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Terror's evolving threat to Singapore

April 28, 2015, 1:54 am
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By Zakir Hussain, Deputy Political Editor, The Straits Times, 27 Apr 2015

A FEW weeks after the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, two Al-Qaeda operatives arrived separately in Singapore to start scouting for targets.

A plan was formed to detonate six truck bombs across the island.

The men, codenamed Mike and Sammy, met members of a clandestine radical network, surveilled targets and made plans to buy ammonium nitrate for the bombs.

Targets included embassies, an MRT station, water pipelines and the defence and education ministries.

Fortunately, the Government was tipped off and, by December, the first group of 13 Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members had been arrested, which averted a terror attack and its painful consequences.

By then, Mike and Sammy had left the country. Mike was actually Indonesian bomb-maker Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi, who was killed in a shootout in the Philippines in 2003. Sammy is a Canadian called Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, who is now serving a life sentence in the US.

Since the 2001 arrests, 66 individuals have been detained here under the Internal Security Act for terror-related activities.

This wave of global terrorism has posed the most significant threat to Singapore in recent decades. The threat has grown, and is unlikely to go away anytime soon in this globalised world.

Terrorism in Singapore

TODAY, terrorism is broadly defined as the use of violence against civilians, with the aim of intimidating people and governments,often to further a political agenda.

Cities have been key targets for terror attacks. One of the most-cited examples of terrorism is the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo in 1914 by a Serbian nationalist, which sparked World War I.

After World War II, terrorists struck this region in the late 1940s and 1950s, when the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) embarked on attacks throughout the peninsula.

Its goal was to damage infrastructure and terrify civilians while striving to create a communist state. The CPM had members as well as an underground network in Singapore, and sought to infiltrate schools, unions and political parties.

While it was part of Malaysia, Singapore was attacked by Indonesian saboteurs during Konfrontasi, a period of heavy conflict when Indonesia opposed the formation of Malaysia (see other story).

In March 1965, two saboteurs planted a bomb at MacDonald House in Orchard Road. The blast not only damaged the building, but also killed and injured people.

After Singapore gained independence, it saw its first major attack in January 1974, when four men bombed petroleum tanks on Pulau Bukom. They hijacked a ferry, the Laju, taking five crew members hostage.

Singapore's role as a transport hub connected to the wider region has prompted terrorist groups to use it to raise funds or procure equipment for their struggles elsewhere.

In 1985, the Internal Security Department arrested and expelled key leaders of a Singapore network of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which sought to create a separate state in Sri Lanka.

The network was headed by Sri Lankans working here. Another local LTTE network was disrupted in 2000.

In the 1990s, Lebanese group Hizbollah cultivated five Singaporeans, who later withdrew when asked to photograph the American and Israeli embassies.

But Hizbollah continued to conduct surveillance of the Singapore coastline, with the aim of launching attacks on vessels.

The JI network, formed in the early 1990s by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, was detected only in 2001. He is now in detention at a maximum-security prison in Central Java.

For decades, he perverted Islamic teachings with the aim of setting up a caliphate in South-east Asia. Many of the Singapore JI members studied with him at the school he set up in Ulu Tiram, Johor, a 30-minute drive from the Causeway.

Several of these Singaporeans went to Afghanistan and Pakistan to train alongside seasoned militants in the early 1990s.

After the first wave of JI arrests in 2001, another 18 men were detained in subsequent months in 2002.

These arrests neutralised the Singapore JI cell, but led to disclosures that several members had fled abroad. About 10 were found and brought back in later years.

While on the run, they plotted fresh attacks. One plot targeted several embassies and the Singapore ambassador in Bangkok. Their leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, sought to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport.

In Malaysia, the authorities were also clamping down on the JI network, so several of the leaders living there fled and focused their attention on Indonesia.

The JI was behind 20 bombs that went off outside churches across Indonesia on Christmas Eve in 2000, including in Batam.

On Oct 12, 2002, it launched the largest terror attack this region had seen, in Bali, where two suicide bombers detonated bombs that killed 202 people and injured dozens of others.

The attack, the largest since Sept 11, galvanised the authorities into moving against the group.

The Bali bombings - as well as follow-up attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and the Australian Embassy in 2004, and a second series of blasts in Bali in 2005 - served as a reminder of the ever-present threat.

They were also a reminder of the devastation and damage that a terror attack could wreak if it were to happen in Singapore.

An evolving threat

THE JI in this region, like Al-Qaeda in the Middle East, has been severely weakened as a result of security initiatives.

Its appeal in Singapore has been dented by the efforts of the Religious Rehabilitation Group - Islamic scholars who counsel detainees and educate the community about the dangers of radical ideology, and who stress that the terrorists are misusing Islamic teachings for their own ends.

A group of community organisations that came together after the arrests, called the Aftercare Group, has also worked quietly with detainees and their families, helping them to reintegrate into society after their release, in a bid to ensure that the next generation does not get radicalised.

These efforts have seen 57 of those detained released to date, with only one recidivist who went back to his old ways.

But the JI has now been supplanted by newer and equally, if not more, nefarious groups. In South-east Asia, the Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, led by Bashir, became the JI's new front.

Other militants began pursuing a more hardline path as well.

The Mujahidin in Eastern Indonesia, led by wanted militant Santoso, has been targeting soldiers and policemen in recent years for defending a regime that it deems infidel.

The Indonesian authorities have thwarted plots at home. They also discovered that some militants were setting their sights on Singapore targets.

In 2010, a map of Singapore with Orchard MRT station circled on it was recovered from a terror suspect killed by the Indonesian police during a Jakarta raid.

In 2011, the police broke up a cell led by militant Abu Umar, which wanted to target Singaporeans leaving the embassy in Jakarta.

New danger in ISIS

THE threat has heightened with the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria, which has seen the rise of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The conflict saw the only recidivist in Singapore - self-radicalised lawyer Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader - detained again in October 2012 as he tried to travel to Syria to fight. He was first arrested abroad in 2007 as he was about to travel to Afghanistan, and was released conditionally in 2010.

Several other individuals were counselled or given restriction orders, which limited their movements, after they were found to have been making contact with radical ideologues or militant groups abroad.


A Singapore woman, whose name has not been made public, her Penang-born husband and two children from a previous marriage went to Syria in November 2013. While the men fought, she worked as a cook, and her daughter taught English to children of foreign fighters in Syria.

A new Singapore citizen originally from India, Haja Fakkurudeen Usman Ali, joined ISIS in January last year. He took his wife and three children with him, and recruited two college students from Tamil Nadu in India.

Observers warn that the threat is set to grow.

Last year, ISIS members from this region started a Malay-speaking unit that has been boasting on social media about its exploits.

To date, at least 500 South-east Asians are known to be fighting in Syria. A significant number have returned as well.

The fear is that just as JI members put into practice the know-how they gained in Afghanistan, a new crop of returning foreign fighters could use the skills that they picked up to plan and carry out terror attacks in the region.

Officials have warned that Singapore remains a prime - and symbolic - target. So far, it has been spared attacks like those suffered by major cities such as Sydney, Paris and London.

Thus, many wonder not just about whether an attack will hit Singapore, but also about what will happen when it does.

The reason is that the key threat posed by terrorism is not the first blast, but the aftermath: Will the social fabric hold? Will Muslims and non-Muslims be driven apart by anger and mistrust?

Speaking at an East Asia Summit symposium on terrorist rehabilitation and social reintegration this month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore had consciously sought to build trust and understanding across racial and religious lines.

"Should a terrorist attack ever occur, our society will hold together, and people will stand united," he said.

In these troubled times, even as security is stepped up, renewing and building on this trust could be Singapore's best defence against the terror threat.





THE SINGAPORE PERSPECTIVE
Three major encounters with terrorists


SINGAPORE has experienced several terror attacks in its short history. We look back at three of the more significant incidents.
- MacDonald House bombing
On March 10, 1965, a bomb planted by Indonesian saboteurs exploded at MacDonald House in Orchard Road. Three people were killed and 33 injured.

The attack took place during Konfrontasi, a period of hostilities when the Indonesian government led by President Sukarno opposed the formation of Malaysia, of which Singapore was a part.

The bombing was a great shock to Singaporeans. The two operatives who set off the bomb were caught, put on trial and convicted. They were sentenced to death, and their execution sparked protests in Indonesia.
- The Laju incident
On Jan 31, 1974, four men armed with guns and explosives tried to storm the Shell oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom.

Two were members of the Japanese Red Army, while the other two were from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Their goal was to disrupt oil supply from Singapore to countries such as South Vietnam. At the time, South Vietnam was engaged with the United States in a bitter war against North Vietnam.

The men botched the operation and had to flee. They hijacked the ferry boat Laju at the Bukom jetty, but were intercepted by police and navy boats.

After several days of tense negotiations, they agreed to free the five crew members being held hostage, in exchange for their own safe passage, accompanied by several guarantors who were Singapore government officers.

A week after the attack, the militants were escorted to Paya Lebar Airport, where they gave up their weapons and left for Kuwait.
- SQ117 hijack
On March 26, 1991, four passengers from Pakistan hijacked Singapore Airlines Flight SQ117 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Changi Airport, with 129 passengers and crew on board.



The plane landed at Changi at 10.24pm. The hijackers demanded the release from detention of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's husband and other members of the Pakistan People's Party. They also asked for the plane to be refuelled so they could fly to Australia.

Singapore activated a high- level crisis team and moved the plane to an outer tarmac. The hijackers pushed two stewards out of the plane, injuring them. They threatened to kill one passenger every 20 minutes if their demands were not met. Shortly before 7am the next day, Singapore Armed Forces commandos stormed the plane, killing the four hijackers. The passengers and remaining crew were all unharmed.

This is the sixth of 12 primers on various current affairs issues, published as part of the outreach programme for The Straits Times-Ministry of Education National Current Affairs Quiz.


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Shift in attitudes towards death penalty

April 29, 2015, 1:23 am
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More countries either abolishing it or scaling back crimes it applies to
By Melissa Sim, US Correspondent, In Washington, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

THE global attitude towards the death penalty appears to be shifting, say experts, as more countries either dispense with capital punishment or scale back the crimes it applies to.

While there are no exact figures, human rights group Amnesty International reported at least 778 executions in 2013.

The number represented a 14 per cent rise from 2012, due to a spike in executions in Iran and Iraq, but was markedly lower than the 1,146 executions in 2003.

The death penalty has come under renewed spotlight since a diplomatic row erupted between Australia and Indonesia over Jakarta's decision to go ahead with the execution of two Australian ringleaders of the "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang.

Experts attribute the declining use of the death penalty to a number of factors, including studies which cast doubt on its deterrent effect against crime, and a change in attitude among citizens as well as the authorities.



Global statistics do not include China, which is secretive about such figures, but Chinese activists say the worldwide trend is being matched in the country.

The Dui Hua Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian organisation based in California, estimated there were 2,400 executions in China in 2013, down from 12,000 in 2002.

"If you aggregate global numbers, the People's Republic of China becomes the tail that wags the dogs," said law professor Frank Zimring of Berkeley University.

Furthermore, about 140 countries - or seven in 10 - either no longer have the death penalty or are not using it, said Amnesty International's death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio.

Countries such as Benin, Fiji and Madagascar are in the process of abolishing it.

This is a far cry from 1945, when just eight countries, including Iceland, Panama and Venezuela, had abolished the death penalty.

On the flipside, countries with the highest number of executions in 2013 included China, Iran, Iraq and the United States.

Ms Sangiorgio was quick to add that even in some of these countries, steps have been taken to "restrict the scope or reduce the use of the death penalty".

China in 2011 removed 13 economic and non-violent offences from its list of 68 crimes punishable by death. Singapore revised its death penalty laws in 2012.

"Attitudes are changing all around the world," said Mr Richard Dieter, executive director of the non-profit organisation Death Penalty Information Centre.

The prevailing notion that the death penalty can deter crime is also being challenged. A 2012 study by the US National Research Council concluded that "research to date is not informative about whether capital punishment decreases, increases, or has no effect on homicide rates".

But Mr Kent Scheidegger, legal director at the non-profit Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said that while there is a lot of variation in how studies are set up and interpreted, "the weight of evidence still favours deterrence".

China, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore are among the countries that continue to subscribe to the "deterrent" argument.

In the US, "that used to be the No. 1 reason, but now the reason seems to be that some crimes just deserve the defendant's life to be taken", said Mr Dieter.

As more countries abolish the death penalty, experts agree that the US remains a sticking point. Of its 50 states, 32 still have the death penalty and 63 per cent of Americans favour capital punishment for a convicted murderer, according to a Gallup poll last year.

Meanwhile, countries close to the US are turning up the heat.

"European allies have made it difficult (for the US) to get the drugs for the executions," said Mr Dieter. "They don't want a part in this."

While abolition of the death penalty has gained momentum, some experts do not think the trend will continue.

"The moral intuition of the people of the world that some people deserve to die cannot be erased... I don't think it will die, but I hope it's refined and reserved for only the worst of the worst crimes," said criminal justice professor Robert Blecker, author of the book, The Death Of Punishment.

Others such as Ms Sangiorgio, however, believe the numbers speak for themselves and that "it is just a matter of time before we see a death penalty-free world".





Singapore courts given more discretion in sentencing
By Danson Cheong, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

THE mandatory death penalty was a mainstay of Singapore's criminal justice system - part of its uncompromising stance against heinous crimes such as drug trafficking and murder.

But these laws were revised in November 2012 to give judges more discretion in sentencing under certain circumstances. They can now sentence offenders who meet certain criteria to life imprisonment. Many hailed the move as a "significant milestone".

For drug-related cases, the death sentence can be lifted for drug couriers who have either been certified by the Public Prosecutor to have substantively assisted the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) or proven themselves to be mentally impaired. The change was intended to boost enforcement agencies' fight against drug traffickers in the upper echelons.



Couriers who give information can be given life imprisonment instead of the death penalty, but must be sentenced to at least 15 strokes of the cane as well. Caning is not applicable to women and to men over the age of 50.

