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Bag It Now!Date : 23 February 2006 The Straits Times Urban - Bag It Now! 23 February 2006
Bag it now!
ST Interactive Online And that is why the authorities are pushing for a Ready Bag. Essentially, it is a bag which contains items such as a first-aid kit to cope with emergencies, including attacks and blackouts, until professional help comes along. The concept, launched in February last year by the Home Team, is a spin-off of New York City's Office of Emergency Management's Go Bag. That idea was spawned from the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Any bag - whether bought from a pushcart or a high-end boutique - is suitable, as long as it is hardy. It can be placed at home or in the office for easy access. Indranee Rajah, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC and chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Law and Home Affairs, says there is no reason people cannot combine utility with aesthetics in customising their bag. 'If we can mix shopping for nice items like patterned plasters with community preparedness and national defence, which woman wouldn't like that?' A Home Affairs Ministry survey last year showed that the awareness level of terrorism threats had increased from 48 per cent in 2004 to 57 per cent last year. Still, about half the respondents said they did not know how to react during a terrorist incident. Which explains why fellow MP Amy Khor says a fashionista Ready Bag can be a winning proposal to prompt the community to respond to security issues. 'Let's face it, it is very difficult to hold people's interest in anything via exhibitions all the time,' says Dr Khor, an MP for Hong Kah GRC. 'A fashionable Ready Bag might prove more effective not just for its usefulness but also for its fashion appeal. It will not trivialise the emergency situation so long as it is hardy enough to carry the essential items,' she adds. Urban takes a look at the Ready Bags of these stylish MPs. Amy Khor, 48 If another massive blackout hits Singapore as it did in 2004, Dr Amy Khor will know where to find her torchlight. The last time, she stumbled around her house off Bukit Batok Road looking for it. The mother of three now has four Ready Bags stored in the master bedroom and living room at home. Her own Ready Bag is a sling bag in luminous pink - her favourite colour. It has her name embroidered on it and was a handmade gift from a grassroots member of the People's Association Women Integration Network Council, where she serves as an adviser. While it does not quite glow in the dark, the bright shade ensures that she can find it easily during an emergency. She keeps nine items in hers, and declares the torchlight the most important as there is usually no light source during an emergency. Two family photos have been slotted into a plastic compartment in the front of the bag and will help identify family members, says Dr Khor, who has two daughters aged 17 and 12, and a 16-year-old son. Ready Bag aside, the well-groomed MP says she usually opts for sling bags for 'hands-free' shopping and travelling. She picks classier-looking totes for the office and has five mesh and sequinned clutch bags for evening events. As for fashion, she says: 'I used to wear spaghetti strap tops but let's just say I dress my age and do not follow fashion dogmatically. You won't see me wear kimono designs because of Memoirs of A Geisha.' She shops in Raffles City and Centrepoint for wardrobe essentials like shirts, pants, suits and skirts. But she defers to her children's choices of The Heeren and Far East Plaza when the family goes shopping on weekends. Right now, she is helping her younger daughter look for a cute Ready Bag. But she intends to let the girl decide what she wants to put into the bag. 'This will instill in her the importance of being self-prepared,' she says. How to choose a Ready Bag: 'It must not be bulky or impede movement. It should be waterproof, luminous in the dark and durable.' Items in her bag : 1) Torchlight (right) 2) First-aid kit 3) Mobile phone with emergency contact numbers 4) Small bottle of water 5) Battery-operated radio with additional batteries 6) Whistle 7) Important documents like copies of her identity card and medical card (right) 8) Two small packets of rice crackers 9) Singapore Civil Defence Force emergency handbook Indranee Rajah, 43 Knowledge prevents one from crumbling during an emergency, says Indranee Rajah. This explains why her No.1 item in her Ready Bag is a 79-page Singapore Civil Defence Force emergency handbook. 'It's good when you're trapped in a tunnel and you've nothing to read,' she adds jokingly. But, turning serious, she urges Singaporeans to read the handbook when they have the time. 'Not many of us know we should stop, drop and roll when your clothes catch fire,' she cites as an example. With her fuss-free bob, grey power suit and manicured nails, the lawyer-MP comes across as decisive and organised. While she dresses in black and white when in court, her funky side shows in the sequinned PVC tote bag she chose as her Ready Bag. She bought it from a pushcart at Centrepoint about three years ago and it 'was not very expensive'. Small items like her silver whistle and battery-operated radio are kept in bright mesh zip bags. 'Multi-compartments in bags may be good for others but, personally, I may forget where I put my stuff when I am in a panic,' she says. She has 11 items in her Ready Bag, and while most are recommended by the Ministry of Home Affairs, one stands out: a green Swiss Card, a compact multi-tool case the size of a credit card. She got this as a gift from a client and likes how it handily contains a pair of tweezers, miniature scissors, nail file and toothpick. 'I don't think I will need a nail file during a crisis but I included the Swiss Card for its cute factor,' she says. 'The tweezers are handy for removing splinters.' Because of her busy schedule, Rajah shops from pushcarts around the Raffles Place area where she works, as well as Raffles Exchange, the retail stretch within the Raffles Place MRT station. While she does not want to reveal how many bags she owns, she does say fewer than half of them are branded while others cost under $100. She usually carries a black Ferragamo bag to work which she bought in 1997. But she knows what bags are in fashion, and mentions Fendi's range of Spy shoulder bags, which cost between $2,400 for a denim one to more than $39,000 for a crocodile-skin version. 'The Spy bag is too expensive for me but I believe it will make a stylish and handy Ready Bag for tai-tais out there,' she says. How to choose a Ready Bag: 'It should be waterproof and not too heavy. A tote bag is handy but backpacks are good too with their secure straps. You can buy the bags and its contents from neighbourhood shops or, on the other end of the spectrum, get a Fendi or Louis Vuitton tote with a Vertu cellphone.' Items in her bag: 1) SCDF emergency handbook (right) 2) First-aid kit 3) Mobile phone 4) Battery-operated radio 5) Torch 6) Water and purification tablets 7) Whistle 8) Important documents, including copies of identity card, medical card and telephone contact card 9) Pen and notepad 10) Spare batteries 11) Swiss Card (right) (With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com) Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH. |
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