Tan Cheng Bock files High Court application challenging reserved Presidential Election

May 9, 2017, 9:04 am

≫ Next: Political Islam's changing face in South-east Asia

≪ Previous: Better insurance coverage for maids from 1 Oct 2017

Tan Cheng Bock goes to court to ask why Elected Presidency starts from Wee Kim Wee
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock has filed an application in the High Court to question the Government's decision to reserve the upcoming presidential election for Malay candidates.

He wants the court to decide if the Government's counting of the five presidential terms needed to trigger a reserved election is consistent with constitutional amendments to the elected presidency.

In his application, which includes a statement from top British constitutional lawyer David Pannick, Dr Tan contends that the counting of five terms should start with Mr Ong Teng Cheong. The Government had started counting from the term of Mr Wee Kim Wee, the first president vested with the powers of the elected presidency.

A Supreme Court spokesman said yesterday that the High Court had accepted Dr Tan's filings on Section 22 of the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act 2017.

In a Facebook post last night, Dr Tan, 77, said he filed the application last Friday, and a pre-trial conference has been fixed for May 22.

His legal challenge follows a press conference in March, when he spoke on the Government's decision to implement changes to the elected presidency this year.

Last November, Parliament passed changes to the Constitution to ensure the presidency reflects Singapore's multiracial society. A provision was included for presidential elections to be reserved for candidates from a racial group that has not been represented in the office for five continuous terms.

In January, the Presidential Elections Act was amended. The Government, on the advice of the Attorney-General (A-G), started counting the five terms from Mr Wee, who was in office when the elected presidency took effect in 1991. After him were Mr Ong; Mr S R Nathan, who served two terms; and current President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

At the March press conference, Dr Tan called on the Government to refer its decision to the courts, saying: "I am concerned that the changes were introduced to prevent my candidacy."

He had announced his second bid last year, while a review of the elected presidency was ongoing.

Yesterday, he said he had not heard from the Government about the points he raised.

"Since this is a matter of national importance, I sought to find the legal answer and consulted the best constitutional lawyer I could find," he added.

He turned to Lord Pannick, a Queen's Counsel who is also a member of the House of Lords.

Dr Tan said he sent Lord Pannick, among others, the report by the Constitutional Commission that reviewed the elected presidency, the Government's White Paper on its recommendations, and parliamentary reports.

He said Lord Pannick disagreed with the A-G's advice, and said Section 22 of the Act was unconstitutional. "I could not keep his legal opinion to myself. It would be in the public interest to have the court decide which legal view is correct," he said.

Lord Pannick led the successful legal challenge to stop British Prime Minister Theresa May from triggering Britain's exit from the European Union without a vote in Parliament.

Dr Tan is represented by law firm Tan Rajah & Cheah.

"I believe this question can be answered without confrontation or hostility. Both the Government and I have the nation's best interest at heart. It is in nobody's interest to have a reserved election that is unconstitutional," he said.

↧

Political Islam's changing face in South-east Asia

May 9, 2017, 9:41 am

≫ Next: Singapore to enforce death penalty for nuclear terrorism acts

≪ Previous: Tan Cheng Bock files High Court application challenging reserved Presidential Election

With exclusivist sentiments seeping into the region's majority-Muslim countries, there is an urgent need to preserve pluralism
By Joseph Liow Chin Yong, Published The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Arab Spring of 2011 offered up the prospect of Islamist political parties gaining a foothold in the Middle East and North Africa as part of a wider tide of political transformation. Six years later, the record of these parties, which are intent on organising society according to their interpretations of Islamic law, has been mixed.

The fortunes of political Islam in South-east Asia, however, appear to be changing in different ways. About 65 per cent of the global Muslim population resides in South-east Asia. The region is home to the most populous Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, which incidentally also supplies the largest contingent to the annual haj pilgrimage (around 200,000).

Volumes have been produced documenting the rich cultural inheritance and diverse historical tapestry of South-east Asian Islam, in many ways unique to the Indo-Malay archipelago. South-east Asian Islam also enjoys a long intellectual tradition.

From the efforts of stalwarts like Daud Abdullah Fatoni and Zayn al-Abidin Fatoni of southern Thailand and other ulama jawi (as South-east Asian Islamic scholars were called in the Arabian peninsula) who taught in the storied halqah (study circles) of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca during the 19th and early 20th centuries, to renowned Indonesian scholars of Islam such as Nurcholish Madjid, Abdurrahman Wahid, and Syafii Ma'arif in the more recent past, South-east Asian Muslims have always had among their ranks thinkers and scholars who have made major contributions to the advancement of Islamic thought.

Yet while these are important aspects of Islam's place in South-east Asian society, they are not the whole story. In part because of the rich and heterogeneous heritage of South-east Asian Islam, the region's Muslims today subscribe to different interpretations of doctrine even as they have acquired diverse social outlooks. This diversity is reflected in Islam's growing role in the public sphere.

GROUND SHIFTS

Here, the signs of transnational influences are inescapable. Islamist political parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in Indonesia and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) in Malaysia remain heavily influenced by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and model their political engagement after it. From Islamic schools prevalent among Cham communities in Cambodia to followers of the popular Saudi-trained preacher, Ismail Lutfi, in southern Thailand to graduates and members of the Institute of Islamic and Arab Studies and the Indonesian Society for the Propagation of Islam, Saudi funding has since the 1970s fuelled a resurgence of religious consciousness and shaped the interpretation of Islamic principles in a way that challenges what some anthropologists have termed (in somewhat derogatory fashion) "folk" Islam, in reference to the traditionalist understandings and practice of the faith that prevailed in the region for centuries.

An aspect of this has been growing more visible in recent times in a gradual turn towards exclusivism which threatens to shift states from their secular foundations and fray the fabric of pluralism which has long been a defining characteristic of South-east Asian societies. One needs to look no farther than the recent Jakarta gubernatorial elections to discern the instrumental role that political Islam has come to play in some countries. While it may be premature to conclude from the election that a definitive turn towards conservatism among segments of Indonesia's Muslim population has taken place, the correlation between the grounds on which the election campaign was fought and the eventual result cannot be ignored.

The story that this correlation tells is one where, though small in numbers, hardline Islamic groups in Indonesia are becoming highly effective in how they mobilise wider religious sentiments towards polarising political ends.

The picture is arguably more discomfiting in Malaysia. There, persistent efforts by PAS to reform the country's Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act of 1965 for purposes of further empowering Islamic courts to enforce punishment provided in syariah laws for offences deemed religious in nature (according to PAS) now enjoy the tacit support of Umno, which anchors the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

EXCLUSIVIST VIEWS

What do these recent developments tell us about the broader trends in Muslim engagement in politics across South-east Asia?

To begin with, these are hardly isolated events.

Political Islam has been gradually growing in influence in the region over the years. The fall of the Suharto regime in 1998 ushered in a period of political change that has seen Indonesia emerge as the world's largest Muslim-majority democracy. But this democratisation and political liberalisation also found expression in the rise of an incendiary populist sectarian vortex which is unrelenting in its animus towards non-Muslims and Muslim followers of smaller Islamic sects and movements, as the plight of the Shi'ite and Ahmadiyah communities would attest.

In Malaysia, in order to bolster its religious credentials, a Muslim-dominated government has gradually allowed the expression of acutely polarising, exclusivist views on religion, in the name of "defending" the Islamic faith, to go unchecked, the deleterious effect of which has been the constriction of religious and cultural space afforded to non-Muslims by a range of means including, not least, attempts to re-interpret the Malaysian Constitution.

South-east Asia has over the last four decades witnessed a proliferation of zealous actors whose primary point of reference in their engagement with politics is their interpretation of Islamic texts and teachings.

There are, today, a number of Islamist political parties in Indonesia and Malaysia that have been gaining popularity. PAS has been gradually increasing its prominence in Malaysia, and is looking to further expand its political footprint via some form of cooperation with Umno.

Although the PKS has not been successful in efforts to make greater headway in Indonesia, this is arguably because Indonesians have a variety of avenues through which to express their desire for greater observance of Islamic strictures. This is evident in the piecemeal implementation of syariah by-laws across Indonesia that cuts across party lines. As the noted scholar of political Islam, Shadi Hamid, has discovered, Indonesia and Malaysia feature significantly more syariah ordinances than Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco or Lebanon.

The surge in syariah consciousness can in part be attributed to the activism of a diverse range of Islamic social movements intent on reshaping politics and society, not a few of which have staked intransigent positions on issues of religion. In Indonesia, the vigilante group Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) espouses a brand of muscular intolerance, which unfortunately has enjoyed periodic tacit official support even as minority groups are attacked and their places of worship destroyed.

In Malaysia, the mobilisation of a proverbial cacophony of conservative Malay-Muslim voices have found expression in organisations, such as the Malaysian Ulama Association, Malaysian Muslim Solidarity and the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Association, that invoke Muslim unity in defence of the faith against conjectural threats such as mass conversions to Christianity.

The challenge posed by polarisation is rendered all the more urgent because of the dearth of credible voices that have emerged to outrightly oppose and condemn such moves that threaten to fray the multi-religious fabric of South-east Asian society. While Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, two of the largest Muslim religious bodies in the world and often deemed to represent the "tolerant" and "pluralistic" face of Indonesian Islam, have admirably spoken out against the vigilantism of groups such as the FPI, these organisations are themselves noticing with not a small degree of anxiety how younger members are gravitating towards more radical organisations such as the Hizbut Tahrir, a transnational Islamic movement that rejects the legitimacy of the nation-state and agitates for the re-establishment of a global Islamic caliphate and a return to a "pristine" Islamic lifestyle.

By the same token, the arid reality in Malaysia is that dissenting voices are few and far between. Instead, the narrative of Muslim exclusivism has become entrenched, and prospects for change are impeded by the fact that the Malay political class occupying positions of power continue to perpetuate the siege mentality among the Malay-Muslim community by engaging in a discourse of threat, as typified by the following remarks articulated by a former Umno Cabinet minister: "The character and tradition of Islam, as well as its position as the official religion of Malaysia, has been challenged by various provocations with the intention of denting the pride of the religion."

Indeed in Malaysia, the dual narrative of (explicit) primacy and (implicit) insecurity has been allowed to penetrate far too deep into Malay society such that the point of reference is no longer that of accommodation of non-Muslims as it was in the past, but dominance - how to assert it and defend it.

Indeed, while South-east Asia has long enjoyed a reputation of being distinct from the Middle East - which reflects the diversity of the region's cultures, faiths and societies - there are disturbing trends that point to exclusivist sentiments seeping into South-east Asia's majority-Muslim societies. This underscores the urgency of preserving pluralism and reinforcing the virtues of mutual respect, even as Islam's role in the public sphere continues to expand in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The writer is dean and professor of comparative and international politics at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University.

↧

Singapore to enforce death penalty for nuclear terrorism acts

May 9, 2017, 9:46 am

≫ Next: Helping with jobs 'best way to tackle unemployment' not redundancy insurance

≪ Previous: Political Islam's changing face in South-east Asia

Bill passed to impose death penalty for nuclear terror
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The threat of a nuclear and radioactive terror attack in Singapore must be taken seriously, even if the likelihood is currently remote, Second Minister for Home Affairs Desmond Lee said.

This is why a mandatory death sentence will be imposed on those who carry out a lethal radioactive attack, Mr Lee added yesterday, when Parliament passed the Terrorism (Suppression of Misuse of Radioactive Material) Bill.

He also said the chances of a nuclear terrorist attack in South-east Asia are low as regional terror elements are not known to have the capability to build nuclear devices and are more likely to use conventional explosives.

But the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has heightened the global threat of nuclear or radioactive devices, he added.

ISIS had said in 2015 that it intended to attack the US with a nuclear device or explosives.

It also has access to funds and a global network of supporters that conceivably can build a crude improvised nuclear device, he said.

"As such, we cannot discount the possibility of ISIS or its supporters getting hold of nuclear material to carry out a terror attack against us or other countries," he added.

This is especially so when many countries, including those in this region, use or are actively exploring the use of nuclear energy, he added.

For instance, Malaysia arrested eight people in February for the theft of iridium-192, a radioactive material that can be used to make dirty bombs.

Mr Lee said Singapore is a signatory of the United Nations' International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which seeks to prevent nuclear terrorism by making such acts a crime.

The Terrorism (Suppression of Misuse of Radioactive Material) Bill will thus ratify, or give domestic legal effect to, the convention.

The legislation, among other things, makes it an offence to use radioactive material to threaten, injure or kill, or cause damage to property and the environment.

Nominated MP Mahdev Mohan asked why Singapore was ratifying the UN convention now when it was signed in 2006.

Mr Lee said the authorities have been working to meet the convention's requirements.

For instance, the National Environment Agency and the Singapore Civil Defence Force have developed the required capabilities to deal with the illicit use of nuclear and radioactive material in Singapore.

Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) asked what measures are in place to deal with a nuclear terrorist attack, while Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) asked about the threat from other types of hazardous material such as chemical and biological agents.

Replying, Mr Lee said there is an inter-agency committee to oversee nuclear safety and security and it continually assesses the threat.

Likewise, there are similar committees looking at the biological and chemical threat.

Should an attack occur, all government resources will be mobilised, including the Singapore Armed Forces, he added.

Related
Second Reading of the Terrorism (Suppression of Misuse of Radioactive Material) Bill
- Speech by Mr Desmond Lee Second Minister for Home Affairs & Second Minister for National Development
- Closing Speech by Mr Desmond Lee, Second Minister for Home Affairs & Second Minister for National Development

↧

Helping with jobs 'best way to tackle unemployment' not redundancy insurance

May 9, 2017, 9:26 pm

≫ Next: Singapore University of Social Sciences to champion lifelong learning

≪ Previous: Singapore to enforce death penalty for nuclear terrorism acts

Josephine Teo rejects call for redundancy insurance by WP's Daniel Goh, citing the cons
By Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Singapore's focus on helping workers to keep their jobs and assisting those who have lost their jobs to find new ones remains the best approach to tackle unemployment, Second Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said yesterday.

She was responding to a proposal by Workers' Party (WP) Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh that workers who are laid off should be covered by some form of insurance funded by premiums they and their employers pay when employed.

Dr Goh said such a scheme will provide workers with a safety net as structural unemployment rises due to economic restructuring. He was reviving the party's long-held idea of redundancy insurance.

Rejecting the call, Mrs Teo said unemployment insurance and redundancy insurance are "not crazy ideas, and neither are they new".

Several MPs from both sides of the House have raised the idea.

But it is not easy or cheap to implement, she said, in her maiden speech in the House as a full Cabinet minister. The best way to guard against unemployment is to create jobs and help unemployed workers get back to work, she added.

Dr Goh presented the scheme in Parliament as unemployment rose to 2.3 per cent in March, from 2.2 per cent in December. In their May Day messages, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say warned that unemployment could rise further.

Dr Goh said to implement the insurance scheme, workers and employers will each contribute 0.05 per cent of a worker's monthly salary to an Employment Security Fund. A laid-off worker will get up to 40 per cent of his last-drawn pay for a maximum of six months, or 40 per cent of the median salary of local workers, whichever is lower.

This costs workers, on average, $3.80 per month in premiums and they can get up to $1,200 a month for six months.

"We propose the minimum payout would be $500 a month to benefit low-wage workers," said Dr Goh. The scheme can include the self-employed as well.

It relieves the woes of laid-off workers, he said. "The intention here is to minimise the distraction of financial pressures so that affected workers would do what they should be doing in such a situation: focus on getting the next job."

He added the scheme will complement government programmes by giving laid-off workers "breathing space to retrain and upgrade their skills to match demand in the labour market".

He also dismissed the notion that such schemes will encourage employers to let workers go and not pay retrenchment benefits. "I find it strange... that employers would push workers off their buildings knowing that there is a safety net below to catch the workers."

"This is to suggest that after so many decades of tripartite partnership, union representations and governmental promotion of workers' rights, our moral economy of stable industrial relations is going to be undermined by a mere social insurance programme," he added.

On the timing of the move, Dr Goh said such a scheme needs to be in place when unemployment is low, like now. But the warnings that unemployment is set to rise mean "the window of opportunity for implementing a redundancy insurance scheme is closing fast".

"Many developed countries have established some form of redundancy insurance to ameliorate problems arising from their maturing economies," he said.

Replying, Mrs Teo said while developed countries have had unemployment insurance for years, "their unemployment rates are generally significantly higher than ours". "Unemployment and redundancy insurance also have their downsides, which the WP has not talked about," she said.

"The most serious downside with automatic insurance payouts is that it reduces the incentive to find work," she added.

In Denmark, studies found that jobless workers waited until just before the benefits expire to take up available jobs, she noted.

WP's claim that a redundancy insurance scheme needs only 0.1 per cent of a worker's monthly salary is "too good to be true", she added, noting similar schemes cost 4.4 per cent of wages in Canada and 2.2 per cent in South Korea.

She pointed out the WP has not explained why its proposal costs so much less than other countries', saying realistically, it costs at least 1 per cent to 2 per cent of wages.

There are schemes to help workers who lose their jobs find new ones, she said. These include wage subsidies to encourage employers to hire them and short-term financial aid for their families. The Government is also growing the economy to create good jobs.

"To guard against unemployment, we emphasise employment support because it is still the best way forward," said Mrs Teo.

"I urge Members not to get distracted," she added. "Let us stay focused on making our employment support programmes the best that they can be for all Singaporeans."

↧

Singapore University of Social Sciences to champion lifelong learning

May 9, 2017, 10:50 pm

≫ Next: Singapore trials LED lights on pavements at pedestrian crossings

≪ Previous: Helping with jobs 'best way to tackle unemployment' not redundancy insurance

Its experience in adult education ties in with need to hone skills throughout lifetime: Ong Ye Kung
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

A significant piece of the higher education puzzle fell in place yesterday, when Singapore officially welcomed its sixth university - an institution very unlike the other five.

With its background in adult education and its partnerships with industry, the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) will be a champion of lifelong learning.

Previously called SIM University, SUSS will be "clearly differentiated" from the other universities, said Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung in Parliament yesterday.

Setting out the backdrop under which SUSS was being brought under the ambit of his ministry, Mr Ong said the Government would stick by its pledge to raise the university participation rate of each age group to 40 per cent by 2020.

This would be a further rise from the current situation, when the Ministry of Education expects to admit about 15,900 Singaporean students into publicly funded universities in August , with a cohort participation rate of about 35 per cent.

But he stressed that the ability to keep pace with the economy's needs, and not just having a degree, is "what helps a person earn a living".

At a time when information can be Googled, he said, "skills are what carry a premium, and skills need to be honed throughout our lifetime".

This played directly to the strengths of SUSS, which Mr Ong said has been providing quality education to adult learners for years. Many of them had to juggle studies with other commitments.

The university used technology to deliver its programmes to students. The change in its status could take it to another level.

SUSS will be able to expand its annual intake of full-time degree students from 580 to 1,000 in a few years, its president Cheong Hee Kiat told The Straits Times. It will also increase offerings for its 13,200 part-time students.

