Singapore News Alternative: September 2012

OPINION: The divisive, intolerant and quarrelsome phase - Seah Chiang Nee

The Star Online, 29 Sep 2012
POLITICS in Singapore has moved from collective consensus to – disturbingly for the government – a divisive, intolerant and quarrelsome phase.
It is erasing some of the political values implanted on the population by former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew over a long period.
A year after the political icon left the Cabinet, his successors are struggling with a new environment that has brought a spate of criticisms on them on many things they do.
There is mounting concern, even anger, not against allowing in foreigners but over the large numbers allowed in and the impact it has on jobs.
In an apparent coordinated series, government leaders have made a series of speeches condemning querulous politics that divide Singapore.
By ignoring its own faults or addressing them head-on, the government appeared to want to put the blame on its critics.
Full story

PM Lee: I hope Singaporeans do more, government can do less

Hardwarezone Forum

dexmus: "then can pay them even lesser?"

Singapore to develop more nursing homes, health care facilities for aging population

Xinhua, 29 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Health and Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports on Friday jointly announced that they will build 10 new nursing homes, 39 new Senior Care Centres (SCCs) and 56 new Senior Activity Centres (SACs) by 2016, aiming at supporting a growing senior population.
Among the scheduled health care facilities, the site of the 10 nursing homes, 21 SCCs and 45 SACs were revealed in the press release, covering most of the main communities all around the country. Full story

Related:
Singapore To Build More Care Centres To Support Growing Senior Population - Bernama.com

Foreign workers in Singapore rose 7.2 percent despite earlier promises by Government to tighten flow

Yahoo! News Singapore, 28 Sep 2012
The number of foreign workers in Singapore rose by about 100,000 as of the end of June this year from a year ago despite measures to slow their influx, government data released Friday showed.
The 7.2 percent increase in the number of non-residents -- those working, studying or living in Singapore but not granted permanent residency -- was "due to strong manpower demand", the National Population and Talent Division said.
The rate was higher than the 6.9 percent increase in 2011, but markedly lower than growth of 19 percent seen in 2008, the NPTD said in a report, adding that the number of non-residents rose to 1.49 million from 1.39 million. Full story

Related:

Law changes may allow Indian national to escape the gallows in Singapore: report

Deccan Herald, 28 Sep 2012
Proposed changes to a mandatory death sentencing law in Singapore, if approved by parliament, may save an Indian national from the gallows for killing a Filipina prostitute in 2010, a media report said today.
Bijukumar Remadevi Nair Gopinathan's appeal on the death sentence for murdering Roselyn Reyes Pascua was dismissed yesterday, the Straits Times reported.
But the former shipyard worker in Singapore might still have a chance of escaping the hangman's noose if the changes to the law, proposed in July this year, are passed by parliament, according to the report by the Singapore daily. Full story

Singapore August bank lending rises 2.3 pct from July

Reuters India, 28 Sep 2012
(Reuters) - Total bank lending in Singapore rose 2.3 percent in August from July, central bank data showed on Friday.
Loans and advances by domestic banking units in the city-state amounted to S$468.8 billion ($381.74 billion) last month, up from S$458.3 billion in July.
From a year ago, August bank lending rose 19.2 percent. Full story

Heineken wins Tiger battle; focus shifts to F&N fight

Reuters India, 28 Sep 2012
Reuters) - Heineken NV (HEIN.AS) won full control of the maker of Tiger beer in a S$7.9 billion ($6.4 billion) deal on Friday, ending a two-month battle aimed at strengthening the Dutch brewer's position in fast-growing Asian beer markets.
Shareholders of Singapore conglomerate Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N) (FRNM.SI) backed the sale of their stake in Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) (APBB.SI) to the world's third largest brewer. Full story

Former Australian mining magnate Nathan Tinker living it up with the rich in Singapore

