Singapore News Alternative: January 2013

Various Commentaries About PAP Govt's White Paper On Population

Population White Paper : Filled with flaws and unsubstantiated claims
Even before the PAP solved the problems caused by the large influx of the last 15 years, it tells us that it wants to continue the large influx until 2030 to reach a population of 6.5-6.9M people. This proposal has shocked both netizens and citizens alike because the past decade of high foreign influx has led to numerous problems and a decline in the quality of life Singaporeans. Singapore now has the highest population density in the world and the PAP govt wants to increase this further by another 30%. The high foreign influx and especially cheap 3rd world labour has caused the income gap to widen, wages to be stagnant among lower income groups, cost of living to shoot up and transport/medical infrastructure to be strained.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2013/01/population-white-paper-filled-with.html

Population White Paper should be about children, not about GDP
All projections into the future depend on assumptions. The same is true of the Population White Paper just released. It is one that has provoked a huge outcry with its estimate that Singapore will have as many as 6.9 million on this island by 2030, just 17 years away.
However, among the many assumptions used, one stood out to my eyes. It is there in the executive summary, speaking of getting “3% to 5% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth on average” between now and 2020, and 2% to 3% thereafter. Strictly speaking, these were not assumptions. They were arbitrarily laid down targets, but once laid down, they effectively determined the result — which is that population has to rise to as many as 6.9 million.
We can see the problem straight away: why is GDP growth rate the driver of any population policy?
http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/population-white-paper-should-be-about-children-not-about-gdp/

Population White Paper: Twisting logic to make wrong conclusions
The PAP based its population plan on what happened it the past with the economy. Despite selling us the notion that they were men with foresight, great planning and helicopter views that steered the Singapore economy from the 3rd world to the 1st in one generation, they were riding on a wave they themselves did not foresee and based their population planning on the anemic economic performance of the past.
Today they tell that there are blue skies ahead, the global demand will keep rising and Singapore economy can keep expanding to fill the demand. So they propose an extreme population growth policy based primarily on importing foreigners and converting some of them to citizens and PRs. The rate at which they choose to grow the population is much faster than the replacement rate - by a factor of 5.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2013/01/population-white-papertwisting-logic-to.html

White Washed Paper
The Population White Paper is really one piece of shoddy work. There's no bibliography, annotations or scholarly references cited to support it's preposterous arguments or constructs. Even if the authors were to package it with iPods, Mont Blanc pens or tailored shirts, no professor will give it a decent grade. It's fit for one purpose only. You are in the smallest room of the house, the paper is in front of you, then it's behind you. Don't forget to flush.
http://singaporedesk.blogspot.sg/2013/01/white-washed-paper.html

I Worry For My Grandchildren
With the current 5.3 million people in Singapore, I already find it hard to breathe. People, people everywhere. Rushing here, shoving there. In the trains; the buses; parks; shopping malls; on the roads; by the pavements; in the open fields! Wherever I am in Singapore, I'm never in Singapore. With the people that I see and the voices that I hear, I'm either in China, India or in Philippines. Never feel like I'm in Singapore. Occasionally, I'm in Thailand, Burma or Vietnam. As one human being to another, I have no dislike for people from these countries. It is the PAP government that I resent for stealing Singapore from me and my loved ones.
http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.sg/2013/01/i-worry-for-my-grandchildren.html

PAP increases population for sake of increasing population
Whenever a developed country looks at their immigration policy, the first thing they do is to look for immigrants who have the skills and/or financial ability to add value to the economy of the country. Not so for Singapore. Or rather, I should say, not so for PAP. To the PAP, it seems that simply increasing the population is somehow the magic bullet to economic progress.
http://wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.sg/2013/01/pap-increases-population-for-sake-of.html