As a publicly funded university, SUSS will be able to tap more resources from the Government, which in turn will guide its strategic development to meet national objectives in education.

SUSS will also set itself apart through its strong social focus.

It will build a niche in fields such as early childhood education. All its full-time students will also have to execute a social project and champion a cause.

Unlike most other universities, SUSS will develop the applied degree pathway, said Mr Ong. It will also work with SkillsFuture Singapore Agency to develop courses to support industry.

This will complement the work of the Singapore Institute of Technology, which focuses on applied degrees in science and technology.

There will be strong inter-lacing of theoretical knowledge with real-life application, said Mr Ong.

Ten MPs spoke on the subject, with most welcoming the initiative.

Ms Denise Phua, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, said that at a time when most tertiary institutions are playing catch-up in online and blended learning, SUSS is already way ahead in digital education and catering to a learner population in a fast-paced work setting.

"SUSS presents an exciting opportunity to paint and deliver the vision of what future learning for Singapore's working adults can be," she said.

Singapore University of Social Sciences to offer more full-time degree courses, places
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

SIM University, recently renamed the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), is set to ramp up its full-time degree courses and places, with numbers rising from the current annual intake of 580 students to 1,000 in a few years.

The university, which yesterday became Singapore's sixth autonomous university, will expand the number of places for its popular courses such as business analytics and early childhood education.

It will also add more social science-related degrees in areas such as urban studies and environmental studies. But even as it expands its full-time degree offerings and places, it also aims to be the university of choice for working adults.

SUSS president Cheong Hee Kiat said that, despite the growing number of full-time students, which stands at 890, the university's mainstay is the army of 13,200 part-time students enrolled in 60 part-time courses, ranging from counselling to accounting.

The university receives more than 5,000 applications a year from working adults and mature students who want to pursue a degree.

Communications, logistics and supply chain management, early childhood education, social work, and building and project management are among the courses that continue to draw students.

More than 400 people applied for the 60 places in its law school, which began running its courses in January to train criminal and family lawyers.

Professor Cheong expects demand for its part-time degree courses to remain healthy over the next few years, partly because of the SkillsFuture initiative, which encourages workers to update their skills. "The majority of them want a degree to further themselves in their careers or to make a switch. The university offers them a flexible path to work and study for a degree at the same time," he added.

He said most of the part-time students have three to five years of work experience and attain their degrees in four to five years.

With a foundation laid by SUSS' predecessors - SIM University and the Open University Degree Programme - he said it has used online learning to let working adults progress at their own pace.

He said SUSS will also expand its offerings for adult learners. It will work with the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency and companies to develop industry-relevant courses and create content that supports the upgrading of industries.

SUSS' other area of focus - social sciences - will not be confined to those in the field. Prof Cheong said there will be an infusion of social sciences in other degrees such as business or engineering.

"In civil engineering, for example, besides the technical aspects of putting up a new bridge or building, we want our students to consider the social impact as well. How will it impact the people living in the vicinity?"

Students interviewed said they hoped SUSS will continue to ensure that its courses are relevant and recognised by the industry. Many of its 60 courses are accredited by professional bodies.

The students welcomed the move to convertSUSS into an autonomous institution, saying this will boost recognition of its degrees.

Full-time accountancy student Tan Jun Cheng, 24, hoped that with more funding and resources, SUSS will be able to offer more programmes. "I would like to see more entrepreneurship programmes and stints that will give us more industry exposure."

Smaller cohorts but more choices in varsities: Ong Ye Kung
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Singapore can expect more choices in higher education even as student cohort sizes fall, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said yesterday.

"Expanding our higher education pathways is not incompatible with decreasing cohort sizes. In fact, as our manpower and talent base reduces, it is even more important to uncover everyone's potential to the fullest through more diverse education pathways," he told Parliament.

Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh had asked how the planned reduction in the number of junior colleges (JCs) would affect the supply of A-level holders to universities.

Mr Ong acknowledged the shrinking population of students in each age group would affect the number of A-level holders, as well as polytechnic graduates, going to university. But this will be cushioned by the rise in the university participation rate of each age group from 35 per cent this year to 40 per cent in 2020.

Still, the number of students admitted to local autonomous universities will fall 10 to 15 per cent by 2025. This year, about 19,000 students are expected to be admitted.

Mr Ong added: "Because university education is more specialised, there is also less need for critical mass. The Singapore University of Technology and Design, for example, is doing very well as a university with a unique focus on design."

Dr Goh also asked if A-level education will "become a little bit more elitist because of the closing down of neighbourhood JCs".

Mr Ong said the cut-off point to enter a JC will remain the same, even though the number of students in each cohort is shrinking.

"We have to put in even more effort to make sure it's more diverse so that everyone can fulfil their potential," he added. "You look at cinemas now - (they are) getting smaller and fewer. But each cinema is showing a lot more titles. So I think it's the same logic. Falling cohort sizes and increasing diversity are not incompatible notions."

↧

Singapore trials LED lights on pavements at pedestrian crossings

May 11, 2017, 12:54 am

≫ Next: Unwed mother adopts own biological daughter

≪ Previous: Singapore University of Social Sciences to champion lifelong learning

Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road
By Christopher Tan, Senior Transport Correspondent , The Straits Times, 10 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

For a generation that is perpetually looking down at their mobile phones, new LED strips embedded in the pavement of two pedestrian crossings could just be the way forward to get more people aware of road safety.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced yesterday that it will be putting the new road-crossing feature on a six-month trial at two locations before deciding whether to roll it out at other crossings.

The LED strips are at the junction of Buyong Road and Orchard Road, near the Istana; and the Victoria Street crossing outside Bugis Junction. The LEDs - which are visible in bright daylight - will go from steady green to flashing green to steady red, mimicking the sequence of the traditional Walking and Standing Man signals at pedestrian crossings.

The LTA said it picked the two locations because "they are near popular amenities frequented by a high volume of pedestrians across different demographics, such as youth and elderly pedestrians". A pair of strips at each crossing costs $10,000 to $13,000 to install.

The authority said the trial will allow it to gauge whether they are suitable for Singapore's weather conditions. It will also be seeking the public's opinion on their effectiveness.

Nanyang Technological University senior research fellow Gopinath Menon said: "Anything that helps to improve pedestrian safety is welcome. Today, people's eyes are glued to their mobile devices, and not looking up. So this is especially useful for them."

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

According to the Traffic Police, the number of injuries and fatal accidents involving pedestrians has been creeping up.

Last year, the figure rose by 5.4 per cent from 2015 to hit a four-year high of 1,030. Of the lot, 48 were fatal, making up more than one-third of all fatal road accidents.

The elderly make up a sizeable proportion of the statistics. Since last November, the Traffic Police have been working with more than 100 Senior Activities Centres and Senior Citizen Corners to educate senior citizens on road safety.

But while the new feature will make it easier for all pedestrians to notice when it is safe to cross the road, it could especially be useful in the battle with "smartphone zombies". The term is used internationally to describe people who walk with their heads down, eyes glued to a mobile device. It is a problem that major cities around the world are trying to cope with.

Seoul has put up crossed-out signs of a walking man looking at a phone in his hand with the words: Stay safe when walking. Antwerp, in Belgium, and Chongqing, in China, have set up "text-walking lanes" so that smartphone addicts would not bump into other pedestrians.

Augsburg, in Germany, installed ground-level traffic lights at two tram stations last year. In the town of Rexburg in Idaho, people caught crossing a street while texting face a fine of US$50 (S$ 70).

In Singapore, the LTA has also taken steps to enhance safety at pedestrian crossings. Since 2013, it has introduced 13 bicycle crossings in towns such as Tampines, Simei and Sembawang so that cyclists can ride safely across roads separately from pedestrians.

Most pedestrians were unaware of the LED strips when they came into operation yesterday afternoon. But sales executive Nazhiim Rosli, 22, spotted it. "It's a good feature," he said.

Singapore Road Safety Council chairman Bernard Tay said he was heartened by the initiative. But he added: "Pedestrians should still take responsibility for their own safety and watch out for oncoming vehicles."

↧

Unwed mother adopts own biological daughter

May 11, 2017, 9:03 pm

≫ Next: Call to end formula milk firms' aggressive tactics: Competition Commission of Singapore

≪ Previous: Singapore trials LED lights on pavements at pedestrian crossings

Some mums do so to protect child's interests, gain benefits given only to legitimate children
By Kok Xing Hui, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Within the month, two-year-old Lorraine Tan (not her real name) will be formally adopted.

She and her adoptive mum will then be treated as any mother and daughter - they will be legally recognised as a family nucleus.

The unique thing about this story: Little Lorraine is not an orphan awaiting a new home. She is a child born out of wedlock who is being adopted by her biological mother.

Her mother, who requested anonymity, started the adoption process last August after seeing mentions of it on a Facebook page belonging to a support group for single parents.

"I saw a post talking about adoption. One woman left a comment saying that she did it for less than $1,000. So I sent her a message and asked her how she did it," said Ms Tan, 38, a civil servant.

She also saw mentions of adoption on the Baby Bonus brochure and on the FAQ pages on taxes.

Unwed parents do adopt their biological children. But that usually happens after they marry a partner who is not the child's parent, and they want him or her to become the legal parent of the child.

Cases of unwed parents singly adopting their children are "very few", said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

"Our laws do not require them to do so. Some unwed parents may nonetheless choose to do so, for reasons such as to terminate the rights and responsibilities of the other parent," the MSF added.

The Straits Times knows of at least two other mothers doing this, one of whom has successfully concluded her case.

Family lawyer Koh Tien Hua said that this procedure is allowed under the Adoption of Children Act, and it "makes the illegitimate child her lawful child, as if the child was born to her in lawful wedlock".

The move essentially removes the label of illegitimacy without changing the circumstances of the child. Lorraine, for example, will have all the rights of a child born to a married couple.

Currently, the differences between legitimate and illegitimate children are benefits such as housing, housing subsidies, the Baby Bonus cash gift, tax relief for the parent and inheritance priority.

Under the Intestate Succession Act, an illegitimate child ranks behind the spouse and legitimate children when it comes to inheritance.

In Parliament last year, the MSF said: "Parents who want to leave something for their illegitimate child should make a will."

Ms Tan's initial impetus for the adoption was the Baby Bonus cash gift and the Child Development Account (CDA) of up to $6,000, which has since been extended to children of unwed mothers born from September last year.

"That was the push factor. But when I started the journey, I noticed more benefits," said Ms Tan.

Top of her list was that Lorraine's biological father - who is married and does not want to acknowledge the child - would have to give up all ties to the girl.

"So in future, he cannot turn around to claim against her," she said, referring to the Maintenance of Parents Act.

The adoption costs less than $1,000 for Ms Tan, who navigated the legal procedures on her own by filing e-litigation papers. Engaging a lawyer would have set her back between $3,000 and $5,000.

Experts said allowing an unwed mum's adoption to change the legitimacy status of a child is like making them jump through hoops.

In recent years, Singapore has moved to equalise benefits for children of unwed parents.

Most recently, those born this year to unwed mothers will have 16 weeks of maternity leave instead of eight weeks previously.

The MSF said: "Government benefits that support the growth and development of children are given to all Singaporean children, regardless of their legitimacy status."

Lawyer Ivan Cheong said unwed mothers are more likely to initiate an adoption for personal reasons rather than benefits since issues such as inheritance can be dealt with by writing a will, which will cost under $500.

He added: "From a layman's view, it sounds very artificial."

Women's rights group AWARE called the process of "labelling children as illegitimate" absurd.

Law professor Leong Wai Kum has long called for this label to be removed. In a 2011 paper, she wrote: "With our evermore enlightened view of appropriate legal protection of children, it is incontrovertibly unsuitable."

Family lawyer Sim Bock Eng pointed to the Women's Charter and how both parents are obligated to maintain the child - legitimate or not. She added: "It may be more productive to focus on the parent-child relationship as opposed to the relationship between his parents."

Unwed mothers like Ms Tan may find it "silly and ridiculous", but she said she would do anything for Lorraine's benefit.

She and her daughter now live with Ms Tan's parents in her brother's marital home.

Once the adoption goes through, she plans to buy a built-to-order flat in her and her daughter's names so that the child's future is secure even when Ms Tan dies. She said: "I have to protect my daughter's interests."

↧

Call to end formula milk firms' aggressive tactics: Competition Commission of Singapore

May 12, 2017, 12:38 am

≫ Next: Tommy Koh rebuts view that Singapore has acted against China: 12th China-Singapore Forum

≪ Previous: Unwed mother adopts own biological daughter

Competition watchdog flags tie-ups with private hospitals, as high prices cause concern
By Tiffany Fumiko Tay, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The authorities are calling for a halt to formula milk companies' aggressive marketing methods, including inducements to hospitals, in response to public concern about the steep rise in prices.

In particular, sponsorship and payment arrangements between manufacturers and private hospitals are "conflict of interest" deals that should be reviewed, they say.

This follows a new report by Singapore's competition watchdog which found that formula milk manufacturers are paying private hospitals to distribute their products to newborns.

Such practices have entrenched brand loyalty and helped propel formula milk prices in Singapore to among the highest in the world, said the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

It released its 87-page report yesterday after a year-long inquiry into prices of infant formula.

The CCS said formula milk companies target hospitals to gain a "first-mover" advantage, given that most parents do not switch brands later.

It recommended that such tie-ups be reviewed.

Currently, only public hospitals are disallowed from entering into such arrangements . They have a rotation system to give different manufacturers equal opportunities.

The Ministry of Health told The Straits Times that it will "strongly encourage" all hospitals providing maternity services to achieve the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) certification.

This prevents conflicts of interest by prohibiting sponsorship arrangements, and actively encourages breastfeeding.

No private hospital is currently BFHI-certified, although two - Thomson Medical Centre and Mount Alvernia - told ST that they were working towards it.

The aggressive tactics by manufacturers have seen the average price of a 900g tin of formula soar 120 per cent over the last decade.

Much of this, the CCS found, was due to manufacturers hiking their prices after convincing consumers that they were paying for "premium" and improved formulas.

They continually introduce new ingredients that purport to - among other things - boost mental development and vision. Experts have said there is weak scientific evidence to back such claims.

"What consumers face... are the aggressive marketing and 'premiumisation' messages driven by formula milk manufacturers, which perpetuate consumers' belief that the more expensive and the more ingredients there are in the formula milk, the higher quality it is," said the CCS report.

It outlined the strategies of the major manufacturers - Abbott, Mead Johnson Nutrition, FrieslandCampina, Nestle, Danone and Wyeth Nutrition - to persuade parents to shell out for milk powder.

Between 2010 and 2014, the amount they spent on marketing increased 42.4 per cent.

A significant share went to private hospitals, which receive sponsorships and "monetary contributions". In return, they lengthen the period during which certain brands are offered to new parents as the default formula.

The companies did not respond to queries by press time. Only one, FrieslandCampina, replied to say it is studying the report.

Lawyer M.Y. Yip, 39, who has two sons aged two and four, said of the manufacturers' marketing tactics: "I guess they are like any company that wants to win over customers. But it's worrying that the large marketing costs are passed to consumers, though I'm resigned to the high prices."

Spotlight on tie-ups between formula milk firms, private hospitals
Firms engage in sponsorships, payments to have brands as default formula for longer time: Competition watchdog
By Tiffany Fumiko Tay, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Whether it is by paying for hospitals' dinner-and-dance functions, or sponsoring the running of their shuttle buses, formula milk companies have waltzed their way into hospital maternity wards.

Some go further, giving hospitals outright monetary contributions in periodic lump sums.

In return, they get greater access to new parents and their babies, in the form of having their brands being offered as the default formula milk in maternity rooms for a longer period.

An inquiry report by the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) released yesterday said such deals have been on the rise, possibly reflecting hospitals' increasing needs and the importance of the hospital channel to the manufacturers as a form of marketing and brand outreach.

This first-mover advantage is key, given that many parents do not switch brands after their babies have got used to them.

To get that foot in the door, the manufacturers ensured their products stayed on the rotation schedules for longer periods, by providing sponsorship to the hospital or paying "rotation fees".

They also sponsor activities at public hospitals, but this does not influence their milk rotation schedule, said the CCS.

According to the hospitals it contacted, such payments and "in kind" monetary sponsorships by formula milk manufacturers help reduce the cost of running such activities, and defray the cost of nursing education and training.

Manufacturers sponsor a range of activities targeted at parents and parents-to-be, as well as hospital staff. They also underwrite hospital activities such as the printing of maternity brochures, as well as corporate dinner-and-dance events.

Some manufacturers also give sums of money, computed by how long they want their brands to be on rotation. If they give, for instance, twice as much as the standard fee, their brands can be on rotation for twice as long.

There are seven private hospitals in Singapore offering maternity services. Two responded to queries last night.

A Thomson Medical spokesman said brands are rotated on a monthly basis, and all suppliers contribute the same sum to be included in the rotation. He added: "We work with each milk company to a different extent, depending on how they can contribute towards our objectives of education and preparing parents for parenthood."

The companies do not sponsor the supply of baby milk formula to the hospital.

Thomson Medical is actively moving towards Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative certification, he said, with a 96 per cent breastfeeding rate at the time of discharge. For those who cannot breastfeed, they have access to all major brands of milk. Only when mothers do not have a preference are they given the default formula.

Mount Alvernia Hospital also said it does not accept milk powder sponsorship from manufacturers, and that it accepts sponsorship from formula milk manufacturers only if they are related to expanding patients' knowledge in baby care and nutrition. It did not say whether it receives rotation fees.

Parkway Pantai - which Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth, Mount Elizabeth Novena and Parkway East hospitals are under - and Raffles Hospital did not respond to queries at press time.

Private hospitals reviewing formula-milk arrangements
By Tiffany Fumiko Tay, The Straits Times, 12 May 2017

Mount Alvernia Hospital yesterday said that it does not accept sponsorships or payments from infant formula milk makers to offer their brands to new mothers.

It does, however, allow these companies to sponsor activities which educate patients on baby care and nutrition.

The hospital's response came a day after a Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) report on rising prices for infant milk powder found that manufacturers had been paying or sponsoring private hospitals to distribute their products.

While parents at most hospitals are free to choose a formula milk for their children if it is required, most do not have a preference and are provided with a brand.

Hospitals typically rotate brands throughout the year.

Formula milk companies invest significant marketing resources in hospitals to gain a "first-mover" advantage, the report said, noting that most parents do not switch formula brands later.

Meanwhile, Thomson Medical said suppliers pay the same amount each for their brands to be part of its monthly rotation, and most of the money is channelled to support activities that benefit patients.

Other private hospitals offering maternity services - Raffles and Parkway Pantai, which Mount Elizabeth, Mount Elizabeth Novena, Gleneagles and Parkway East hospitals are under - said that they will review their policies and practices, but did not say whether they accept sponsorships or fees for their milk rotation programmes.