Perthnow.com.au, 28 Sep 2012
Life has been good for former Australian mining magnate Nathan Tinkler at his new home of Singapore, but the question for the former billionaire is how long it will last.
As Australian creditors line up claiming they are owed money, Mr Tinkler has been living a reclusive but extraordinary lifestyle afforded only to the super-rich.
Mr Tinkler has rented not one but two homes, sitting side by side on the same block with separate entrances on an ostentatious millionaires' row. Full story

Cecilia Sue Siew Nang: “I asked Boon Gay what if the child was his?”

inSing.com, 28 Sep 2012

Ng’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng referred to various statements which Ms Sue had given to Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to point out various contradictions between what she was telling the court and what she had told CPIB.
Referring to the latest statement given in May 2012, he read out this paragraph: “When I was pregnant in the first quarter of 2010 I asked Boon Gay what if the child was his. At that time I felt Boon Gay was an irresponsible man because he did not show respect and did not comfort me either. He broke my heart. It was then I decided to end the relationship.” Full story

Singapore's population rose to 5.31 million as influx of foreigners continues unabated

Yahoo! News Singapore, 28 Sep 2012
Singapore added a little over 128,000 people over the year up to June this year.
In the latest annual Population Trends publication by the Singapore Department of Statistics, the country’s total population reached 5.31 million at end-June, 2.5 per cent more than the figure a year ago.
The number of Singapore citizens grew by close to 28,000 to 3.29 million over the one-year period.
That of permanent residents (PRs) was up by a little over 1,000 to 533,100 over the period. This was a minimal increase versus the 1.7 per cent contraction the year before. Full story

Related:
Foreign population continues to increase unabatedly after GE 2011 - TR Emeritus

More discrepancies revealed in sex-for-contracts trial

Xinmsn.com, 28 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE: More discrepancies were disclosed in court on Friday morning at the trial of former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay.
Defence lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng read two excerpts of a statement taken on 3rd May this year from key witness Cecilia Sue Siew Nang.
In the first excerpt, she was referred to an older statement she made, by the recording officer.
The older statement said Ms Sue had asked Ng "if he loved me" some time in 2011.
But she told the officer "in fact I wanted to stop the relationship in September or October 2010". Full story

OPINION: Why PAP MPs and leadership always have low opinions about its own citizens - Jack Sim

Facebook.com
Singaporeans are not against foreigners. We are fed up because you've failed to supply sufficient housing, transport and build social trust. It is the government that fuel the poor social cohesion by comparing local students agaisnt the top Chinese and Vietnamese students in our local schools; by praising the foreigners and condemning Singaporeans as troublesome, negative and selfish.
So why in the first place did the PAP MPs and leadership think Singaporeans are Ugly?
I suspect it is because the only Singaporeans the MPs got in touch with face to face are the ones they meet at the Meet-The-People sessions. This group are not representative of the whole Singapore. They have personal issues. MPs compare notes with each other and concluded that ALL Singaporeans are demanding, selfish, unreasonable and sometime violent. Full story

Related:
If native Singaporeans are falling behind because "the spurs are not stuck into the hide," that is their problem - Lee Kuan Yew, National Geographic Magazine, Jan 2010

OPINION: PM Lee is out of touch with reality and contemporary education strategies - Veronica Gogh

The Online Citizen, 28 Sep 2012
In responding to reporters about whether our education system should do away with the PSLE (a major exam that 12 year-olds go through before they graduate to secondary school) in order to reduce stress, Mr. Lee pointed out that while he believed that children should enjoy growing up, they should also study hard and face a certain level of pressure in school.
The PM went on to talk about children in Britain in the 60s and the 70s "picking up things in their own way" in schools and he considered this a fad and it was his opinion that these children did not learn much. It really goes to show just how out of touch with reality and contemporary education strategies he is. "Picking up things in their own way" would be what we in the education field would term as, children discovering, investigating, and exploring their environment, their world. We see that as direct learning, where the child becomes an active participant in his own learning and that is the best form of learning. It is not a fad.. It is what good educators want their children to do. Full story

