But no elderly person living alone should be helpless when something happens.
By Kwok Kar Peng
DYING alone.
The thought of this happening to actress Rui En used to petrify her.
Ironically, it was a meeting with two elderly people who live alone that helped her get over that fear.
“After today, I realise there’s nothing much to be afraid of. It’s all a matter of perspective. As one elderly woman put it, it’ll happen sooner or later, so why worry now?” said Rui En, 30.
The actress, famous for her roles in TV dramas By My Side and Happy Family, met the two senior citizens when she visited the Lions Befrienders (Mei Ling) Seniors Activity Centre.
The visit was at The New Paper’s invitation as part of Project Helping Hands.
There, she sang songs, did a funny chicken dance and played games like Bingo with 40 seniors, most of whom live alone in rented one-room flats in the Mei Ling Street HDB estate.
She also prepared goodie bags containing rice, biscuits, drink sachets and Brand’s essence of chicken for each of the seniors. Ten members of her fan club RBKD also came along as volunteers.
One person who helped change her perception of growing old alone was Madam Chan Yit Yoong, 84.
The sprightly woman has been living on her own for the last nine years after her husband died in 2000.
She has an adopted daughter who visits her once or twice a month in her rented flat in Mei Ling Street.
Madam Chan may be alone, but she is far from being lonely.
She said she goes to the activity centre every day to eat, exercise, watch TV and play games with the other elderly residents and volunteers in the neighbourhood.
Despite the real danger of her falling sick at home with no one to render help, she told Rui En that she isn’t scared of dying alone.
“I’m so old already, something will happen to me someday, so there’s no need to be afraid,” the senior said.
Inevitable
What she said affected Rui En greatly.
She said: “The thought (of dying alone) isn’t that scary after today because I cannot prevent it from happening.”
Rui En also met another lively senior, Mr Tan Ah Kaw, who is also known as the Handyman of Mei Ling Street.
When we visited Mr Tan, 80, his small flat was crammed with light bulbs, telephone cords and boxes of knick knacks.
He told us those were not junk. They are still in working condition and he hopes to give them on to people in the estate who might need them.
Though he has a wife, two kids and grandchildren living elsewhere on the island, he said he prefers to live in the flat which he’s called home for 29 years.
He shares the flat with a distant relative and visits his family once a month as he finds travelling a hassle.
“I told my wife and kids, ‘What do I do when you go out to work? I don’t want to stay home to watch the flat,’” he said.
“I would rather help my friends here buy their food, run errands, change their light bulbs or fix their faulty plumbing.
“I miss my wife, but I have no choice. I like it here where I have friends. Some people may win the lottery but I think I have everything already. I’m very satisfied.”
The optimism shared by Mr Tan and Madam Chan surprised Rui En, who was impressed by their independence.
But as mobile as the two of them are now, the danger of an elderly person falling or getting sick at home with no one noticing is very real.
Though there are no official statistics to show how many elderly people die alone at home.
Past media reports indicate that there were at least seven cases of people whose decomposing bodies were found days after their deaths in 2009 and 2008. At least 45 elderly people died alone in their homes in 2007.
While Madam Tan appeared nonchalant about dying alone, she admitted that she would be very sad if it had happened to one of her friends.
Said Rui En: “Wherever possible, no elderly person should be left alone. I live with my 82-year-old grandmother and I cannot imagine leaving her to die alone…
“If you put yourself in that situation, anybody will be scared. That sense of hopelessness and desperation (waiting for help to come) is something people should not experience.
“But with motion sensors installed in their home, this can be prevented.”
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in RBKD, The New Paper.
Female celebs rock out in masculine frocks on the red carpet
23 December 2010
MAN up.
That’s what some foreign female celebrities seem to be doing as they ditch feminine frocks in favour of men’s suits on the red carpet.
Actresses such as Leighton Meester, Olivia Wilde, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Alba and Winona Ryder, and supermodels including Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn have been showing off their edgier side since last month.
Meester and Moss, for example, have gone the whole hog, teaming their suits with skinny ties.
Local TV actresses Rui En, Jeanette Aw and Jacelyn Tay have also opted for variations of this androgynous look.
But they are a minority among Singapore women who prefer safe sartorial choices.
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in The New Paper.
By Charlene Chua
November 10, 2010
HE BELIEVES he’s a star-maker.
That’s why he doesn’t understand why he hasn’t been given the chance to make young talent shine.