Parkway Pantai said that milk companies sponsor and support nursing education, and it will review and align its practices, given the CCS recommendations.

Mount Alvernia also said it will study recommendations to review current sponsorship arrangements and make adjustments if necessary.

Raffles, Thomson and Mount Alvernia said that they are working towards Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) certification, which bars sponsorship arrangements with formula companies.

All three public hospitals offering maternity services - KK Women's and Children's Hospital, the National University Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital - are BFHI-certified.

Formula milk companies Danone Dumex, Abbott, Nestle and FrieslandCampina said they are studying the CCS report and are cooperating with the authorities. Mead Johnson Nutrition did not respond to queries on the report by press time.

Don't pass rising marketing costs to consumers, mums say
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Housewife Kay Park, 41, wanted to see a paediatrician, but on three occasions, she ended up being ambushed first by a formula milk company's marketer in the hospital clinic.

The representative from Dumex was "persistent", she said.

"I saw her inside the paediatric clinic, just outside the doctor's office, and each time, she asked what formula milk brand I used, and if I wanted to try her brand," said the mother of two sons, aged two and four.

"This happened in a clinic, not a supermarket. I think such an approach is overdoing it. I wouldn't be that concerned if it was just brochures or posters at the clinic."

While mothers interviewed by The Straits Times had mixed views on the companies' marketing strategies, most said such costs should not be passed on to consumers. Those interviewed were shocked to learn that marketing expenses were a key factor in the hike in formula milk's retail prices.

A report released by the Competition Commission of Singapore yesterday found that between 2010 and 2014, the amount that all major manufacturers spent on marketing increased 42.4 per cent.

The competition watchdog said that heavy spending in marketing and research likely led to the rise in the mark-up of wholesale prices.

This, in turn, was the main factor in hikes in retail prices - which have, on average, more than doubled over the past nine years.

Public servant Chiam Mei Si, 33, spends about $140 a month on formula milk for her 1½-year-old son.

She said: "It's shocking that their marketing costs have gone up by so much. The companies might be banking on the fact that mothers don't have much of a choice and want to buy the brand that works best for their children."

Pre-school educator Ng Mingzhu, 32, who has an 11-month-old daughter, added: "The companies usually say that the price increase is due to only higher R&D costs.

"That may play a part, but I think it's got more to do with aggressive marketing. It's disappointing, but I guess they are (profit-driven) private companies."

Most mothers said their doctors did not recommend specific milk brands, but cited instances of marketers from milk companies introducing their products at hospitals.

Lawyer M. Y. Yip, 39, who has two sons aged two and four, said: "They ask you to do a survey, get your e-mail address, put you on their mailing list and e-mail you their promotions.

"To thank you for doing the survey, they give you sachets of maternity milk and infant formula milk."

She added: "I didn't find the marketers particularly aggressive, and it doesn't bother me since I was waiting for my turn to see the doctor."

However, Ms Park has had worse experiences.

She said her older son was fed Nestle's Nan formula milk at the hospital the day he was born, and she was not asked about her preferred brand.

This may have led to him being unwilling to be breastfed and reluctant to switch to another brand that she preferred, she said.

Meanwhile, the Government plans to tighten regulations on labelling and advertising for formula milk for infants up to 12 months.

Most mothers said this is unlikely to affect how they buy formula milk, as they rely more on word of mouth and online reviews.

Still, housewife Melissa Lee, 22, welcomed the move. "Some companies claim that they added ingredients mentioned in the label, but it turned out to not be true.

"I hope the authorities would visit the factories and research the milk products."

But while Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon said on Monday that "cheaper (milk) options are no less nutritious", it may take some time before parents believe that.

Said Ms Lee, who spends about $190 a month on Dumex milk for her 16-month-old daughter: "I will not choose the cheaper brands... If they all meet the nutritional needs of infants, then why the price difference?"

Nutrition claims, 'idealised' images on milk tins must go
By Tiffany Fumiko Tay, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Infant milk powder tins will soon have to change their labels to remove nutrition and health claims and "idealised" images, under stricter advertising and labelling restrictions by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

The stricter regulations, first announced by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Monday, are aimed at reining in the big spending on marketing activities and passing the cost savings on to consumers.

In response to queries, the AVA said that it aims to complete the review of the regulations by the end of this year. After a consultation period, the regulations will be gazetted, and, by law, industry members will be given one year's grace period to amend the labels.

Asked for examples of idealised images that AVA wants removed, the agency indicated that these could be pictures or text that idealise the use of infant formula over breast milk.

Parents and MPs said that some of the current labels may mislead parents into thinking that they can make children smarter, pointing to Abbott's Similac Gain IQ and Mead Johnson Nutrition's Enfamil A+ as labels that are misleading and should be changed.

Gain IQ, in which "IQ" stands for "intestinal quality", has previously come under scrutiny here by the Consumers Association of Singapore for its labelling.

The brand, whose formula is for children one year and above, will not, however, come under the tightened regulations, which apply only to formula milk for zero to 12 months, as after a year, formula milk is no longer required.

Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Sun Xueling, referring to the prominent A+ on the labelling of the Enfamil formula, said: "Such images may create a sense of a premium brand, as parents may have the perception that their child can get A+ in their studies by consuming such products."

She added: "It is thus timely that the AVA will tighten its regulations... preventing a situation where customers are paying more so that manufacturers can then spend more on advertising and marketing, which is then charged back to consumers."

An estimated 95 per cent of formula milk sales in 2015 were for "premium" and speciality milk, with just 5 per cent for "standard" milk, which typically costs less than half the price, according to the Competition Commission of Singapore.

MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling agreed: "Parents want the best for their children; they would rather sacrifice and go for premium brands."

Housewife and mother of two Rita Lee, 34, said: "I think the visual cues on some labels are misleading and can lead parents to subconsciously gravitate towards them."

To help parents make informed decisions, the Health Promotion Board will step up public education and embark on a multi-year campaign on the nutritional needs of children.

Parliament: Govt to boost milk formula options
Govt will review import rules, so parents can have access to more affordable powder
By Tiffany Fumiko Tay, The Straits Times, 9 May 2017

Parents are hopeful that steps being taken by the Government to ensure access to affordable infant milk powder will put the brakes on rising prices.

The moves announced in Parliament yesterday include reviewing import requirements to facilitate more options on shelves here, and making more infant formula options available in hospitals.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority will also strengthen restrictions on labelling and advertising of infant milk powder, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon.

While some infant formula companies give the impression that their particular brand of milk powder can do more for children, the scientific evidence for this is weak, he added.

He said all formula sold here, regardless of the price, meet food regulations and nutritional needs for infants to grow healthily.

"Parents should therefore be careful about relying on the claims made by infant formula companies, or be misled into using price as a proxy for quality of the product," he said. Cheaper options are no less nutritious, he stressed.

There is already a range of milk formula on the shelves, with prices for a 900g tin starting from about $20 to $30, up to about $60, he said, and consumer awareness efforts will be enhanced.

Dr Koh was responding to Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) and other MPs on concerns over the rising cost of infant milk powder.

Ms Tin said this has led parents who rely on formula to feel that they are being held "ransom".

The Straits Times reported in March that the average price of a 900g tin has increased 120 per cent over the last decade to $56.06, outstripping the increases for other dairy products and household staples.

Milk powder companies have told ST that the price hikes are due to research and development, and rising overhead costs.

Nestle said in response to queries that the price of the Nan formulation increased 7 per cent last month due to the significant rise in costs of raw materials.

While the Health Promotion Board encourages breastfeeding exclusively for at least six months owing to its health benefits, the Government recognises that, in some cases, infant formula is needed, said Dr Koh.

Children above 12 months old do not require formula, however, as cow's milk, together with a balanced diet, is adequate to meet their nutritional needs, he said.

Nestle, Abbott, Mead Johnson Nutrition, FrieslandCampina and Danone made up over 99 per cent of the fortified milk formula market share here last year, according to market research provider Euromonitor International.

Dr Koh said that to encourage more competition, the Government will simplify and streamline import requirements as well as remove unnecessary barriers to entry in order to bring in more options.

Supermarkets said they are supportive of the move and will work with suppliers and expand sourcing options to ensure greater variety of affordable options.

Parents said it is trial and error in finding a formula that babies will take to. Accountant Charlene Wong, 32, who spends over $200 a month on formula for her six-month-old, said: "It leaves you locked in at that price. Hopefully having more low-cost brands will push down prices."

But Mr Melvin Wu, 34, who runs a local parenting portal, said parents need to be educated on finding the most suitable formula.

New mum and marketing manager Stacy Lee, 29, said the cost of formula is just one of the expenses that come with a baby.

"I don't feel like there's a lack of choices though, so I'm not sure how much relying on supply and demand will affect prices."

↧

Tommy Koh rebuts view that Singapore has acted against China: 12th China-Singapore Forum

May 12, 2017, 5:29 am

≫ Next: One Belt, One Road: China makes tracks on modern Silk Road

≪ Previous: Call to end formula milk firms' aggressive tactics: Competition Commission of Singapore

By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Singapore does not take sides in the South China Sea issue, nor is it aligned with or against any of the major powers, Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh has reiterated at a public forum in China.

Reaffirming the close and mutually beneficial relationship between Singapore and China, he addressed statements made by a high-level Chinese official at the public session of the 12th China-Singapore forum yesterday.

Senior Chinese diplomat Ruan Zongze, the first of four speakers at the forum, said Singapore has taken actions in recent years that adversely affected bilateral ties. These included trying to get other ASEAN countries to release a joint statement after an international tribunal's ruling against Beijing's claims in the South China Sea last year, and saying publicly that the tribunal's award is legally binding and countries should abide by it.

China and four ASEAN states have overlapping claims in the sea.

Dr Ruan added that Singapore has also allowed the United States to deploy military vessels and aircraft meant for "close-in reconnaissance in China's South China Sea" since last year, though it claimed not to be aligned with the US.

Noting that Singapore is one of China's few "all-weather friends", Professor Koh said Singapore acted very carefully after the tribunal's decision: It did not issue a statement supporting the ruling, or call on China to comply with it.

"What did we do? We did the minimum possible without sacrificing our own national interests: We took note of the award," he said.

Dr Ruan's accusation that Singapore tried to mobilise ASEAN states to issue a joint statement against China on the arbitration award was also untrue, he added.

"We asked each of the nine ASEAN countries what is their position, what can they subscribe to in the joint statement, that is all we did," he said.

"We were an honest facilitator, trying to find out whether there is a consensus among the 10 ASEAN countries, but always conscious that our national interest is to promote peace and cooperation between ASEAN and China."

Prof Koh said Singapore's foreign policy is to be close to all the major powers. But he assured his Chinese audience that "the bottom line is this: Singapore will never allow its relationship with any major power to harm China".

Sino-Singapore ties are in good order, he added, with multiple annual high-level meetings, including the apex Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli. Singapore is China's top foreign investor, and China is Singapore's largest trading partner, he noted.

When Singapore becomes ASEAN chairman next year, it will think of projects to bring China and ASEAN even closer, he said.

Singapore can 'partner China in One Belt, One Road initiative'
Republic can offer expertise that determines how well a project succeeds, says professor
By Lim Yan Liang, China Correspondent In Beijing, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

As a developed country not short of roads and ports, Singapore may not seem like a natural partner for China's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, for which infrastructure building is a key pillar.

But Singapore's role in the initiative, especially in South-east Asia, can be one of providing the less visible, behind-the-scenes expertise that determines how well a project succeeds, said former government chief economist Tan Kong Yam.

"You should not be mistaken that if a railway is built in Indonesia, Singapore has no role to play," he told about 50 academics, diplomats and students at Beijing Foreign Studies University yesterday.

"Singapore may not be building the railway, but the masterplanning, the financing, everything is done in Singapore," he said.

Professor Tan was one of four speakers at the public session of the 12th China-Singapore Forum, which looked at how China and Singapore can cooperate on the OBOR initiative. The two-day event, which ended yesterday, was jointly organised by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute, ahead of Beijing's OBOR summit on Sunday.

Prof Tan said China's heft and economic power have made potential partners for its plan to build a trade route linking Asia, Africa and Europe wary of its intentions, even if they are good.

"The cute panda bear has evolved into a huge, great panda bear; it might be friendly, but if it simply lies down, it's so big that it might inadvertently crush the legs of a deer nearby," he said.

But such concerns can be allayed by partnering a "squirrel in the jungle" like Singapore, he added, a country that is nimble, non-threatening, and can serve as a go-between and an interlocutor.

Agreeing, Singapore Business Federation chief executive Ho Meng Kit noted that some 60 per cent of ASEAN projects are already financed mainly by Singapore-based banks, and the Republic has a deep ecosystem of logistics, project development and service firms.

Mr Ho said China can consider setting up a planning office in Singapore so Maritime Silk Road projects can tap the island's expertise.

Another speaker was deputy director Peng Zhiming of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI), the third Sino-Singapore government- to-government project after the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City. He said both sides can cooperate in areas such as financing as China opens up its western interior. The CCI, which aims to improve Chongqing's transport and service links, is a priority demonstration project for the OBOR initiative.

"Chongqing is different from the Suzhou and Tianjin projects as it's not a business park or special zone," said Mr Peng. "Rather, it centres on Chongqing as a project operations centre, and its soul and spirit are in institutional innovation."

Singapore's friendship with China
Both sides can grow in mutual understanding and there is much to learn from each other
By Tommy Koh, Published The Straits Times, 2 May 2017

Next week, on May 9 and 10, I will be in Beijing, to co-chair the 12th China-Singapore Forum.

My co-chair is Ambassador Wu Hailong, the president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.

The forum is being conducted on what is called Track 1.5, meaning that the participants consist of a mixture of government officials and colleagues from the business community, academia and the mass media.

The forum has three objectives.

First, to create a platform for the frank but cordial exchange of views between Singaporeans and Chinese.

Second, to promote better understanding between our two countries.

Third, to grow the community of public intellectuals in the two countries who have a deep interest in the other country and in good relations between them.

In preparation for the 12th forum, I have been thinking about Singapore's friendship with China. I would like to share my thoughts with my fellow Singaporeans as well as with friends in China.

LKY AND DENG

Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew made his inaugural visit to China in 1976. The then Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Huang Hua and I had the honour of organising that visit.

Speaking on May 11, 1976, in Beijing, Mr Lee said that Singapore would not be anti-China. He also said that the stronger China became, the better and more equal the balance between the United States, the Soviet Union and China. He concluded that such a balance would be safer for the world and for Singapore. We have never deviated from this vision.

Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made a historic visit to Singapore in 1978, two years after Mr Lee's visit to China. The visit to Singapore must have reinforced Mr Deng's determination to undertake reform and to open up the Chinese economy to the world.

Mr Deng and Mr Lee developed a strong relationship of mutual respect and mutual trust. Mr Lee decided that Singapore would support China's paradigm shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy with Chinese characteristics. Mr Deng and his successors had frequently asked Mr Lee for his advice. Mr Lee would visit China almost every year and was sincere in his advice.

THE SINGAPORE MODEL

When Mr Deng started China on the journey of reform and opening up to the world, he needed role models. For inspiration, he looked to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and, especially, Singapore.

In February 1992, Mr Deng's reform agenda was being opposed by conservative elements in the party's leadership. In order to counter them, he took his family on a tour of South China. In Shenzhen, he said that Guangdong province should catch up with the four tiger economies in 20 years. He went on to say: "There is good social order in Singapore. They govern the place with discipline. We should draw from their experience and do even better than them."

Mr Deng's endorsement of Singapore led to a flood of requests from China. In 1992 alone, Singapore hosted the visit of more than 500 delegations from China.

A second contribution which Singapore has made to China is the transfer of knowledge, expertise and experience. Singapore's pioneer finance minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, served as China's economic adviser. Dr Goh did for China what the Dutch expert, Dr Albert Winsemius, had done for Singapore.

Singapore has been extremely generous in sharing its experience with Chinese leaders and cadres. Both the Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore have customised special Chinese language courses for Chinese officials. The Civil Service College Singapore has also collaborated with China's Central Party School in education and training. In his speech at Nankai University, in 2015, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said that in total, Singapore has provided training to 50,000 Chinese officials and cadres.

This contribution is unique and priceless. Speaking at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy on April 17, 2010, China's Vice-President Li Yuanchao said: "Out of all the destinations where we send our leading officials to receive training, Singapore is our top choice because Singapore is the most sincere in helping China develop, due to our longstanding warm relationship."

LARGEST INVESTOR

A third contribution by Singapore is to invest in the Chinese economy. Since 2013, Singapore has become the largest investor in China. Singapore's investment in China is also unique. Let me explain.

Singapore investments fall into three categories.

The first category consists of investments made by Singapore's private sector for purely commercial reasons.

The second category consists of investments made by the private sector in projects which have the backing of the two governments. Two examples are the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and the Singapore-Chengdu High-Tech Park.

The third category consists of very large government-to-government projects, such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, the Tianjin Eco-City and the Chongqing Connectivity Project. These iconic projects are not only intended to advance the shared economic interests of the two countries but also to transfer Singapore's software to China. They are also intended to nurture a growing circle of Chinese and Singaporeans who understand each other and are capable of working harmoniously together.

STEADFAST FRIEND

A fourth contribution which Singapore has made to China is to be its steadfast friend and to be an interlocutor between China and the US.

Following the tragic Tiananmen incident in 1989, the West condemned China and imposed economic sanctions against it. Singapore did not join the West but continued to invest in China and help China. When negotiations between China and the US on China's accession to the World Trade Organisation reached an impasse, Mr Lee spoke to two members of President Bill Clinton's Cabinet and helped to break the impasse.

Three generations of Singapore's leaders have tried to promote better mutual understanding between China and the US. Singapore was one of the first countries to support the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Singapore is also supporting the One Belt, One Road initiative.

China has made so much progress in the last 30 years that in some areas, Singapore could learn from China.

The use of solar energy is one such area. There are other areas, such as in science and technology, where Singapore can learn from China. The new spirit is mutual learning.

However, there are new areas in which Singapore is still able to make a contribution to China, such as human resource development, social management and financial governance.

In conclusion, I would say that Singapore has been a steadfast, reliable and sincere friend of China since the late 1970s. Looking to the future, China can depend on our goodwill and friendship.

The writer is an ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co-chairman of the China-Singapore Forum.

↧

One Belt, One Road: China makes tracks on modern Silk Road

May 12, 2017, 8:33 am

≫ Next: Cyber Attack: Ransomware causing chaos globally

≪ Previous: Tommy Koh rebuts view that Singapore has acted against China: 12th China-Singapore Forum

On Sunday, Beijing will host a two-day summit on the Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project that incorporates an overland network of highways and railroads as well as a maritime route. This is the first in a series that looks at the mega project spanning China, Central Asia, South-east Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
By Goh Sui Noi, China Bureau Chief In Beijing, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

That China is holding a mega summit in Beijing this coming week to drum up international support for its Belt and Road Initiative is telling. China may have helped to drive global growth for many years now, but the size and ambition of the project is such that Beijing alone cannot make it happen.