Indonesian minister helping to build Islamic school in Singapore

The Jakarta Globe, 27 Sep 2012
Indonesian State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan is reportedly busy developing a new Islamic boarding school in Singapore, in partnership with a Singaporean Muslim organization.
Dahlan was scheduled to fly to the city-state on Thursday afternoon to attend a meeting with Singapore-based Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah to discuss the project.
“I am partnering with Al-Irsyad to build an Islamic boarding school,” Dahlan said in a text message to journalists, as quoted by the Indonesian news portal kontan.co.id. Full story

Singapore educators take two weeks touring United States to gather ideas on education

Baltimoresun.com, 27 Sep 2012
Though 99 percent of Singapore's students pass national exams, a delegation of the city-state's educators recently traveled the globe to Anne Arundel County schools to learn innovative ways to help the other 1 percent succeed.
That a delegation from Singapore, a city-state regarded as one of the most efficient and prosperous locales in the world, would come to the U.S. for ideas on education might seem odd.
Kros said people in the U.S. are often taken aback when they hear that a delegation from Singapore is coming for pointers on education.
"They say, 'Why would they come here? They beat ... us in all testing,'" he said. "And it's because they're really good at their advanced-level kids and making education a priority in their country, but not as experienced with kids who don't do well in traditional settings."Full story

Singapore-made games showcased in China and UK

CNET Asia, 27 Sep 2012
Through the Singapore Game Box initiative started by the Media Development Authority of Singapore and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, four locally-made games have been showcased on CATV.net, a big game publisher in China, as well as Indiecity, one of the largest independent games portal in the United Kingdom.
The game that stands out for this geek is Armour Valley by Protege Productions. This geek first saw it at a Windows Phone launch and was impressed with the quality of the game. Full story

Drunk British banker jumped seven floors into Singapore harbour while being filmed by a friend on a mobile for a dare

Dailymail.co.uk, 27 Sep 2012
A drunk British banker died when he jumped seven floors from a rooftop bar of a luxury Singapore hotel into the harbour while a friend filmed the dare on a mobile phone.
William Hart, 37, was more than three times the legal drink drive limit when he climbed over the metal railings of the Lantern bar on top of the Fullerton Bay Hotel and announced he could 'make the jump' to the water below, an inquest heard.
His friend saw a large splash in the water and rushed downstairs to look for him but, when he failed to resurface, asked hotel guards to help look for him. Full story

Prosecution’s star witness Cecilia Sue admits she ‘wasn’t truthful’ to CPIB

Yahoo! News Singapore, 27 Sep 2012
The woman at the centre of a high-profile case against a former top civil servant told investigators a different version of her relationship with the accused from the testimony she gave on Wednesday.
In the third day of the trial against former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay for alleged sex-related corruption on Thursday, prosecution witness Cecilia Sue Siew Nang admitted during cross-examination by defence counsel Tan Chee Meng that she has changed her tune.
In responding to questions by Tan in court Thursday morning, the 36-year-old former IT sales executive insisted that there was no sexual relationship between her and the accused.
Tan then produced a record of the first statement she made with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on 20 December last year and read it out.
From the statement, the court heard that Sue, who wore a white shirt and a light cream coloured jacket, had admitted to having had sexual intercourse with Ng Boon Gay Full story

Related:
Did ex-CNB chief and Cecilia Sue have sexual intercourse? - inSing.com

Cecilia Sue’s “naughty” text messages to former CNB chief Ng Boon Gay

inSing.com, 27 Sep 2012
“Naughty” text messages and graphic details of an alleged fifth sexual encounter created a stir on day three of the sex-for-contracts trial involving former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay.
Defence lawyer Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng tried to establish that Ng and the woman embroiled in the scandal, Ms Cecilia Sue Siew Nang, were more than just friends between 2009 and last year.
Mr Tan listed out a couple of what he labelled as “naughty” text messages that she had sent to Ng:

“Do you DIY?”