OPINION: Why PAP Lost Again

Singaporeelection.blogspot.sg, 28 Jan 2013
It looks like PAP has not learned from the lessons of 2011 GE.
LTK is right. The PAP of old is not the PAP of today. George Yeo made a very good comment that when an organisation get going for many years, the rot starts to set in and what they do not "realise" will set its doom. He wanted to be the "reformist" voice inside the Party but unfortunately he got booted out.
In the sixties up to the early eighties, PAP has a very strong dedicated grassroot base whose support begin from ordinary folks in the mass anti-colonial movement. In the early days, PAP filled many ordinary folks with just simple education backgrounds to be candidates. Later the Barisan Socialis made a critical mistake when it withdrew from running in the elections and so gave PAP a free hand. PAP responded by running country with excellent economic policies that uplifted the people's standard of living. With a strong grassroot base, it continued to enjoy continuous support from the populace. Full story

Transparency International gave Singapore "D+ grade" for transparency in govt and national security matters

Government.defenceindex.org
Singapore is placed in Band D+. Overall, the defence and security sector is characterised by a dearth of public information, offset by strong controls against personnel corruption risks. Regarding political corruption risk, restrictions on the formation of societies relating to government or national security matters limit Civil Society Organisation (CSO) engagement with the government on defence. The Anti-Defamation Act, Official Secrets Act, and the Sedition Act serve to deter strong commentary or investigative journalism, forcing the media to practice self-censorship with regard to many political matters, including defence and security issues. Full report

Civil Service College and 3 Singapore universities collaborate to provide training services in China

Xinhua, 30 Jan 2013
Seven top providers of education and training services in Singapore, including the three universities, formed an alliance on Wednesday to jointly explore the Chinese market.
The Singapore Talent Development Alliance will also make it easier to consider the option of bringing the courses to China.
The members of the alliance include the Civil Service College, the three universities such as the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Management University, as well as three other institutions providing vocational training and consultation services. Full story

OPINION: PAP Government loses control of narrative - Michael Barr

Lowyinterpreter.org, 30 Jan 2013
The problem for the PAP goes far beyond mere voter anger over a dozen different issues that affect everyday lives. That would be enough of a problem, but given time this can be corrected (and I have little doubt that despite this string of setbacks, the PAP is still not in any danger of actually losing government in the next couple of elections).
The deeper problem is that people are now listening to a different narrative.
The next problem for the PAP is that, having lost control of the narrative when talking to constituents, it now also risks losing control of the narrative when addressing the elite on which it depends for candidates and future ministers. How is it going to attract high quality candidates if it cannot guarantee an easy ride into parliament? Who is it going to find to run against the Workers' Party in seats that the PAP has already lost?
The short-term risk for Singapore now is that the Government will lapse into old authoritarian habits, and bring back the 'knuckle-duster' politics of which Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yew, used to speak so fondly. Full story

Ivory haul from Africa seized in Singapore

BBC News, 30 Jan 2013
Customs officials in Singapore have uncovered a shipment of 1.8 tonnes of ivory, with a value of around $2.5m (£1.6m).
It is the biggest ivory haul in the country in more than a decade.
The consignment, marked as being waste paper, had come from Africa and was reportedly passing through Singapore.
Elephant poaching has been on the rise because of demand from Asia, where ivory is used for ornaments and in traditional medicine. Full story

Singaporeans reacted wtih fury over 6.9 million population target by the PAP government

Yahoo! News Singapore, 30 Jan 2013
Singaporeans’ comments blasting the government came fast and furious after news broke Tuesday of its plan to allow for an increase in the city-state’s population to 6.9 million by 2030.
Coming amid an already rising wave of anti-foreigner sentiment following the influx of immigrants in recent years, a white paper released by the National Population and Talent Division on Tuesday said that Singaporeans were expected to make up little more than half or 55 per cent of the projected population.
Singaporeans took it to online platforms to give voice to their rage over the government’s population plan. A Facebook group, Say No to an Overpopulated Singapore, was started on Monday and has since gotten 658 likes.
Hundreds of comments to articles regarding the population target were also overwhelmingly negative. Full story