So what is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or One Belt, One Road as it is better known?

MODERN-DAY SILK ROAD

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in two speeches in the space of about a month in 2013, proposed the revival of the Silk Road, ancient land and sea trade routes that linked China to the rest of Asia, as well as Africa and Europe.

In September that year, in Kazakhstan, he spoke about building a Silk Road Economic Belt, an overland network of highways and railroads linking China through Central Asia to Europe. A month later, in Jakarta, he proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that links China's sea ports to those in South-east Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Along these routes would be transport nodes and trading and industrial hubs. Building up these routes would mean beefing up infrastructure such as ports and railways, especially in less developed nations along the routes.

In Jakarta, Mr Xi also proposed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to help finance the building of infrastructure in the economies along these trade routes.

Together, the land and sea networks came to be known in Chinese as 一带一路, or One Belt, One Road. This was later officially translated as Belt and Road Initiative, but One Belt, One Road is more often used.

In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission came up with a blueprint of the BRI that painted a broad vision of its aim - to promote the orderly and free flow of economic factors, efficient allocation of resources and deep integration of markets.

But it is clearly China-centric - it is to enable China to "further expand and deepen its opening up, and to strengthen its mutually beneficial cooperation with countries in Asia, Europe and Africa and the rest of the world", said the blueprint.

It is ambitious in that it encompasses 65 per cent of the world's population, about one-third of the world's gross domestic product and about a quarter of the world's trade.

The initiative would primarily involve more than 60 countries along the routes, but the Chinese have said it is open to all countries that "share the same goals".

So it is that more than 1,200 delegates from 110 countries, including Singapore, and 61 international organisations will attend the forum.

ECONOMIC MOTIVATIONS

As the Chinese economy slows - from 10.6 per cent in 2010 to last year's 6.7 per cent, the slowest in 26 years - it needs to find new sources of growth, especially for its construction and engineering companies, analysts have said.

China also seeks to export overcapacity in its industries such as steel, cement and aluminium, and help its firms go international. China wants to use the initiative to develop its less developed regions.

GEOPOLITICAL AND SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

While China has styled the BRI as a plan for economic cooperation with the rest of the world, many outside China see it as its way to dominate Asia again.

China had dominated the region, particularly at the height of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, but lost its influence after the fall of the dynasty in 1911.

China is expanding its influence by binding other nations more closely to it economically, said Mr Tom Miller, author of China's Asian Dream: Empire Building Along The New Silk Road, at a talk recently.

There is also a security element. Beijing hopes to bring greater stability through economic development to Xinjiang, a poor region which has had outbreaks of violence.

FUNDING AND RISKS

The US$100 billion (S$141 billion) AIIB was set up in part to fund infrastructure projects of the BRI, as was the US$40 billion Silk Road Fund.

There is also the US$100 billion New Development Bank, set up by the Brics countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

China's own banks have also pledged to lend to BRI projects.

However, with the Asian Development Bank having estimated that the Asian region alone needs US$1.7 trillion worth of infrastructure building annually from 2016 to 2030 to maintain its growth momentum, more funds are needed.

There is thus a need for the private and public sectors to come together and for the better-off countries to help financially, said Mr Zhang Yunling of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

To involve the private sector, however, there is a need for transparency in how the funds are allocated, analysts say. This is because private investors will not get involved unless they are sure the funds will be used effectively.

It has been pointed out that corruption and wasteful bureaucracies are common among nations on the routes. Addressing investors' concerns is a huge challenge for China.

PROGRESS SO FAR

Chinese officials have said that since 2013, the country has invested more than US$50 billion in countries along the trade routes.

In addition, they said, 56 economic and trade cooperation zones have been built by Chinese businesses, generating nearly US$1.1 billion in tax revenue and creating 180,000 local jobs.

But many projects considered to be part of the BRI predate the initiative. For example, the International Centre of Boundary Cooperation, a free trade zone that straddles the border between China and Kazakhstan in the city of Horgos (also known as Khorgos), was set up in 2011 but is now part of the BRI.

MIXED RECEPTION

Developing countries along the routes which are hungry for infrastructure welcome the BRI. These include ASEAN countries like Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia, although there is some wariness of China's intention to influence the region politically.

China's main rival, the United States, has shown little interest.

Its officials were non-committal when Mr Xi, at his meeting with US President Donald Trump, said China welcomed US participation in it.

Japan, which had earlier shown little interest, appears to have changed its mind. It is sending Mr Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to the forum.

The European Union has said that projects along the new trade routes should be open to Europeans.

As some analysts have said, there is a worry among countries and companies about missing out on what could be the largest trading collaboration in the world for many years to come.

Closing the infrastructure gaps in ASEAN
By Goh Sui Noi, China Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 11 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

BEIJING - China's ambitious new Silk Road plan will help developing countries in South-east Asia to close their infrastructure gaps and improve their productivity and economic growth, bankers and analysts have said.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is a helpful catalyst to fulfil a number of infrastructure gaps in the region as demand rises," said Mr Tim Evans, head of commercial banking in international markets, Asia-Pacific, at HSBC.

Many countries in the region have placed emphasis on infrastructure building as a way to improve their economic efficiency.

New road and rail links can improve transport efficiency, so it will take just days to transport goods by road or rail between China and Thailand, when it now takes a week or more by sea.

China is helping Indonesia build a 142km high-speed rail linking Jakarta with Bandung, and providing 75 per cent of the financing for the US$5.2 billion (S$7.3 billion) project.

Vietnam is also in great need of infrastructure such as power generation, transport and waste treatment, noted Mr Winfield Wong, head of wholesale banking at HSBC in Vietnam.

It needs to spend about US$30 billion a year to build up its infrastructure, he added.

The Asian Development Bank has projected that Asia will need to spend US$1.7 trillion annually from 2016 to 2030 on infrastructure to maintain its growth momentum.

But countries in the region do not have deep pockets for infrastructure building. The region's leaders are thus looking to China's Belt and Road Initiative to help them fund it.

Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang is among the seven top leaders from ASEAN who will attend the Belt and Road forum in Beijing from Sunday to Monday.

The others are Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Laos President Bounnhang Vorachit.

In the second instalment of a series that looks at the mega project spanning China, Central Asia, South-east Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, The Straits Times explores Fujian, a designated core area for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and Horgos, the special economic development zone on China's border with Kazakhstan.

Horgos on China-Kazakhstan border: Not smooth as silk yet in border hub
By Lim Yan Liang, China Correspondent In Horgos, Xinjiang, The Straits Times, 12 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Under the shadows of the snow- capped Tianshan mountains, Chinese and Kazakhs cross over into each other's territory with just a flash of their passports in Horgos, a 5.3 sq km special economic zone straddling China and Kazakhstan.

Conceived in 2006 and operational in 2011, the zone came under the One Belt, One Road initiative after the latter was proposed in 2013.

The zone is meant to be a key node for rail and vehicular trade between China and Eurasia going on to Europe; and a catalyst for a larger 70 sq km area to house high-tech industry, financial services and biomedical firms. But five years on, Horgos, or Khorgos, is still a long way from these lofty goals.

Rather than high-volume, high- margin trade powered by rail cars or prime movers, most of Horgos' daily 12,000 visitors are there to cash in on tax exemptions or discounts. Chinese visitors especially would cart as many cartons of canned food, chocolates or soft drinks as they can out of the Chinese side of the zone to save on consumption tax of 13 to 17 per cent.

One Chinese visitor, a 31-year-old who wanted to be known as Mr Zhang, said he makes 20 yuan (S$4) per trip and he sells his food purchases to a nearby minimart. "A trip can take 30 minutes, or more than an hour if the Customs queues are long," he said. "It's a tax-free zone, but there's still passport control."

For now, the difference between the Kazakh and Chinese sides of Horgos could not be more stark.

Two double-storey duty-free centres on the Kazakh side are dwarfed by the tall buildings on China's side, where the din of machines is a constant. Down the road, the finishing touches are being put on a border crossing that can handle 10 times the road traffic of the existing one when it is completed later this year.

Unlike deep-pocketed China, which has poured 11.7 billion yuan into building mega malls, commercial towers and even a cultural centre on its side of the zone, Kazakhstan, a country of 18 million people, has struggled to fund infrastructure projects, especially after a plunge in oil prices in 2014 hit its natural resource-reliant economy.

While Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has thrown his weight behind the project, analysts said things may be slow to get moving, given the long shadow cast by the region's top dog, Russia.

Kazakhstan and Russia, along with Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, are already part of a Customs union. Fear that Chinese goods will flood into the union through Horgos means only €1,500 (S$2,300) worth of duty-free goods can be brought into Kazakhstan each day per visitor. China imposes a cap of 8,000 yuan per person a day.

Dr Farkhod Tolipov, director of Knowledge Caravan, an institute which studies geopolitics in Central Asia, said: "The opening and unlocking of Central Asia appears to be a more complicated and protracted process than expected, in which the 'Modern Silk Road' needs to balance multiple national interests."

For Horgos to fulfil its promise, the Chinese need to change their mindsets, said experts.

Beijing has deployed moves from a familiar playbook to try and spur economic growth: capital and infrastructure investment, and preferential policies to try to make Horgos a more attractive offshore yuan settlement centre than even Shenzhen or Shanghai.

But it needs to look at how it can help Central Asian countries build up their infrastructure, said Professor Yang Yiyong, director of the Macroeconomics Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planning authority. "We should be taking a leaf from Singapore's book, setting up cooperation offices in each of the five Central Asian countries," he said at a Belt and Road forum.

Dr Tolipov said China should help Eurasia attract third-party investment. "By using the Silk Road Economic Belt idea, these states can advertise their own territories, resources, economic potential, reliability, perspectives and even history to draw outside investors."

Fujian gears up to boost trade links with South-east Asia
By Chong Koh Ping, China Correspondent In Fuzhou (Fujian), The Straits Times, 12 May 2017

Call it the frozen seafood express delivery.

Previously, seafood imports from South-east Asia, such as ribbon fish, squid and pomfret, would be stuck for days at Mawei Port in Fuzhou before being cleared by Customs and sent to different corners of China.

Now, one day may be all it takes for the seafood to go from port to dining table, with the setting up of a 24-hour inspection station inside a wholesale market near the port in 2013 speeding up Customs clearance by leaps and bounds.

"It has certainly helped cut costs and made it more convenient for businesses to import seafood," said Mr Andy Lin, managing director of Ming Cheng Group, which operates an integrated centre for the import, trading, storage and distribution of seafood.

"We've seen a 10 per cent increase year on year in demand for seafood imports from South-east Asia in recent years. There is room for the volume to double."

ASEAN seafood imports make up about 40 per cent of the 30 billion yuan (S$6.1 billion) worth of trade a year involving more than 1,000 businesses at its integrated centre in Fuzhou.

Local enterprises in Fujian hope to see more improved government services and policies such as the express Customs clearance, as the province gears up to boost trade with South-east Asia.

Fujian, which has a population of nearly 39 million people, is expected to take the lead in boosting trade links after being named "the core area" of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The southern coastal province, which is the ancestral home of 12.5 million overseas Chinese in ASEAN, has been assigned by Beijing to focus on ASEAN countries.

Unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Indonesia in 2013, the revival of the 1,000-year-old sea route is touted as a grand project to connect China with its South-east Asian neighbours and westwards to South Asia and beyond.

Together with another overland route that links western China with Central Asia and Europe along an economic belt, the two routes are collectively known as the One Belt, One Road.

Ministry of Agriculture statistics show that ASEAN nations are top buyers of seafood products from China. In 2015, ASEAN was also China's third largest export market behind Japan and the United States. Imports from the region to China come in fourth behind Russia, the US and Peru.

"ASEAN has overtaken the US as our biggest trading partner in the past year," Mr Li Lin, deputy director-general of the Foreign Affairs Office of Fujian Provincial Government, told a group of ASEAN reporters on a recent visit organised by China's Foreign Ministry.

Last year, Fujian's economy grew 8.4 per cent to reach 2.85 trillion yuan, ranking 10th out of 31 provinces. Foreign trade contributed to more than one third of its gross domestic product, at 1.04 trillion yuan.

When it comes to ASEAN, Mr Li said Fujian's priority is to improve transport links, expand two-way trade and investments, develop maritime cooperation and deepen people-to-people exchanges.Fujian has also stepped up its sister province programme with ASEAN, said Mr Li. Last year, it established sister province relationships with East Java in Indonesia and Sarawak in Malaysia.

Asked if any projects have been sealed between Fujian and ASEAN countries, Mr Li said the first step is simply to encourage more visits between the two sides. "With the increase in people-to-people connections, including more tourist arrivals, friendship and confidence will be built. And with better understanding, concrete economic cooperation will follow," he added.

Quanzhou remains key to maritime Silk Road
By Chong Koh Ping, China Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 May 2017

FUJIAN • Any talk of the revival of the ancient maritime Silk Road will not be complete without a mention of Quanzhou city.

As one of the key starting points of the sea route, through which China exported its ceramics, silk and tea, Quanzhou was said to be the largest port in the east from the 10th century to 14th century.

Also known as Zaiton among Arab traders in the old days, based on citong, the Chinese name for the coral trees that used to line the streets, the city has many remnants of Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist religious sites from that period. The local government has applied for 16 such sites to be added to the Unesco's list of World Heritage Sites next year.

Today, Quanzhou is an economic powerhouse. Its economic output topped the nine cities in the province for 18 years. Quanzhou's economy is almost entirely driven by its 100,000 private enterprises. Its top five industrial clusters - textile and clothing, petrochemical, footwear, equipment manufacturing and construction materials - each boasts an annual output of more than 100 billion yuan (S$20 billion).

Jinjiang, in the south-eastern part of Quanzhou, is home to famous Chinese clothing brands and sports shoemakers, like Anta, 361 Degrees and Peak. Local officials said some of these enterprises have started venturing out of China to explore new markets globally.

President of 361 Degrees Ding Wuhao told The Straits Times it has more than 1,300 stores in Brazil, the United States, Europe and Taiwan since it started expanding overseas in 2014.

As for setting up in South-east Asia along the maritime Silk Road, he said: "We will leverage on the government's favourable policies, adjust our overseas strategies accordingly and gradually develop markets along the Silk Road."

↧

Cyber Attack: Ransomware causing chaos globally

May 14, 2017, 9:27 am

≫ Next: Rise of 'nano' flats in Hong Kong

≪ Previous: One Belt, One Road: China makes tracks on modern Silk Road

'Unprecedented' cyber attack hits 100 countries
Experts warn of more assaults as firms grapple with worm's impact
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

FRANKFURT • It may not be over yet, warned security experts, after a devastating cyber attack described as unprecedented in scale caused disruptions in nearly 100 countries from Europe to Asia.

Capitalising on spying tools believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA), hackers launched the cyber assault on Friday that infected tens of thousands of computers, with Britain's health system suffering the worst.

Cyber extortionists, using a malicious software called WannaCry, tricked victims into opening attachments to spam e-mails that seemed to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate files. The so-called ransomware encrypted data on infected computers, demanding payments of US$300 to US$600 (S$420 to S$840) to restore access.

Once inside the targeted network, the ransomware made use of recently leaked spy tools to silently infect other out-of-date machines.

This, security experts said, marked a risk of attacks spreading in the coming days and weeks.

Yesterday, finance chiefs from the Group of Seven nations meeting in Bari, Italy, vowed to join forces to fight the growing threat of international cyber attacks.

The ministers said in a statement that cyber incidents represent a growing threat to their economies and that tackling them should be a priority.

In Singapore, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) yesterday said no government agencies or critical information infrastructure had been affected. The attack took place on the same day that the CSA said hackers had tried to steal data from the networks of the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

Europol's European Cybercrime Centre said it was working closely with country investigators and private security firms to combat the threat and help victims. "The recent attack is at an unprecedented level and will require a complex international investigation to identify the culprits," it said.

Researchers with security software maker Avast said they had observed 126,534 ransomware infections in 99 places, with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets.

Among those affected were French automotive giant Renault, which was forced to halt production at sites in France and its factories in Slovenia and Romania as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Germany's Deutsche Bahn national railway operator's information screens and ticket machines were hit. Travellers tweeted pictures of hijacked departure boards showing the ransom demand instead of train times. But the company insisted that trains were running as normal.

Several medical facilities in Britain were forced to cancel or delay treatment for patients, but Interior Minister Amber Rudd said the system has almost fully recovered from the disruption as of yesterday.

Despite the scale of the attack, experts working with investigators told The Guardian that the hackers appear to have raised just US$20,000.

The hackers, who have not come forward to claim responsibility or been identified, took advantage of a worm, or self-spreading malware, by exploiting a piece of NSA spy code known as "Eternal Blue" that was released last month by a group known as the Shadow Brokers, according to researchers with several private cyber security firms.

Researchers said the worm deployed in the latest attack, or a similar tool released by Shadow Brokers, is likely to be used for fresh assaults not just with ransomware but other malware to break into firms, seize control of networks and steal data.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Chaos as hospitals, telcos and schools hit
Full extent of damage still to be determined as initial impact was over the weekend
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

LONDON • Last Friday's cyber attack affected some hospitals, schools, universities and other institutions in Asia, though the full extent of the damage is not yet known because it is the weekend.

"I believe many companies have not yet noticed," said Mr William Saito, a cyber-security adviser to Japan's government. "Things could likely emerge on Monday" as staff return to work.

China's information security watchdog said "a portion" of Windows systems users in the country were infected, according to a notice posted on the official Weibo page of the Beijing branch of the Public Security Bureau yesterday. Xinhua state news agency said some secondary schools and universities were hit.

In Vietnam, Mr Vu Ngoc Son, a director of Bkav Anti Malware, said dozens of cases of infection had been reported there, but he declined to identify any of the victims.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported a university hospital had been affected, while a communications official in Indonesia said two hospitals there had been hit.

The most disruptive attacks were reported in Britain, where hospitals and clinics were forced to turn away patients after losing access to computers last Friday.

International shipper FedEx said some of its Windows computers were also breached. "We are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible," a FedEx statement said.

Telecommunications company Telefonica was among many targets in Spain. Portugal Telecom and Telefonica Argentina both said they were also targeted.

Russia's interior and emergencies ministries, as well as its biggest bank, Sberbank, said they were targeted by ransomware. The Interior Ministry said about 1,000 computers had been infected but it had localised the virus.

Only a small number of United States-headquartered organisations were hit because the hackers appear to have begun the campaign by focusing on targets in Europe, said Mr Vikram Thakur, principal research manager at Symantec.

By the time they turned their attention to the US, spam filters had identified the new threat and flagged the ransomware-laden e-mails as malicious, he added.

The spread of the ransomware capped a week of cyber turmoil in Europe that began when hackers posted a trove of campaign documents tied to French candidate Emmanuel Macron just before a run-off vote in which he was elected president of France.