“Is she at home?”

“You ignore me, how how how?”

“Sad sad, can we turn back the clock?”

Full story

PM Lee: Singaporeans do not have enough money because they like to buy the latest iPhone

omy.sg, 27 Sep 2012

总理：什么都要最新最好　国人感觉钱不够用
总理也举例说明，国人消费习惯上的改变。
“我常和居民们合照，我都会看他们用的手机。超过三分之二用iPhone，而且是最新款的。我没有去买最新款的iPhone，因为旧的还能用，但很多人都认为，自己应该拥有最新、最好的，所以才会感觉‘钱不够用’。我们应该取得平衡。在向往更高的生活水平之余，也要清楚知道，什么是必需品，什么不是，才能确保我们不会超支。” Full story

Social entreprenuer Jack Sim slams PAP MP Penny Low for bad-mouthing him

Facebook.com/TharmanShanmugaratnam, 27 Sep 2012

"There are top leaders capable of listening and there are top leaders who still think citizens are simply too naive to understand government's operation. Such condescending attitudes can be epitomized when MP Penny Low goes aroud [sic] the world telling the high platforms that Jack Sim is not a real social entrepreneur because he does not make any money. She said it to INSEAD, to SCHWAB, to WEFORUM and I wonder why the PAP breeds this kind of MP who would prefer to smear her own citizens around the world while I am trying my best to do a decent job. I was once again surprised when I was speaking at Seoul's World Knowledge Forum at the same panel discussion when she suddenly proclaimed to the audience that she was the one who incubated me to becoem [sic] successful. On the one hand, she condemns me and on the other hand, she's claiming credit for my work. This is why PAP really needs to quality control its own selection. It is very upsetting to see your own MP do this to her own citizens. So when they asked me why she is doing that, I could only say this is how my own government treat me after flying the Singapore flag high and proud all over the world. What else can I say?"

Link

Related:

Singapore will take in foreigners at a "comfortable pace": Lee Kuan Yew

Bloomberg, 27 Sep 2012
Singapore will continue to take in foreigners even as citizens complain about overcrowding and increased competition for jobs, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said.
“We have slowed down the intake of foreigners but we will continue taking in foreigners at a pace” that citizens “find comfortable,” Lee, 89, said at a conference in Singapore yesterday.
Foreigners and permanent residents make up more than a third of the island’s 5.2 million population, and of the 122,600 jobs created in Singapore last year, about 70 percent went to workers from overseas. The city’s fertility rate of 1.2 children per woman is too low, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s elder son, said last month. Full story

OPINION: Luring more wealthy foreigners make Singapore's upmarket real estate recession-resistant?

CNBC.com, 26 Sep 2012
The proportion of foreign buying crept up to 21 percent in July, and August numbers are around 24 percent, Savills estimates.
Most of those are Indonesians, Malaysians and Indians – three groups that, along with the mainland Chinese, have for some time accounted for the bulk of foreign buying interest. The rest are Russians and some western Europeans.
Recent efforts by Singapore to build the city-state up as a wealth management center – rivalling global leader Switzerland by assets under management – have increased its allure to wealthy individuals. A cluster of world-class hospitals, many specialising in complicated treatments, is drawing “medical tourists” – especially from Indonesia. Full story

SDP calls for DPM Teo Chee Hean to explain his meeting with Archbishop Chia

Singapore Democrats, 26 Sep 2012
The dispute over the the letter by Archbishop Nicholas Chia to Function8 (F8) over the 1987 Internal Security Act (ISA) detentions raises serious questions about the PAP Government's involvement.
Whether the Archbishop had given the letter to F8 in support of the detainees' efforts to clear their names and to call for the abolition of the ISA, and why he subsequently withdrew it, is not of importance as far as the country is concerned. It is a matter for the Church and F8 to resolve.
What is important is that after the letter was issued, the Government intervened with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affiars (MHA) Teo Chee Hean summoning the Archbishop for a lunch meeting, a meeting which the MHA has not denied. Full story