Singapore Airlines axed 76 pilots

FoxBusiness.com, 30 Jan 2013
Singapore Airlines Ltd. (C6L.SG) Wednesday said it will ask 76 pilots to leave before their contracts expire, as it grapples with surplus crew and slow business growth.
The pilots are likely to leave by June 30, Singapore Airlines said in a statement. It said it had previously released pilots only when contracts expired.
The airline said it has a pilot surplus because the global financial crisis of 2009-10 left it with excess capacity and slower-than-expected growth. Pilots employed on fixed-term contracts make up about 4% of the 2,350 total. Full story

Netizens condemn youth for insensitive tweet about Tampines fatal accident

Hardwarezone Forum, 28 Jan 2013

Full story

OPINION: Singapore’s High Cost of Living May Come at a Cost - Dhara Ranasinghe

CNBC.com, 30 Jan 2013
Singapore, one of Asia's largest financial centers, has seen a big inflow of expatriates in recent years. Now, as a sharp rise in the cost of living threatens high living standards, the city-state may well be at risk of becoming a victim of its own success.
And while low taxes, good air quality and less crime lure workers to Singapore from across the world, the recent push up in housing, schooling and transport costs could discourage expats from moving or staying in the city long-term, analysts said.
Darika Suter, who has lived in Singapore for 24 years, is re-locating her antiques business to the Thai island Phuket in March. She says that while higher costs are not the only reason for the move they certainly make it no "fun" to do business in Singapore any longer.
"I can use the funds I have built up to live comfortably in Thailand, so why stay in Singapore and sweat it out?," she says. Full story

Singapore rejects 'comfort woman' statue

Focus Information Agency, 30 Jan 2013
Singapore said Wednesday it has rejected plans by South Korean activists to erect a statue in the city-state commemorating women forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II, AFP reported.
The culture ministry denied claims by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery that there had been talks about plans to put up such a statue.
"This is not accurate," the ministry told AFP in an emailed statement.
"There are no ongoing meetings or discussions between the Singapore government and the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery on this issue. Nor will we allow such a statue to be erected in Singapore."
In Seoul last week the activists unveiled plans to put up the statues - representing "comfort women" forced into Japanese military brothels during the war - in a number of Asian countries starting with Singapore. Link

Two foreigners are front runners to replace outgoing Singapore national coach Radojko Avramovic

Goal.com, 30 Jan 2013
With the clock ticking down to decision-day for Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to appoint the nations’ next national coach, sources close to Goal.com have revealed that a former S.League player, Dragan Talajic might be in contention to take over the rein from Serbian Radojko Avramovic.
Apart from Talajic, another possible candidate for the job is current East Timor coach, Emerson Alcantara, who had previously managed Brazilian state club Esporte Club de Novembro in the Sao Paoulo regional league and was appointed as East Timor head coach in 2012. Full story

Singapore telcos to offer 128GB iPad

CNET Asia, 30 Jan 2013
All three carriers in Singapore, SingTel, StarHub and M1, have confirmed that they will be offering the new 128GB version of the iPad. This will presumably be the cellular version bundled with a data plan.
Apple had earlier announced that its fourth-generation iPad with Retina display would soon be available with 128GB of storage, twice that of existing models. The company said that it is targeting businesses and professional users who may need more storage capacity. Full story

PAP MP Lee Bee Wah gets into spat with Yishun resident over covered shelters, golf trips

Hardwarezone Forum, 29 Jan 2013

Full story

PAP government plans for half of Singapore's population to be foreigners by 2030

inSing.com, 29 Jan 2013
(SINGAPORE) Foreigners could make up nearly half of Singapore's population by 2030, the Government said Tuesday as it unveiled its politically sensitive projection for a city of up to seven million boosted by young immigrants.
In a white paper on population, the Government said Singaporeans' flagging birth rates – which have been below replacement levels for more than three decades – necessitated immigration into the prosperous Southeast Asian nation.
Foreigners would make up nearly half the population by then with the proportion of Singaporean citizens projected to fall to 55 per cent from 62 per cent as of June 2012. Full story

Foreigners to take up lower-skilled jobs while Singaporeans to hold majority of PMET jobs: Govt. Do you believe?