A courier is someone who has played a relatively minor role, such as transporting or delivering drugs, and nothing else.

For murder cases, the discretionary sentence applies to those who committed murder, but did not intend to kill.

When the changes were first proposed in July 2012, Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament that society's "norms and expectations were changing". "While there is a broad acceptance that we should be tough on drugs and crime, there is also increased expectation that where appropriate, more sentencing discretion should be vested in the courts," he said.

Other than drug trafficking and murder, offences under the Kidnapping Act and firearm-related offences also carry the death penalty, said veteran lawyer Amolat Singh, adding that this "supreme punishment" was a deterrent for such crimes.

"The death penalty has played its part, as people know the seriousness of kidnapping. Similarly with firearms, we have seen the horrors that can take place if people carry arms freely," said Mr Singh.





Tennessee brings back use of electric chair
The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

MEMPHIS - Tennessee suspended all executions this month, ahead of a United States Supreme Court ruling on the future of lethal injections, but could still subsequently put prisoners to death, with the electric chair.

The southern state recently brought the electric chair back from retirement as a backup method for capital punishment.

The US Supreme Court is set to consider tomorrow whether a lethal injection mix should be banned.

In Tennessee, state law allows for electrocution if lethal injection is ruled to be unconstitutional.

Once widely used in the United States, the electric chair fell out of favour decades ago.

"We do believe that the new law in Tennessee, which would involuntarily electrocute a condemned prisoner, is a huge step back," said lawyer Kelley Henry, who helps to represent many of the state's condemned prisoners.

"We are prepared to present evidence that the Tennessee electrocution protocol is inherently cruel and unusual, in that it literally cooks the internal organs of the inmate, causing immeasurable pain and suffering."

Currently, 69 inmates are on death row in Tennessee.

They are housed in the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Although it has executed only six prisoners since 1976, most recently in 2009, Tennessee is the third state to have brought back an old method of execution to replace lethal injection.

Utah recently re-introduced the firing squad and Oklahoma has approved asphyxiation with nitrogen.

"This is an attempt to fix the system by bringing back the electric chair, or the firing squad," said executive director Stacy Rector of the group Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "It is really a reactionary decision made in the light of a system that is completely dysfunctional."

However, Tennessee will not carry out any executions soon.

On April 10, the state halted all executions that had been scheduled through March next year, while the courts weigh the constitutionality of lethal injections.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

















Bali Nine drug smuggler says he was hooked by 'easy money'
By Jonathan Pearlman, The Straits Times, In Sydney, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

MYURAN Sukumaran, like his criminal partner Andrew Chan, was lured by the prospect of an "easy pay cheque" into pushing drugs.

The son of Sri Lankan parents who moved to London and then Sydney, Sukumaran, now 34, had dropped out of university and was working in a mail room when he drifted into crime.

He began selling drugs after a university friend invited him to join a gang and tempted him with the prospect of a world of fast cars and nightclubs.

"It's just the lifestyle… You want to be like those people, get the girls like those people, and I was hoping to buy a car, hoping to start a business," he told Australian television news channel SBS News in 2010.

"You think, how do you do this on a mail-room salary?"

As he began to make underworld connections as part of his bid for fast cash, Sukumaran met Chan at a mutual friend's place and they decided to join forces.

They recruited seven mules from Sydney and Brisbane and paid them as little as A$5,000 each to ferry a total of 8.3kg of heroin worth about A$4 million into Australia.

In Bali, Sukumaran and Chan strapped bags of heroin to the couriers' bodies, apparently sprinkling the plastic packages with pepper to try to foil sniffer dogs.

The drugs were believed to have been brought in from Thailand by a 22-year-old Thai smuggler and prostitute reportedly named Cherry Likit Bannakorn, who later escaped home.

Sukumaran and Chan, now 31, have reportedly never revealed the source of the drugs.

But the Australian Federal Police were aware of the plot and had kept surveillance on all the members of Bali Nine, as the group became known. Police knew the names of all the members, except for Sukumaran's.

In April 2005, when the seven smugglers and their two overseers were in Bali, Australian police alerted their Indonesian counterparts and told them to "take whatever action you deem necessary".

Sukumaran was arrested at a Bali hotel with three of the couriers and 300g of heroin. He initially stayed quiet and even claimed to have amnesia.

A court in Denpasar, Bali's capital, found him guilty, saying he had been "obstructive" during the trial process and never expressed any sense of guilt.

"The defendant showed no remorse over his actions," said Judge Gusti Lanang Dauh. "When the prosecution requested the death penalty, the defendant showed no reaction whatsoever."

Sukumaran recently revealed that he had wanted to offer information about the drug suppliers in return for a lesser sentence, but was advised by his lawyers not to.

He has claimed that there were a number of people in Sydney overseeing the operation, but believed that his family would be harmed if he named them.

"We tried with the police to get some kind of cooperation thing, but there weren't really like… those were the only cards that we had to play," he told Australian TV network Channel Seven.

"We tried to ask them for some leniency, but they wouldn't. And then, the lawyers advised us not to go that way."

Chan reportedly does not know the name of the suppliers, but was more involved with the day-to-day operations, including arranging flights, phones and clothes for the couriers.

As Chan turned to religion in recent years, Sukumaran turned to art.

He was tutored by prominent Australian artist Ben Quilty and began running workshops for fellow prisoners. In February, he was awarded a fine art degree from Curtin University.

Two years ago, Sukumaran told The Age newspaper that art had helped him "to find out who I am, where I fit in the world, how I can contribute to the world".

But Melbourne artist Matthew Sleeth, who visited him regularly, said art was "a tool to stay sane during what can only be described as torture".


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Wong Kan Seng: Neutral Singapore can facilitate frank speaking

April 29, 2015, 1:28 am
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Hosting global and regional meetings is critical to putting Singapore on the world map, says former deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng, 68, who helped organise the inaugural Singapore Forum earlier this month that attracted Asian policymakers and corporate leaders. In his first one-on-one interview since 2007, Mr Wong also tells Rachel Au-Yong about life after the 2011 General Election (GE), and how the daily political grind has changed over the 30 years he's been an MP.
The Straits Times, 25 Apr 2015


Singapore hosts many of these international and regional forums, including the Singapore Summit (which looks at finance and economic issues in Asia) and the Shangri-La Dialogue (on security and defence). Why do we need another one?

The Singapore Forum is a useful platform where we bring together the leaders and policymakers of our region.

It is not just for people in government, or who have left the government. We also brought businessmen from the region, because government policies, particularly economic ones, affect businesses, and investments depend on the conditions in the country. This forum gave business leaders and policymakers the chance to hear each other, get their ideas across and questions answered.

It's also good to hold the forum in Singapore. We are a small country, we have no contentious issues, or stakes in disputes that are of concern to some neighbours. And being a small country, we trade with the rest of the whole world - of course, we would have an interest in what goes on in the rest of the world.



What's so important about a country's neutrality in hosting a forum?

If a forum were to be held in a country that has a dispute with another, and a subject of contention comes up, it can become heated without much enlightenment on the issues being raised. Singapore does not have that kind of contention, say, with regard to territorial disputes.

Even when disputes like these are discussed here, there isn't the angst and emotions involved than, say, if such a forum were to be held in Japan, China, the Philippines or Vietnam.

I'm not the only one who says this. Many participants who attend other forums here, like the Singapore Summit, say Singapore is the right place to facilitate a frank exchange of views.





Interview with Wong Kan Seng -RazorTV



What's the problem with holding them in a country that might be embroiled in these contentious issues?

In China, for example - and the Chinese hold a lot of forums, like the Boao Forum for Asia and the Chinese Development Forum - the ones who go there would definitely have an interest in things that are going on there, right? They would mainly be businessmen. And they will want to hear directly from the Chinese leaders about the issues and problems, about finding ways of overcoming their own company's issues. That serves a very specific purpose.

It would not be one where they can talk about regional issues as such. Even at Boao, which talks about many things, we can see that the stances taken by some are quite different.



Speaking of China, you are also chairman of Singbridge, which has significant investments in China. What do you make of the Sino-Singapore relationship?

We've come a very long way, largely because we had Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who established very strong relationships with successive generations of leaders. He met all the Chinese leaders, from Mao Zedong to Mr Xi Jinping (the current President), himself.

I don't think any subsequent leader will have that kind of time or length in service to do the same... Even leaders in China now have shorter tenures. They get 10 years and, after that, you have to build a new relationship again.



Singapore has tied up with China to build industrial parks and work on economic policies. With the Chinese economy where it is now, do you think we have reached saturation point?

The Chinese leaders now are different from the past, because they used to be closed to the world. Only with Deng Xiaoping onwards did they want an open economy and to conduct market reform. China wanted to learn from Singapore.

But after 30 years of reform, many countries have invested in China. Many leaders have visited China and many Chinese leaders have gone overseas. So their world view has changed. The horizon has expanded.

Similarly, other countries now have direct access to China. They no longer need to come and talk to us to know more about China.

But we can still remain relevant as long as we are successful. Many of the issues we face, they also face: education, getting people ready for the job market, social issues like building consensus and engaging the public.

Other issues of coping with an ageing society, providing your people with longer-term security - they're common. And our experience in improving access to education, widening market access and dealing with international organisations are matters which are still relevant to them.

No doubt they can learn directly from other countries. But learning from Singapore lets them see how we have done certain things.



Back to the Singapore Forum, what was the most important takeaway?

(Former Indonesian) president (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono, in his opening speech, made the point that the last 30 years has seen a rising middle class, whether in China, India, Indonesia, or Singapore.

The rising middle class is a major force in creating a market, as well as wealth, for the country. But that was only possible because of regional stability. There was no war in the region for many years. The Vietnam War ended in 1975. The Cambodian-Vietnamese War concluded in a period of 15 years or so.

Of course, all countries have their own problems, right? But we can't get away from the fundamentals, which is how to grow the economy, sustain growth, provide better jobs, get better wages, then save enough and look after yourselves when you retire.

And there's the other problem, which I think countries like Indonesia are paying attention to: the digital divide. It's worse in ageing societies like China or Japan.

The ones in the coastal provinces, with access to phones and wireless (networks), they're adapting very fast. The ones in the villages? Yes, they have a phone but in terms of access, they are probably not as quick to close the gap as the younger ones in urban areas.

And then you have a population like India where many people are young. India is not an ageing society yet, they have different aspirations. They want to leapfrog to become better - get up there quickly, compared to their parents who took a long time to get where they are today.

So whether it's the digital or demographic gap, it needs to be bridged. And for countries in the region, they cannot do everything by themselves. So the question is how we complement one another and help each other develop.



So what is the biggest obstacle Asia should watch out for?

If there are contentious issues that cannot be resolved and, worse still, result in scrapes and hostility, then I think the kind of mood that will set in in the region will be bad for investment.

The latest news with regard to the disputed islands in North-east Asia is that the three countries (China, Japan and South Korea) are talking - whether it's their finance minister or tourism minister - which means there's recognition that they want to bring down the tension.

I think the move by China and Japan last year to set up a hotline, to deal with maritime incidents and eventualities, is a good move. Because you can't get away from one another. You are neighbours. You cannot pull away.

In fact, we once said that we can't pull Singapore away to the South Pacific. If we have problems with our neighbours, we cannot drag ourselves away. We are still here. We got to resolve problems with our neighbours.



Your foreign affairs portfolio must have helped in steering the forum (Mr Wong was Foreign Minister for about six years). How do you think your nearly 31 years of political experience has helped you put this together?

The first person I reached out to was Tun Musa Hitam (Malaysia's former deputy prime minister), to join our nine-member International Advisory Board. I also depended on people I know, to recommend who could be of help to us and invite them.

We just started last year, so we have only a few board members. We will look to expand the group.

I'm also not the only person doing this. I'm only a coordinator, and I worked with the S. Rajaratnam Endowment board (which sponsored the forum) and some government officials, as well as with the advisory board, to guide us and point us to people who can participate in the forum, and have expert views on certain things, and share with us the issues of concern and help us craft the theme.



Do you see an increasing need for government officials and business leaders to meet each other at these forums?

Formal government-to-government meetings - bilateral or multilateral - serve official objectives. Informal settings like the Singapore Forum allow views to be exchanged at a different level.



Is holding forums one way retired Cabinet ministers can still contribute to Singapore? (Mr Wong stepped down from the Cabinet after the 2011 GE).

Retired ministers contribute in different ways. A lot depends on what sort of interests they have and what opportunities are available. So I would not put (my specific example) as an example for others to follow.

How else do you contribute?

Well, I'm still an MP. I attend to constituency events, I do Meet-the-People sessions, I make house visits regularly, just like my other MP colleagues. I have taken over the private estates in Binchang Clover at Pemimpim since the last GE, and my ward, Bishan East, has expanded to cover three to four condos in that area.



You have been in Bishan East for a long time. What's the biggest change you have observed?

It's a closer community in Bishan today, because many have lived there for a long time and they look after one another. You can see that when residents go overseas, they inform their neighbours to help keep an eye on their homes.

Before we had the Lift Upgrading Programme (which puts a lift on every floor), some people never knew who their immediate neighbours were, because the lift would stop only at the first, fifth or eighth floor. But now they gather at the lobby, and they know who's living on their floor.



Eventually you will retire. Do you think the residents who have grown older with you are prepared to say goodbye to you?

Well, I do my duty and I've done my best. It does not matter if residents will say goodbye to me when I retire. There will be people I have known for a long time and if I see them, we can still chat.



In this leg of your life, do you have any advice for younger Singaporeans?

The young generation today knows what it is doing. They know that, firstly, they have to make a living. They know they have to study hard. They have to work hard.

They also know that Singapore is not alone in competing for jobs, and therefore they work hard. That's why some are quite stressed by it. That's completely understandable.

For Singapore to continue to grow at this rate and provide for our people, we must really find jobs for the future, that will continue to be relevant to them.

So young people must have the right skills, the right attitude, and the right approach to life.



