anyway i have attached the image here:
~ the straits time newspaper clip ~HOLDING HIS OWN: Mr Jaymes Ang, 41, thumbing through a book with his children, Alysha (left), nine, and Joshua, six. though Mr Ang has a stable job and earns a comfortable income together with his wife, he still worries about job security sometimes.
They are good-looking children with peaches-and-cream complexions and doe-like eyes. Joshua is six. His sister Alysha is nine.
Their mother, kindergarten teacher Barbara D'cotta, is eurasian; their father, technical supervisor Jaymes Ang, is hearing-impaired and communicates using sign language.
He hopes his children will go to university and land good jobs. He has bought education insurance policies for each child and sets aside money each month for their "study fund".
The 41-year-old has a good stable job but confessed that he worries sometimes.
"Life is unpredictable," he said. "you never know what's going to happen. It's going to be difficult for me to get another job if i lose this one because not only am i getting older, but i am also hearing-impaired."
Mr Ang is one of the longest-serving employees at Nihon Etching, a company which was set up in 1990 and specialising in surface texturing of industrial moulds and other products. He landed the job after completing his o levels at mount vernon secondary school. Today, nearly 18 years later, he supervises a team of about 15 workers including three who are also hearing-impaired.
"I guess i'm very lucky. Our company's headquarters in japan hires many hearing-impaired people. I like the work and my bosses are very encouraging. I also think i am being paid a fair wage," he said, although he declined to reveal his salary.
His wife - who has a graduate diploma in special education from australia as well as a montessori diploma - used to teach in a secondary school but opted to teach in a kindergarten for better hours after the two children arrived.
Their combined wages allow the family to live fairly comfortably in a four-room (mistakely - shd be 5-room instead) HDB flat in sengkang and afford a car and maid.
Mr Ang said his disability has not put him at any disadvantage in the company although he has had the occasional case of insubordination.
"I just have to be firm and let them know i mean business. On the whole, i would say that the workers all get along very well. We help each other out."
While he has never entertained thoughts of leaving, he does worry about losing his job.
"I've met many clients whose factories have closed down. You also hear of companies relocating to vietnam, china and indonesia because wages are much cheaper in these places. The world is changing, so life is unpredictable," he said.
"My priorities now are my family. we try to save as much as possible. Before the children arrived, my wife and i like to travel to places like europe and australia. But now, it's places like malaysia and thailand.
"We are saving now to take them to australia but we want to wait until joshua is a little taller. At least then, he can go on rides in amusement parks.
Should the worst happen, he is prepared to let the car and maid go.
Things could be better for a disabled person in singapore, he said.
"For example, i don't get any tax reliefs. In malaysia, i get discounted train tickets or free or discounted entry to many places when i show my deaf card, but not here," he said.
The congenial man wants to carry on working for as long as he can.
"If i can't work any more, i will open a food stall. People always need to eat right?
He casts a cheeky look at his children and says: "Hopefully, by then, those two would have grown up. then, They can look after us."
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