Yahoo! News Singapore, 29 Jan 2013
According to the population white paper released by National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Tuesday, by 2030, two in three Singaporeans will hold PMET jobs compared to one in two today.
The remaining one-third of Singaporean workers will be more skilled than non-PMETs today.
Government pointed out that foreign manpower would be needed to complement the local workforce in four key areas, namely:

Taking up lower-skilled jobs, as more Singaporeans upgrade into higher-skilled jobs
Helping to kick-start new high value-added emerging sectors to provide Singaporeans with a diverse range of good jobs

Full story

OPINION: Singapore Likes a Crowd - Shibani Mahtani

WSJ Blog, 29 Jan 2013
Singapore’s government has projected that the tiny city-state’s population of 5.3 million – about the size of metropolitan Miami – will reach 6.9 million by 2030, almost half of which will be made up of foreigners as the citizen population continues to shrink with declining birth rates and an aging population.
The issue of population – particularly the city-state’s reliance on a large foreign workforce to complement its dwindling number of citizens – has for years been a delicate political issue in Singapore. Disaffection towards the longtime ruling People’s Action Party – the only party in power since the young city-state’s independence in the 1960s – was further proved by its loss in a by-election over the weekend, which boosted opposition representation in parliament to a small but unprecedented seven out of 87 seats. Rising housing and transportation costs, seen as a direct result of more people in the already-crowded state, are among the core reasons for this unhappiness, and the government has been under increasing pressure to cut its dependence on foreign labor. Full story

OPINION: Singapore politics to come ― Devadas Krishnadas

The Malaysian Insider, 30 Jan 2013
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday explained how we arrived at an infrastructure lag. He elaborated on how the decision to augment the labour force and the population was taken in the context of the economically bleak first half of the last decade.
The gross domestic product (GDP) growth is a function of a combination of changes in productivity and labour force growth. Historically, Singapore had productivity-driven growth. Many will remember the productivity campaigns of the 1980s and early 1990s. Productivity-driven growth creates added value for the economy. It also typically expands it in a more stable and sustainable way.
Straightforward labour force injection creates a temporary boost to the economy but can quickly lead to a tail-wagging-the-dog effect. For example, this can be seen in the rapid growth of the food and beverage sector, and the overheating property sector to cater to population growth.
This in turn leads to higher demand for workers in the construction and food and beverage sectors, which then creates its own feedback loop. Full story

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says to ‘just leave’ anti-gay law

Asian Correspondent, 30 Jan 2013
Section 377A in Singapore’s Penal Code criminalises sex between two men, even if it is consensual. Although the government has promised that it will not be “proactively enforced”, it still means that technically all gay men in Singapore are in danger of becoming criminals, and being prosecuted as such. It means that children in Singapore are taught that homosexuality – especially if you’re both men – is a potential crime, which becomes a source of pain and confusion for gay youth. It means that gay men could be hesitant about getting tested for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) or for AIDS, which means that efforts to contain and treat such infections will be made more difficult, and any scientific or medical research into this area will be restricted.
But hey, why the fuss? Let’s just “agree to disagree”, says Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
PM Lee defended the legislation at the Singapore Perspectives conference hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies, saying, “Why is that law on the books? Because it’s always been there and I think we just leave it.” Full story

Related:

PAP government wants to boost population to 6.9 million by 2030

Reuters, 29 Jan 2013

Asian financial center Singapore, which is already more densely populated than rival Hong Kong, wants to raise its population by as much as 30 percent in the next two decades to ensure its economy remains dynamic, the government said on Tuesday.
The growth in the population to between 6.5 and 6.9 million by 2030 - from 5.3 million now - would involve persuading citizens to have more babies and handing out citizenship to more foreign-born professionals, the government said in a white paper.
The publication of the white paper comes just days after Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) lost heavily in a by-election amid growing public unhappiness about high property prices and competition for jobs which they blamed on the government's liberal immigration policies. Full story