David Gan, owner of Passion Hair Salon and ‘mother’ to some of MediaCorp’s biggest stars like Fann Wong and Zoe Tay, is upset that artiste managers are no longer sending their young MediaCorp charges to him for hair styling services.
A spokesman for MediaCorp told The New Paper in an e-mail: ‘There is no such ban on David Gan. In fact, our make-up unit is working with him on his salon’s sponsorship of services for (new TV drama) Love In Two Cities which is currently in production.’
Hype Records boss Ken Lim, who signed popular MediaCorp princesses Jeanette Aw and Rui En, said he believes hard work is what contributed to both their successes – and that should be what young artistes should focus on.
He said: ‘Rui En and Jeanette’s success did not come overnight. Between them, there’s been 20 years of hard work.
‘Whether a star makes it or not depends on more than just a hairstyle or looks as looks are subjective.
‘It’s all about their attitude and commitment to their work. You can have the best managers and stylists but there’ll be no point if you don’t work hard yourself.’
–
So who’s doing whose hair? Here’s a list of local celebs and their crimpers of choice
KIM ROBINSON
Haircut by Kim: $2,580
Haircut by stylists that do artistes’ hair: $238 – $700
Dai Yang Tian
Jeanette Aw
Rui En
Andrea Fonseka
Source: The New Paper, Asiaone
Categorised in A Tale of 2 Cities 乐在双城, asiaone.com, The New Paper.
Categorised in The New Paper, Unriddle 最火搭档.
By Kwok Kar Peng
Pages 2 & 3
With Jesseca Liu quitting showbiz, is the whole ‘Seven Princesses’ thing passe?
It is time to “move forward in a new direction”, several of Mediacorp’s ‘Seven Princesses’ told The New Paper.
The original septet will be down to just four actresses with the impending departure of Jesseca Liu.
Jeanette Aw, Joanne Peh, Rui En and Felicia Chin remain.
Fiona Xie and Dawn Yeoh left the station last year.
The term Seven Princesses was first coined by a local Chinese entertainment weekly a few years ago. It was picked up by the media and became widely used.
Peh and Aw said the term was just a convenient and flattering way to classify seven actresses and to save people the hassle of saying all seven names.
But they added the label does not come with special treatment when it comes to roles.
Mr Paul Chan, vice-president of branding & promotion for Channel 8, feels “the existing four are the strongest of the seven and they are already at a level befitting the title of ‘New Ah Jies’.”
However, a veteran journalist (Ang Ming Hwa) in the entertainment beat believes the dispersing of the Seven Princesses merely reflects “the sad state of the local TV industry”.
Complete Article:
Source: The New Paper
Disclaimer: The scans are presented in the original colors of the printed article, no adjustments were made to the colors.
–
Page 23
Do They Have What It Takes?
Paige Chua
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in The New Paper, 七公主 7 Princesses.
By Charlene Chua
So what’s the buzz surrounding this year’s nominees?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much, seeing that there were no shocks or surprises with the unveiling of the yawn-worthy lists.
This year, two MediaCorp princesses – Fiona Xie and Dawn Yeoh – are missing from the list, leaving Jeanette Aw, Joanne Peh, Felicia Chin, Rui En and Jesseca Liu to battle it out.
Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes Nominees
Ann Kok
Belinda Lee
Felicia Chin
Hong Huifang
Jeanette Aw
Jesseca Liu
Jin Yin Ji
Joanne Peh
Kym Ng
Lin Meijiao
Michelle Chia
Michelle Chong
Pan Ling Ling
Pei Xuan
Priscelia Chan
Quan Yifeng
Rui En
Vivian Lai
Xiang Yun
Yvonne Lim
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in Star Awards 2010, The New Paper, 七公主 7 Princesses.
Show Page 22
The results for the Singapore Entertainment Awards 2010 are out.
MOST POPULAR…
Male Singer: Show Luo
Female Singer: Stefanie Sun
Local Singer: JJ Lin
Group: S.H.E
Band: MayDay
Music Video: JJ Lin, Hundred Days
Newcomer: Alien Huang
Local TV actor: Dai Yangtian
Local TV actress: Rui En
Hong Kong TV actor: Moses Chan
Hong Kong TV actress: Charmaine Sheh
Taiwan TV actor: Mark Chao
Taiwan TV actress: Rainie Yang
U-weekly cover: S.H.E
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in Omy SG E Awards 新加坡 E乐大赏 2010, The New Paper.