How will you celebrate SG50? I don't just mean the National Day Parade.

I won't hold a personal event to celebrate SG50. Every year is a good year.


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Free train, bus rides on National Day

April 29, 2015, 2:08 am
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By Lester Hio And Jalelah Abu Baker, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

TRAIN and bus rides this National Day will be free.

Public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT announced this yesterday in a joint statement, saying commuters will be able to enjoy both train and bus rides without having to tap their transit cards, from the start to the end of service hours on Aug 9.

Fare gates leading to train services run by SMRT and SBS will also be opened to allow people to board trains on multiple train lines for free.

"The free travel offered by SBS Transit and SMRT on Singapore's 50th birthday will encourage people to attend National Day celebrations islandwide," said the statement.

Housewife Janice Goh, 48, plans to take full advantage of the free rides.

"My family and I might take different buses that day and get off at random stops, just to explore places in Singapore we haven't seen before," she said.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew welcomed the move in a Facebook post yesterday, saying it will allow commuters to get to different venues for National Day celebrations without having to worry about parking or congestion.

He added that the Land Transport Authority will work with SBS and SMRT to make the necessary adjustments to cater for increased travel demand.

Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Cedric Foo said he hopes commuters will take advantage of the free rides to attend as many events as they can and be part of the celebrations.

"The public transport operators will absorb the cost. It's not a small sum, but this is what they do as part of corporate social responsibility on this auspicious, important day," he said.

SMRT president and group chief executive Desmond Kuek said: "As we celebrate a milestone in the Singapore story, free travel on National Day will provide a boost to Singapore's jubilee birthday celebrations held islandwide."

SBS chief executive Gan Juay Kiat said: "We hope that this will add to the celebratory atmosphere and encourage everyone to get out of the house to celebrate as one united people."


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Singapore posts largest decline in financial literacy across Asia Pacific: MasterCard

April 29, 2015, 2:14 am
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By Ann Williams, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

SINGAPORE has fallen to sixth place for financial literacy, recording the largest decline out of 16 Asia-Pacific markets, according to a annual survey by MasterCard.

The key reason for the overall decline in financial literacy here seems to be a fall in consumers' understanding of basic money management, said MasterCard yesterday.

Going by the survey results, people in Singapore are finding it harder to keep up with bills, budget effectively and manage unsecured loans, it added.

Singapore slipped four points to score 68 points in MasterCard's fourth financial literacy index. It was previously ranked second in the region.

But the struggle to improve financial literacy is taking place throughout the region, said MasterCard.

According to its survey, progress in improving basic finance knowledge and skills across the Asia-Pacific has stalled as 12 of 16 countries record lower scores in financial literacy.

While Singapore's ranking saw the biggest decline, the survey also showed generally disappointing results in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.

"Crucial to improving financial literacy is encouraging education at an early age," said Ms Deborah Heng, group head and general manager of MasterCard Singapore.

"A practical understanding of how to manage money, including saving and borrowing, should be provided by parents and taught at school. The goal is to develop financial know-how so that people can effectively manage money matters such as household cash flow and loans."

All seven developed markets, including Singapore, have not yet achieved gender parity in financial literacy, although in Japan, women are one point shy of achieving this against their male counterparts, the survey found.

In second place for gender parity among the developed markets was Taiwan, while Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia tied for third place, followed by New Zealand and South Korea.

Comparing gender parity scores with data from a year ago shows that there is in fact a widening gap between the sexes in financial literacy scores. Taiwan was the only market where improvement was seen, while all other markets declined by between one and six points.

Mr T.V. Seshadri, group executive of global products and solutions at MasterCard Asia Pacific, said: "While Asia-Pacific is a region of savers, the lack of retirement-planning should cause particular concern."

The MasterCard Index of Financial Literacy is calculated out of the weighted sum of the three components: basic money management (50 per cent), which examines respondents' skills in budgeting, savings, and responsibility of credit usage; financial planning (30 per cent), which assesses knowledge about financial products, services and concepts, and ability to plan for long-term financial needs; and investment (20 per cent), which determines respondents' basic understanding of the various risks associated with investment, different investment products and skills required.

About 8,000 people aged 18 to 64 in 16 countries in Asia-Pacific were surveyed between July and August last year. In Singapore, some 500 respondents participated in the survey.


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Lessons from INTRACO, Singapore’s original trailblazer

April 29, 2015, 2:31 am
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By Dr Faizal Yahya, Published TODAY, 28 Apr 2015

Former government-linked companies such as DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines have become world-class Singapore brands. But not many people would immediately think of INTRACO as a Singapore brand or remember its contributions to Singapore’s early industrialisation.

INTRACO, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange, describes itself today as a company trading in materials and infrastructure, and providing supply and installation of building-related products. This is quite a change from its goal when the International Trading Company — INTRACO’s original name — was set up by the Singapore Government in late 1968. At the time, INTRACO was tasked to explore new overseas markets and find new sources of raw materials at competitive prices to support Singapore’s export-oriented industrialisation (EOI) strategy. Created alongside DBS and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), INTRACO was considered by the then-Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee as the most complex, difficult and challenging undertaking among the three institutions.

In 1972, INTRACO was listed on the Singapore Exchange to raise capital and to align the company’s operations with market rules. Two years later, the Government incorporated it into the portfolio of its main investment holding company, Temasek. Over the next 30 years, INTRACO created export markets for Singapore products and sourced for imports for the domestic market.

It was only in 2003 that the Government divested the company as part of a larger move to reduce its shareholdings in government-linked companies, either because they were already successful commercial entities or because they had outlived their original purpose. In INTRACO’s case, unlike its pioneer peers DBS and JTC, it had lost its relevance as a state enterprise. This was despite it “blazing a trail” overseas for Singapore, as Dr Goh had put it when the company was first created. What were the main reasons for INTRACO’s fate and are there lessons for nation-building we can draw from its experience?

HONOURING CORPORATE PIONEERS

In its early days, INTRACO promoted Singapore’s products and services overseas through trade fairs and trade missions, a role later assumed by Singapore’s Trade Development Board — now known as International Enterprise Singapore — when it was created in 1983. INTRACO developed economic and trade links with countries in the Communist bloc, China in particular, and emerging economies in Africa, West Asia and Australasia, allowing Singapore to pursue its EOI strategy and becoming a reputable, thriving destination for investors. Foreign companies who looked to start their business in Singapore would also engage INTRACO as their local agent.

In the 1970s, it fulfilled another “national service” function, using its trading links to develop a rice stockpile after the Singapore Government realised that the volatility of rice prices and supply could be a major factor for social instability in the island nation.

But as the global economy changed with the demise of the Cold War, INTRACO was not able to reinvent its business model. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and thereafter the fall of the Soviet regime, INTRACO’s ability to trade in a more liberalised global trading regime came into question. Singapore’s establishment of full diplomatic relations with China in 1990 was an added death knell.

As we reflect on the reasons for INTRACO’s decline, several stand out. As the global environment changed with the thawing of geopolitical tensions, INTRACO’s key purpose and business leverage were blunted. Internally, INTRACO as a whole was not able to redefine itself from a middleman between suppliers and consumers, and become a significant player in value-adding activities, such as logistics, information technology and infrastructure development, all of which were burgeoning sectors in Singapore and the region.

Thereafter, many experienced traders who had built up knowledge of far-flung markets left to set up their own trading companies. With increasing domestic competition, INTRACO also faced an exodus of senior personnel in the mid-1980s that resulted in the company losing its strategic focus and direction. Despite having some notable figures leading its ranks such as Sim Kee Boon, Bernard Chen, Mr Chandra Das and Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, INTRACO could not overcome the odds.

Ultimately, as shown by INTRACO, Singapore’s economic achievements are not a guarantee of future success. There is a need to continually transform and redefine itself to stay relevant and useful in an ever-changing global economic environment. Unlike INTRACO, as a nation-state Singapore cannot be simply divested.

While INTRACO is no longer associated with the Singapore Government, it is still a key part of our economic history. INTRACO blazed a trail for Singapore’s early industrialisation, building up a corps of traders and staff who were knowledgeable about different overseas markets. This allowed a young independent Singapore to plug into global trade and also secure supplies for nation-building at home.

At a time when the state had very few levers to create jobs and build the nation, INTRACO helped fulfil Singapore’s immediate economic development objectives; it also laid the foundations for modern Singapore.

As we mark SG50, perhaps we should honour more of our corporate pioneers by documenting and noting their efforts in our economic development and nation-building, lest they be forgotten by current and future generations of Singaporeans.

Dr Faizal Yahya, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in the National University of Singapore, is author of the book INTRACO: Blazing A Trail Overseas For Singapore?


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Lim Swee Say: Singapore 'must act to avoid regressing'

April 29, 2015, 7:07 am
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Republic risks becoming ordinary if it fails to boost jobs, skills: Swee Say
By Joanna Seow, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

SINGAPORE risks regressing to become "just a normal country" unless it moves faster to enhance workers' skills and create new jobs, labour chief Lim Swee Say said yesterday.

The country should also venture ahead of its competitors in weaving technology into manufacturing, services and daily life, said Mr Lim in his final May Day message as secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

Failing to improve on the skill and job fronts in tandem may lead to shortages of both, and a mismatch between those available, he said. This may in turn lead to a rise in unemployment, structural unemployment and underemployment.

"We could then regress and become just a normal country with an ordinary economy and ordinary workforce. This will be painful," he warned.

Singapore, which has been praised for its exceptional economic performance over the past few decades, should take the lead in areas like future manufacturing using robots, future services where customers are more involved, and being a smart nation where technology is more integrated, he added.

Mr Lim, who will move from NTUC to be Manpower Minister next week, also paid tribute to the pioneer generation, and all workers and tripartite partners, for contributions to Singapore's transformation over the last 50 years.

They have helped secure the economic conditions that workers here enjoy, he said. These are a tight labour market with enough jobs for workers of various ages, fair wage increases and bonuses, a higher re-employment age ceiling and industrial peace.

In her May Day message, NTUC president Diana Chia highlighted the role of union leaders over the years, from standing up to errant employers in the 1960s to accepting the flexible wage system in the 1980s, which raised Singapore's competitiveness.

She added that the three-way partnership between the unions, the Government and employers needs to be brought to the sectoral level as well. "Government agencies work with employer groups and trade unions in each sector to chart out strategies that will deliver productivity and skills breakthroughs so that Singapore and Singaporeans can continue to prosper," she said.

The labour movement is celebrating May Day this year with the theme, "Together As One, Brighter Future For All", and has lined up a series of activities to mark the occasion.

At its annual May Day dinner at Orchid Country Club tomorrow night, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will present awards to 96 individuals and companies.

On Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will speak at the May Day Rally at The Star Performing Arts Centre.

In the evening, the Migrant Workers' Centre is organising celebrations for some 15,000 foreign workers at four recreation centres across Singapore. NTUC's three- day fiesta to mark May Day and SG50 will also be launched at Universal Studios Singapore that day.





Swee Say to tell foreign unions why tripartism benefits all
Outgoing labour chief to address first global tripartism conference here
By Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

FOR labour chief Lim Swee Say, the one thing that he kept focused on in his eight years on the job was growing the relationship between employers, Government and the labour movement.

And that's because as long as the relationship between the three parties remains strong, Singapore will continue to succeed in the future, he said.

That is why Mr Lim is keen to showcase the model that has worked so well for the country to the international audience through the first international conference on tripartism in October.

The conference, which will be held as part of SG50 celebrations, will explain to foreign union leaders the three-way partnership practised in Singapore and help Singaporeans understand how tripartism has contributed to the country's progress, he added.

Mr Lim, who turns 62 in July next year, is stepping down as part of a self-imposed leadership renewal plan, where union leaders voluntarily retire at age 62 to make way for new blood.

He served a three-year stint in the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) from 1996 to 1999 as deputy secretary-general before returning in 2005 and taking over the helm as labour chief two years later.

He will be appointed Manpower Minister on Monday.

During his stint as labour chief, he expanded the unions' representation of professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) and implemented the progressive wage model to boost the pay of low-wage workers in the cleaning, landscaping and security sector.

He also pushed firms to redesign jobs to help workers remain employed through skills upgrading.

Mr Lim said that he leaves behind "a very strong foundation" in NTUC, where union membership is growing and unions are representing a swathe of workers including locals, foreigners, rank-and-file workers and PMEs.

He also defended the labour movement's record, saying that having strikes does not mean a union is strong.

Mr Lim recounted how a foreign union leader jibed him as the union leader representing Singapore workers who are not allowed to strike.

"I explained to him that there is a difference between not allowing (workers) to go on strike versus no need to go on strike," he said.

Mr Lim would not be drawn into sharing his plans at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday.

But he did let on the fact that he will be putting his experience as labour chief to good use.

"I intend to... make full use of my linkage with the business community, as well as with the union ground, to turn all the programmes that we have in MOM into tripartite programmes."

But despite all his achievements at NTUC, Mr Lim refuses to take personal accolades, preferring instead to insist that it was a team effort.

"In the labour movement, whatever we achieve, we achieve together."





Chan Chun Sing has 'the right qualities, his heart's in the right place'
By Joanna Seow, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

THE outgoing labour chief gave a ringing endorsement of his successor, saying that Mr Chan Chun Sing has the right qualities to be an effective link between the Government and the unions.

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary- general Lim Swee Say also said Mr Chan is a hard worker who is close to the ground and has all the core attributes to be a good labour chief.

"His office is just next to mine... most of the time I don't see him in his office, he is on the ground all the time," said Mr Lim.

"He listens very well, at the same time he learns fast and thinks fast. I would say he has the core attributes that will make him an effective secretary-general."

What is also important is that Mr Chan has "his heart in the right place", said Mr Lim.

"Whether the person is groomed from within or from outside is not critical. What is critical is that firstly this person, his heart must be with the labour movement," he said in an interview yesterday.

Mr Chan joined NTUC in January and is its deputy secretary- general.