Singapore's bid to become Asia's newest art hub

The Japan Times Online, 27 Sep 2012
Gillman Barracks occupies a sprawling 6.4 hectare suburban site, located in lush green surroundings just a 10-minute walk from the nearest subway station, which used to house a British military battalion during Singapore's colonial days. This new arts district features several detached, brick buildings of various sizes with high ceilings interspersed with restaurants and bars. Extensively refurbished to the tune of some SG$10 million (¥634 million) by Singapore's Jurong Town Corporation, with joint support from the city-state's National Art Council (NAC) and Economic Development Board (EDB), Gillman Barracks is seen by many as the latest in a string of government-funded initiatives to reinvent Singapore as an Asian hub and market for contemporary art. Full story

OPINION: MTI's half-hearted defense of bringing more foreign workers into Singapore

Singapore Notes, 26 Sep 2012
You know they are running out of excuses when the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) puts up a half hearted defence for squeezing Singaporeans out of jobs (and living space) with the 1 million foreign workers shipped ashore over the recent years. The five key contributions listed by MTI would be laughable if they weren't so sad.
Foreigners pave the way for new industry sectors -
This was the case during the early years of industrialisation when companies like Rollei, Seagate, Hewlett Packard, etc, pioneered manufacturing operations for cameras, Winchester disk drives, computer peripherals, etc, and trained a legion of line production staff. More important, they transferred the technology to local staff and then the expatriates went home. Is that the situation with the biomedical sciences and aerospace engineering examples quoted?
Full story

Singapore economy likely to have entered a technical recession in Q3: Barclays Capital

ForexTV.com, 26 Sep 2012
Quotes from Barclays Capital:
Singapore IP contracted 2.2% y/y in August (July: +2.5%), against expectations for a small expansion (Barclays: 3%; consensus: 1%)
We expect a technical recession in Q3 (Q3 GDP forecast: -0.5% q/q saar; Q2: -0.7%). We estimate manufacturing output will need to surge 20% m/m sa in September in order to show sequential growth in Q3 (Q2: -0.5% q/q saar).
Full story

Cecilia Sue Siew Nang claims she was coerced into giving oral sex to Ng Boon Gay

Yahoo! News Singapore, 26 Sep 2012

Called in by the prosecution in the second day of the trial against Ng on Tuesday, Cecilia Sue Siew Nang recounted how her relationship with the top civil servant started. Her account painted the picture of a man who became increasingly desperate to obtain sexual gratification in the form of oral sex, despite being repeatedly rejected by Sue.
Breaking down in tears several times during her testimony, the 36-year-old former IT executive said she was afraid to report Ng for fear of sullying her reputation and her relationship with Ng as a powerful client and the Ministry of Home Affairs agency as a potential business partner. Sue also said on his part that Ng repeatedly apologized and promised he would not force her into compromising positions, only for him to try again the next time. Full story

Related:

OPINION: 'Gov't must address root cause of breakdown'

Yahoo! News Singapore, 26 Sep 2012
I was looking forward to the forum between PM Lee and members of the public, ostensibly to discuss the future we Singaporeans envisioned for ourselves, that was broadcast on television recently.
I was disappointed. It seemed to me that the questions were tame, as if they had been screened beforehand for unfavourable or incendiary content. I also felt that a lot of important questions did not get asked; questions on issues that seem to divide society almost right down the middle now.
Singapore was already considered a success story 20-30 years ago. We were known as one of the Asian Tigers then and the productivity of our workforce was up there among the best in the world.
In those days the MRT had just been built and made travelling so easy. Our kids were doing well in school, health care was of a high standard and still improving, while wages for blue collar employees were rising steadily. Year by year more and more HDB dwellers were able to afford to move into bigger and better flats. Full story