Related:

Thai takeover opens exit door for coveted F&N chairman Lee Hsien Yang

Yahoo! Finance Singapore, 28 Jan 2013
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Singapore's prime minister and chairman of Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N), will enter a new chapter in his corporate life - and could well leave F&N - as the group looks set to be taken over by Thailand's third-richest man.
Lee, 55, the second son of Singapore's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, oversaw a bidding war for F&N that led to Southeast Asia's biggest corporate takeover. The deal values the 130-year-old drinks and property conglomerate at around $11 billion and will reward shareholders handsomely. Full story

Singapore IT jobs could see pent-up hiring after freezes

ZDNet.com, 29 Jan 2013
IT hiring in Singapore will likely stay strong and steady this year, and any upsurge in hiring activity will mostly be due to pent-up demand carried over from initial hiring freezes at companies.
The reason why the market will be "relatively vibrant" in 2013 is mainly because employers have had limited IT hiring over the last two years, which has caused demand to snowball, said Roger Olofsson, business director for finance technology, IT and telecommunications at Hays Singapore.
Around the same time, the growing adoption of major disruptive technologies such as cloud, big data, social media, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications has created a need for new or updated IT skills. This applies to end-user companies as well as IT suppliers, Olofsson noted. Full story

Singapore manufacturing investments to slow in coming years

The Malaysian Insider, 28 Jan 2013
SINGAPORE, Jan 28 — Singapore attracted S$16 billion (RM40 billion) in fixed asset investments last year, a 17 per cent increase from 2011, but the city-state will likely attract fewer capital-intensive projects in coming years due to land and manpower constraints, its Economic Development Board (EDB) said today.
EDB, Singapore’s main economic planning agency, said it expects to attract S$11 billion-13 billion worth of investments in new facilities, equipment and machinery this year as companies remain keen to expand in Southeast Asia at a time growth prospects in developed economies remain weak. Full story

Singapore GIC Bails Out UK's Laxfield With $1 Billion Debt Guarantee

Globest.com, 29 Jan 2013
With an initial capital infusion from the real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., Laxfield Capital has launched a new commercial lending program. The locally based commercial mortgage origination, investment management and advisory firm will invest up to $1 billion in commercial mortgages in the United Kingdom over the next 24 months. Full story

Related:

"Nothing much has change, the workers are still coming" - foreign worker recruitment agency

The Irrawaddy, 29 Jan 2013
In tandem with this bad economic news, there has also been growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Singapore, where foreign-born citizens now make up almost 40 percent of its population, while birthrates among the native population are falling.
But for now the number of Burmese coming to Singapore to seek work seems unlikely to drop.
“Nothing much changes, the workers are still coming,” says Eva Daw Moe Thi Da, manager of at Golden Dragon Employment Agency, a migrant worker recruitment agency. “Every day we get 10 to 20 applications from Myanmar.” Full story

Ex-Temasek exec Rozario forms advisory firm

Reuters, 29 Jan 2013
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Francis Rozario, who spearheaded Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd's investment in Asian banks, has set up his own advisory firm to serve financial institutions.
Rozario told Reuters he had co-founded Singapore-based Asia Capital and Advisors Pte Ltd with Leslie Menkes, who headed Morgan Stanley's onshore private banking business in Asia.
A former Citigroup executive, Rozario left Temasek's Fullerton Financial Holdings unit in the middle of 2011 after working at the state investor for about eight years. Full story

Singapore Office Rents to Rebound as Supply Growth Abates

Bloomberg, 30 Jan 2013
Singapore’s office rents are set to rebound from their first annual decline in three years as new supply shrinks and more businesses expand, according to the biggest office property trust in Asia outside of Japan.
Rents in the city are reaching a trough and demand may rise as the country positions itself as a regional business hub, said Lynette Leong, chief executive officer of CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT), Supply for the next three years will be about 0.8 million square feet a year, down from 1.3 million square feet over the past two decades, she said. Full story