He later relinquished his appointments as Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence.

Besides caring for workers, the secretary-general of NTUC should also be able to work well with the Government and employers, and take the labour movement forward, said Mr Lim, adding that he believes Mr Chan fits the bill on all counts.

"I think his heart is in the right place, based on what I've seen so far. He has good standing in the Government.

"But most importantly, he's going to become a core member of (Singapore's) next generation of leaders.

"So in other words, he will also be a very important link for us into the future."





Outgoing chief does it his way, with his own words
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

UNTIL labour chief Lim Swee Say came along, there were no words such as "betterer" and "betterest".

He has also created snappy catchphrases, like "cheaper, better, faster" and "upturn the downturn", and gamely used them in public speeches to make a point.

But while the made-up words and phrases have attracted some criticism, Mr Lim said it was done to communicate complex problems to the average worker.

"I do this not because I have fun doing this... and not to spoil the (English) language or whatever, but just to make sure that the message gets through to the workers," he said.

"I am not trying to impress anyone. I just want to make sure that my workers on the ground, my union leaders on the ground, understand the challenge at hand and the solution that we all have to pursue."

He added that he was driven to come up with slogans and simple English because of his own limitation in explaining complicated policies to people.

"Some people have the gift... No matter how complicated, they are able to explain all the details and so on. I cannot," said Mr Lim, who studied at Catholic High School and National Junior College.

The latest non-standard word coined by Mr Lim was "futurise".

Last month, the labour chief called for a push to futurise Singapore, with the people seeking out change instead of yearning for things to remain as they are. This requires workers and businesses to have a "mindset of embracing the future", he said then.

Yesterday, Mr Lim said that he has since found a better way to explain "futurisation". The idea of getting people to think about the future is so that they can prepare for it early and get there before the competition, he said.

So futurisation means that "the early bird catches the worm", he added.


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Lee Kuan Yew’s Public Service: How has it changed and how will it continue to change in future?

April 29, 2015, 7:29 am
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Values that stand the test of time in public service
Three abiding values in Singapore's system of governance - the pillars of incorruptibility, meritocracy and impartiality - need to remain in the future, although the definition of meritocracy and the recruitment process need updating.
By Eddie Teo, Published The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

WHEN I joined the public service in 1970, Mr Lee Kuan Yew already had 11 years to work on transforming the public service which he inherited from the British to one which better suited an independent Singapore.

There was already a strong ethos of incorruptibility.

I recently met Mr David Rivkin, the president of the International Bar Association, who asked how our ethos of zero-tolerance for corruption was imparted to, and sustained in, the public service. I told him there had been no training classes or brainwashing sessions.

But public servants watched and followed the example shown by our political masters. We were incorruptible because they were incorruptible. We saw that they lived simple, frugal and unostentatious lives and dedicated themselves totally to nation-building and improving the lives of Singaporeans. All the older public servants who worked closely with our pioneer generation political leaders will have stories to tell about their frugal habits. To people like Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Goh Keng Swee, there was no such thing as work-life balance. Work was life, and life was work.

For public servants, the national narrative of ensuring Singapore's survival was also very powerful and very inspiring to anyone who looked for meaning and purpose in his career. We also saw how the law against corruption was applied to all, regardless of position, by the CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau). So we were motivated by the exemplary conduct set by our bosses and the inspiring goals they set out, and, at the back of our minds, we were restrained by fear. Money as a form of incentive played no role then.

Meritocracy

MR LEE also inherited the Public Service Commission (PSC), but he made one important change to the British way of governance. He replaced promotion on seniority with promotion on merit. Hence, for the first time, we saw young able officers overtaking their older colleagues in the public service. This clearly upset many older public servants, but Mr Lee and his colleagues paid scant attention to that. To them, meritocracy meant not only promoting people on the basis of merit and not connections, but also doing it on an age-blind basis. The best, not the most senior, got promoted.

I recall that in the early days, some public officers made it to permanent secretary in their early 30s - something unheard of today. I was appointed director (of) SID (Security and Intelligence Division of the Ministry of Defence) when I was 31. I recall one grey-haired Japanese intelligence chief trying to unsettle me at our first meeting by saying I was the same age as his grandson.

There is a common misconception among members of the public who still think that public servants are selected and promoted on the basis of their academic credentials. It is true that Mr Lee sometimes gave the impression that to him, academic brilliance was of prime importance. But even he knew that character was more important than intelligence, and I recall him saying that having a smart crook in our system was worse than a simple crook.

As early as in 1976, Mr Lee had said in Parliament, when defending the public service against criticisms by a PAP MP: "Can he get a job done? Can he get a team to work for him? Is he a talker or a thinker, or a talker and a doer? The best, of course is the man who thinks before he expounds and, having expounded, he then acts. It has nothing to do with whether he has got a PhD or a school certificate or even a Standard VI qualification."

And as someone who spends three days a week interviewing scholarship applicants, I can assure you that academic results play an increasingly small role in the selection process. In selecting future public-sector leaders, PSC members consider school assessments, psychometric tests and psychological interview reports as far more important than academic results.

PSC does not give a scholarship to a candidate if he has straight As but fails to show that he has the attributes and qualities we consider essential for the public service. These include leadership, character, commitment, interpersonal skills, communication skills, stress tolerance, EQ and empathy. By the time we interview them, our candidates would have spent three to four hours with a psychologist and taken two psychometric tests. There are a lot of exam-smart kids out there in our student population but not all are suitable for the public service. The PSC interview continues to be an art, not a science.

As a former public servant, I can also vouch that promotion in service is never based on academic results. Nobody involved in the public-service promotion panels ever considers the candidate's academic credentials. We are completely blind to what O- or A-level results he got, which university he went to and what kind of degree he got. All that matters is how well he has performed on the job.

Impartiality

IMPARTIALITY is most important for public-service delivery. Public servants must serve the public impartially, regardless of race, religion, gender, wealth, age or political affiliation. This was important in a CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian, others) multiracial Singapore and will become even more important in a more diversified, complex and ageing Singapore.

As more and more Singaporeans marry foreigners and as more and more foreigners become new citizens, the public service has to adapt to this growing diversity among our citizens and better understand and empathise with their needs. Having a more diverse public service - students from different schools, studying in different universities and countries, taking different courses - is also important because it helps the public service to cope better with the complex global challenges facing Singapore.

You would have heard about PSC's initial and modest efforts to inject diversity into the public service by awarding scholarships to students from schools other than Raffles Institution and Hwa Chong. This is not an artificial, forced effort. If it were, it would not succeed. If the best candidates are still found only in these two schools, PSC would be deliberately replacing meritocracy with affirmative action and awarding scholarships to the less deserving.

But PSC is actually only keeping pace with the changes in our educational system, which has been diversifying gradually in recent years. So PSC is now seeing more good candidates coming from non-RI and Hwa Chong schools and even in the polytechnics. I have personally been impressed with the top students from Sota (School of the Arts) and I will not be surprised if we get a Sota President's Scholar before I retire in three years' time.

What has changed

OVER the years, the way we select scholars and the qualities we look for in public servants have changed. Incorruptibility is the one legacy which must remain constant. The day we relax on that pillar is the day Singapore ceases to be exceptional and starts to decline.

But you can remain incorruptible without having to live the frugal life our pioneer leaders did. No need to bathe by dishing cold water out of a dragon jar or darn your torn shorts to reuse. I also tell our younger officers to try their utmost to match Mr Lee's total dedication to his work and to serving the nation, but their bosses must remember that today's generation of young people are seized with the notion of having "work-life balance". If we want strong families, we should also not expect our public servants to spend all their time working and neglecting their families.

When Mr Lee visited Australia, I arranged for him to meet some ex-Singaporean migrants, at his request. He was curious to know why they opted for Australia over Singapore. When one migrant told Mr Lee that he had given up a good job in Singapore so that he could work half a day in Perth and go fishing in the afternoon, Mr Lee was flabbergasted. He just could not understand why anyone would make such a lifestyle choice. To him, it was an irrational decision.

Other pillars, such as meritocracy, continue to be important, but our concept of what constitutes "merit" cannot remain static. We need to continue to redefine "merit" as the needs of the public service evolve and change in tandem with the changes in our society.

But overall, we still believe that Singapore requires a public service comprising top students from our schools who can be groomed and nurtured over the years into our public-sector leaders.

As the bad press on a few A*Star and MOE (Ministry of Education) scholars in recent years has shown, our scholarship award agencies do not always get it right.

Mr Lee had a clear view of the separate roles of the public servant and the politician. To him, the MP was supposed to be good at public relations - able to keep the constituents happy while having to say "no" to them. But the public servant was an administrator, not expected to excel in public relations. However, this is no longer the case. In recent years, our politicians now expect public servants to also excel in communicating public policy. Ability to formulate policy, administer and implement is no longer considered sufficient. The distinction of the role between the politician and public servant has started to become blurred.

The upside is that the politicians will have strong support from public servants when they need to sell government policies. But the downside of the change is that it will be more difficult for the public servant to behave in a non-partisan manner as the public will see him as intrinsically linked to the ruling party, perhaps even occasionally justifying the party line. It was not an issue in the early days because the old-generation public servants never had to worry about another political party taking over government from the PAP.

But GE 2011 has caused some of our younger public servants to worry about what to do if there are more and more opposition MPs in Parliament or even if there is a change in political party, and not just in government, maybe a few general elections from now.

In mature two-party democracies like the UK, there are set rules to help public servants cope with the transition from one government to another. But even in the UK, given the trend away from a two-party dominant polity to coalition governments, public servants are scrambling to establish new rules.

Elitist public servants?

WE HAVE critics from within.

Some people say the whole system of scholarships is wrong because we are breeding a group of elitist public servants who cannot relate to the public and the common man. The occasional stupid behaviour and insensitive remarks by a few scholars don't help. You can have 1,000 effective scholar public officers working quietly with great dedication to improve the lives of Singaporeans, but all it takes is one silly blog to tarnish the image of the public service.

The concern that our public servants are becoming uncaring and elitist is accentuated because of growing income inequality in Singapore. PSC worries about this too, but my view is that the problems of income inequality and a perceived lack of social mobility cannot be addressed at the tail end of the process. By the time the students come to PSC for interview, whatever unfair advantages the rich enjoy over the poor cannot be corrected just by giving scholarships to only the poor.

Levelling the playing field has to start from pre-school and continue right through a student's school life.

Enabling the poor to have access to good pre-school facilities, making the slogan "every school is a good school" a reality, correcting advantages that the better-off have in terms of tuition, proximity to better schools and more overseas trips, are best done early in a student's school life. It will not solve the problem if PSC practises affirmative action by treating scholarships like bursaries, awarding only to the poor and discouraging the upper middle class from serving as public servants.

Sadly, some people also seem to think that the PSC members are naive and easily conned by smart 18-year-olds and their smart parents. They believe, as one letter writer in The Straits Times Forum page recently implied, that scholarship candidates are lying when they tell the PSC that they have a heart for public service. They think the candidates only want taxpayers to pay for their scholarship overseas, the males want to grab the chance of postponing their NS for three years, and all are waiting to break their bond if they change their minds after graduation.

My response is that PSC members are fully aware that candidates come for the interview with a variety of motives. Some are deviously clever; others are just confused, unsure or uncertain; only a few are truly committed to a lifelong public-service career. Our job is to ensure, as best as we can, that we choose the ones with the right fit and ability so that they will stay for the long term.

The outcomes so far prove that we have not done too badly. Top students from our schools still apply for PSC scholarships, bond-breaking is still very low, and most scholars stay on in the service long enough to make a contribution that is commensurate with the cost of supporting them in their studies. About 80 to 85 per cent of our scholars stay on after their six-year bonds end.

But I do worry quite a lot about one downside of our meritocratic system. When scholars are told they have succeeded on their own merit and given public acclaim, a few may become swollen-headed. They may think that they have arrived on their own effort and owe nothing to anybody else. They forget that nobody succeeds in the public service or in life, for that matter, without the support of other people. They must never forget that their family, friends, school, bosses, peers and subordinates all play a key role in helping them succeed. From time to time, they have to be reminded that they must not believe in PSC's hype and should stay humble if they truly want to be a good public servant.

Our incorruptible and meritocratic system has worked in helping select and develop a public service that is regarded as one of the best in the world. Singaporeans will have to decide whether they want to continue to invest in such a system, which doesn't come cheap.

If the future sees a surge of public resentment against the system, can future governments continue to hold the line as Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong did and Mr Lee Hsien Loong continues to do?

If our political leaders continue to be principled pragmatists, they will continue to fight for its retention if it still works well and there is no better alternative.

And if the public is right and the system has outlived its usefulness, why keep it?

The writer is the chairman of the Public Service Commission. This is an excerpt from a speech at an Institute Policy Studies event on April 21.


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Next-gen leaders: Who's in the frame?

April 29, 2015, 8:00 am
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The latest Cabinet changes are likely to be the last before the next general election. How is Singapore's political succession plan progressing? Insight finds out.
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 25 Apr 2015

THERE were not many major changes in the Cabinet reshuffle announced earlier this month - the fifth since the 2011 General Election (GE).

Three ministers were moved around, one got added responsibilities, and another was promoted.

But with the next general election having to be held by January 2017, the spotlight falls on this current slate of ministers as they are likely to be the ones going into electoral battle alongside Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

And it is not just the impending GE that gives the latest moves extra significance. Taken as one of a series since 2011 to prepare for a leadership transition, this reshuffle also incorporates those who are likely to take Singapore into 2020 - the deadline that PM Lee, the country's third holder of the office, has set for stepping down - and beyond.

A key tenet of governance here has always been to build up a good team in the wings to pass on the baton to. Succession planning has long been part of the Government's DNA, and PM Lee embarked on the task from the moment he took office in 2004.

But with four out of 19 current office-holders already 60 and older, and five more joining those ranks by 2020, the job of grooming people to take over from them has become more pressing.