China-born paddlers received S$625,000 from Singapore for Olympic medals

inSing.com, 26 Sep 2012
Singapore paddlers Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu received S$625,000 in total through the Singapore National Olympic Council’s (SNOC) Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme.
The three paddlers will be sharing S$375,000 for clinching the women’s team bronze medal.
Ms Feng was also awarded S$250,000 for clinching the bronze medal in the women’s table tennis singles event. Full story

Singtel clinches Singapore media rights to UEFA Champions League and Europa League

Rapid TV News, 26 Sep 2012
UEFA has announced that pay-TV operator Singtel has been awarded media rights for the next three seasons of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Singtel will broadcast two live UEFA Champions League fixtures each matchnight on its channels Mio Sports 1 and Mio Sports 2, as well as a highlights programme to be shown at prime time each matchweek on Mio Sports 1. Full story

DPM Tharman to visit India for "financial ties"

Xinhua, 25 Sep 2012

SINGAPORE, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam is scheduled to visit Indian cities of New Delhi and Mumbai from Sept. 26 to 27, the city-state's Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday.
Tharman's visit to India is believed to enhance bilateral relationships between the two countries mainly in financial sector. Full story

Singapore firm takes over Zambia's biggest coffee estate

Equities.com, 26 Sep 2012
LUSAKA, Sep 26, 2012 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- One of Singapore's leading integrated supply chain manager and processor of agricultural products and food ingredients has acquired Zambia's largest coffee estate which has been inactive for years due to financial constraints, the Times of Zambia reported on Wednesday. Olam International Limited has acquired a 100 percent equity in Northern Coffee Corporation Limited for approximately 6.15 million U. S. dollars through a bidding process that was organized by the country's investment agency- the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA). Full story

Singapore's manufacturing fell in August raising fears of recession

RTTNews.com, 26 Sep 2012
(RTTNews) - Singapore's manufacturing production unexpectedly declined in August, raising fears of a recession as a gain in the biomedical sector was offset by a marked contraction in electronics output amid further deterioration in export demand, latest data showed Wednesday.
The electronics cluster recorded a faster decline of 7.3 percent than 5.3 percent in July as external demand for electronic products dropped further in the backdrop of a slowing global economy and the ongoing crisis in Europe. Full story

Related:
Singapore's Aug. manufacturing output down 2.2 pct - Xinhua

OPINION: Netizen rebuts Lawrence Wong's comments

CNA Forum, 25 Sep 2012
PM Lee wants a 6 million population for Singapore.. There’s a phrase in the Chinese sayings “if you don’t have such big head, then don’t wear such big hat”. It means that don’t do something that you’re are not capable of doing. The current PAP obviously does not have what it takes to run a country of 6 million population. And also this is Singapore, not Hong Kong.
One moment, PAP claimed that due to land scarce, thus nursing home have to build within the heartland(for an example, Bishan). then next moment you claimed that we have more available lands to accommodate up to 6 millions population? If we do have available lands, use it for nursing home since we have an aging population rather than bringing in more foreigners. So why aren’t PAP doing the RIGHT thing?
Singaporeans definitely appreciate how the past PAP has brought us to what we have today. But why are Singaporeans voting AGAINST PAP today? Full story

Chan Chun Sing: In other developed economies, the rich will marry the rich to provide good education for their children.....

Diary of A Singaporean Mind, 26 Sep 2012

The minister in answering the question stuck to the PAP stand that good education together with social mobility is the solution. He started off by saying other developed economies ("matured societies") have "ossification" of the society where "the rich marry the rich" to provide good education for their children and opportunities. Does this minister even know what he is talking about? What he said is so detached from reality. I wonder where he is coming from. Singapore has the largest income gap among all developed nations. Our education system is highly elitist in nature compared with egalitarian system they have in places like Finland, Sweden, Australia and Canada. In all other developed countries power is shared more equally among the people and free press scrutinizes the actions of those in power and the rich. Full story

