Teens living the high life

By ALEXANDRA JEN WONG

Designer goods, fancy restaurants and spa treatments are not just for adults these days.

SINGAPORE: Young, restless and ready to rock – and shop.

Walk into the trendier shops or eateries these days, and do not be surprised to see teen customers.

One 19-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Rachel, told The Sunday Times she spends up to S$6,000 (RM14,000) a month on shopping.

The university student, whose parents run businesses, said her biggest buy was a S$5,000 (RM12,000) Chanel bag.

She said: “If my mother can afford it and buys it for me, then I will accept it. If I can’t afford it, I won’t buy it. I don’t think it has to do with peer pressure. Perhaps it is more a matter of upbringing. My family values quality, and branded items are usually of a higher quality.”

At Ion Orchard, staff at luxury store Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) say one in 10 teen customers is local. One favourite purchase is the Muse Two bag, which costs S$2,180 (RM5,220).

The teens are typically around 16 to 17 years old, say YSL staff.

A sales assistant at Dior said that the store sees on average 30 teenagers a day, with many of them coming with their friends and in groups. Those who make purchases spend S$2,000 (RM4,800) on average.

But one 19-year-old university student, who wanted to be known only as Amanda, said: “I don’t believe teens have to spend excessively to look good. What matters is whether we know how to appreciate what we have.”

She added that she enjoys S$20 (RM45) dresses as much as the pricier ones.

Still, Amanda – the daughter of a finance professional and a housewife – does have favourite brands such as Prada and Miu Miu. When it comes to things she really wants, such as a Mulberry Alexa handbag which costs about S$1,600 (RM3,800), she will save up for it.

One parent, a partner in a consultancy firm who declined to be named, said she buys expensive goods for her children “to give them the best”. She added that branded items “last a lifetime”.

She buys Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags which cost up to S$5,000 each, which she shares with her two daughters, aged 21 and 25.

Another parent, who also declined to be named, said: “If you can afford to buy things you think look nice, then why not?”

Well-dressed teenagers are also increasingly seen at upmarket dining places.

Staff at Basilico, an Italian restaurant at The Regent Singapore, said there has been an increase in the number of teen customers at lunchtime, spending at least S$39 (RM90) each for the weekday buffet. Teenagers are also turning up with their friends on Sundays, when brunch prices range from S$59 (RM140) to S$175 (RM420).

Popular nightclub Zouk also noted an increase in the parties hosted by teenagers and young adults over the past few years.

Benny Heng, its director of operations, said four to five birthday and farewell parties are held there each month, up from one to two before. He added that such parties are usually attended by 20 or more people while in the past, there were 10 or fewer guests.

Cost does not seem to be an issue. The teens and young adults attending these parties at Zouk typically spend S$60 to S$70 (RM145 to RM170) a head – drinking champagne, shooters and premium vodka like Grey Goose, which costs S$230 (RM550) a bottle.

One teenager even told The Sunday Times she rented a yacht for about S$750 (RM1,800) from Grand Cruise for her boyfriend’s birthday party. The 19-year-old, who did not want to be named, used her savings and her 15 guests paid S$35 (RM80) each to offset the cost.

The entire bash cost more than $1,000 (RM2,400), including two bottles of Moet Champagne and four bottles of wine.

Teens are also conscious about their looks. Kay Nalla, marketing manager for Bonafides, a beauty spa, said teens now make up about 30% of its clientele, with one-third of the teenagers being male. It even has a specially tailored product, the “teenage healing facial”, with 30 to 40 teens signing up each month. This costs between S$45 and S$65 (RM110 and RM160) a session.

But not all teens agree with such a lifestyle. Charmaine, 19, a university student, said: “These teenagers come off as superficial. Most care only about the brands they buy and the places they are seen at, because it shows that they can afford it.”

Madam M.L. Fong, 45, a housewife and mother of four, said: “It is worrying when teenagers spend so much money before they even know how to earn it. It’s definitely an issue parents should be concerned about.”

Associate Professor Ho Kong Chong, from the National University of Singapore’s department of sociology, said young people are influenced by marketing pitches, and that the teenage market is lucrative.

He added that “the extension of school has resulted in a prolonged period of youth, and exploring of identity, while still dependent on parents”.

Indonesia disaster toll hits 377, volcano erupts again

By Renjani Puspo Sari

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Thursday for the second time in a week, blasting vast plumes of ash into the sky, as the death toll from the initial eruption and a tsunami that hit remote western islands reached 377.

Mount Merapi emits smoke as 

it is seen from Kali Tengah village 

near Yogyakarta October 26, 2010. 

(REUTERS/Dwi Oblo)

There were no immediate reports of new casualties after Merapi's second eruption. More than 40,000 people had fled or been evacuated from Merapi's slopes earlier in the week, but many started to return after the volcano appeared to become calmer.

Officials said the death toll from a tsunami that hit the remote western Mentawai islands on Monday had reached at least 343. The tsunami was triggered on Monday by a 7.5 magnitude quake. A day later, Mount Merapi on the outskirts of Yogyakarta city on Java island erupted, killing at least 34.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had been due to take part in a summit of Asian leaders in Hanoi from Thursday to Saturday, flew back to Indonesia after the twin disasters.

"The president was very moved when he met the victims of the tsunami and earthquake," Yudhoyono's spokesman, Julian Pasha, told Reuters, adding that the president planned to return to Hanoi before Saturday.