While senior-level ministers typically remain in power even into their 60s and 70s in other countries, in Singapore's context of renewal, it is not unusual for them to step aside for a younger team which could be more in tune with the changing hopes and aspirations of voters as fresh issues arise.

The two deputy prime ministers, Mr Teo Chee Hean, 60, and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 58, are among those who will be above 60 by 2020.

Singapore's first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died on March 23 aged 91 of severe pneumonia, warned back in 2008 that the country would be in deep trouble if it did not find its fourth-generation political leadership by the next two elections.

Health scares earlier this year involving PM Lee and then Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin further strengthened the renewal focus.

In February, the Prime Minister's Office announced that PM Lee had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery and was given a clean bill of health. The same month, Mr Tan was diagnosed with pleural effusion, where fluid builds up in the space between the lungs and rib cage.

The news of PM Lee's illness sparked a warning from the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in its risk update in February, that "the Government still needs to bring in new blood in order to create confidence that the system has the capability of grooming generations of leaders, going forward".

Amid these concerns, Emeritus Senior Minister and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, who also had surgery for prostate cancer last November, said that the fourth-generation leadership team was taking shape.

The team

Since they were brought into the Cabinet after the 2011 General Election, Mr Tan, 46; Mr Chan Chun Sing, 45; Mr Heng Swee Keat, 54; and Mr Lawrence Wong, 42, have been touted as key members of the fourth-generation team.


The latest reshuffle seems to suggest their testing is complete, say political watchers.

Mr Tan, who had helmed the Manpower Ministry since 2012 and also had a stint in the National Development Ministry, was moved to another ministry, and has taken over the Social and Family Development portfolio from Mr Chan.

Mr Chan, who has moved to the Prime Minister's Office, will also hold the key post of labour chief from May 4.

PM Lee said that the reshuffle was "part of continuing leadership renewal, to build a strong 'A' team for Singapore".

Some ministers not among the batch of "young blood" were also moved around: Mr Masagos Zulkifli, 52, was promoted to a full minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and also moved up in the Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs ministries, to Second Minister. Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, 53, took over Mr Chan's post as Second Minister for Defence, and Mr Lim Swee Say, 60, the outgoing labour chief, will take over the Manpower Ministry on May 4.

While Mr Heng and Mr Wong were not moved this time round, they have both been given an array of big projects over the years. This year, both are involved in planning the SG50 celebrations.

Singapore Management University law professor Eugene Tan, a former Nominated Member of Parliament, says: "The fourth-generation leaders' suitability as ministers is not in doubt where PM Lee is concerned."

Another former NMP, Singapore Business Federation chairman Teo Siong Seng, sees these rotations as a sign that the core four are here to stay, since the current leadership clearly wants them to gain all-round experience quickly.

Still, there is no let-up for them even after coming so far - waiting in the wings are other young members from the same 2011 batch, who now hold junior positions in Government.

Minister of State for Education, and Communications and Information Sim Ann, 40, was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary right after the 2011 General Election and promoted to Minister of State about two years later.

She is the poster-girl for bilingualism, and while at the Law Ministry was instrumental in tightening the licensed moneylending regime to protect borrowers.

Others whose names are mentioned as potential fourth-generation leaders are Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee, 39, and Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling, 40.

Both had been described as "outstanding backbenchers" by PM Lee.

Since moving to the front bench in 2013, Mr Desmond Lee has been tasked with the project to preserve Pulau Ubin, and has also dealt with a political hot potato, the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council controversy over finances. Ms Low, meanwhile, was made Mayor of South West Community Development Council last year.

As well as the newbies, there are others who entered politics earlier, and can add depth to the bench, say observers.

With Singapore's multi-layered Cabinet system, potential candidates are sometimes tried in office for a longer time and given an array of tasks, before they rise through the ranks.

Mr Masagos, for instance, entered politics in 2006, along with Minister in the PMO, Ms Grace Fu, and Mr Lui, among others.

With his promotion, the Cabinet now has two Malay full ministers for the first time, "which reflects the progress of the Malay community", PM Lee had said.

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser cites Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah and Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Josephine Teo as names to watch as well.

Ms Indranee, elected in 2001, was a lawyer for 25 years before making it to the upper echelons of public office as Senior Minister of State, while Mrs Teo, elected in 2006, had been at the labour movement.

The NUS' Prof Tan cites their "higher-profile roles" over the years as a sign they could be part of the fourth-generation team.

Ms Indranee, for example, had most recently led the Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review (Aspire) committee, which made recommendations aimed at enhancing opportunities for graduates of these institutions.

He reckons, also, that there will be several female members in the fourth-generation team, as there is a "need for greater diversity in the Cabinet".

Ms Indranee, 52, and Mrs Teo, 46, are also the youngest among the current crop of five Senior Ministers of State.

Among the Ministers of State, too, are quite a number still in their 40s, such as Dr Lam Pin Min, 45, and Dr Maliki Osman, 49.

Those already in Parliament now, though, will make up only part of the ensemble of leaders, says Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh.

"We can see a few more coming in, in the next election, who will complete the team," he says.

Prospective People's Action Party candidate Ong Ye Kung, 45, who was part of the defeated Aljunied GRC team, had been described as being of ministerial calibre during the 2011 polls. A group strategy and development director at Keppel Corporation, he has said he would contest the next election if given the opportunity to do so.

Ready, set, go?

With the fourth-generation team set to be dominated by relative newbies, one concern is whether they will have enough time to master politics and policies before taking over.

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew said in 2001 that it takes at least five years for Cabinet members to get an "understanding of the style, the people, what has to be done, how the Government works, our relations with our neighbours".

Mr Goh, for example, had been in Cabinet 13 years before becoming prime minister in 1990, while PM Lee had an even longer apprenticeship period of 20 years before taking the helm in 2004.

The class of "super seven" ministers who entered politics in 2001, including Mr Tharman, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, 62, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, 56, and Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, 54, were first appointed junior ministers and tested in different ministries as they came into their roles.

But SMU's Prof Tan says: "The long gestation period is a political relic in today's political context."

Before 2011, Cabinet reshuffles typically happened about two years after a GE, but there has been one almost every year since the 2011 election.

With the ministries of Information, Communications and the Arts, and Community Development, Youth and Sports restructured in 2012 to form three ministries - the ministries of Social and Family Development, Communications and Information, and Culture, Community and Youth - more positions were created in which younger ministers could be tested.

Prof Tan notes: "In more placid political times, the learning curve could not be steep. It is very different today, with ministers having to develop their political quotient in a much more compressed time."

Others suggest that senior members of Cabinet can stay on as Senior Ministers, to guide the younger team.

"I would expect that if we have a new leadership team that comes in, PM and the current DPMs can play the role of senior ministers," says Mr Singh.

Unlike their predecessors, the foursome identified as the core of the team have been moved around mostly to non-traditional portfolios not usually regarded as part of the key leadership path.

They all helm social ministries, instead of the more "heavyweight" economics or security portfolios.

However, this time around, new challenges lie ahead for Singapore over the next 30 years, with globalisation changing workforce patterns, a rapidly ageing electorate and newly-minted citizens making for a more diverse society.

Hence, the postings to social ministries reflect the Government's focus on these issues. Says NUS' Prof Tan: "Indeed, in the new political landscape, with new issues, most of the portfolios can be deemed to be hard."

As well, it is part of a much-honed process to stretch office holders to see how they perform out of their comfort zone, all part of forging a strong leadership collective.

Mr Tharman was put in the Education Ministry for a start, despite having been chief executive at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, for example.

Former NMP Zulkifli Baharuddin says that the "focus is to strengthen the Government as a group, collectively".

NUS political scientist Reuben Wong says it is essential the next generation of leaders are flexible and have different strengths they can bring to the table, amid the new landscape ahead.

These social portfolios also allow the newer ministers to engage and connect with ordinary citizens more, providing a way to hone their political instincts without the benefit of time.

Besides, says Mr Singh, they still have the next three to four years - in terms of the 2020 timeframe - to go and serve in the "heavyweight ministries".

What has raised eyebrows for some is how a clear front runner for the post of prime minister has not emerged.

But Mr Zulkifli says it is less about finding the next "great man", than creating the right team for the different challenges ahead.

Even then, even the best-laid plans can be scuttled at the polls.

At the last election, the Cabinet lost two ministers - then Foreign Minister George Yeo and then Minister in the PMO Lim Hwee Hua - as well as new candidate Mr Ong, when the Workers' Party took Aljunied GRC.

In the new normal since then, there is little doubt, even for those identified as top guns, that technocratic skills alone are not enough.

"You still have to win elections, no matter how strong your credentials are," says Mr Zulkifli.


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Ageing at home: Old folk in a smart new world

April 29, 2015, 9:10 am
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Technology is powering solutions for seniors and caregivers
By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 26 Apr 2015

Mr Goh Ban Kim, 98, is too feeble to walk, cannot talk, uses a catheter and needs to take a dozen pills a day for a host of medical conditions.

When his caregiver and daughter Goh Tok Cheng, 56, is at work, the family's helper Widiya Nengsih, 24, checks his blood pressure, sugar levels, urine and temperature regularly. She then uploads the information using a software application known as iUvo Health Notes.

Madam Goh, who lives in a spacious semi-detached house in Katong, views all the information at her office in Shenton Way.

"This app is really a blessing," she says. "It enables us to monitor him just as he would be monitored at a nursing home - except that, despite being very ill, he can still be in his own room, at home."

Her father's happiness in his last years, she says, stems from being at home, among loved ones. "Ultimately, that's what iUvo helps us give him."

As tens of thousands of Singaporeans hurtle towards old age, software technologies and devices designed to help the elderly are slowly finding favour here.

Some - like motion sensors and smoke detectors - ensure home safety. Others empower people facing physical and cognitive challenges, so they can retain their dignity and independence. Yet others - like the iUvo (in Latin, "iuvo" means to "help") - enable caregivers to better manage seriously ill patients at home.

Developed in Singapore by two tech-savvy general practitioners - Dr Choo Wei Chieh and Dr Eugene Loke - the app allows dozens of pages of medical information to be uploaded if necessary.

"As a person ages, his medical file can become quite thick," says Madam Goh, an assistant vice-president with a foreign bank. "We can retrieve everything at the touch of a button, to show to family members or doctors."

When her father developed a rash on his leg recently, she uploaded photographs using the app, for his doctor to view remotely. "He knew exactly what to do, and I was saved the inconvenience of taking dad to a clinic in an ambulance."

The remote monitoring also takes the burden of responsibility off Ms Widiyah, who says: "All I do is key in the information and wait for instructions - and follow what my boss says."

Dr Choo, a home-care doctor who looks after geriatric patients, says the biggest benefit of the app is that it is easy to use.

"It helps put patients and their families on the digital bandwagon. There is no point having a fancy app if no one wants to use it," he says.

In future, he hopes to make the iUvo software interface seamlessly with wireless-enabled blood pressure monitors and glucometers - that would do away with having to key in the data manually. "The possibilities are immense," he says.

Tech-savvy caregivers like Madam Goh have warmed to the wonders of medical software, but even those like Ms Rose Kwek, 72 - a self-confessed technophobe - are buying digital products, albeit less geeky ones.

The retired teacher is thrilled with a "talking clock" and a pillbox with an alarm that she recently bought for her 95-year-old mother, who cannot see very well and sometimes forgets to take her medicines.

"They make her feel independent and empowered," says Ms Kwek. "She had to depend on others to know the time and take her pills. Now, she can do both herself."

Products that help ease caregiver burdens are also in demand. Among the newest in town is the Smart Sole - a miniature GPS tracker that is inserted into shoe insoles and helps locate cognitively impaired people who might be lost.

In use in the United States, the product is being retailed here by the Ministry of SilverLining, a small local assistive-device company run by former nurse Coco Guo. She says she imports technologies and products based on her extensive chats with former patients and their caregivers.

Dementia specialist Philip Yap says the Smart Sole is meant to overcome difficulties presented by other wearable GPS devices - such as pendants, wrist watches and mobile phones - which a user might easily forget to wear or take along.

"People with dementia often go outdoors on their own and risk getting lost," says the senior consultant in the department of geriatric medicine at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH).

The product has a "geo fence" feature that alerts the caregiver by SMS if the patient ventures beyond a pre-defined "safe" zone.

"This is indeed useful should a cognitively impaired patient wander off alone," says Dr Yap. The device can also be used for those who have autism or are mentally ill.

Mr Kelvin Lee has been looking for such a product ever since his 77-year-old father, who has vascular dementia, wandered off by himself. It has happened a couple of times in recent months, and he did not answer his mobile phone.

"We were worried sick that he might get lost or injure himself," says Mr Lee, 46.

Before the illness struck, his father was an active and independent man who loved meeting friends, going to the movies and travelling. "We don't want to curtail his independence," says Mr Lee, who is attending a training programme in Australia for caregivers of dementia patients. "So this product holds promise."

He tested the Smart Sole last month after hearing about it from his father's doctor at Changi General Hospital. "It was unobtrusive, and we could easily log onto the portal and track the Smart Sole's location in real time," he says.

However, it costs nearly $600, so many might find it expensive. Also, currently, it does not work well in basements and MRT stations.

Mr Lee is worried about software malfunctions as well, and whether the product could be discontinued here because there are few takers.

"If the price is reasonable, and these concerns are addressed, we will consider buying it," he says.

He has a point. Technology troubles can be hard to outgrow. Products that once held promise can perish fast.

Indeed, even though many new-age devices intended to help older folk have been launched here with much fanfare in the past decade, few have stood the test of time.

Cost and the fact that seniors were largely averse to technology were big stumbling blocks, say doctors, caregivers and IT experts.

Even newer devices such as the GPS-enabled insoles might not find acceptance among the elderly today, points out Dr Yap.

Many of his patients are used to wearing sandals or slippers that have no insoles, and they might be unaccustomed to wearing insoles.

Dr Yap's colleague, IT industry veteran Alvin Ong, says the limitations of technology are another major challenge.