On Wednesday, hackers disrupted the websites of several French media companies and aerospace giant Airbus.

The hack happened four weeks before a British general election on June 8, in which national security and the management of the state-run National Health Service (NHS) are important issues.

The attack caused some British hospitals to stop accepting patients, doctor's offices to shut down, emergency rooms to divert patients, and critical operations to be cancelled as a decentralised system struggled to cope.

At some hospitals, nurses could not even print out name tags for newborn babies.

At the Royal London Hospital in East London, hotel cook George Popescu, 23, showed up with a forehead injury.

"My head is pounding and they say they can't see me," he said. "They said their computers weren't working. You don't expect this in a big city like London."

Many of the NHS computers still run Windows XP, whose maker Microsoft discontinued the security updates for it in 2014. It made a patch, or fix, available in newer versions of Windows for the flaws that were exploited in Friday's attack.

Several news reports have addressed the outdated systems of the NHS that potentially left confidential patient data vulnerable to attack. Last November, Sky News did an investigation showing that units of the NHS, serving more than two million people, spent nothing on cyber security in 2015.

Ms Jennifer Arcuri, of Hacker House, which worked with Sky on the report, said then: "I would have to say that the security across the board was weak for many factors."

Last Friday, she said on Twitter: "We told every(one) back in Nov this would happen! @myhackerhouse identified NHS trusts putting patient data at risk."

Ms Esther Rainbow, a manager of cardiac services at the Barts unit of the NHS in London, described how they had to revert to the old paper system.

"For us, the main issue has been getting information," she said. "At Barts, we were told not to use our work mobiles and to turn off all Wi-Fi. Later in the day, we were told to unplug everything from the network. The main impact in terms of the diagnostics was that we had no idea who was turning up and which patient was seeing which unit," she added.

"As the day went on, it felt a little bit more scary as we were told to shut things down and unplug things. We also don't know what other patients are due to come in," she said.

REUTERS, NYTIMES

No Singapore govt agencies or info infrastructure hit
By Chew Hui Min, The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

No government agencies or critical information infrastructure here were affected by the cyber attacks that hit nearly 100 countries, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) said yesterday.

"To date, no government agencies or critical information infrastructure (CII) in Singapore have been affected by the global hacking attacks (on Friday night)," Mr Dan Yock Hau, director of the National Cyber Incident Response Centre, said in a media release.

The CIIs have been notified to be on heightened alert, he added.

The CSA advised affected organisations, businesses and members of the public to seek help from its Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) at singcert@ csa.gov.sg or its hotline on 6323-5052.

All Windows users should make sure their computer systems are fully patched, the agency added.

Users should ensure that their anti-virus software is updated with the latest malware definitions, perform file backups and store them offline in case they need to restore their systems following an attack.

A fast-moving wave of cyber attacks swept the globe on Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency.

The malware's name is WCry, but analysts were also using variants such as WannaCry, AFP said.

The attacks used a technique known as ransomware that locks users' files unless they pay the attackers a designated sum in the virtual currency bitcoin. It has the ability to automatically spread across large networks by exploiting a known bug in Microsoft's Windows operating system.

Researchers with security software maker Avast told Reuters they had observed 57,000 infections in 99 countries, with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets.

Key facts about WannaCry virus
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

Q What does the WannaCry virus do?

A It locks computers so that users cannot access their files or programs. Hackers ask for payment to safely release the computer. This type of virus is also known as ransomware. WannaCry and its variants like Wana- Crypt and Wanna Decryptor target computers that use Microsoft's Windows operating system.

Q How does it infect computers?

A By e-mail. Users receive a file, usually in a .zip format. When the user clicks on the file or opens it, the virus will automatically spread and lock up files and programs. Once the computer is fully infected, the user can access only two files - instructions on what to do next and the virus program itself.

Other forms of ransom- ware lure users into clicking on a fake link in an e-mail or on a bogus website. It will then release a virus that corrupts the computer.

Q Ransomware is not new. Why the panic?

A The speed and scale of WannaCry's spread has alarmed security experts.

Within hours of it being discovered on Friday, over 57,000 attacks were reported across 99 countries, with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan reportedly the top targets.

Operations in large organisations like Britain's National Health Service, global shipper FedEx in the United States and the Russian Interior Ministry have been affected.

Experts say the malicious software is spreading at a rate of five million e-mails per hour.

This virus has been designed as a "worm", which means it can automatically spread to other computers in the same network.

Q How can one protect one's computer?

A Microsoft has issued automatic Windows updates to defend its clients from it. Additional measures include using a reputable antivirus software and a firewall, backing up files in a separate system and setting a popup blocker. Beware of clicking links or files in e-mails or on suspicious websites. Users who receive a ransom note should disconnect the computer from the Internet and alert the authorities.

Q Who are these hackers?

A No one has claimed responsibility so far. Experts speculate that it could be a large cyber-criminal gang or even state governments like Russia and China.

Q What do they want?

A The hackers are asking for payment of US$300 (S$418) to US$600 in bitcoin, a digital currency, to restore access. Users are warned that if they do not pay up in a few days, their files will be deleted. The hackers give instructions on how to buy bitcoin and which bitcoin address to send it to.

Governments have advised users not to pay the ransom, as it encourages these hackers.

Q Where did this virus come from?

A The US National Security Agency was the first to discover a flaw in Microsoft's Windows operating system that allowed it to develop a way to hack, or gain access to, computers used by terrorists and enemy states. The flaw, and a tool to exploit it with malicious software, was made public last month by a hacker collective known as Shadow Brokers.

UK researcher slows malware with 'kill switch'
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

LONDON • As the world began to understand the dimensions of Wanna Decrypt0r 2.0, a British cyber-security researcher was already several steps ahead. He bought an unusually long and nonsensical domain name ending with "gwea.com".

The 22-year-old says he paid US$10.69 (S$15), but his purchase might have saved companies and governmental institutions around the world billions of dollars. By purchasing the domain name and registering a website, he claims he activated a "kill switch". It immediately slowed the spread of the malware and could ultimately stop its current version, cyber-security experts said yesterday.

When Mr Darien Huss, a researcher with US cyber-security firm Proofpoint, came across the strange domain in the code on Friday evening, he immediately flagged his discovery on social media.

Alerted by the finding, an unidentified 22-year-old researcher who tweets using the handle @MalwareTechBlog took action, without knowing what impact registering the domain would have. While spreading to computers, the malware made requests to the unregistered website ending with "gwea.com". All of those requests went unanswered - likely triggering the activation of the malware. For hours, a non-existent website helped to cripple computers worldwide. But as soon as the researcher registered the website out of curiosity, automatic requests immediately surged, according to screenshots published on his Twitter account. It was only then he realised that they might have accidentally activated a kill switch in the ransomware.

"The crisis isn't over, they can always change the code and try again," @MalwareTechBlog cautioned.

WASHINGTON POST, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Hacking group with Russian links blamed
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

LONDON • A hacking group calling itself the "Shadow Brokers" and with possible links to Russia is being blamed for the unprecedented wave of cyber attacks that swept across the world on Friday.

Last month, it claimed to have stolen a "cyber weapon" from a US spy agency that gives unprecedented access to all computers using Microsoft Windows, the world's most popular operating system.

The hacking tool - "Eternal Blue" - was developed by the National Security Agency and used to gain access to the computers of terrorists and enemy states. The hackers, who have not come forward to claim responsibility or otherwise been identified, "dumped" the computer bug on an obscure website on April 14. This took place just a week after US President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Syria, The Telegraph reported.

Some experts believe the timing is significant and indicates that the group has links to the Russian government, the British newspaper added.

In an Internet posting on April 8, a day after the first air strikes, the group appeared to issue a warning to Mr Trump.

In a statement, it said in broken English: "Respectfully, what the f*** are you doing? The Shadow Brokers voted for you. The Shadow Brokers supports you. The Shadow Brokers is losing faith in you. Mr Trump helping the Shadow Brokers, helping you. Is appearing you are abandoning 'your base', 'the movement', and the peoples who getting you elected."

Nobody knows who is behind the group but in a statement to a specialist technology website last December, it said: "The Shadow Brokers is not being irresponsible criminals. The Shadow Brokers is opportunists. The Shadow Brokers is giving 'responsible parties' opportunity to making things right."

Spy agencies' cyber approach flawed: Experts
The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

WASHINGTON • A global cyber attack on Friday renewed concerns about whether the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other countries' intelligence services too often hoard software vulnerabilities for offensive purposes, rather than quickly alerting technology companies to such flaws.

Hacking tools believed to belong to the NSA that were leaked online last month appear to be the root cause of a major cyber attack spreading through Europe and beyond, security researchers have said, stoking fears that the spy agency's powerful cyber weapons had been stolen and repurposed by hackers with nefarious goals.

Some cyber security experts and privacy advocates said the massive attack reflected a flawed approach by the United States to dedicate more cyber resources to offence rather than defence, a practice they argued makes the Internet less secure.

Across the US federal government, about 90 per cent of all spending on cyber programs is dedicated to offensive efforts, including penetrating the computer systems of adversaries, listening to communications and developing the means to disable or degrade infrastructure, senior intelligence officials told Reuters in March.

"These attacks underscore the fact that vulnerabilities will be exploited not just by our security agencies, but by hackers and criminals around the world," Mr Patrick Toomey, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

The NSA did not respond to a request for comment.

REUTERS

Cyber attacks on NUS, NTU in bid to steal sensitive data
Attacks not the work of casual hackers; no classified info stolen
By Irene Tham, Senior Tech Correspondent, The Straits Times, 13 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Sophisticated hackers have broken into the networks of National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NUS), in an effort to steal government and research data.

Revealing this yesterday, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore said the attacks, which were discovered last month, were not the work of casual hackers.

"We know who did it, and we know what they were after. But I cannot reveal this for operational security reasons," said Mr David Koh, chief executive of CSA.

Hackers have been in the news of late after trying to sabotage both the American and French presidential elections.

Singapore, meanwhile, has been taking precautions against attacks by delinking computers of public servants from the Internet.

The attacks on the universities may have been a roundabout way to try to access government-related information.

Experts say NTU and NUS have research links with the Government, being involved in projects for the defence, foreign affairs and transport sectors, among others. The Straits Times understands that the attacks were executed from overseas.

"The plans and progress for Singapore's Smart Nation agenda could be a subject of interest to the attackers," said Mr Bill Taylor-Mountford, American security intelligence firm LogRhythm's vice-president in Asia-Pacific and Japan.

The breaches were said to be advanced persistent threats in which hackers gain unauthorised access to computer networks and lurk hidden. Experts said such attacks require considerable resources and are typically state-sponsored.

The intrusions were detected when the universities ran their regular system checks - on April 19 for NTU, and April 11 for NUS.

Both universities alerted CSA, after which forensic investigations were carried out.

No classified information or personal data was stolen. The affected systems have since been removed.

NTU said it has since tightened "security controls at all levels".

NUS said it is beefing up its system defences. "This incident highlights the rising sophistication of cyber security attacks," it added.

CSA added that it had not noticed signs of suspicious activities in critical systems or government networks.

But it has advised other universities and critical sectors such as energy, telecoms and finance to step up security efforts.

Last month, the Government completed an exercise to delink the computers of all 143,000 public servants from the Internet to prevent classified information from being accessed. A spokesman for the Government Technology Agency, which coordinates the delinking effort, said: "The decision to separate Internet surfing from work devices is a difficult but necessary move to protect government systems and data from these increasingly frequent and sophisticated cyber threats."

The NUS and NTU breaches come on the heels of a cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence, in which the personal details of 850 national servicemen and staff were stolen.

Cyber attacks on NUS, NTU: Singapore latest target of ever-growing cyber threat
Hackers using advanced persistent threats require much sophistication and resources
By Irene Tham, Senior Tech Correspondent, The Straits Times, 13 May 2017

Cyber attacks on governments and institutions have become a weapon of choice - and Singapore has not been spared the threat, said the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore.

"Attackers are not just targeting government systems; they are (also) looking for any network that is remotely related to the Government," said Mr David Koh, chief executive of CSA. "Attackers are... always looking for the weakest link to exploit."

The attacks by hackers on National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), discovered last month, were aimed at stealing government and research data, CSA revealed yesterday.

The breaches were said to be advanced persistent threats (APTs) in which hackers gain unauthorised access to and lurk within computer networks undetected for a long period of time.

State-sponsored APTs have plagued the French presidential election, which concluded last week, and last year's US presidential election, said security software firm Trend Micro.

Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron's campaign team was repeatedly hit by phishing e-mails to trick his staff into parting with their passwords. Confirming the attacks, Mr Macron had said no campaign data was compromised. The same hacking group, dubbed Pawn Storm, was also believed to be behind the attacks last year on the e-mail accounts of the US Democratic National Committee to undermine Mrs Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

Trend Micro said that one in five US organisations has suffered a cyber espionage-related attack in the past year.

Mr Nick Savvides, a security advocate for Asia-Pacific and Japan at cyber security software firm Symantec, said cyber attacks are either financially or politically driven.

"State-sponsored attacks are highly sophisticated and capable of obfuscating their source," he said.

Money could also be a motive.

Mr Aloysius Cheang, executive vice-president of global computing security association Cloud Security Alliance, said: "There is definitely valuable research data of commercial value."

In the case of NUS and NTU, hackers may have also assumed that the universities' systems had links to government systems, Mr Cheang added.

Mr Bill Taylor-Mountford, American security intelligence firm Log- Rhythm's vice-president in Asia-Pacific and Japan, said: "Any entities using APT need to have considerable resources."

Such threats demand a lot of sophistication, he added.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim urged everyone to do their part to defend important data. For instance, individuals can practise good cyber hygiene.

"As we become more digitally connected, such threats will continue to increase in sophistication, and both public- and private-sector organisations are equally vulnerable," he said.

↧

Rise of 'nano' flats in Hong Kong

May 14, 2017, 10:18 pm

≫ Next: Is Singapore becoming an old young country?

≪ Previous: Cyber Attack: Ransomware causing chaos globally

Flats getting smaller as home prices soar, but people have better shot at buying own home
By Joyce Lim, Hong Kong Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

As property prices spiral upwards in Hong Kong, the race is on to build smaller and smaller homes.

Dubbed "nano" flats by the Hong Kong media, these homes are less than 200 sq ft, cost about HK$4 million (S$725,000) on average, and are popular with young couples.

In comparison, a so-called shoebox apartment in Singapore is usually about 400 sq ft and costs around $500,000.

Last year, 206 nano flats were completed in Hong Kong, up from 81 in 2013, reported the South China Morning Post, citing government figures.

Such flats made up a tiny 1.4 per cent of the 15,595 new homes built in Hong Kong last year. This year, about 5,900 small homes - less than 430 sq ft in size - are expected to be built, making up 41 per cent of all new flats, property consultancy JLL said.

These small flats have made it possible for young couples to own homes in a central area, such as Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

However, analysts warned that an oversupply of such flats is likely to disrupt the market in the long run.

"In the future, when these buyers try to trade up, they will not be able to sell them because of market changes. People may have more money and want bigger flats, so nano flats may not be suitable," said Mr David Ji, director and head of research and consultancy (Greater China) at Knight Frank.

Hong Kong has pipped London as the top market for luxury homes, setting records with four deals hitting the US$100 million (S$140 million) mark last year. However, there appears to be no limit to how small a flat can get.

According to Hong Kong Building Department records, the smallest flat in Hong Kong is a 61.4 sq ft flat. The flat comes with no bathroom or kitchen space.

That would make it smaller than a carpark space in Singapore, which has to be at least 124 sq ft, according to Land Transport Authority rules.

Currently, there is no rule on the minimum size of a residential unit in Hong Kong, said Ms Cathie Chung, JLL's national director for research.

Professor Edward Yiu, an urban studies expert and member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, said that while nano flats affect living standards, imposing rules on flat sizes will mean many people will be unable to own a flat.

The downsizing of flats comes amid a continued rise in property prices in the city, which has made it increasingly difficult for young people to own a home.

Hong Kong's home price index, which tracks prices in the secondary market, rose for the 12th straight month in March, to a record 319.8.

The city was ranked the most expensive housing market in the world for the seventh straight year last year, according to the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

Frustration over home prices was among the reasons thousands of young people joined the 2014 student-led Occupy movement, which pushed for universal suffrage in electing the city's leader.

Incoming Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, who takes office in July, has made helping more Hong Kongers own a home one of her key priorities.

Ms Yau Wai Ching, 26, a Hong Kong lawmaker who was later disqualified for making a mess of her swearing-in oath, last year made headlines when she said young people in Hong Kong have no room to "bok yeh" due to low wages and sky-high property prices.

Bok yeh in Cantonese slang means to have sex.

Single working professionals like bank executive Josephine Law, 29, welcomed the option of nano flats.

If not for these tiny homes, Ms Law, who earns a monthly salary of HK$30,000, said she would have to work for more than 20 years to buy a flat, given rising property prices.

But will nano flats help resolve Hong Kong's housing crunch?

Prof Yiu said such flats are "not a solution but a response to the market". Property prices have risen much faster than salaries, leaving many middle-income households with the option of buying only a 200 sq ft apartment, he said.

"If prices keep going up, flats will get smaller and smaller," said Prof Yiu.

Singapore couple learn to live in a small space in Hong Kong
By Joyce Lim, Hong Kong Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

HONG KONG - Before moving to Hong Kong, Singaporean couple Lim Wei Wen and Tan Yan Han had heard all about the high property prices in the city and how families are often crammed into small flats.

But, it was only when they moved into one such flat last year that they realised how bad it can get.

For the past eight months, a 150 sq ft flat - one of three subdivided units - in Wan Chai has been home for Mr Lim and his wife, who pay a monthly rent of HK$6,300 (S$1,140).

Mr Lim, 25, who works in the financial sector, had wanted to live and work in the city. His main concern was to live affordably in the heart of the city and he did not mind the size of the flat.

The unit is about the size of his bedroom in the condominium in Singapore where he used to live with his parents. But, unlike in his parents' home, where they could hang out in the living room for instance, the couple have found themselves having to spend most of their time on a super-single-sized bed in their Hong Kong flat.

The bed, which is as wide as two pillows laid side by side, is the largest piece of furniture in the flat. In front of the bed, without a partition, is a kitchen with a small sink and an induction stove.

Given the tiny kitchen, Ms Tan, 25, who works for a food publication, cannot help knocking over plates and bowls sometimes when she whips up dishes such as curry chicken, bak kut teh and laksa.

Without any space for a sofa or chairs, the couple have to eat their meals on their bed.

They keep most of their belongings in a storage compartment under the bed. Lift up the mattress and the bed frame serves as an ironing board, said Mr Lim with a chuckle. "We have learnt to be more innovative after moving to Hong Kong."

The bed frame also serves as a "dining table" whenever he has guests over for dinner, he said. The couple once shared a meal on their bed with three family members who visited them. Said Ms Tan: "My mum said, 'Are you crazy? (Are) you sure you want to stay in this room?'"