"He has issued instructions for all aid to continue to flow in without disruption."

Parts of an early warning system installed after a huge 2004 tsunami killed more than 226,000 people had been stolen but overall the system still worked, said the head of the meteorological agency, Sri Woro Harijono.

"Yes, some of our sensors disappear because they are stolen, such as seismographs and solar cells," she said. "But it is just one or three sensors out of 100. The system works fine."

Local media reported that parts of the tsunami early warning system had not worked properly because they had been vandalised or removed, while Metro TV broadcast footage of villagers questioning the effectiveness of the warning system.

"This has also been reported to the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology but we also need to make sure this information is verified properly," said Pasha.

"We know that when the quake happened, within 10 minutes this enormous tsunami came. So maybe the speed with which it came meant that the early warning system didn't work."

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mount Merapi killed 1,300 people in 1930.

In December 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake of more than 9 magnitude off Sumatra killed more than 226,000 people. It was the deadliest tsunami on record.

(Writing by Sunanda Creagh, editing by Andrew Marshall)

Copyright © 2010 Reuters

Teen died instantly from gunshot

By NURBAITI HAMDAN
nurbaiti@thestar.com.my

SHAH ALAM: Teenager Aminul-rasyid Amzah was likely to have died almost instantly from a single gunshot wound to the head, a pathologist told the Sessions Court.

Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim, from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang, testified that it was likely the 14-year-old schoolboy died minutes or even seconds after he was shot.

Dr Khairul was testifying yesterday in the trial of Kpl Jenain Subi, 48, who is charged with causing the death of the Form Three student at Jalan Tarian 11/2 here on April 26.

In his post-mortem report, Dr Khairul said Aminulrasyid sustained an entry gunshot wound at the back of his head, measuring about 1cm in diameter, which caused thick bleeding in the brain area.

“Internal examination showed a bullet tract that entered the left part of the brain, directed slightly to the right just above the brainstem, and exited at the right frontal lobe of the brain,” he said.

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Adilla Ahmad whether the injuries were fatal in nature, Dr Khairul answered: “Yes.”

He opinied that the deceased was shot from long-range based on the injury pattern.

Dr Khairul also identified a yellow T-shirt, a pair of boxers and knee-length shorts worn by the deceased on the fatal night, as evidence in court.

The strong stench from the blood-caked clothing items permeated the courtroom, prompting judge Latifah Mohd Tahar to adjourn the session for 30 minutes.

Dr Khairul concluded that the deceased had died on the early morning of April 26 in Shah Alam.

Another witness, chemist Dr Shaari Desa, from the Chemistry Department’s forensics unit, testified that he conducted ballistic tests on spent bullet casings found at the scene of the incident.

The hearing continues on Nov 9.

News: Obama sets Muslim outreach for Indonesia trip

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will visit Indonesia's largest mosque and make a major outdoor speech directed at the global Muslim community when he visits Indonesia next month, the White House said on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, 

November 5, 2009. President Barack Obama 

will visit Indonesia's largest mosque and 

make a major outdoor speech directed at the 

global Muslim community when he visits 

Indonesia next month, the White House 

said on Thursday. (REUTERS/Jim Young/Files)

Obama leaves on Nov. 5 on a 10-day trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. On Nov. 10 in Jakarta, Obama will visit the Istiqlal Mosque, and then make his speech from another, outdoor location, where there could be a large crowd.

"He'll have a chance to talk about the partnership that we're building with Indonesia, but also to talk about some of the themes of democracy and development and our outreach to Muslim communities around the world," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told a news conference.

First lady Michelle Obama is also going to Jakarta.

The U.S. president was due to travel to Indonesia in March and in June, but put off the visit each time because of domestic political concerns, which disappointed and angered some Indonesians.

But Obama remains popular in the world's most populous Muslim country, where he spent four years while growing up, even as confidence in him has dropped in other Muslim states since he made a major speech in Cairo in June 2009 seeking a new beginning with the Islamic world.

Obama also will announce a new "comprehensive partnership" with Indonesia on security, economic and people-to-people issues, said Jeffrey Bader, the president's top Asian adviser.

He will talk about the partnership in the speech, but also Indonesia's rise as a democracy and emerging economy, close relationship with the United States and pluralism.

"Visiting this mosque and in his speech, I think he'll have the opportunity to underscore the themes that he's made in terms of outreach to Muslim communities around the world," Rhodes told the news conference.

Obama had been expected to visit another major religious site during his Asian tour, the Sikh Golden Temple in the northern Indian city of Amritsar. Indian media reports said the visit was canceled after aides balked at the idea of the U.S. president wearing the scarf or skullcap required at the site.

Obama is a Christian but faces persistent talk among some members of the U.S. public that he is a Muslim and, the reports said, aides feared pictures of him wearing such headgear could fuel such rumors.

Administration officials said scheduling, not headgear, concerns were the reason Obama is not visiting Amritsar.

Obama often includes cultural stops while traveling outside the United States and has visited mosques before while traveling in Muslim-majority countries.

The U.S. leader's popularity in the Muslim world has dropped since the Cairo speech as the United States has continued to wage war in Muslim nations Afghanistan and Iraq and there has been little movement on peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

Copyright © 2010 Reuters