Some products require the user to press a button, which might not be possible if he is suddenly incapacitated by a stroke or heart attack, for example. Many are therefore reluctant to pay monthly subscription charges for call centres.

"There are automated systems that do not require pressing a button, but those have the possibility of false alarms," says Mr Ong, the chief information officer at Alexandra Health System, which manages KTPH.

A short battery life and the inability of patients to keep wearing devices or uploading information are other problems. New habits are hard to form, and old ones die hard.

Constantly having to keep up with fast-changing technology is a further challenge, says IT entrepreneur Kelvin Lek. Five years ago, he launched a wearable emergency device for older folk called eAlert, which was widely publicised as the first such "panic button for the elderly".

But the product was connected only to fixed phone lines, rather than mobile phones, and it was restricted to indoor use. It became obsolete pretty fast.

Mr Lek is now in talks with an Australian technology firm to introduce a new-age panic button that works both indoors and outdoors. His company, Emo 2 Enterprise, is one of at least four that say they are launching similar products in the coming months.

"Technology becoming obsolete has been an occupational hazard," says Mr Lek. "We've had to always move with the times."

Still, he believes that as people become more tech-savvy and affluent, and as more sophisticated yet user-friendly technologies enter the market, demand will pick up.

The industry is about to turn a corner, he says. Ageing baby boomers will definitely value these products.

"This time, I feel we're here to stay - and stay for good."










HK hotline offers free care for the poor
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 26 Apr 2015

In Hong Kong, a 24/7 hotline service run by a social enterprise has been providing emergency aid to seniors in distress since 1996.

It was set up by a popular radio host and a professor of social science after about 100 elderly people living alone were found dead at home during a prolonged, bitter winter that year.

The Senior Citizens Home Safety Association currently has more than 80,000 clients who can call a personal emergency hotline which offers referral, care and counselling for as little as HK$115 (S$20) per month.

For those willing to pay an additional fee, it uses GPS technology to help families locate dementia patients who have wandered off.

Around 10,000 clients who are poor receive the service free for life.

Around 14 per cent of people in Hong Kong are aged 65 and above, compared to 12.4 per cent in Singapore. Hong Kong is also one of the few places in the world where people live longer than the average Singaporean.

The association's "Call and Care Centre" receives around 2,000 calls a day, said chief executive Irene Leung, who was in Singapore earlier this month to share more about the system with health and community officials.

Around 140 older folk in distress who call are sent to hospital every day, but nine in 10 calls are not emergencies. "Very often they just need someone to talk to and that's what we try to provide," said Ms Leung.

The emergency hotline - a panic button known as the Personal Emergency Link which, when pressed, links to the call centre - was the only service till 2008. However, it can be used only indoors and is connected to fixed phone lines.

The association now offers a range of mobile services. There is a safety phone, which can be used outdoors, as well as a GPS-based mobile link service to locate dementia patients. Around 11,000 people use these outdoor services, with location-tracking functions.

A missing person report is made to the call centre every two days.

Monthly subscription fees for the additional services are higher. The one for dementia patients, for example, costs around $50 a month. "We can now customise services based on different people's needs and preferences," said Ms Leung.

Significantly, 85 per cent of the association's total revenue comes from income generated by its various services. The rest is from donations.

The association also provides counselling, befriending and nursing advice on the phone.

It does not record the number of calls made "accidentally", but even those are followed up. "We don't dismiss a case just because an older person says she called by accident," said Ms Leung.

The centre recently received a call from a woman well past midnight. "The moment someone picked up, the caller said she had pressed the button accidentally and wanted to hang up," said Ms Leung.

But the trained call centre attendant kept talking to the woman. "She understood just from her tone that she needed emotional support," said Ms Leung.

It soon emerged that the older woman, who lived alone, had just been released from hospital. She was confused about which medicine to take and was worried that not taking the medicine in the correct order would worsen her health. As a result, she could not sleep.

The next day, the call centre attendant helped connect the woman to a nurse, who assisted her in sorting out her medicine. "So a call that seemed an 'accident' was actually a very genuine cry for help," said Ms Leung.





Sensors help keep seniors safe at home
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 26 Apr 2015

At first glance, Mr Foong Keng Soon's spartan two-room flat looks just like any other.

But peer closely and you'll see one big difference. Palm-sized sensors dot the whitewashed walls, in the bathroom, above the stove, below the mattress. There is even a tiny one in his pillbox.

They are designed to collect data, track motion and ambient air quality, and check whether he takes his pills daily.

The 77-year-old retired accounts clerk is divorced, and his only child - a daughter - lives in Hong Kong. Having lived there himself for most of his working life, he has few friends or family here.

He cannot walk very well because of an old leg injury and uses a motorised wheelchair to get around.

Last year, he slipped and fell in the dark. With no one to help him, he had to pull himself up and get into bed himself. "It was painful, but I had no choice," he told The Sunday Times. It was a key reason he signed up to get his home wired.

Some other sensors being used in flats here detect mainly inactivity, but these Singapore-made devices can also sense falls and send alerts to caregivers' phones. They can even alert caregivers if a senior forgets to take his medicine.

Mr Foong knows the system is entirely voluntary but, given his history of falling, he signed up readily. He has a panic button, which he can wear and activate if he falls again. "It gives me peace of mind."

About 100 Housing Board flats in Marine Parade are being hooked up with sensors as part of a pilot project initiated by Singapore Management University (SMU).

When fully operational, they will be able to check ambient air quality as well, and trigger an alert if, say, a person has left the gas on for too long, said research programme manager Elina Yu from SMU's School of Information Systems, which is helping to devise the technology for the project.

The project is unique and not just because of the technology. Its promise lies in its ambitious attempt to marry technology with care services for frail or elderly poor people who have no caregivers.

While other sensor and emergency alarm projects enable older folk to connect to a family member or call centres they pay a monthly subscription fee for, this project connects those who have little or no family support to volunteer caregivers in the area, who can check on them if something goes wrong.

"We are trying to create a community where neighbours and volunteers can stand in as caregivers for those who have no one to look out for them," said Goodlife director Desmurn Lim. The centre for seniors is run by non-profit group Montfort Care.

Mr Lim's staff are responsible for following up on emergency calls during office hours. But early in the morning, late at night or during holidays, volunteers step in. There are nearly 25 currently, including 15 who opted to have their homes wired. "They are eager to help out too and give back," said Mr Lim.

The system has been activated a couple of times since being installed in October last year.

Once, an elderly man living alone pressed the emergency button on a weekday evening. "He was dizzy and breathless, but after my staff spoke to him and calmed him down, he said he did not need to go to the hospital," said Mr Lim. "Sometimes, it's just fear, and they need someone to talk to."

SMU is not the only university researching how sensor-enabled smart homes can be used to help older folk who live alone.

Similar projects are under way at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The Research Centre of Excellence in Active Living for the Elderly (Lily) - a partnership with the University of British Columbia in Canada - was set up in 2012 to enable researchers to develop technology solutions for the elderly, including ones that enable them to age at home. Researchers have already developed software games that can help predict a person's risk for illnesses such as Parkinson's.

Some of the prototypes are also based on unobtrusive sensor technologies. Sensors are designed to maximise the privacy of seniors, said Lily centre director Miao Chunyan, who is from NTU's school of computer engineering.

"The sensor-enabled service preserves both the dignity and independence of the elderly," she said.

Among the prototypes being developed is the eHealth portal, a software-based social support hub meant to provide information and alerts for older folk living alone.

Taking cues from data gathered by the sensors, an "e-nurse" can remind a senior to take his medicine, turn off the gas and even suggest social or educational activities advertised online that he might enjoy, said researcher Wang Di, who is working on the project.

"Eighty-three per cent of seniors here already own smartphones, so future cohorts are likely to be far more tech-savvy than before," said Dr Wang. "That's an opportunity we want to tap."





Help is just a tug of a cord away
By Radha Basu, The Sunday Times, 26 Apr 2015

When Madam Mary Tan, 79, felt dizzy and had chest pains last month, she pulled an emergency cord in her one-room flat.

Within minutes, Ms Khaing Khaing Nyunt, 35, a trained nurse from Myanmar, was by her side.

"If you are old and live alone, you can panic when you feel unwell," says the housewife, who has been living on her own since her husband died seven years ago. "I am lucky that I can get medically trained nurses at my bedside should I need them."

She is fortunate to live in an Ang Mo Kio housing block fitted with a medical emergency response system that can be attended to 24/7.

As part of a programme started in the early 1990s, around 15,800 Housing Board rental flats and 6,800 studio apartments for the elderly have been equipped with these alert-alarm systems. However, the vast majority get help only during office hours.

Madam Tan's block is special because it happens to house a community home for seniors who have no family support.

Run by the Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA), a voluntary welfare group, the home has a nursing team on-site round the clock.


"We realised that having an emergency system that worked only during office hours wasn't of much use," says AWWA chief executive Tim Oei.

"People often need help when neighbours are asleep. Since we had nurses on-site, we decided to extend the round-the-clock monitoring facility to the entire block."

As is the practice islandwide, during office hours, emergency calls at Madam Tan's block are answered by staff of the local senior activity centre, which is also run by AWWA. At night and on public holidays, the community home nurses are in charge.

Islandwide, senior activity centres responded to an average of 25 alerts per rental block a month last year. The majority - more than nine in 10 - were "non-emergency" calls, an HDB spokesman said.

These calls are monitored by the centres during office hours, but most centres have taught residents to attend to distress calls when the local centre is closed.

Efforts are now on to twin the alarm technology with care services.

As part of a pilot scheme started late last year, some of these same rental blocks now enjoy the services of community nurses and home-help aides. They can deal with patient emergencies during office hours, and also take care of the personal needs of those who are very old and have no caregivers.

Apart from Ang Mo Kio, the programme is also in place in Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng.

Temasek Cares, a non-profit initiative under Temasek Holdings, has given $1.38 million over three years to fund the project, which is expected to benefit nearly 1,000 seniors.

In Kreta Ayer, the scheme is managed by the Kreta Ayer Senior Activity Centre. Since October last year, community nurse Helen Alburque'V - who speaks Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese and Mandarin - has been traversing the corridors of rental blocks in Chin Swee Road and Banda Street to tend to people too old or ill to look after themselves.

Among them is retired magician Lee Kok Siang, 93, who has a host of medical problems. Ms Alburque'V found him while knocking on doors to see who needed help.

On Dec 1, at around 7am, Mr Lee fell and bruised his cheek. He then pulled the emergency cord. Although neighbours had been trained to help outside office hours, no one came to his aid until Ms Alburque'V and staff from the centre arrived. They rushed to his flat right after they got to work at around 9.30am.

"He was hurt, but did not want to go to the hospital initially," Ms Alburque'V says. "We were able to convince him to go."

The father of two had suffered two falls before. So while he was away in hospital, Ms Alburque'V and her team rearranged his furniture with his permission. Furniture, boxes and bags had blocked the way from his bed to the toilet. "We cleared a path for him."

After he returned home, Ms Alburque'V visited him every day to help him shower, eat and do his exercises. Now that he has improved physically, she drops in once a week. "He is definitely in better spirits."

When The Sunday Times visited his flat, Mr Lee was obviously enjoying the company and care of the cheerful nursing team. He pointed out that he was older than the late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

"At my age, I need help. And they help me," he says with a small smile.


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New NUS centre to help tackle population woes

April 29, 2015, 8:52 pm
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By Rachel Au-Yong, The Straits Times, 29 apr 2015

SINGAPORE'S citizen population by 2060 will shrink to that of the early 1990s if the country's low birth rates persist and it shuts its doors to immigration, Ms Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said yesterday.

It will then have about 2.6 million citizens but what's worse is that a large number will be older.

The consequences are dire as there will be fewer than 1.5 working-age citizens for every senior citizen compared to 10:1 in 1990, she pointed out.

"Things will look very much better if we raise our birth rates, remain open to immigration at a calibrated pace, and enable seniors to make continued contributions to society," she said.

Singapore's demography has changed in the past 50 years. The World Bank ranks Singapore 2nd in the world for life...
Posted by Grace Fu on Tuesday, April 28, 2015


Ms Fu, who is in charge of population issues, was speaking at the opening of the Centre for Family and Population Research, launched by the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Like many developed nations, Singapore is dogged by the looming problem of a greying population as a result of low birth rates.

The scenario she painted was one of several possible projections in the controversial 2013 Population White Paper, which set out plans for infrastructure to cope with a potential population ranging from 6.5 million to 6.9 million by 2030.

Yesterday, in noting the White Paper, NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan said the new centre is "well positioned to contribute" to the understanding of the population challenges facing Singapore.

Ms Fu said the issues it will study include healthcare needs in an ageing Asia and shifting social needs, like flexible work arrangements and fathers participating more in childcare and housework. She also hoped that the centre will be a hub for exchanges among researchers across Asia.

"Norms are changing and an Asia-oriented study into the changes will give useful inputs on policy solutions,'' she said.

Its findings could shape Singapore's policies to encourage more births and prepare for an ageing population, she said.

Ms Fu also praised the centre's 27 researchers and five international advisers for their wide range of disciplines. "As demographic issues are complex and multi-faceted, no single discipline can provide all the solutions."

The centre is helmed by Professor Jean Yeung, of NUS' Sociology Department. She said that it will focus on research in areas such as managing family stress, fertility, ageing and health.

Yesterday's opening also launched a conference on Singapore Families and Population Dynamics, at which the issues tackled include the impact of mobile technology on communication between parents and their children, and how government policy shapes the circumstances and choices of single-parent and low-income families.

Additional reporting by Priscilla Goy and Janice Tai


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Hoarding in HDB flats: Pest-infested flat plagues neighbours

April 29, 2015, 9:52 pm
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Family live in fear of roaches for 16 years with hoarder next door
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 29 Apr 2015

EVERY night for the past 16 years, Ms Nur'Ashikin Zainol and her family have shut the windows of their Eunos Crescent flat before sleeping, for fear that cockroaches would join them in bed.