OPINION: Beware Benchmarking Education Against India

Asia Sentinel, 25 Sep 2012
Contrary to the growing Western perception of the country as a technology powerhouse, the quality of Indian graduate education in critical technology fields lags significantly behind the United States and Europe. Concerns about the caliber of India’s legions of engineering graduates have mired New Delhi’s bid for full membership in the Washington Accord, which governs international recognition of foreign engineering degrees. Moreover, the country manages to produce a remarkably small number of PhDs in computer science each year. Indeed, Israel graduates approximately the same number as India despite the gargantuan population disparity. A senior government official in New Delhi a few years back acknowledged that India would never become a great power on the basis of such paltry numbers.
A parade of government officials and corporate leaders has acknowledged the serious disrepair of the Indian university system, including at the most elite schools. Incredibly, given the country’s high-tech image, the Infosys Science Foundation in 2009 was unable to find a worthy recipient for its inaugural prize honoring an Indian researcher in the field of engineering and computer science. And The Journal of the ACM, the world’s leading journal in the computer science field, for a number of years was unable to publish Indian submissions on quality grounds. Full story

OPINION: Complaints, Politics and Lawrence Wong

Asian Correspondent, 26 Sep 2012
Mr Wong’s warning about politics is nothing new to any Singaporean who follows the news. Singaporeans have been warned against the dangers of politicising issues for a long, long time. We have been trained to think of political vibrancy not as a desirable trait in our country, but as an inevitable slippery slope to filibustering and paralysed systems, such as can be seen in the United States.
Still, I can’t help but see a mixed message in the Facebook update. While urging Singaporeans not to politicise issues, Mr Wong does not hesitate to hammer home all the things that the PAP government has done for Singapore. What message are we meant to get from this? Right now, it looks as if input from PAP members is well-meant and sincere, whereas input from alternative voices is just dangerous politics. Can that really be the message they intend to send?
By seeing the criticism online as mean-spiritedness and a lack of respect, Mr Wong has not grasped the main grievance of Singaporeans who feel cut off from the political process. By seeing critics as nothing more than people with secret political affiliations who “hide their real identities behind anonymous online profiles”, he is missing out on real opportunities to understand and engage skeptics of the national conversation. Instead, he has simply reinforced beliefs that this national conversation is nothing more than a national conversion for swing voters ahead of the next election. And that’s a real pity. Full story

Related:
Lawrence Wong ‘likes’ extremist ‘Fabrications about PAP’ page on Facebook - The Temasek Times

Khaw's cooling measures may have failed to rein in property prices, but it earn half a billion for the Govt

Asia Property Report, 25 Sep 2012
Cooling measures such as the additional buyers’ stamp duty (ABSD) have raked in around S$500 million (US$408 million) in tax revenue, according to Asia One. Of the combined cooling measures, the ABSD has contributed the majority of tax revenues, at S$450 million since it was introduced in December last year.
The remaining S$51 million came from the sellers’ stamp duty, which was implemented in 2010, according to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Full story

Singapore monitors the situation of the new fatal virus

Xinhua, 25 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Health on Tuesday informed the city-state's hospitals the new unknown virus that are said to be related to the deadly SARS infection, in order to ensure vigilance in any emergencies, according to a report by local media Channel NewsAsia.
The WHO said earlier that two cases of acute respiratory syndrome with renal failure had been reported from two persons who had both traveled to Middle East, and a novel coronavirus has been later confirmed relating to the two cases. Full story

SDP's National Conversation Roundtable to feature civil society instead of opposition parties

Singapore Democrats, 25 Sep 2012
Bloggers and NGO representatives will replace opposition party representatives at the National Conversation Roundtable organised by the SDP.
The National Solidarity Party, Singapore People's Party and Singapore Democratic Alliance replied to say that they would not be sending representatives to speak on the panel.
The Reform Party said that it should be able to make the event but as of this report had not confirmed its participation. Workers' Party did not reply to the invitation. Full story

Cecilia Sue Siew Nang and Ng Boon Gay: Was it love or just business?