But, it is Mr Lim's dream to work overseas and such hardship is nothing compared with the exposure and invaluable experience that he will gain from the stint, he said.

Ms Tan added: "I have no regrets. This place really brings us closer to each other."

↧

Is Singapore becoming an old young country?

May 15, 2017, 1:25 am

≫ Next: Lonely and 'waiting to die', Singapore's elderly poor find hope in many helping hands

≪ Previous: Rise of 'nano' flats in Hong Kong

A country's age is about the psychology of its people and their attitude towards the future
By Han Fook Kwang, Editor At Large, The Sunday Times, 14 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

When MRT trains first started breaking down in 2011, the initial reaction was surprise, even disbelief.

How could it happen in super-efficient Singapore where everything works?

And wasn't the MRT still a relatively young and new system?

I can still remember the first time I stepped into the brand-new trains in 1988 and onto the promise of a new age of modern mass rapid transit. It didn't seem so long ago.

But, of course, we now know that beneath the shiny surface, many things had begun to age, including the timber sleepers which hold the tracks in place and the signalling and power supply systems.

Now everyone is saying how old the system is and in need of a modern replacement.

Old or new, young or aged?

It isn't a question of years, but of psychological make-up, of keeping up with the times and being alive to new possibilities.

The question is as relevant to Singapore, the country.

We often think of it as a young society, newly developed and still finding its feet among the nations of the world, many with centuries-old histories and traditions such as China, India, Japan, France and Britain.

Fifty is young in terms of human civilisation, too short a time to develop a new language or culture, perhaps even a sense of national identity.

But 50 can be old for MRT trains and tracks and Housing Board flats undergoing redevelopment.

A young country can also become old when its people stop believing what can be achieved tomorrow and become more concerned with protecting what they already have, fearful of losing everything.

This type of ageing is more dangerous because there are no obvious outward signs, no dramatic breakdowns that signal it is time for renewal.

A country grows old when its organisations become big, multi-layered and bureaucratic, when decision-making slows down and its people are afraid to take risks. I don't think this is a widespread problem in Singapore - yet.

But there are worrying signs that its reflexes have slowed down and it is not moving as fast and nimbly as it should.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the need for Singapore to move faster in adopting new technologies in areas such as having a national e-identity system and promoting cashless transactions.

Other countries had been quicker off the mark, he noted.

I can cite two other examples.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) recently announced it had scrapped plans for a national bicycle-sharing scheme due to be launched by the end of the year because there were already at least two commercial companies offering the service outside of the plan.

LTA's decision may be the right one - it depends on how these companies perform - but I was struck by reports which said that the national plan had been mooted as early as 2014 and that it had taken two years to study the scheme's feasibility.

Why does a bicycle-sharing scheme take so long to plan and implement?

Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising, knowing the number of government agencies that are likely to be involved in the process, including LTA, URA, HDB, NParks and more.

But that's precisely what ageing does: when the bureaucracy grows in layers and size and the number of people you have to consult for a simple decision multiplies.

Atrophy can set in quickly.

It is worrying that a relatively simple scheme like bike sharing which almost every big city around the world has - there is even one in Astana, Kazakhstan, which I visited last year - took such a long time to consider.

Even then, the plan was aborted after several fleet-footed Chinese companies decided - quickly - to park some of their bicycles here.

Another example: It was announced last year that changes will be made to the way pupils are graded in the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

But the new method will not be introduced until five years later, in 2021.

I can understand the concern about giving pupils and educators more time to prepare for the changes, but is it necessary to delay implementation by so many years?

If indeed the new system is an improvement over the old, why not start earlier so that more students would benefit?

I hope the public service will take in what Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said last month when he urged it to "think big, start small, act fast".

In other words, become young again.

It is the economy though that I worry most about when it comes to premature ageing.

The changes taking place in the business world are even more wide-ranging and bewildering, with new technology and competitors constantly disrupting the old.

Singapore companies have to be as innovative, creating their own brands, unique to their own strengths and experience.

A young country should feel energised by the possibilities that new technology and markets can bring, especially one situated in dynamic Asia where growth is expected to be among the highest in the world.

Yet, the mantra we hear today is that the Singapore economy is entering a mature phase, and can expect to grow by only 2 to 3 per cent a year, in line with how the advanced economies are growing.

Is this another sign of premature ageing?

There are large parts of the economy which are nowhere near those of the advanced countries in their level of development and sophistication - for example, in construction, services and the SME sector.

Companies in these areas cannot behave like mature businesses but must be like young upstarts eager to change the world around them.

The danger of Singapore becoming an old country isn't about its population ageing, which is a separate issue.

It has nothing to do with age and everything to do with the psychology of the people and their attitude towards the future.

Think old and past it, and it will be downhill from here.

At 52, Singapore is a young country and should behave its age.

The writer is also a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

↧

Lonely and 'waiting to die', Singapore's elderly poor find hope in many helping hands

May 15, 2017, 5:32 am

≫ Next: The truth about bottled water

≪ Previous: Is Singapore becoming an old young country?

Poor health and mental illness isolate them from society. But a widening community network is striving to ease their loneliness and make sure they're taken care of, in their final years.
By Yvonne Lim, Jade Han and Kane Cunico, Channel NewsAsia, 14 May 2017

Her one-room flat was a cluttered mess, and Madam Helen Fernandez herself never seemed to bathe, said her neighbours who always saw her in the same set of clothes.

When case workers first visited the unkempt and confused elderly widow, they had to rush her to hospital for very high blood pressure – which resulted because she hadn’t been taking her medication and had been missing doctors’ appointments.

Since her husband died 17 years ago, Mdm Fernandez had been living alone with no friends or family – and slowly falling prey to loneliness and dementia.

There were times when she’d even call up the police just to talk. It was how her case got referred to the Social Service Office, and then to case worker Ahmala Rajoo in 2015.

“She was receiving financial assistance, about S$500 a month,” said Ms Ahmala, a care executive with NTUC Health Cluster Support in Bukit Merah. “But she wasn’t managing it. She was always left with nothing, and she could never tell what happened to her money.”

But the neatly-groomed Mdm Fernandez you meet today almost doesn’t seem the same person. At 78, she is chatty, cheery and cheeky, and greets every visitor with a delighted “come in!”

“They want to put me in home, you know, old age home… I said, don’t want! Put me there for what? I won’t see anybody,” she said.

The walls of her newly-repainted, now-clean flat are plastered with photos and cards from friends. She has blossomed under the care of Ms Ahmala, meal delivery services, befrienders from volunteer group Helping Joy, NTUC Health Care@home services, and the Senior Activity Centre in her block.

“Her memory has worsened. But thankfully with the community support, she’s more active than before,” said Ms Ahmala.

“I don’t think she grasps that I am a social worker. To her, I’m probably like a friend that is helping her out.”

THE DANGERS OF ISOLATION

Singapore’s elderly poor are not short of assistance schemes by the State to meet their material needs: From heavy medical subsidies and food vouchers, to long-term financial assistance, and even rental waivers for those on Public Assistance.

But the greater problem for many of them – especially those like Helen who are unable to work and homebound due to disability, failing health or mental illness – is social isolation.

Because of the stigma against mental illness especially, many of such elderly folks in Singapore are “forgotten by society” with people going out of the way to avoid them, said Mr Ng Koon Sing, head of COMNET Senior Services under AMKFSC Community Services.

This isolation from the outside world feeds depression and suicidal tendencies, aggravates mental conditions, and worsens their physical health.

In Singapore, elderly suicides have been creeping up, from 95 cases in 2010 to 126 cases in 2014. Said Ms Ahmala of her elderly clients:

"Most of them will tell you that they’re just waiting to die. And they will tell you that there’s nothing else to look forward to."

And they can pass under the radar, until a neighbour, or a visit to hospital, or door-to-door outreach by social workers brings their plight to light.

Volunteers and community workers report finding some living in squalor, with cockroaches and bed-bugs, sleeping on the floor, and in poor physical or mental health because they have been neglecting their medication.

But thankfully for these whom the rest of society has forgotten, there is a growing community network striving to ensure they find some measure of well-being and companionship in their final years.

It’s an extensive web made up of welfare groups, charities, hospitals, and operators (like NTUC Health) of Senior Cluster Networks initiated by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

THE ONLY ONES AT HIS FUNERAL

Take Mr Jesmond Oh, a nurse who doesn’t spend his days in the hospital, but visiting the homes of his elderly wards.

One of them was an underweight, 60-year-old former security guard who was frequently falling down because his toes had been amputated due to his poorly-managed diabetes.

When Mr Oh’s care team at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s (TTSH) Department of Continuing and Community Care took up his case and began visiting him at home to monitor his condition, Mr Oh said: “Initially, he didn’t listen to us. He kept taking his medicine his own way.”

"His house was a mess. When we cleared his mattress, we found three cockroaches, scissors, medication all over the place, insulin injections on the bed as well. He’d just lie down on these."

The man was also depressed. At one stage, he told them: “If I jump down, all of you don’t need to come already.” Alarmed, the doctors had him brought in for psychiatric evaluation. Mr Oh recalled: “He was traumatised and decided, ‘I will not play this type of joke anymore.’ After that, he was very good and compliant with us.”

That rocky start evolved into a close friendship over six months.

One of the first things the team did was to arrange for meal deliveries, so that he would get the proper nutrition. His neighbours had been packing meals for him – but it was “all this unhealthy food that made his (diabetic) condition even worse,” said Mr Oh. “And he’d had to pay them ‘tips’. It was quite upsetting that they were making use of him.”

The team also called in a housekeeping service, arranged for escorts to his medical appointments, got someone to help him daily with his wound dressings, and a community social worker who visited him daily.

One evening after work, Mr Oh’s phone rang. It was the police. They told him that the man had been found dead at home; he’d fallen and hit his head. “They called me because my number was one of the last few that he’d dialed on his mobile phone,” said the nurse.

The man had never spoken of any next of kin, so his body stayed in the mortuary for 21 days while notices were posted in the newspapers.

"Apparently, no one responded. So the few of us – the medical team, social worker and myself – were the only ones at his funeral wake."

BRINGING THEM A REASON TO CARE ABOUT LIFE

Sadness and loss is a part of the job, but what keeps Mr Oh going is the hope that “towards the end, I’ve actually touched them and helped them to achieve a better quality of life at home”.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Like Madam Ong Ah Hiong, 89, a widow who has survived the deaths of her husband, all three children and her siblings.

She had gone to TTSH’s A&E department with very high blood pressure in January this year. The doctors there assessed that she was at high risk of falling, and since she was living alone and had a history of depression, referred her to Mr Oh’s community care team.

Every visit, he banters with her while going through the basic health checks, where necessary calling up the doctor for a consultation.

Said Mdm Ong: “My heart tells me he cares for me. You can’t imagine how happy I am with all of you visiting me.”

If not for such services and home visits, many of the elderly poor would tend to neglect their health, to the point where they keep being hospitalised.

Ms Jess Ho, principal social worker for NTUC Health Cluster Support at Bukit Merah, said: “Some seniors refuse to take their medication, especially when there are more than five types. They find it so disheartening, sometimes they give up altogether. They feel that life is short, ‘I don't want to go through this in my final years, taking all this medicine’.”

And then there’s the cost of transport just to keep a doctors’ appointment, or of getting the proper nutrition. Said Mr Oh:

"The elderly poor are prioritising their basic needs over their health. They will say that they can’t even afford three meals a day."

“The worst case I met, he’s surviving on S$2 chicken rice a day and S$1 mineral water. The rest of the day he will just eat biscuits.”

This is why the TTSH team works with the Social Service Offices to get their patients any assistance they might need, including something as basic as a running water and electricity supply.

NTUC Health’s cluster networks too work closely with hospitals, the various agencies and community groups, to “co-manage” their senior patients’ well-being holistically. From 2013 to 2016, they have reached out to more than 4,800 seniors in the Taman Jurong and Bukit Merah regions alone.

Ms Ho said: “Some need to be motivated, they need meaning because they’re all alone. We need to get them to know it’s worthwhile taking care of themselves.”

POVERTY ISN’T JUST THE LACK OF MONEY

Indeed, it is common to think of poverty as referring to material or financial resources. But researchers say that the lack of social contact can be just as impoverishing.

Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy referred to a study done across four continents, where focus groups of the elderly were asked what they needed in life. Social participation was cited every time.

“It means not feeling like you are left out as a member of society,” said Dr Ng. “A decent standard of living means that I want to be a part of society, having access to friends. It doesn’t mean I stay home all day and eat to meet my bare nutritional needs.”

Just ask hawker’s assistant Mr Ong Hock Soon, who has lost touch with his children for years. His fault, he says, as he had a bad temper and he gambled.

The 69-year-old admits that in the emptiness of his flat sometimes, it all becomes too much.

"When I go home at night, yes, I will feel lonely. I will cry."

“Then in the morning I wake up, go to work, and I’ll be happier. I’m most happy going downstairs (to the Senior Activity Centre) because I’ve got many friends,” he said.

“My greatest regret is my children. I want to say sorry to them. Dad was wrong last time. I hope you will forgive me.”

Elderly isolation happens for various reasons – apart from family estrangement, it happens when spouses die and the children are no longer around.

But there’s also the stress of caring for a sick spouse. “I’m cooped up with my spouse for over 20 years, I don’t have any life to myself, no resources and nowhere to turn,” is one common scenario that Tsao Foundation senior social worker Wong Yock Leng describes. Such spouses often end up prone to depression.

EVERYONE CAN LEND A HAND

Alleviating the loneliness and stress is what volunteer group Happy People Helping People Foundation is all about. Apart from organising food vouchers and ration packs for their clients, who are elderly cardboard collectors, the group also holds get-togethers and outings to places like the zoo.

It might sound tacky, said volunteer Ms Nurasyikin Amir, but the outings are “what they look forward to the most. When we are distributing rations, they will ask us when is the next outing?”.

"When we first met them, they were very quiet and reserved. Now, they make friends more, and they look out for each other, which I think is very important."

Perhaps more importantly, what the vulnerable elderly need are for others – and not just the community groups – to keep an eye out for them.

NTUC Health’s Ms Ahmala, for instance, is kept busy handling 28 active cases concurrently, which can run the gamut from hoarders to the suicidal to the terminally ill. So it helps when neighbours step up to report someone they think might need help – and some actually help to shoulder the burden of caring for their fellow residents.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Said Ms Jess Ho: “They do visits and they are like our eyes and ears. Today (this neighbour) is not doing well, he is not eating, then they would call my case worker to drop by.”

As Ms Nurasykin put it, the hope is that more will replicate the Happy People model in their own neighbourhoods. “If everyone just helps their neighbour … like what our tagline says, not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something.”

↧

The truth about bottled water

May 17, 2017, 12:16 am

≫ Next: Singapore International Maritime Review 2017: Largest Showing of International Navy Ships at RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base

≪ Previous: Lonely and 'waiting to die', Singapore's elderly poor find hope in many helping hands

It is portable and convenient, but is it really better than tap water and how true are the marketing claims?
By Abigail Ng, The Straits Times, 16 May 2017

Getting clean water in Singapore is as easy as turning on the tap, yet retail outlets are awash with a wide array of bottled water.

Data from research firm Euromonitor International shows the thirst for bottled water here is growing.

Consumers spent $134 million on it in 2015, nearly 24 per cent more than in 2010.

More than 12 brands of bottled water are sold here and more have recently been added to the shelves.

Two brands of alkaline water were introduced at the Sheng Siong supermarket chain last year.

Alkaline water has higher-than-usual pH levels and is touted to have health benefits, though these have not been proven.

In fact, as brands come up with new ways to make their products stand out, the question is: Do their marketing claims hold water?

And ultimately, should one be drinking bottled water at all?

Experts say there are differences in the sources and treatment process, but it is difficult to say if one type is better than another.

They also emphasise that tap water in Singapore is safe for drinking.

GOOD, BAD OR PLAIN GIMMICK?

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) regulates the import of bottled water into Singapore.

AVA classifies brands into five types, based on the source and the way the water is treated. They are natural mineral water, packaged drinking water, mineralised drinking water, distilled water and spring water.

Dr Wuang Shy Chyi, domain lead for water technology at Temasek Polytechnic's School of Applied Science, said each type of water comes with its own set of claims.

For example, due to their natural sources, mineral water can contain trace amounts of elements.

Some, like arsenic, can be beneficial in tiny quantities.

But others may not be good for the body.

"Some minerals, like fluoride, may also be present in quantities that are not acceptable to certain groups of people," Dr Wuang said.

They include infants and young children, who already get fluoride that is added to tap water.

A 2012 study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that children in high-fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low-fluoride areas.

"So, while it's good to have natural minerals, it is also important to check the contents," she added.

While it may be an "over-generalisation" to determine which type of water is better, Dr Wuang said that a greater awareness of each type of drinking water can potentially help "consumers make informed choices".

Associate Professor Richard Webster from Nanyang Technological University's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences said that water marketed as artesian or untouched by humans is not better.

"It is just a marketing gimmick," he said. "There is no real difference from other bottled water."

The benefits of a new entrant - water with added oxygen - are also unproven, said Prof Webster.

"We get enough oxygen from breathing air, so adding it to water will not make any difference," he added.

Home-grown water-treatment specialist Hyflux is working with Changi General Hospital (CGH) to see if its oxygenated Elo Water can help diabetic patients achieve better glycaemic control.

A study conducted by Harvard Medical School and Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, found that diabetic patients have 10 to 15 per cent lower tissue oxygen levels, compared with non-diabetic patients. The study was published in 2008.

It was previously reported that studies have found that Elo Water improved oxygen levels in animal and human tissue.

For the consumer, however, price appears to be the main criterion for choosing bottled water.

A FairPrice spokesman said sales for the budget range of bottled water has increased.

Similarly, in Sheng Siong, the cheapest bottled water is the most popular.

But the fact that the water is bottled can raise environmental concerns.

The website of non-profit organisation The Water Project states that these plastic bottles take more than 1,000 years to biodegrade, and they also produce toxic fumes if incinerated.

It also takes an estimated 3 litres of water to package a 1-litre bottle. And bottled water burns a bigger hole in the pocket too.

According to national water agency PUB, tap water can be 1,000 times cheaper than bottled water.

A 600ml bottle of drinking water costs between 50 cents and $1, while tap water costs 0.1 cent for the same amount.

Giving his assessment of tap water in Singapore, Dr Webster said: "It is better than what is available in many other countries."

$134 million

The amount consumers here spent on bottled water in 2015, nearly 24 per cent more than in 2010, according to data from research firm Euromonitor International

1,000

How many times cheaper tap water is, compared to bottled water, according to national water agency PUB

Bottled water in supermarkets
By Abigail Ng, The Straits Times, 16 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

When it comes down to the molecular level, all water is the same - H2O. The only difference is the presence or absence of minerals.

Associate Professor Richard Webster from Nanyang Technological University's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences said that tap water and bottled water should be of "very similar quality" after being treated. But there are differences in terms of where the water is sourced from and how it is subsequently treated.