"Every day, we encounter five to 10 cockroaches. In the night, when you go to the toilet, you will surely kill one or two," said the 33-year-old cake decorator.

Her husband, building maintenance technician Fazlan Sahat, 33, said the pests have even wriggled into his pants before.

"Just the other night, a cockroach nearly crawled into my son's ear," Ms Nur'Ashikin said.

The source of the infestation? A three-room flat next door, occupied by Mr Lim Chin Ting, 74, and his wife, Madam Soh Siew Zhen, 66.

Pest-infested Eunos Crescent flat: Neighbours have been living in fear of roaches for 16 years with hoarder next door....
Posted by The Straits Times on Tuesday, April 28, 2015


A musky, sour stench hung over the couple's flat when The Straits Times visited yesterday.

Stacks of newspapers, clothes, boxes, empty bottles and cans, and even a bicycle wheel lined the walls. The items filled the rooms and kitchen to a chest-high level, and there was only a narrow passage left for walking.

Dozens of cockroaches were crawling around, while dead ones peppered the sticky floor and even the walls.

But Mr Lim, a drink-stall assistant, said he is not bothered by the grime. "I'm used to it," he said in Mandarin, shrugging.

He said his wife hoards the items, and he sleeps on the living room sofa as there is nowhere else to rest. "If I touch her stuff, she will scold me."

The couple, who have lived there since 1977, are not on speaking terms.

Mr Lim said Madam Soh's habit became much worse about five years ago. "Every day, she brings back two or three bags."

The National Environment Agency, Marine Parade Town Council and Housing Board said in a joint statement yesterday that the unit was inspected on Monday because of a dengue cluster in the neighbourhood. Insecticide was sprayed to kill adult mosquitoes.

"The insecticide was also effective against the large population of cockroaches that was present in the flat," the statement said.

It added that the town council cleaned up the common corridor, and would work with HDB and the residents to "ensure that the flat is properly maintained".

Ms Nur'Ashikin posted a video on Facebook of cockroaches swarming the corridor after the spraying was carried out. The video has been viewed more than 270,000 times. "We just want (the couple) to get help. It's a hygiene problem," she said.


Inconsiderate neighbour at blk 19 eunos crescent #06-2937.. Look at what my family have to put up with!!!! Bloody cockcroaches!!!
Posted by Nur'Ashikin Fazlan Zainol on Monday, April 27, 2015


But an indignant Madam Soh told The Straits Times in the void deck: "Why can't I keep my things? It's not like I have a lot."

The unemployed woman said she was aware the clutter might pose a problem. "If I want to clear it, I can. But I need my stuff."




The problem of hoarding has hit the headlines again thanks to a video about a flat in Jalan Eunos infested with...
Posted by The Straits Times on Wednesday, April 29, 2015





More facing 'intolerable' issues
The Straits Times, 29 Apr 2015

FEWER Housing Board residents face inconvenience from neighbours, compared to five years ago.

But for those who do, more find it "intolerable", according to an HDB survey conducted every five years.

In 2013, 48.1 per cent of residents said they faced some form of nuisance - such as noise or littering - from their neighbours.

This was down slightly from 50.4 per cent in 2008.

But this included 32.1 per cent who found the nuisances intolerable - up from 26.6 per cent before.

The rest found the issues minimal or tolerable.

The most common problem was littering, which was experienced by one in five households. One in 10 found it intolerable.

Noise from neighbours was the second biggest problem, experienced by 17 per cent and found intolerable by 7.7 per cent.

MPs said noise is the most common complaint when neighbourly disputes are brought to them.

Conflicts also arise when residents place belongings in the common corridor, said Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Liang Eng Hwa.

He has seen slightly more cases of disputes over the years. "The problem with this kind of thing is not so much the numbers, but that it may take a very long time to resolve them."

Some feuds have gone on for at least a decade, he added.




Their flat at Block 19 Eunos Crescent was the focus of a video that showed hundreds of cockroaches swarming out to the...
Posted by The New Paper on Tuesday, April 28, 2015




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SCDF investigating video of 'wrecked' dorm

April 30, 2015, 12:00 am
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SCDF 'will leave no stone unturned' in video probe
Trashing of dorm, swearing and smoking an 'isolated incident', it says
By Amelia Teng, The Straits Times, 29 Apr 2015

THE Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has assured the public it will "leave no stone unturned" in investigating two videos circulating online that show its personnel trashing a dorm, swearing and smoking.

We take note of the second video being circulated online today which depicted unruly behaviour of some SCDF personnel in...
Posted by Singapore Civil Defence Force on Monday, April 27, 2015


In a one-minute clip uploaded to Facebook on Monday afternoon, the men can be seen in a dorm surrounded by upturned bed frames and mattresses, with belongings strewn all over the floor.

A second clip uploaded yesterday showed the personnel, wearing uniforms that suggest they are sergeants, cheering and filming themselves at the Civil Defence Academy in Jalan Bahar as a man smears black liquid, believed to be shoe polish, on the floor.

Many netizens urged the SCDF to punish the men involved, saying their actions reflected poorly on the force.

Colonel Abdul Razak, director of the SCDF's public affairs department, said the force is "as perturbed as the online viewers or members of the public on the matter".

He added: "Let me stress that this is an isolated incident of this nature. It does not reflect the culture, the discipline, the decorum and conduct of SCDF officers and men, be it our front-line NSFs (full-time national servicemen) and regulars, or even our operationally ready NSmen.

"Let me assure you that we take this matter very seriously, and will leave no stone unturned and will update you on the outcome."

At the start of the video, the person filming narrates: "It's the last day man, look at the dorm. It's a ruckus, it's a ruckus - the dorm is in a ruckus man."

Some personnel can be seen smoking in the dormitory, while others throw items onto a pile of broken bed frames, cupboards, fans, mattresses and chairs in a corner of the room.

One man pours liquid from a drink packet onto the floor, before flinging it away.

The video attracted more than 45,000 views before it was taken down on Monday night, though copies of it are still circulating online.

Meanwhile, a second minute-long video was uploaded by Facebook group Rilek1Corner yesterday. In it, men can be heard cheering and yelling "Pop" - short for Passing Out Parade - which signals that trainees have completed their basic military training, basic police training or basic rescue training. The clip also shows another three personnel using their smartphones to film the surroundings.

Another man smears black liquid, believed to be shoe polish, on the floor.

Property agent Jeffrey Ho, 54, was among members of the public outraged by the videos.

He said: "Maybe they were very happy or drunk, but they're not supposed to be damaging property and smoking. These are punishable offences, so they should know the consequences.

"Behaviour is very important especially when one is wearing a uniform, yet they didn't show any respect for the civil defence or the uniform. It leaves a bad impression on the public."

Lecturer Christine Keung, 55, said: "SCDF needs to follow up and conduct disciplinary action on all the officers involved.

"I cannot believe our uniformed group officers are behaving this way."



The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is investigating a video posted on Facebook showing a "wrecked" SCDF dormitory. http://str.sg/3WL
Posted by The Straits Times on Monday, April 27, 2015



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Operation WE Clean Up! - Pick up litter, spruce up Singapore

April 30, 2015, 12:16 am
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Over 8,000 volunteers expected at event on Sunday, cleaners get Saturday off
By Feng Zengkun, Environment Correspondent, The Straits Times, 29 Apr 2015

THIS Sunday, step outside and join thousands of other people in sprucing up Singapore.

More than 8,000 people are expected to volunteer for the Public Hygiene Council's (PHC) first national litter- picking event, called Operation We Clean Up!

The council organised a similar one-day event last year, but it was confined to the Bedok neighbourhood.

This year, it is setting its sights on rubbish across the island and inviting everyone to show their love for the country by cleaning up schools, parks, offices, void decks and other places.

Many organisations, town councils, schools, firms and individuals have responded to the call and organised cleanup groups at more than 130 locations.

Town councils will cease general area cleaning in nearly 70 precincts on Saturday to give the cleaners a rest and show the volunteers on Sunday how much trash there is in a single day in common areas such as void decks.

The PHC will give the cleanup groups items such as gloves, wet wipes, tongs and trash bags. It is also urging those who cannot join the groups to do their part by picking up at least three pieces of rubbish on Sunday.

PHC chairman Liak Teng Lit said a clean Singapore would improve life in other aspects.

"If you look at what has been happening in Singapore - the rat infestations, reports of choked, smelly drains, cockroaches and mosquito breeding - littering plays a key part in all this," he said.

The country's cleanliness has been on the decline despite an army of cleaners picking up after people.

Earlier this year, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong wrote that Singapore is likely to become a "garbage city" if not for the cleaners, after pictures surfaced online of the mess left behind by people who went to a concert at Gardens by the Bay.

Last year, the National Environment Agency issued about 19,000 tickets for littering, almost double the number in 2013.

There were also 688 instances of Corrective Work Orders being imposed by the courts last year, more than double the 261 cases in 2013.

Mr Liak and leaders of environment groups said they hoped the mass clean up session would stir people to pick up after themselves and others as a matter of course, and also deter them from littering.

Mr Tan Ken Jin, who started the Singapore Glove Project in 2012 where people walk or jog and pick up litter along the path at the same time, said: "You don't have to go way out of your comfort zone to do something. When you're going to work or going home, if you see litter, just pick it up and throw it away."

Mr Eugene Heng, founder and chairman of Waterways Watch Society, which conducts cleanup sessions, said: "Hopefully, down the road, there will be no need for us to go and pick up litter, because there will be no litter to be picked up."

To find out more about the cleanup event this coming Sunday, go to http://www.publichygienecouncil.sg


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Finnish millionaire feels sting of $78k fine for speeding

April 30, 2015, 12:57 am
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The Straits Times, 28 Apr 2015

HELSINKI - Getting a speeding ticket is not a feel-good moment for anyone. But consider Mr Reima Kuisla, a Finnish businessman.

He was recently fined €54,024 (S$78,295) for travelling at a modest, if illegal, 103kmh in a 80kmh zone. And no, the €54,024 was not a typo, or a mistake of any kind.



Mr Kuisla is a millionaire and, in Finland, the fines for more serious speeding infractions are calculated according to income. The thinking here is that if it stings for the little guy, it should sting for the big guy, too.

The ticket had its desired effect. Mr Kuisla, 61, took to Facebook last month with 12 furious posts, in which he included a picture of his speeding ticket and a picture of what €54,024 could buy if it was not going to the state coffers - a new Mercedes. He said he was seriously considering leaving Finland."The way things are done here makes no sense," he said, adding: "For what and for whom does this society exist? It is hard to say."

The Nordic countries have long had a strong egalitarian streak, embracing progressive taxation and high levels of social spending. Perhaps less well known is that they also practise progressive punishment when it comes to certain fines. A rich person, many citizens believe, should pay more for the same offence if justice is to be served.

On his Facebook page, quite a few of Mr Kuisla's friends offered their sympathy. But that did not seem to be the drift of public opinion. Elsewhere, it was easier to find Finns who were unmoved by his predicament. At the University of Helsinki, Mr Jussi Lahti, 35, a graduate student in geography, said he could understand that Mr Kuisla was upset, but that he considered the principle of an equal percentage fair. And, he added, Mr Kuisla "had a choice when he decided to speed".

The size of Mr Kuisla's ticket nonetheless drew considerable attention, as television shows and newspapers debated the merits of Finland's system, which uses a complex formula based on income to calculate an individual's fines. Some wondered whether the government should stop imposing such fines for infractions at relatively low speeds. Some suggested that a fine so big was really a form of taxation.

But the idea that the rich should pay heavier fines did not seem to be much in question.

"It is an old system," said National Police Board chief superintendent Pasi Kemppainen.

In fact, the Finnish "day fine" system, also in use in some other Scandinavian countries, dates to the 1920s, when fines based on income were instituted for all manner of lesser crimes, such as petty theft, and helped greatly to reduce the prison population.

NEW YORK TIMES


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A manpower-lean economy driven by productivity: Chuan-Jin

April 30, 2015, 7:10 am
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Outgoing Manpower minister paints future scenario for Singapore
By Lee U-Wen, The Business Times, 29 Apr 2015

THE future of Singapore is one where the economy must grow with fewer workers and a higher level of productivity, outgoing Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said on Tuesday.

It is a situation the country cannot run away from as a mature economy and society, he said, but added that the Republic's fate "need not be pre-determined" by this, so long as everyone pulled together in the same direction.

Writing in his final May Day message ahead of his move to the Ministry of Social and Family Development on Monday, he identified the two trends that will shape Singapore's future in the coming years:

One is that the labour market will remain tight, as the growth of the local labour force slows down towards the end of this decade.

The other is that the government will, at the same time, keep the foreign workforce growth sustainable and let it expand at the current pace.

He noted that it was "encouraging" that the economy grew by 2.9 per cent last year, and is expected to grow by between 2 per cent and 4 per cent this year, amid this tighter labour market and an uncertain global economic environment.

"We must press on with our efforts to become a manpower-lean economy that is driven by productivity, innovation and skills, and one that can create good jobs and sustain wage growth for our workers," said Mr Tan.

He added that the government, as the key enabler of the SkillsFuture national movement, would help workers upgrade their knowledge and skills to stay relevant and take advantage of career opportunities in this new-age economy.

The unions, on their part, should encourage their members to take ownership of their learning and careers, and persuade their management partners to embark on SkillsFuture initiatives.

As for companies, they have to proactively develop their workers, provide career pathways and recognise their contributions as they move up the ladder, he said.

And with more older Singaporeans in the workforce, the government will give them greater assurance in employment and retirement through initiatives such as the additional Special Employment Credit, which encourages employers to hire those aged 65 and up.

Meanwhile, in his first May Day message since becoming president of the Singapore National Employers Federation last September, Robert Yap stressed the need for employers to press on with productivity drives and to reduce their reliance on manpower.

He cited a Citigroup report in February, which said that American companies achieved a resurgence in productivity between 1996 and 2004 by re-designing themselves to accommodate investments in new technologies.