Yahoo! News Singapore, 25 Sep 2012
The woman at the centre of the high-profile corruption trial involving a former top Singapore civil servant is "clinically depressed" and has been seeking medical treatment since news of the scandal broke.
But questions of whether she was really in love with the accused also surface......Ng's defence lawyer, Tan Chee Meng said Sue had changed her statement several times during an 8.5-hour interrogation.
He claimed her statements swung from "she loves him and wants to leave her hubby for Ng" to saying it was purely a business case. Sue, who is married and has a two-year-old child, also said in her initial statement that "Boon Gay did not help me in any form to secure business with CNB". Full story

Related:
Former CNB chief’s corruption trial begins - inSing.com

Escalating housing cost and unabated influx of foreigners are 2 top concerns of Singaporeans in Yahoo! poll

Yahoo! News Singapore, 25 Sep 2012
The cost of housing was voted the most pressing concern for Yahoo! readers, according to a week-long poll on the online portal.
Last week, as part of the ongoing Singapore Conversation, we listed down 10 issues and asked Yahoo! readers to vote for their chief concerns.
A total of 21,470 people cast their votes with each reader allowed to vote only once, and on a single issue.
28% of people voted for the cost of housing. The management of flow and integration of foreigners, which garnered 21% of the votes, came in second while narrowing the income gap came in third with 17% of votes. Full story

Only a 25 percent of Singaporeans who visit prostitutes in Batam use condoms

inSing.com, 25 Sep 2012
A survey with 300 Indonesian sex workers in Batam has revealed that 60 per cent of them have customers from Singapore, and only a quarter of these customers “always use condoms”.
More than 45 per cent of these sex workers also said they have to provide the condoms themselves.
The survey is part of a study done by Singapore’s non-governmental agency Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), with partner agencies in Batam, Yayasan Lintas Nusa and Yayasan Dunia Viva Wanita, in April 2012. Full story

Temasek sold off 500 million SingTel shares to raise S$1.34 billion cash

Yahoo! Finance

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings will sell as many as 500 million shares in Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to raise up to $1.34 billion, according to a term sheet seen by IFR late on Tuesday.

The transaction comprises a base size of 400 million SingTel shares at S$3.20 and S$3.25, which works out to around S$1.3 billion ($1.06 billion). It includes an upsize option for another 100 million shares that if exercised will raise the deal size to $1.34 billion.
A Temasek spokesman confirmed the sale. Full story

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Lim Hng Kiang reiterates Govt's stance: Singapore needs foreigners to complement resident workforce

Xinhua, 25 Sep 2012
Singapore needs foreign manpower to complement its resident workforce and support such sectors as construction, health and social services, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said Tuesday.
Foreign manpower is also needed to anchor and build up new sectors in Singapore such as the biomedical and aerospace industries, he said.
"If you train Singaporeans to fill up the sector before you launch the sector, you may lose the opportunity, and you take too long," he said.
"If you tell Rolls Royce, wait until we train all the workers and technicians, I think we would have missed the investments," he said. Full story

iPhone 5 cost more in Singapore than US and Europe

The prices of iPhone 5 without contract in Singapore are about 18% higher than the United States, and about 11% higher than major European countries.

Source: iPhone 5 Price: Compare Apple's Smartphone Cost in US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong - latinopost.com

Cecilia Sue Siew Nang suffering from "clinical depression"

Yahoo! News Singapore, 25 Sep 2012
The woman at the centre of the high-profile corruption trial involving a former top Singapore civil servant is "clinically depressed" and has been seeking medical treatment since news of the scandal broke.
In the opening day of the trial of former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay, the prosecution on Tuesday said Cecilia Sue Siew Nang, 36, has "not been coping well with the situation she's found herself in" and has been seeing a psychiatrist from the Insitute of Mental Health (IMH) for the past three months. Full story

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