PM Lee admits his govt lacks foresight, claims caught off guard by population surge, plans to clamp down on social media

XIN MSN News, 29 Jan 2013
PM Lee said Singapore is dealing with the issues of housing and transport today because the government does not have complete foresight of events.
He was responding to a question from a participant on how some 'policy missteps' happened.
Mr Lee also said the strains on the population didn't show up progressively nor gradually, but suddenly.
On why there is still a need to moderate social space involving social media for example, Mr Lee said the online community in particular is not moderating itself.
Extreme views are put out and responses and disapprovals are also extreme. So Mr Lee said this cannot be left to itself. Full story

Related:

Singapore can accomodate 8 million people: Dr Paul Cheung

Singapolitics.sg, 28 Jan 2013
Singapore can, if it wants, accommodate eight million people. That is Dr Cheung's belief.
The Hong Kong-born Singaporean, 59, spent close to 30 years monitoring the interplay between Singapore's population and economic growth, including 14 years as the Government's chief statistician.
"We must always plan for the upper limit. We have to be creative and have in mind urban infrastructure for a much larger population," Dr Cheung says. Full story

OPINION: Netizens condemn racially charged letter on ST Forum Letters page

Hardwarezone Forum, 28 Jan 2013

"I tot Adjunied MPs got the Pritah Singh and Faisal and a few prominent WP minority inside the party too?" - 5ex5en5e5

"Cant believe that st allow this kind of Crap to be published" - shake_bonbob

"the editor of ST allow such racist article to be posted?!" - excalibur324

"Newspaper editor is irresponsible and incompetent for posting this letter. He can easily do a fact check that there are non-chinese members in the wp rank." - ckleow79

Full Discussion

Dr Koh Poh Koon having fun waving to empty streets and buildings

Hardwarezone Forum, 28 Jan 2013

Link

Tampines polyclinic closes 6 months for renovation, leaves thousands of patients in the lurch

Polyclinic.singhealth.com.sg

Tampines patients are being asked to go all the way to "nearby" Singhealth polyclinic located in Geylang for medical care.

Questions:
1. Why not build the temporary clinic in Tampines instead of Geylang?
2. What is the frequency of the shuttle service? Does the free shuttle service provide for wheelchair bound patients?
3. Are the Tampines MPs aware of this situation, and what have they done for the residents?

New citizen teaches foreigners residing in Singapore on how to game HDB's new BTO system

The Real Singapore
Firstly if u are are a permanent resident now and u are a couple and yr kids are still living in your home countries, one of u please go and convert to citizen.
Once converted to citizen u can apply for a BTO flat using under citizen, PR couple and with children. U will will be catapulted straight to the top 30% priority in BTO application
After a few years u can rent out your HDB flat and go back to your own country and the new restrictions on PR subletting the whole house rules dont apply here as one of u are is a citizen. Full story

Related:
HDB designed new policy that allows new citizens to jump to the front of BTO queue

OPINION: By-election result makes desire for change clear

Singapore Democrats, 27 Jan 2013
The result of the by-election is an unambiguous sign that the people of Singapore want to see democratic change. The people of Punggol East have strongly indicated that they need to have their voice heard on matters affecting them. It is important that the PAP pays heed and clears the obstacles to the improvement of our country.
The PAP’s campaign neglected to engage with the real concerns affecting the country. Its approach to the voters was characterised by warm sentiments devoid of real proposals for change.
Singaporeans are increasingly committed to the idea of a Parliament that works to safeguard their interests. It is a word of warning that the status quo is becoming untenable for our day-to-day lives and a plain verdict on national policies. Full story

