of approaching people they know.
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All is not well with the family in S’pore (ST 4 Jan)
Jan 4, 2010
All is not well with the family in S’pore
Rise in number of wayward teens show parents need to give them more than cash
These stories of heartbreak concern youths deemed ‘Beyond Parental Control’ (BPC).The label covers not only complaints lodged against youth under age 16 who aren’t old enough to be juvenile offenders, but also describes the state of their caregivers, who have thrown up their hands in abject defeat.
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A Year Best Left Forgotten
2009 – a year best left forgotten
Written by: Gilbert Goh
Transitioning.org is happy to have celebrated this year with our loyal readers. Many have told me that 2009 is best left forgotten. Many also hope that the new year 2010 will be a better year for them. I couldn’t agree more.
This year also marked the death of our favourite pop icon Michael Jackson and more significantly America chose a black man as their President for the first time.
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Christmas Message 2009
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Football gambling addict hangs himself (ST 23 Dec)
Dec 23, 2009
Football gambling addict hangs himself
Death of Liverpool fan ruled a suicide; he left a note admitting addiction
The 33-year-old driver, also known as Zhang Guohan, admitted that this was the main reason why he was always short of money.
His favourite football team was Liverpool and he was wearing the club’s red jersey when he hanged himself in the bathroom of his four-room flat in Tampines on Oct 26.
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A Year of Trials and Triumphs (ST 19 Dec)
Dec 19, 2009
A year of trials and triumphs
If you imagine the Singapore scene as a boxing ring, what would you say were the biggest matches to enthrall, excite and exasperate Singaporeans this year? Today, we review 2009 – in five bouts. Enjoy.
SINGAPORE VS RECESSION
NO DOUBT about it, this was the bout that hogged the headlines – Singapore pitted against Recession, the fearsome superheavyweight that threatened to deliver the sucker punch.
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Premature ejaculation hits one in three Singaporean men (My paper 15 Dec)
Premature ejaculation hits one in three S’pore men
Condition can seriously affect a man’s relationship with his partner. -myp
Tue, Dec 15, 2009
my paper
AS MANY as one in three men in Singapore could be suffering from premature ejaculation (PE), according to a study.
PE, a devastating condition for a man, is defined as a lack of control on a man’s part during intercourse, resulting in ejaculation prior to or within one minute of penetration, said Associate Professor George Lee Eng Geap from the University of Malaya and Monash University.
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Singapore on list of degree mill countries (ST 26 Nov)
The Lee Community College office at the MND Complex in Maxwell Road. The popular CaseTrust-accredited school appears on a list compiled by officials in the US state of Oregon of six institutions here that are said to offer unaccredited qualifications. — ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
DEGREE mills that churn out ‘graduates’ at the drop of a hat are the sort of dodgy outfits we link with shadier parts of the world, but the problem is a lot closer to home and threatens to harm Singapore’s name as an education centre.
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Introduction To My New Blog Steadymarriages.com
I started this blogsite with the intention to provide a platform for people in difficult marriages to network and hopefully find rpossible esources to iron out their differences with their spouses.
One in three marriages in Singapore will eventually break up and at least 7000 families will end their relationship with each other yearly. Counting at least each family has one child each and we are looking at 21,000 people facing life without the warmth of a happy family. each year.
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Enquiry on credit card debts from a reader (25 Oct)
Hi Gilbert
Firstly, I would like to commend you on the website. It was a good read. 
I chanced upon it when I was googling for information.
Basically, I have some questions about the impact of bad credit rating and bankruptcy have on someone. My friend is presently unemployed since he decided not to renew his contract 5 months ago. I found out recently that his girlfriend has incurred a hefty sum of credit card debts with a few banks and she has just received a legal letter from a lawyer acting on behalf of one. Both my friend and his partner are also planning to get married.
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The meaning of life after retirement (Today 10 Oct)
The meaning of life after retirement
05:55 AM Oct 10, 2009
by Eveline Gan
WORN out by his former stressful and hectic work life in the stockbroking industry, Mr See Chak Wah had initially looked forward to his retirement. But the novelty of being able to relax and take catnaps at whim wore off a few months after he retired at 55.
“After a while, I just started to feel that life was so meaningless. Because I was so used to being an ‘economic unit’, I felt so useless when I wasn’t out there making money,” the 60-year-old said candidly. At times, Mr See felt so depressed and disconnected with the rest of the world that he would “hide at home” and mope.
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Letter from a Jobless Lawyer in Penang (19 Oct)
Dear Gilbert,
I just read your write-up on the prolonged unemployment subject and I believe I belonged to this group.
I am from Penang, Malaysia and has been out of work for the past 2 years. I have decided to get back to work by next year and i badly need counselling from an experienced counsellor. I hope you would counsel me in my job seeking journey.
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Hope for all, regardless of faith (Sunday Times 18 oct)
SM Goh speaking to some of the booth operators at the Paya Lebar Methodist Church job fair yesterday. About 1,500 jobs were on offer from 20 employers from sectors such as health care, security and property. — ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Former car mechanic Don Anil Rhuperth Kumanayake made his first-ever visit to a church yesterday – not to attend a service, but for a job fair.
The 53-year-old, who lost his job in June, was hoping to find a similar position or to sign up for a skills upgrading course to enter a new industry.
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Lost your job? Here’s what to do (Readers Digest Oct 09)
(Our website www.transitioning.org was featured in this article below)
Lost Your Job?
Here’s what to do
by Chloë Bryan-Brown October 2009
Former hotel manager Simon Laurie joined a hotel and catering multinational when he was 25. “I travelled all over the world. I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. But with the recession beginning to bite, my area of the company was no longer considered core.” So 17 years after he started, he was made redundant. He likens the pain to bereavement.