The following types of bottled water are available in supermarkets:

MINERAL WATER

Natural mineral water is extracted from underground sources and may contain small amounts of minerals.

Sometimes, minerals may be added to water and this is also considered as mineral water.

DISTILLED WATER

The water is treated through the process of distillation. This involves boiling the water and re-condensing it by cooling.

ALKALINE WATER

Water with pH levels above 7 are alkaline. Some studies have suggested that alkaline water can help with acid reflux, high blood pressure and diabetes. Bottled alkaline water from supermarkets carries claims of pH levels of 8 and above.

DRINKING WATER

This category is a catch-all for water that is considered fit to be bottled for drinking. This includes water processed by reverse osmosis.

WHAT SCIENCE SAYS

Purer, more balanced or providing health benefits - these are some claims that brands make.

A report commissioned in 2001 by World Wildlife Fund International said bottled water may not be safer than tap water, as there are fewer standards to conform to. However, this has been disputed by the International Bottled Water Association.

Water with minerals was found to lower the blood pressure of people with low urinary excretion of magnesium or calcium, according to a study published in the BMC Public Health journal in 2004.

Others may also benefit, as a Montana State University professor and his team found. The study, conducted in 2010, found that people who drank mineral-based, alkaline water were better hydrated.

An in-vitro laboratory study published in Sage Journals in 2012 suggested that alkaline water could be good for patients with a reflux condition. Despite some studies affirming the benefits, experts told The Straits Times that more conclusive results are necessary to support claims for alkaline water and oxygenated water.

The British Journal Of Sports Medicine investigated claims in 2006 that athletes could gain a competitive edge by drinking water with extra oxygen, but found that the claims failed the study's analysis and physiological tests.

When it comes to the taste of water, most people cannot tell the difference, The Guardian reported in 2011. Two earlier studies - in France and Northern Ireland - led to the conclusion that water simply tastes like, well, water.

WATER CONSUMPTION

Generally, one should drink around eight glasses of water a day, with each glass holding 250ml of water.

Fluids can also be obtained from food and other beverages. The Health Promotion Board recommends choosing water over sugar- sweetened drinks, which can lead to obesity and weight gain.

Family spends $200 monthly on bottled water
By Abigail Ng, The Straits Times, 16 May 2017

Pull back the sofa at the Goh family home and you will find close to 100 bottles of water stacked neatly against the wall.

Accounts executive Francis Goh and his family do not drink tap water at home. When they make drinks like tea or coffee, they run the water through a filtration system before using it.

Mr Goh, 63, spends close to $200 a month on bottled water and the family members go through at least 12 1.5-litre bottles a week.

He also buys 500ml bottles of water for his four children to take along when they go out.

The Goh family made the switch to bottled water in the early 2000s.

Daughter, Sarah, 21, an undergraduate, said her aunt in the United States had convinced them to switch due to concerns over chlorine levels in tap water.

But Mr Goh's children do drink tap water when they are out. Son, Gabriel, 24, also an undergraduate, said: "Water is still water. The idea is to decrease the chlorine intake."

Experts say the level of chlorine in Singapore's tap water is within acceptable limits.

In 2016, chlorine levels in all the waterworks ranged from 2.04 to 2.98mg per litre, well within the World Health Organisation's limits of 5mg per litre.

The Gohs believe that since making the switch, they have been falling sick less often.

The younger Mr Goh said his family is willing to spend money on bottled water for peace of mind.

Asked if they would ever give up drinking bottled water, he said: "If it gets too expensive, yes, of course."

Until then, they are happy to continue drinking bottled water. They buy Evian and Vittel mineral water in 1.5-litre bottles and Ice Mountain in 500ml bottles.

"We like the taste of Evian more. The small bottles are expensive," said Mr Goh.

Remote island is 'most polluted place' on earth
Uninhabited Pacific island has highest density of plastic rubbish
The Straits Times, 17 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

MIAMI • One of the planet's most remote islands is polluted with the highest density of plastic articles ever reported, with more than 3,500 pieces washing up daily.

New research published on Monday said it may be the most polluted place on the planet.

Henderson Island is uninhabited and lies far out in the South Pacific - east of New Zealand and west of Chile - some 5,000km from the nearest major land mass. The 3,700ha limestone atoll, one of the United Kingdom's Pitcairn Islands, is prized for its biodiversity.

But it is also littered with an estimated 37.7 million pieces of plastic, said the report, published in the Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences.

"What's happened on Henderson Island shows there's no escaping plastic pollution even in the most distant parts of our oceans," said lead author Jennifer Lavers, a researcher at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania, who co-authored the report with British conservation charity the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds.

She said that the debris on the island weighed a total of 17.6 tonnes, making it the highest density of plastic rubbish anywhere in the world.

She said that the finding should act as a warning that plastic pollution is as big a threat as climate change.

The report added: "Far from being the pristine 'deserted island' that people might imagine of such a remote place, Henderson Island is a shocking but typical example of how plastic debris is affecting the environment on a global scale.

"Its location near the centre of the South Pacific Gyre ocean current makes it a focal point for debris carried from South America or deposited by fishing boats."

About 27 per cent of the items were identifiable as being from South America, including beach equipment and fishing gear.

But Dr Lavers said only around 7 per cent of the junk was connected to fishing-related activities. She said most were household items such as cigarette lighters, plastic razors, toothbrushes, plastic scoops used in detergents or baby formula, and babies' pacifiers.

"It speaks to the fact that these items that we call 'disposable' or 'single-use' are neither of those things, and that items that were constructed decades ago are still floating around there in the ocean today, and for decades to come," Dr Lavers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Samples were taken at five sites on the island, from as far down as 10cm below the surface.

But because the researchers did not check cliffs or rocky coastline, their report warns that it may underestimate the true scope of the problem.

Since humans do not live there, the pollution on Henderson Island has also never been cleaned up. The nearest settlement is Pitcairn Island, with a population of 40 people.

"Plastic debris is an entanglement and ingestion hazard for many species, creates a physical barrier on beaches to animals such as sea turtles and lowers the diversity of shoreline invertebrates," Dr Lavers said.

"Research has shown that more than 200 species are known to be at risk from eating plastic, and 55 per cent of the world's seabirds, including two species found on Henderson Island, are at risk."

On Henderson Island, the rubbish created a barrier for sea turtles attempting to enter the beach and led to a reduction in sea turtle-laying numbers, while also affecting two native seabird species.

However, Dr Lavers said plastic pollution was also a major threat to human health as the toxic impact of plastic-related chemicals in the food chain were well documented.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA

↧

Singapore International Maritime Review 2017: Largest Showing of International Navy Ships at RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base

May 17, 2017, 1:55 am

≫ Next: National Day Parade 2017 returns to Marina Bay Floating Platform

≪ Previous: The truth about bottled water

Naval cooperation key to maritime security: President Tony Tan
Strong partnerships critical as security challenges grow more transnational, he says
By Chong Zi Liang, Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 16 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The gathering of navies from around the world to celebrate the Singapore navy's 50th birthday is testament to Singapore's strong network of global friendships, which is all the more critical as security challenges have become increasingly transnational, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said yesterday.

Noting how multilateral cooperation is key to ensuring a stable maritime order as well as safe and secure seas, he added: "The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has built up a strong and well-connected network of partnerships with like-minded navies."

This is because most of the security threats like piracy cannot be effectively managed by a single country, Dr Tan said after he was welcomed by a parade of international sailors at Changi Naval Base.

For instance, the RSN's stealth frigates and landing ship tanks have taken part in multilateral counter- piracy operations, and Singapore also - on four occasions - took command of the Combined Task Force 151 fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

"In the challenging and uncertain security environment today, having only good hardware and strong capabilities is not sufficient," said Dr Tan.

To celebrate the RSN's golden jubilee, 46 vessels - including 28 from 20 foreign navies - formed up in the waters off Changi Naval Base for Singapore's first International Maritime Review.

Kicking off the review, Dr Tan boarded an open-top vehicle to review the docked ships, whose sailors cheered as he passed by. He then boarded the recently commissioned Littoral Mission Vessel RSS Independence for a review of the remaining warships anchored off the base.

The review was held in conjunction with this year's edition of the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference Asia, which Dr Tan noted is a crucial platform for naval leaders to exchange views on topics like maritime cooperation.

Dr Tan also announced the renaming of Changi Naval Base to RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base.

As RSS Singapura was the name of the RSN's first headquarters, it will remind Singapore's sailors of the navy's heritage and its vital role in defending the country, said Dr Tan, who officiated the foundation-laying of the base as deputy prime minister and defence minister in 2000.

Navy chief Lai Chung Han, in his opening address, thanked Dr Tan for his role as defence minister from 1995 to 2003 in developing the navy's landing ship tank, frigate and submarine capabilities. These assets, he said, now form the core of the third-generation RSN.

Dr Tan said a highlight of his visit to the navy last year was seeing the Archer-class submarines, as he was pleased to see the submarine capability built up so quickly.

"I am confident the navy will continue to enhance its capabilities to address the evolving security landscape we are facing," he said.

First International Maritime Review ends on high note
By Charmaine Ng, The Straits Times, 16 May 2017

As the morning wore on, the clear blue skies were covered by dark clouds and the calm waters were occasionally broken by choppy waves.

But just as Singapore's friendship with foreign navies has withstood varying conditions, the flotilla of international naval ships pushed through the elements to pull off the navy's first International Maritime Review without a hitch yesterday as part of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) golden jubilee celebrations.

The 46 ships that had gathered for the fleet review comprised 28 warships from 20 foreign navies, 16 RSN warships and two Police Coast Guard boats. More than 6,000 guests and participants, including Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen and Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Osman, were present.

Among them were more than 30 navy chiefs, vice-chiefs of navy and directors-general of coast guards, and over 40 flag rank officers from 44 nations.

As the reviewing officer, President Tony Tan Keng Yam kicked off the event with a land review of the vessels berthed at the wharf. Among them were 12 RSN vessels, including the frigate RSS Formidable, and Littoral Mission Vessel RSS Independence, commissioned earlier this month by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The foreign vessels included helicopter carrier JS Izumo from Japan, replenishment tanker HMNZS Endeavour from New Zealand and guided missile corvette HTMS Sukhothai from Thailand.

As the President rode past in an open-top vehicle, sailors lined the length of their ships to salute and wave.

At the end of the land review, Dr Tan boarded the Littoral Mission Vessel to continue on a sea review of the remaining ships in the anchorage - the RSS Independence's first operational duty since it was commissioned by PM Lee.

Accompanied by foreign navy chiefs, Dr Tan sailed past 26 vessels at sea, including French frigate FS Prairial, Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat, Chinese frigate Huangshan, Russian guided missile cruiser Varyag and Myanmar frigate UMS King Sin Phyu Shin.

Despite the choppier seas as the RSS Independence ventured further out, sailors waved, tipped their caps and even blared their ships' horns to greet Dr Tan.

Following close behind the RSS Independence was its sister ship, LMV Sovereignty, which carried other VIP guests, including SAF Chief of Staff-Joint Staff Lim Tuang Liang, Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs deputy chairman Amrin Amin, committee members Cedric Foo and Joan Pereira, and the spouses of foreign navy chiefs.

As Dr Tan reviewed the final ship - landing ship tank RSS Endurance - rain clouds loomed overhead.

But the weather held up for the aerial finale minutes later, as a Sikorsky 70B naval helicopter soared high above, followed by a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft. Two F15SG fighter jets brought up the rear, swooping in side by side to end Singapore's inaugural International Maritime Review on a literal high.

Maritime review 'highlights Singapore's naval diplomacy'
Inaugural gathering of regional navies hosted by RSN as part of celebrations has added significance, say experts
By Charmaine Ng, The Straits Times, 15 May 2017

President Tony Tan Keng Yam will be reviewing about 50 warships from 21 countries, including Singapore, during the inaugural International Maritime Review (IMR) hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) today.

Staging one of the largest gatherings of naval ships in the region is the centrepiece of RSN's 50th anniversary events, but naval experts say it will also indirectly highlight Singapore's adept use of naval diplomacy, which is critical to the Republic's security.

Dr Euan Graham, director of the international security programme at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, said Singapore, being a small state, has had to be proactive in its naval diplomacy efforts because it wants to avoid being isolated.

"If a country like Singapore is passive, it will quickly find itself strategically compromised or marginalised," he added.

"So it has to constantly build its relationships in the region, where there are still trust issues and territorial disputes, making sure those don't bubble up to the surface."

The South China Sea territorial disputes between China and four Asean nations, which have intensified since 2012, have posed concerns for trade-dependent countries like Singapore, whose trade is three times that of its economy.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Maritime expert Collin Koh from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies described the IMR - held at Changi Naval Base - as a manifestation of the growing maturity of Singapore's naval diplomacy, which could become more important amid maritime tensions.

"Especially in these times of maritime disputes, the review signals that Singapore is willing to play a role in engaging diplomatically with regional players. The message is: Singapore may be small, but that does not mean it cannot be a constructive player," Dr Koh told The Straits Times.

In a 232-page book A Maritime Force For A Maritime Nation: Celebrating 50 years Of The Navy, the RSN said it has contributed to the expansion of Singapore's policy space through maritime diplomacy, which began with its first bilateral exercise in 1974 with Indonesia.

Over the decades, its engagements have grown to include multilateral exercises, information-sharing and joint patrols, with some held outside the region.

Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh, one of seven contributors to the book, wrote that one of the RSN's three roles is to foster practical cooperation on issues of common concern between navies, in support of a rules-based international order. In a piece titled Peace At Sea, he cited how the RSN, along with 20 other regional navies, had in 2014 adopted the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea.

The code - signed by 21 members of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, including China and eight Asean states - guides how military vessels should react to situations to reduce the risk of incidents.

It was put into practice by participating countries of the IMR, which include China, the United States and Japan, with their warships travelling to Singapore since last Tuesday from the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea.

Of the 46 vessels at the IMR, 16 will be from the RSN and two from the Police Coast Guard.

Most of the foreign vessels will also be at the Imdex Asia maritime defence show from tomorrow till Thursday.

Experts also pointed out limits to naval diplomacy, as "decision-makers are not the chiefs of navies, but the political leaders in the various countries", said Lowy's Dr Graham.

"But there is a limited aim and in that, Singapore is trying to position itself and steer the region towards a more coordinated and cooperative direction," he added.

Singapore acquiring two new Type-218SG submarines
New Singapore submarines 'to match growth of regional navies'
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and other officials also stress need for countries to cooperate to tackle threats
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 17 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

In a move to replace its older submarines and match the expansion of navies in Asia, Singapore will be acquiring two new subs that will be delivered from 2024, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said yesterday.

With 800 more warships and submarines expected to operate in the Asia-Pacific by 2030, the United States Navy will also bolster its capability to keep up with - or even exceed - the pace of development of maritime forces by other regional countries, said its chief of naval operations John Richardson.

Dr Ng, who was speaking at the opening of the 11th International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (Imdex) Asia, said: "To be effective, the Singapore navy needs to keep pace with this growth of navies in Asia."

This bolstering of maritime forces comes as commercial shipping has burgeoned, with Asia-Pacific naval budgets set to increase by 60 per cent through 2020.

But senior government and naval officials, including Dr Ng, also highlighted the need for countries to work together in tackling threats even as they strengthen their navies and security agencies.

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman said countries should cooperate and abide by international agreements and codes of conduct to avoid unintended sea conflicts.

But trust must be built through regular communication for multilateral networks to be effective, he added. "Without trust, promises of cooperation would merely be superficial lip service," he said.

Admiral Richardson also told reporters before the start of Imdex Asia that in "an era of maritime competition", countries should identify areas of common interests and talk openly about differences to reduce the risk of miscalculations.

He also reaffirmed the close partnership with the Singapore navy, adding that he has spoken to navy chief Lai Chung Han about improving the relationship further.

He later joined seven other navy chiefs, including Rear-Admiral Lai, at the International Maritime Security Conference, held as part of Imdex Asia.

Discussing the changing security and strategic landscape, RADM Lai reiterated the need to reinforce a rules-based maritime system that will help prevent misunderstandings at sea.

A record number of maritime defence and naval forces are attending the biennial three-day Imdex Asia, which began yesterday.

On top of navy chiefs, coast guard directors-general and representatives of navies and coast guards from more than 40 countries, 28 foreign warships from 20 navies will be at the maritime defence show at the Changi Exhibition Centre.

Maritime expert Collin Koh from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said that one factor fuelling the growth of navies in the region is the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

"For claimant states, naval power puts some muscle to their claims. For non-claimant states like Singapore, geopolitical uncertainty means a need to invest in insurance," he said.

New submarines give navy 'more flexibility in deploying assets'
RSN can rotate vessels for different uses, say experts on the four Type-218SG vessels
By Chong Zi Liang, The Straits Times, 17 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Singapore's purchase of two new "state-of-the-art" submarines will give the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) greater flexibility in deploying its assets and in defending the country, said defence analysts.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced yesterday that Singapore would buy two Type-218SG submarines expected to be delivered from 2024. In 2013, it acquired two submarines of the same model that are expected to be delivered from 2021.

When all four submarines are delivered, the RSN will be able to rotate their deployment, with one under maintenance, one in training, and two carrying out operations, said Dr Michael Raska from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

"This will give the navy greater submarine presence in the seas," he told The Straits Times.

Maritime expert Collin Koh, also from RSIS, pointed out that the navy's four Challenger-class submarines, which were made in the 1960s and bought by Singapore between 1995 and 1997, are ageing and two were retired in 2015.

When the two remaining Challenger-class submarines are retired, the Navy will still have its two Archer-class submarines - bought in 2005 - to complement the four Type-218SG vessels.

"It takes time to build up a world-class fleet, so such an expansion in numbers requires lots of planning ahead to achieve," he said.

Both analysts added that it is cost-effective to buy the same submarine model and from the same source - German defence contractor ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Dr Raska said the 2013 contract might include an option to buy more vessels at a better price, and that there could be savings in maintenance and training as the crew will be dealing with familiar ships.

He added that the purchase of the state-of-the-art submarines is in line with Singapore's goal of modernising its armed forces.

"The key aim is to keep a maritime strategic edge for the next 20 years over its neighbours," he said.

But Dr Raska also noted that Singapore will have to be mindful of a response from its neighbours. "If Malaysia and Indonesia see this as tilting the military balance, they will want to get more submarines of their own. This could accelerate an arms competition in the region."

↧

National Day Parade 2017 returns to Marina Bay Floating Platform

May 18, 2017, 7:29 pm

≫ Next: Singaporeans have evolved a distinctive identity: PM Lee Hsien Loong

≪ Previous: Singapore International Maritime Review 2017: Largest Showing of International Navy Ships at RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base

NDP 2017 theme's hashtag marks a first
Bid to rally Singaporeans via social media; parade to have 2-segment Dynamic Defence Display
By Tan Tam Mei, The Straits Times, 18 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

National Day Parade 2017 will set the stage for a series of firsts, as well as the welcome return of crowd favourites.