That report also noted that the more transformative a technology, the longer it could take for workers, organisations and economies to adapt to it.

Dr Yap, who is also the group chairman and chief executive of supply chain management firm YCH, said: "There is still much to be gained from the digital economy, but shifts in mindsets and organisation structures can take time. This means that we cannot be just investing in technology and expecting productivity to improve."

He urged employers and unions to cooperate at every level and leverage the strong tripartism that has been built up over the last 50 years.

This was a point Mr Tan also made earlier. The minister said that Singapore's economic and social progress over the years had not come by chance, but through the concerted efforts of workers, employers and the government.

He paid tribute to Singapore's late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who had championed a "constructive model" of tripartism.

"(This model is) one which takes care of workers' interest, builds a competitive economy and gives all Singaporeans hope for a better future. The model has served us well, and will stand us in good stead to tackle future challenges," he said.


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Expect letters on MediShield Life from tomorrow

April 30, 2015, 7:51 am
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By Kash Cheong, The Straits Times, 29 Apr 2015

FROM tomorrow, Singapore citizens and permanent residents will receive letters from the Government telling them about MediShield Life and how to update their household information.

These are being sent out to ensure that people do not lose out on subsidies meant to help them cope with higher premiums under the compulsory health insurance scheme.

Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor explained: "Updating your particulars is important as we want to compute premium subsidies based on accurate and up-to-date information in the government database."

It is the first time the Government is using a system of "household eligibility checks" to compute subsidies, instead of having citizens apply for them. Dr Khor asked for the public's "patience and cooperation" in this "massive administrative exercise".



To ensure that MediShield Life premiums are kept affordable, the Government will set aside nearly $4 billion in subsidies over the next five years.

Up to two in three Singapore households, mainly the lower to middle income, will get premium subsidies, aside from transitional subsidies that apply to all Singapore citizens. The premium subsidies are computed based on age, the annual value of the person's residence, household monthly income and whether the person owns multiple properties.

The Government has records of a person's income, address and property ownership from databases such as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's (IRAS).

Some people may need to update their government records, for example, those who did not update their identity card addresses when they moved out, or those who have new tenants but did not update their records with the Housing Board.

Each of the Republic's 1.2 million households with Singapore citizens or permanent residents will receive a letter between tomorrow and May 12.

Six out of 10 households will receive "call-to-action" letters, urging them to log on to www.medishieldlife.sg to check their household particulars. They should do so by the deadline stated in the letter, usually five weeks later, and can log in using their SingPass or a reference number on the top right-hand corner of the letter. They should check their address and revise their household composition based on instructions on the website.

The other households will get letters simply stating what subsidies they will receive. These include households consisting solely of pioneers who will get Pioneer Generation subsidies, or those who updated their means-testing data recently when using a government health scheme. Households that cannot change their details online can do so at 37 selected community clubs islandwide, all SingPost post offices and the service centre at Iras.

The Health Ministry is working with grassroots leaders and voluntary welfare organisations to spread the word on updating household particulars.





Frequently asked questions

Q: When will I receive my MediShield Life letter?

A: Those living in the south-west will receive letters from tomorrow, followed by residents in the north-west and the south-east next Tuesday. Residents in central Singapore will get their letters on May 8, while residents in the north-east will receive them on May 11. By May 12, all households should have received their letters and they should complete checks by the deadlines stated.


Q: What if I do not want the Government to access my income and property ownership information for MediShield Life?

A: You can opt out of the household eligibility check at www.medishieldlife.sg. But making this choice means you and your household members will not be able to receive the premium subsidies. If you change your mind and would like to opt in, you can do so by calling the MediShield Life hotline on 1800-222-3399.


Q: I did not receive a letter. What should I do?

A: The letter is meant for your whole household. Each household will receive one letter and needs to complete the household check only once. If you did not get a letter, you can still log on to www.medishieldlife.sg to verify your household data.


Q: What happens after this round of household checks?

A: Re-assessments will occur automatically if the household has newborns, or if any new Singapore citizen or permanent resident joins the household and updates his NRIC address at the police post, or if any member of the household is due for a renewal of means-testing status.

This round of household eligibility checks is valid for two years but you can call the MediShield Life hotline to ensure that a re-assessment is triggered if there are income changes, for example, if a family member gets retrenched.

For all other questions, please call the MediShield Life hotline on 1800-222-3399.






Govt to release pre-existing illnesses that will have higher MediShield Life premiums in July
People with such conditions will pay higher premiums
By Salma Khalik, Senior Health Correspondent, The Straits Times, 30 Apr 2015

THE much-awaited list of pre-existing diseases that will require those suffering from these illnesses to pay a 30 per cent higher premium will be announced in July.

The information will be obtained from healthcare institutions but people who do not want the Ministry of Health (MOH) looking into their health status will be given time to opt out of the health assessment.

They will be assumed to have such problems, and have to pay the higher premiums.

The higher premiums do not affect people who are already fully covered by MediShield or an integrated plan, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on the sidelines of a tour of the soon-to-be-opened Ng Teng Fong General Hospital yesterday.

When MediShield Life is launched later this year, it will cover everyone for life. So even those who are already chronically or seriously ill, and who might need to draw on the insurance from day one, will be included.

To be fair to the majority who have been paying premiums for many years, these people will have to pay 30 per cent higher premiums for 10 years, after which they will pay the same as other people in their age band.

Mr Gan said that MOH will try not to impose the penalty premium on those with less severe pre-existing medical conditions, adding that the ministry will err on the side of compassion.

According to MOH, those who will need to pay the higher premiums are likely to be people with cancer, kidney failure, stroke and heart diseases. These are medical conditions that "require intensive medical intervention to treat or manage; or have high risk of future complications or recurrence, and therefore may require prolonged treatment".

Mr Gan said people who need to pay the higher amount will be told, and "if they wish, they can appeal and we will consider the appeal on a case-by-case basis". The important thing now, he said, is for people to check their household incomes when they receive their letters next month, to ensure that they receive the subsidy they are entitled to.

Two in three households - those with a per capita household income of $2,600 or less and living in homes with annual values of below $21,000 - will receive 15 per cent to 50 per cent subsidies to help them pay the higher premiums for MediShield Life.

"Even if your address is correct, it would be helpful for you to go in to double-check," he said.



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Ng Teng Fong General Hospital to open on June 30

May 1, 2015, 12:39 am
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Staggered opening will give it time to 'build up competency', says minister
By Salma Khalik, Senior Health Correspondent, The Straits Times, 30 Apr 2015

THE new Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) in Jurong will open its doors to patients on June 30 - more than six months behind its original schedule, owing to construction delays.

Initially, it will operate 365 of its 700 beds and 80 of its 120 outpatient clinic consultation rooms.

Its emergency department will at first take in only walk-in patients. From Aug 1, ambulances will be allowed to bring in those who are critically ill. Less serious cases will be taken to other public hospitals until early next year, when the hospital will accept all ambulance patients.

Ng Teng Fong General Hospital will progressively open from 30 June 2015! Residents in the west will be able to access...
Posted by Ministry of Health on Wednesday, April 29, 2015


Health Minister Gan Kim Yong toured the facilities yesterday and revealed details of the staggered opening, which will give the new hospital time to "build up competency and familiarity".

He said medical services director Ben Ong has been coordinating care across the country by managing the capacity of public hospitals.

Also, on June 30, Alexandra Hospital, which the NTFGH staff are now manning, will close for renovations. When it re-opens, it will be run by a new team that will then go on to staff the general hospital in Sengkang, which is slated to open in 2018.

Patients warded at Alexandra will be given the option to be transferred to the new NTFGH on June 29, or to another public hospital before that date.

Mr Foo Hee Jug, chief executive of Jurong Health, which will run NTFGH, said he expects about 50 patients will need to be moved by ambulance to the new hospital. Traffic Police will help ease the route between the two hospitals, so patients do not have to endure "a stop-start journey".

The hospital will have a 3,000-strong staff and is expected to have 550 beds and 93 clinics in use by the end of its first year.

A quarter of its beds will be for private patients. But all patients, subsidised or private, will have a window because of its fan-shaped layout that is also designed to give maximum privacy.

In line with newer ward designs, even the cheapest C class wards have six beds in a section sharing a toilet and shower, which is better for infection control.

In older hospital wards, toilets and showers are centralised and often a distance away.

Mr Gan said having natural light, ventilation and a view to the outside world will help patients recover faster.



Because of the large industrial area nearby, the hospital expects to see more trauma cases than other public hospitals, and it will be able to provide decontamination if necessary. Its emergency department has six beds for critically ill patients who might need resuscitation, and 26 individual rooms for the severely ill. The latter can be quickly reconfigured in an emergency to cater to a much larger number of casualties.

Meanwhile, two of the hospital's unused wards, with a total of 76 beds, will be turned into community hospital wards and be run by staff of Jurong Community Hospital, which will open next door later this year and will eventually have 400 beds of its own.


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Youth Day extravaganza in July to mark SG50

May 1, 2015, 12:40 am
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By Kash Cheong, The Straits Times, 30 Apr 2015

THIS Youth Day, more than 53,000 performers and spectators will gather to celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday, in the largest youth event among the SG50 activities.

Called Youth Celebrate, this Youth Day extravaganza on July 26 will see some 3,700 students from primary, secondary and special schools as well as tertiary institutions perform at the Singapore Sports Hub. Over 50,000 students, parents and teachers are expected to turn up to cheer them on.



"It will be a very befitting gift for the nation to see our youth's vitality and sense of humility (in performing for others)," said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, announcing the event at Crest Secondary's cross-country day yesterday. The school's students joined ultramarathoners Lim Nghee Huat and Yong Yuen Cheng for about 4km as they ran 50km for the 14th day straight.

Part of a series of events to mark the Sports Hub's first year, Youth Celebrate will kick off with activities at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. About 500 school representatives will wear red and white floats to form Singapore's largest floating flag in the pool there. There will also be diving and synchronised swimming performances.

At the National Stadium, 50 primary school pupils will pit their skills against 11 former national football players for a charitable cause.

Nine hundred choir students from 23 schools will sing pop songs such as Firework and Roar by Katy Perry, as well as local tunes like Chan Mali Chan and Singapura O Singapura.

A 400-student marching band will spin colourful flags and perform stunts with their drumsticks, while a 250-strong uniformed group will perform a freestyle drill, or marches with hand movements to pop tunes.

Spectators will form part of the show by creating multi-coloured patterns with light sticks programmed to change colours.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will attend the event and seal a time capsule containing items that symbolise Singapore's sporting aspirations.

Students have been practising hard for the show. National Cadet Corps member Choo Jing Si, 15, from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary, said: "It's been an enjoyable experience so far. I get to go out, meet more friends from other schools."

Nanyang Girls' High School student Celeste Chan, 16, will be dancing to classical music with 75 others. "It will be cool to snap a picture of me in my costume. I can show my future children that I was part of this historic SG50 celebration," she said.



As we celebrate SG50, we recognise the achievements and aspirations of the next generation as Singapore looks forward to...
Posted by Ministry of Education, Singapore on Tuesday, April 28, 2015




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Boat Quay to get $5m makeover

May 1, 2015, 1:05 am
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Revamp will see standardised new look; new curbs on touting to be set
By Melissa Lin, The Straits Times, 30 Apr 2015

EXPECT a Boat Quay that is friendlier to visitors and less cluttered when it completes a $5 million makeover next year.

On top of a revamp that will bring in standardised outdoor dining areas and open public areas, new guidelines to control touting will be rolled out, it was announced yesterday.

Construction will begin in the first quarter of next year and conclude by the end of the year, after most of the precinct's businesses have approved the plans to revamp the waterfront promenade.

URA #News Release: http://ow.ly/Mgh0b You can look forward to improved ambience and enhanced public areas along the...
Posted by Urban Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday, April 28, 2015


The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will fund the entire cost of the project.

The revamped Boat Quay will have three open spaces where the public can view the Singapore River without having to patronise the eateries there.

The outdoor dining areas will become more standardised - all will have timber-like flooring, retractable canopies, slots designed for menu boards and signs, and beams to mount lights and fans.

Currently, huge menu boards and canopies of different colours and logos line the promenade, giving it an inconsistent and disorganised feel. Existing overhanging cables, which pose a fire hazard, will be moved underground.

The changes were proposed by Singapore River One, a private sector-led partnership formed to drum up business and increase visitor traffic. It also manages Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay.

The Singapore River has seen its share of tourists drop from 18 per cent in 2009 to 15 per cent in 2012, according to Singapore Tourism Board figures.

Singapore River One worked with URA and a consultant team to get feedback from stakeholders such as the landlords and tenants of businesses there.

When the makeover is done, Singapore River One will set rules for use of the outdoor dining spaces and have "teeth" to go after businesses with unfair practices such as touting, said its executive director Michelle Koh.

Tourists have long complained of being harassed by touts. While touting has become less of a problem since business owners started a campaign against it in 2012, more can be done, said Mr Katsumi Mizutani, owner of Enoteca L'Operetta restaurant.

URA's director for place management Jason Chen urged the stakeholders to work together to address practices like touting.

"We will also explore with Singapore River One and the businesses other ways to discourage touting if the problem persists."

URA will call a tender in the second half of this year to appoint a contractor. Construction will be carried out in five phases to minimise disruption to the businesses, which will remain open.

Said Mr Virender Singh, 26, who owns London Boat Quay bar: "I think it'll help to improve business in the long run. Right now, everyone's using different shelters. It doesn't look nice."

But Mrs Lorrie Maffey, 50, a tourist from Canada, thought the area would lose its character if the outdoor spaces look too similar.

Pointing at a menu board placed haphazardly in the middle of the walkway, she said: "I like it that not everything is the same. I prefer to look down the street and get to see different things."

Ngee Ann Polytechnic tourism lecturer Michael Chiam said the makeover will help improve Boat Quay's image, but warned against making the outdoor area too uniform. "Sometimes, it's good to have a variety of things to add colour to a place. Being too uniform might take away the vibrancy."


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