Apple's iPhone losing its appeal to Android devices in Singapore and Hong Kong

IBNLive.in.com, 28 Jan 2013
Singapore: Apple's iconic iPhone is losing some of its lustre among Asia's well-heeled consumers in Singapore and Hong Kong, a victim of changing mobile habits and its own runaway success.
In Singapore, Apple's products were so dominant in 2010 that more devices here ran its iOS operating system per capita than anywhere else in the world.
But StatCounter, which measures traffic collected across a network of 3 million websites, calculates that Apple's share of mobile devices in Singapore - iPad and iPhone - declined sharply last year. From a peak of 72 per cent in January 2012, its share fell to 50 per cent this month, while Android devices now account for 43 per cent of the market, up from 20 per cent in the same month last year. Full story

Related:
Iphone fatigue - Stockhouse.com

Singapore gathering honours rape victim

The Hindu, 28 Jan 2013
The approximately 350-strong group that gathered at Singapore’s Hong Lim Park on Sunday evening was a multiracial, diverse one with similar thoughts. Each one had come with the same intent — to perpetuate the memory of the gang rape victim who succumbed to her brutal injuries at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Singapore almost a month earlier — and to set in place a chain of change. Full story

Bank probes find manipulation in Singapore's offshore FX market - source

Reuters, 27 Jan 2013
(Reuters) - Internal reviews by banks in Singapore have found evidence that traders colluded to manipulate rates in the offshore foreign exchange market, according to a source with knowledge of the inquiries.
The discovery widens a global lending rate scandal into new markets, as fallout from the Libor case puts banks under added scrutiny and spurs both regulators and institutions to reconsider how certain key interest and currency rates are set. Full story

Related:

OPINION: Election loss forces Singapore into delicate balancing act - John O'Callaghan

Reuters, 27 Jan 2013
It was just one seat in parliament but the loss of a by-election this weekend will force Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to take a hard look at how it balances investor and voter needs in one of the world's biggest financial centers.
With anger rising in the wealthy Asian city-state over soaring living costs, reliance on foreign workers and a widening income gap, the opposition Workers' Party took the PAP-held seat in the Punggol East ward by a convincing margin of nearly 11 percent in Saturday's poll. Full story

Abandoned by PAP supporters, Dr Koh Poh Koon says he awaits for PM Lee's decision on his future with the party

Yahoo! News Singapore, 27 Jan 2013
At the gathering site at the PCF Punggol East Education centre Sunday for the thank you parade, Koh told reporters he would wait for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s decision before seeing where else he could contribute.
Soon after the Punggol East by-election results were announced, Lee said he intended to field Koh again in a future election so that the colorectal surgeon could be part of his team to serve Singapore.
On the tour, Koh was accompanied by MP and Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, and other PAP members who appeared just as jovial as Koh on board the PAP parade bus.
Though passersby waved back, no PAP flags were seen carried around by residents. No PAP supporter was seen waiting for the tour bus to arrive either. Many blue umbrellas and flags representing the WP party, however, could be found. Full story

Related:
PAP’s Koh reflects on by—election outcome - XIN MSN News

WP's Lee Li Lian receives hero's welcome in Punggol East

Yahoo! News Singapore, 27 Jan 2013
The sales trainer was all smiles and confidence as she received a warm welcome at Blk 311, Rivervale Walk where the parade kicked off. Over a hundred residents swarmed around her and other WP members like Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, Png Eng Huat and Chen Show Mao, cheering “Huat Ah!” and congratulating her on her win.
The rest of the parade continued on a high for Lee and her fellow party members as residents waved WP flags from their bedroom windows, some leaning out of the corridors of their HDB blocks to get a better look.
Groups of staunch supporters toting WP hammer umbrellas gathered at places like the Rivervale Plaza and Rivervale Mall, filling the neighbourhood with sounds of their whistles and cheers of victory.
Far from being disturbed by the noise, most Punggol East residents joined in – cars driving by tooted their horns, lowering windows to wave and yell “Lee Li Lian” while others came all the way up to the WP lorry to request a photo and shake Lee’s hands. Full story

Snapshot: Punggol East residents turned up in droves to welcome their newly-elected MP Lee Li Lian on Sunday

Yahoo! News Singapore, 27 Jan 2013

Link

Linkbar