For the first time, this year's theme - #OneNationTogether - will incorporate a hashtag to enable Singaporeans to share the rallying call via social media.

The theme was announced by Colonel Melvin Ong Yoke Lam, 47, who chairs the NDP 2017 executive committee, at a media conference yesterday. He said the theme is a call to action to take pride in Singapore's achievements and to be confident in its collective future as its people overcome odds together.

In another first, the Dynamic Defence Display will be organised in two segments.

The first will focus on the Singapore Armed Forces' defence capabilities through action-packed drills, while the second will focus on collective efforts by citizens and defence forces to tackle the rising threat of cyber attacks and terrorism. The Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles and Leopard tanks will also be part of the show.

Col Ong said: "This year's NDP celebrates our precious social unity and the racial and religious harmony we enjoy today.

"It is in this unity that we will continue to rally together as one people and one nation, against all future challenges, striving ahead towards a brave and confident future."

The theme's hashtag also resembles the NDP 2017 logo, with its four interlocking arms, that was unveiled at yesterday's conference.

Inspired by Singapore's first $10 Orchid-series note launched in 1967, the logo is in red and white and embodies Singaporeans coming together to build a better future.

The shape of the island nestled in the centre of the four hands represents the special place the nation holds in Singaporeans' hearts.

The 52nd birthday bash will see celebrations return to the Marina Bay Floating Platform after a two-year hiatus, which also means crowd favourites like the Red Lions skydivers will make a comeback.

Touted as the largest of its kind in the world, the platform was built in 2007 and can seat up to 27,000 in its grandstand, but was deemed to have staged its last NDP in 2014.

Close to 14,000 participants, volunteers and personnel will be taking part in the parade organised by Headquarters Singapore Combat Engineers and agencies from public and private sectors. Highlights include the presidential gun salute on the M3G Raft and the state flag fly-past, as well as a special tribute to 50 years of national service.

A unique use of technology will allow those at home and abroad to enjoy a live 360-degree streaming of the parade on YouTube.

The NDP show will also feature six captivating and rousing acts that celebrate Singaporean achievements and highlight how, as a nation, citizens have overcome the odds together.

Parade song for and about Singaporeans
By Tan Tam Mei, The Straits Times, 18 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

It has always been Jay Lim's childhood dream to write or compose a National Day song.

The musician will get to do just that this year.

The National Day Parade 2017 theme song, Because It's Singapore!, was jointly produced by Lim and veteran composer Lee Wei Song, 51.

Speaking at a media conference yesterday where the NDP 2017 theme, logo and song were announced, Lim said: "It's a great honour to write a song for NDP; it's every Singapore musician's dream."

He said the song was inspired by the everyday lives of Singaporeans living together in harmony. It is the first time he and Lee are involved in the NDP, and they hope to touch the hearts of fellow citizens with their composition.

Yesterday, Lim performed the song publicly for the first time.

He said that one of his fondest NDP memories was listening to his favourite song, Count On Me Singapore. "Whenever the song was on television, I always felt inspired to one day write my own NDP song or be the voice that sings to the people of Singapore," he added.

Lim will not be singing live at the parade on Aug 9. Instead, a music video and an audio recording of him singing the song will be played during the event and everyone will be encouraged to sing along.

NDP song 'simple enough so everyone can sing it'

When asked about his inspiration for the lyrics, Lim said he wanted to write about growing up and living in Singapore.

He took about a week to come up with the lyrics after Lee had composed the melody.

The song celebrates diversity, and shared customs and cultures. It is also about the need for Singaporeans to collectively decide their future and overcome challenges to fulfil their dreams.

He said the line in the song that touches him the most is: "Nothing in this world compares to our Singaporean Life."

"I hope that when people listen to the song, they will realise that this might not be a perfect country but we are really thankful for it," he said.

"There are a lot of things that make up Singapore, but what makes it unique for me is the life that we have here as a whole. That is the thing you can't compare with other places."

One of the considerations that he and Lee had when creating the song was to make it simple enough so that everyone can sing it, said Lim.

"The melody was composed to be simple, but I had so many feelings and things I wanted to say which I had to put into just a few words. So that was a challenge," he added.

Additional NDP preview show at Marina Bay
By Yuen Sin, The Straits Times, 19 May 2017

Those who are keen to watch the National Day Parade (NDP) as Singapore marks its 52nd birthday at The Float @ Marina Bay this year may stand a bigger chance of securing preview tickets.

For the first time, there will be an additional preview of the show at the venue, which is popular with many for its unobstructed bay view.

From next Tuesday to June 4, Singaporeans and permanent residents can apply for tickets to two preview shows and the actual NDP, the organising committee said in a press statement yesterday.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said yesterday in a Facebook post that the floating platform location is "a favourite site for many".

"The location allows perennial favourites like the Red Lions and components of all land, air and sea platforms in the show," he wrote.

Because it has a smaller seating capacity than the National Stadium, where the NDP was held last year, the organising committee has decided to add one more preview show, explained Dr Ng.

In total, about 150,000 people will be able to watch the NDP "live" this year: Students attending three National Education (NE) shows, and members of the public at the two previews on July 22 and July 29 and the official parade on Aug 9, National Day.

There were also two previews last year when the NDP was staged at the National Stadium after a 10-year hiatus during which the stadium was closed for refurbishment.

The organisers had converted an NE show into a second preview, with the 55,000-seater stadium allowing about 275,000 people to watch the parade, previews and rehearsals.

In comparison, the seating capacity at the floating platform, where the NDP has been held seven times since 2007, is about half of the stadium's, at about 25,000.

Businessman Shakti Desai, 34, watched the parade at the National Stadium last year and hopes he will have a chance to catch it with his extended family at the floating platform this year.

"It will be more open and less humid. I am hoping to see the action in the skies, and more displays of military might and power."

Applicants can choose to apply for two, four or six tickets. However, those asking for fewer tickets have a higher chance of obtaining them.

Those eligible can submit their applications via SMS, through the official NDP website, www.ndp.org.sg, or at SAM and AXS stations across the island.

Each NRIC holder is limited to one application. Tickets will be allocated by an electronic ballot system, and each ticket admits one person to the parade. Children and infants must also have a ticket.

Successful applicants will be notified from June 26 to July 3 via the contact number they provide.

Tickets can be collected from July 7 to 9 and from July 14 to 16, between 10am and 9pm, at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium Foyer on Basement 1 of the National Gallery Singapore.

Tickets are strictly not for sale.

↧

Singaporeans have evolved a distinctive identity: PM Lee Hsien Loong

May 20, 2017, 9:02 am

≫ Next: Manchester bombing: Lessons in preparedness and unity

≪ Previous: National Day Parade 2017 returns to Marina Bay Floating Platform

Chinese Singaporeans confident of culture and aware they differ from Chinese elsewhere
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 20 May 2017

Singapore is not a melting pot, but a society where each race is encouraged to preserve its unique culture and traditions, and appreciate and respect those of others, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

No race or culture is coerced into conforming with other identities, let alone that of the majority, he added yesterday at the opening of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) in Shenton Way.

In fostering such an approach for a multiracial, multi-religious society rooted in its Asian cultures, Singaporeans need the arts and culture "to nourish our souls", Mr Lee said.

"We don't wish Singapore to be a First World economy but a third-rate society, with a people who are well off but uncouth. We want to be a society rich in spirit, a gracious society where people are considerate and kind to one another, and as Mencius said, where we treat all elders as we treat our own parents, and other children as our own."

In a speech, Mr Lee articulated how Singapore's multiracial approach has forged a distinctive Singaporean identity that is unique.

Singapore's diversity is a fundamental aspect of each group's identity. "Our aim is integration, not assimilation," he said. "Being Singaporean has never been a matter of subtraction, but of addition; not of becoming less, but more; not of limitation and contraction, but of openness and expansion."

Over time, each race has retained and evolved its own culture and heritage. But it has also allowed itself to be influenced by the customs and traditions of other races.

"The result has been distinctive Singaporean variants of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian cultures, and a growing Singaporean identity that we all share, suffusing and linking up our distinct individual identities and ethnic cultures."

Singaporeans who travel can identify one another by the way they speak and act. When dealing with citizens of countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, China or India, "we are confident of our own Singaporean cultures and identities, even as we are conscious that we are ethnic Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians".

"Thus the Chinese Singaporean is proud of his Chinese culture - but also increasingly conscious that his 'Chineseness' is different from the Chineseness of the Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese, or the Chineseness of the people in China or Hong Kong or Taiwan," Mr Lee added.

Singaporeans now speak of a Singaporean Chinese culture, and in the same way, a Singaporean Malay and Singaporean Indian culture. "For a country that is just over 50 years old, which is a very short time compared to the ancient civilisations from which we spring, this is quite an achievement," he said.

Mr Lee said the 11-storey centre, initiated by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations and supported by the Government, represents Singaporeans' affinity and confidence in their own culture.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

He cited three key factors that shaped a distinct Singaporean Chinese cultural identity.

First, pioneers inculcated positive traditional values such as hard work, supporting education and charity, and respect for the elderly and looking after the young and weak.

The second is an embrace of multiculturalism. He said: "Although Chinese were the majority, they did not demand minorities adopt the Chinese culture or way of life, or speak Mandarin."

The third factor is a globalised economy and the bilingual education system.

Mr Lee said: "Our collective experiences and memories over the last 50 years... have strengthened the Singapore identity. We call ourselves Singaporean first, before identifying ourselves by our race."

SCCC chairman Chua Thian Poh said the $110 million centre hopes to be a platform for new immigrants and other communities to appreciate local Chinese culture.

He said: "By encouraging interaction with other races, we hope this will inspire more creative works and contribute to the richness of Singapore's multi-cultural society."

Singapore has come a long way in being gracious: PM
Cases of bad behaviour do crop up, but much progress has been made, he says

By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 20 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

A video on social media showing a young couple shoving an old man at a hawker centre was highlighted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

He said he was relieved the deplorable behaviour outraged Singaporeans.

"It could have been worse: Singaporeans might have regarded such behaviour as normal," he noted.

"After all, in many countries, if you don't jostle to get to the front of the queue, you will simply be elbowed aside. And if you put your tissue paper to 'chope' a table, it'll just be swept away."

He cited these actions and practices when speaking on how Singapore wants to be a gracious society, not just a First World economy.

He made the point at the opening of the $110 million Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC).

While Singapore has made progress on being gracious, cases of Singaporeans behaving badly do come up from time to time, he said, citing the hawker-centre incident.

The viral video shows a woman dressed in white shouting at the elderly man, before her male companion shoves him from behind.

The 76-year-old, holding a tray of food, had asked her if he could share a table with her at a Toa Payoh hawker centre. The 46-year-old man and 39-year-old woman have been arrested for causing public nuisance, after reports were made alleging that they used offensive language and force against him.

Mr Lee noted that jostling is common in many countries.

It was not too long ago when Singaporeans did the same, "as those of you my age would remember", added Mr Lee, who is 65.

Singapore has come a long way, he said. Today, it is a modern, developed society that still remains rooted in its Asian cultures.

"This sense of rootedness gives us a sense of identity and confidence," he added.

Mr Lee also pointed out that the Government has a role to play in developing a country's culture.

"It can encourage gracious behaviour, foster positive social norms, and recognise cultural achievements and support the arts through facilities like the National Gallery and Esplanade, as well as back the activities of arts and cultural groups," he said.

He called on the SCCC to make the Chinese arts and cultural scene accessible to all races and appeal to all ages.

The centre, sited next to the Singapore Conference Hall, includes a 530-seat auditorium, a multi-purpose hall, a recital studio and a sprawling roof terrace garden.

Its chairman Chua Thian Poh said that since January, it has hosted over 50 events, including concerts and lectures, and reached out to nearly 30,000 people.

The centre also wants to work with schools and arts and cultural groups on initiatives to foster greater appreciation of Singapore's unique Chinese culture.

It has entered into a partnership with Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese Media Group for Lianhe Zaobao to organise at least 12 cultural events a year at the centre as well.

↧

Manchester bombing: Lessons in preparedness and unity

May 26, 2017, 4:05 am

≫ Next: Singapore must manage inflow of new immigrants carefully: PM Lee

≪ Previous: Singaporeans have evolved a distinctive identity: PM Lee Hsien Loong

By Nur Diyanah Anwar and Norman Vasu, Published The Straits Times, 25 May 2017

At the point of writing, reports indicate 22 people, including an eight-year-old girl, are dead and 59 injured from a terrorist attack on the Manchester Arena in the city of Manchester, England.

It happened as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert. The authorities maintain it was the work of a lone suicide bomber. This incident is the deadliest terrorist attack on the UK since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. While the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, the group's role in the attack remains far from clear.

Manchester has responded to the incident in a highly admirable manner. Residents and businesses of the city came together almost immediately after the blast to offer help to those affected.

A city rallied together. Offers of support have emanated from the ground, with the hashtag #roomformanchester trending as local residents offered their homes to those unable to return to their own due to road closures and public transport disruptions. The use of a hashtag echoes the immense support shown following the attacks in Brussels in March 2016, Paris in November 2015, and Sydney in December 2014. Similar hashtags were employed in response to the needs of those affected in these prior attacks, demonstrating the power of social media to galvanise a community through expressions of support and matching those offering help to those who need it.

Individuals responded to appeals for food and items for the affected, while hotel chains provided beds to the stranded. Health workers in Manchester for a conference offered assistance to local medical personnel. Many Mancunians as well as others from all over the north-west of England came forward to donate blood to blood banks.

Importantly, the media have also been active in both listing the unaccounted and requesting information which could help locate them, using the hashtag #missinginmanchester.

The government has also been forward with information they have on the attacker, and the investigations being conducted. This transparency gains the trust of those affected by the blasts, and keeps any information vacuum from being exploited.

LESSONS FOR SINGAPORE

As an events hub with large concerts, sporting events such as the F1 night race, and our own National Day Parade, what can Singapore learn based on the response of the residents of Manchester?

First, while Singapore has a dedicated and competent security complex, incidents such as the attack on Manchester illustrate how complete blanket security can never be provided. In response to today's security climate, Singapore has recently launched the SGSecure movement to encourage the community to be informed, engaged and mobilised to prevent or mitigate an attack. Singaporeans cannot merely depend on the authorities to provide for their security and should instead recognise and accept that they too have a role to play.

Second, Singapore can only benefit from preparing early. For example, Manchester blood banks could cope with demand as there was a sufficient supply in the reserves. Its health service has been keen to stress that the spirit of blood donation should remain. Singaporeans should take a lesson from this - to be proactive in preparation, rather than reactive.

Third, businesses should prepare to chip in. For example, Manchester City Football Club's ground, the Etihad Stadium, was prepared in advance to be the venue to collect those affected by the blast and offer them aid, support and information. Restaurants and food outlets in Manchester offered refreshments as a form of support. Similarly, private venues and businesses in Singapore should be prepared to offer service and solace to those affected should an incident occur.

Fourth, there is a need to be innovative when instilling skills and roles within the community in preparation for an attack. To use a term from the military, no plan survives first contact.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Manchester - only a month ago - had a large scale emergency preparedness drill, but it would have been difficult then to predict the reactions of the locals during an actual attack. In this regard, Singapore has been innovative in teaching life-saving skills and psychological first aid to groups such as taxi drivers, who would likely be able to attend to victims early during an attack. These types of ideas should be explored and encouraged.

Finally, Singaporeans have to be wary what they read on social media after an incident. There will be a need to verify information with authoritative sources if some details being communicated appear out of place. While social media platforms have been exceedingly useful in communicating information and linking up those in need of aid with those that can provide it in Manchester, there have been reports of individuals making false claims of missing relatives on Twitter in order to attain retweets.

Lyrics from the Mancunian band The Stone Roses - "she'll carry on through it all, she's a waterfall" - are quite apt to describe the resilience displayed in Manchester.

It is unfortunate that societies have to prepare for such horrific incidences. However, it is only through preparation, responding effectively and staying united that a society can be resilient and recover.

Norman Vasu is deputy head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Nur Diyanah is a research analyst in the Social Resilience Programme at the same Centre.

↧

Singapore must manage inflow of new immigrants carefully: PM Lee

May 29, 2017, 12:42 am

≫ Next: Changi Airport reaches 1 billion passengers milestone

≪ Previous: Manchester bombing: Lessons in preparedness and unity

Such people must be able to integrate, have productive skills and hearts in right place, he adds
By Joanna Seow, The Sunday Times, 28 May 2017

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Singapore takes in new immigrants to keep population numbers steady, but must manage the inflow carefully, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

The people who come must be able to integrate into society, have the abilities and skills to contribute to the economy and have their hearts in the right place, he added at a citizenship ceremony at Townsville Primary School.

About 20,000 people become new citizens here every year.

Together with the 30,000 Singaporean babies born, this adds 50,000 to Singapore's citizen population each year.

This allows Singapore to have a stable population, as Singaporeans are far from replacing themselves with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.3, said Mr Lee.

The TFR measures the average number of children per woman, and needs to be at least 2.1 for the population to replace itself.

Mr Lee said ideally, more Singaporean babies should be born, so the Government has worked to support young families through marriage and parenthood policies.

Over the years, schemes have been launched in the areas of housing, pre-school services, workplace and community support to encourage people to start families.

Singapore University of Social Sciences sociologist Kang Soon-Hock said enough time must be given for policy enhancements to take effect.

In the meantime, maintaining a stable population is needed to stave off labour shortages as the population ages and there are fewer working-age people.

National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said there is a limit to how much the TFR can be pushed up, so other strategies are needed to sustain population growth.

For instance, making Singapore an attractive destination for talented residents, so the country can "pick and attract people who can bring the best to Singapore".

Mr Lee, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, presented 150 new citizens with their citizenship certificates and identity cards at the ceremony for Ang Mo Kio GRC and Sengkang West SMC residents yesterday.

"When you take up Singapore citizenship, you are not just becoming a resident of this island or a worker. You are committing your loyalty to Singapore, pledging yourself to fulfil the responsibilities of a citizen," he said as he congratulated them.

"You have chosen to take up Singapore citizenship because you believe in Singapore and identify yourself with what Singapore stands for - a harmonious multiracial, multi-religious country, a fair and just society where people have opportunities to succeed if they work hard, (and) a cohesive community where Singaporeans care for one another and help one another succeed."

He added that he hoped they will continue to contribute to society, as some new citizens, such as Madam Angie Ng, 41, have done.

She left her position as a quality manager in Melaka to move to Singapore when her husband accepted a job offer here in 2011, and has been actively involved in the community.

Besides looking after her two sons, the housewife volunteersat Teck Ghee Community Club, organising events and explaining policies such as MediShield Life and the Silver Support Scheme to seniors.

"Being a volunteer helped me to integrate better and get to know others better," she said.

"Now that we're citizens here, we should contribute to the place where we reside."

↧