Page 24
Rui En will play a wife and mother for the first time
By Kwok Kar Peng
ONE MediaCorp Princess has willingly agreed to transform herself into an older woman and mother of a 7-year-old girl.
Click to see larger image
DARK DRAMA: (Above) In her next project, Rui En’s character suffers a succession of tragedies. –TNP DESIGN: PRADIP KUMAR SIKDAR –TNP PICTURES: KELVIN CHNG
This makes Rui En the first among the Seven Princesses to leave the castle and move on to playing mature roles.
Yes, we know she is the cool, strong-willed and unconventional one among the Jeanette Aws, Joanne Pehs and Felicia Chins.
This career move will certainly differentiate her even more from her ‘royal’ peers, who are still playing young single girls.
We wondered if the decision was deliberate. Why take such a big leap forward, Rui En?
‘Why not?’ she shot back.
‘I think it’s good to have something fresh. It’s a huge risk, but without risks, you can’t move forward.’
Then she laughed and added, as she leaned forward to squeeze this reporter’s arm, ‘Eh, I’m 29 years old this year!’
Turning serious, the 1.69m-tall actress – whose previous roles in The Dream Catchers and My School Daze saw her tackling mostly strong, independent and highly educated single girls – said: ‘I can’t pretend to be a teenager or a teenybopper any more. I’m also not about to start lying about my age. As I grow up, the characters I take on have to grow up as well.’
And how they will grow.
Next project
In Rui En’s next project, tentatively titled I’m With You, she will play a wife and mother for the first time.
It is supposedly a very dark drama, where a succession of tragedies befalls her character Siqi – one of which is the sudden death of her husband (Chen Hanwei) in the first episode.
His spirit, however, lingers in the human world and pesters Adrian Pang’s character, the only person who can see and talk to him, to help his family get over his death.
You can expect some flutterings of romance between Rui En’s character and Adrian’s, but nothing too much for a recently-widowed woman.
Rui En will begin filming the drama later this month.
Although wading into new territory makes her jittery, and it is way out of her comfort zone, she says she is looking forward to it.
But if you have a mental picture of Rui En as a frumpy aunty in I’m With You, think again.
Her character Siqi is a fashion designer in her early 30s and a modern mother.
Rui En nevertheless cringed a little when she described what her alter ego will look like.
‘She’s quite feminine and always wears skirts. I also have to wear hair extensions to make my shoulder-length hair longer. It’s been a long time since I had that image,’ she said.
But isn’t she concerned that there’ll be no turning back to playing young-ish characters once she’s stepped into mature roles, currently hogged by 30-something actresses like Cynthia Koh and Ann Kok? (See report, right.)
Rui En pondered for a while before saying: ‘I’m honestly not worried about this yet. I hope that I perform sufficiently well to prove to people that I can play a role like Xiaodong and also a mother. I have to rely on myself to prove it.’
Xiaodong is her uneducated, simple-minded and happy-go-lucky character from the Channel 8 drama Happy Family, which premieres at 9pm on 19 Jan.
In that role, which was filmed from August to October last year, the usually aloof Rui En replaces her trademark don’t-mess-with-me attitude with a wide toothy grin.
Even her co-stars joked that she smiled more in those three months of filming Happy Family than she usually would in a year.
However, there’s one other role that this reporter hopes to see her take on, one that’s certainly out of her comfort zone.
How about playing a damsel in distress, I asked her. It is so unlike the self-reliant and strong actress.
‘Can I?’ she asked incredulously, breaking off into laughter.
‘Okay, that would be quite challenging. Hmm, I do have something in me that’s quite independent because that’s the way I grew up and lived my entire life.’
Take note, scriptwriters.
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in Happy Family 过好年, The New Paper, With You 我在你左右, 七公主 7 Princesses.
Tonight’s gonna be a good night. New Year’s Eve parties will be going on around the island. But if you’re still unsure of what to do and where to go, we list some parties. It’s the last day of 2009. Go all out and end it with a bang
HEARTLAND HOTSPOTS
PUNGGOL EAST YEAR 2010 COUNTDOWN
Where: Harmony Square, Rivervale Crescent (Tel: 6875 5376).
What: Witness the residents’ attempt to gather the largest crowd of families in Singapore wearing bandanas. Local artistes Hady Mirza and Rui En are also performing. Plus fireworks display.
When: 8pm.
Admission: Free.
Categorised in Punggol Countdown 2010, The New Paper.
