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Bernama
MCA on Wednesday urged the Malaysian and Singapore governments to hold further talks on the bridge project to replace the existing causeway in the Tebrau Strait as it was of the opinion both countries would benefit immensely if the bridge was built.
Jimmy Yap, iMerlion
While walking around Sim Lim Square today, some guy wanted to charge me 4,000 smackeroos for an iPhone 4.
Muhammad Cohen, Asia Times
Sam Holmes, Wall Street Journal
To be sure, backing a property developer in Singapore now is a bet that policy makers will successfully walk that fine line: slowing price appreciation down without, in the worst case, engineering a long-lasting slump in prices. But the government is pushing against strong forces, like low interest rates in the region and a strengthening macroeconomic backdrop. Prices, meanwhile, which jumped 25% on-year in the first quarter, remain high.
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pressed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to revive the crooked bridge he had proposed to replace the Johor Causeway connecting Malaysia and Singapore.
Dow Jones
Indonesia is not seeking to increase prices of natural gas exported to Singapore, despite its intention to reduce the volume delivered, a government official said Wednesday.
"The prices are already good, ranging between $11 and $12 per million British thermal unit," Hardiono, vice chairman of upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Channel NewsAsia
SP Services says that the electricity tariffs for households will go up by 0.57 cents per Kilowatt-hour to 24.13 cents per kWh, an increase of 2.4 percent.
It is the fifth consecutive quarter of increase.
Singapore Democrat Party
Channel NewsAsia
Total wages of private sector employees fell by 0.4 per cent last year. According to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) latest publication "Report on Wages 2009," the decline followed a 4.2 per cent increase in wages in 2008.
The decline was due to a drop of 14 per cent in bonus paid out. The bonus amount paid out fell to 1.99 months last year from 2.31 months in 2008.
青衣江中水
当国人每每义愤填膺地指责外国人如何鄙视中国人的时候，我们是否应该先检讨我们自己。政府不讲信用，百姓也不讲规制。中国的国际形象如此，政府不应该自省吗？
Small steps for Social PR
The “failure” references do not bode well for SMRT in social media or the brand as the public transport provider was recently under fire for their lapse of security that resulted in the vandalism of their trains and increase complains about the over-capacity of SMRT public transports, especially the trains.
I.justrealized
Rights2Write
The rail line is so strategic that it divides Singapore into 2 halves. It is not only a psychological barrier to Singapore government leaders but a physical barrier as well in developing any land along the tracks.
Jacob 69er
What else can you call buggers who hide behind and use State powers to bring misery and pain to others for the sole reason of maintaining a stranglehold on power. Equally bad are those bastards who say they were just doing their jobs. Its no different from prostitution.
The Green Bush
Whatever the case maybe, it is important that the people of Singapore realise that our disasters are merely a tip of the iceberg of what the “real world” across the seas are facing.
郭丽娟, 联合早报
内阁资政李光耀昨晚在新加坡国际水资源周及世界城市峰会的一场对话会上，同与会者分享新加坡走向水供自给自足的经验时指出，我国在开始为水资源再循环创造条件初期，水务工程师曾经向他报告由于市区内的废水毒素过高，不可能再循环使用。然而，他却认为我国必须未雨绸缪，先为科技可能成熟的一天做好充分准备，一有条件就能够立即进行水资源再循环计划。
Philip Seib, Huffington Post
Tony Sealy, The Online Citizen
The present system for providing grants is misguided. It’s wrong for the students, the schools and the industry. By all means provide a grant. But not for schools or courses, but for employers who take the commercial risk of hiring rookies.
Chong Wan Yieng, Ministry of Law, Today
There is no merit to the suggestion that Singapore has "weak" libel laws. Our libel laws are intended to provide for the protection of personal reputation from false attacks. Writers are allowed to criticise anybody in Singapore, including the Government. They have always been free to do so and Singapore law does not seek to proscribe that. This, together with the right of response, allows an informed debate to take place in the media.
Esther Ng, Today
More people are turning down job offers as employers set their highest hiring projections in more than nine years. Four in 10 employers told recruitment firm, Hudson, that they had had candidates decline their job offers in the last six months. This was evident across all major sectors except the media, public relations and advertising industry.
Joanne Chan, Today
Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide, coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index. Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.
Today
According to Mercer's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2010, released yesterday, Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong were ranked second, third and eighth, respectively. Singapore fell by a notch, from 10th place last year to 11th.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
SMRT chief executive officer and president Saw Phaik Hwa in Sunday ST report "SMRT: Tighter security will not mean higher fare" has claimed that while trains may be crowded, they are not at 'crush load' and 'people can board the train - it is whether they choose to'. She used the example of Hong Kong MTR trains' ability to take in 2000 people during peak hours as compared to singapore's MRT train of 1400 people during peak hours to support her view.
Ms Saw is either misleading or ignorant. HK MTR trains have EIGHT cabins. Singapore's trains have only six cabins! How could she use it as a comparison to Singapore's train system is really beyond my comprehension!
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times
Southeast Asia recovered swiftly from the global financial crisis that started in 2008, helped by large monetary and fiscal stimulus packages quickly adopted by governments to support domestic demand. Strong economic growth data surprised analysts in the first quarter, pointing to a sharp “V-shaped” recovery.
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times
At the southern tip of Malaysia, a new metropolis is slowly taking shape. When completed in 2025, Iskandar Malaysia will spread across 2,217 square kilometers or 547,830 acres, approximately three times the area of Singapore, the island state on the other side of a narrow strait.
Justin D. Martin, Columbia Journalism Review
Singapore’s leaders fit the quintessential description of benevolent dictators, as they support economic policies that clearly benefit their people, but are sternly intolerant of criticism. In March 2010, the International Herald Tribune paid $114,000 for suggesting that Singapore’s longtime rulers, previously Lee Kuan Yew and currently his son Lee Hsien Loong, were a dynasty that had maintained power by means other than merit and the people’s blessing. (The toothless obedience of the New York Times-owned Herald Tribune, which dutifully shelled out a hundred grand before it was even formally sued, deserves a case study all its own).
What Singapore’s overseers don’t seem to grasp is that without a press free to monitor power and challenge wrongdoing, even otherwise “developed” countries suffer greatly. One need look no farther east than Dubai for an example of a locale which, in the absence of an unencumbered press able to expose profligacy and corruption, is now bearing a debt crisis for which its rulers and citizens were pitifully unprepared.
The Long and Winding Road
There was a time when I would always look forward to a visit to the old Supreme Court building that stands majestically on St. Andrew’s Road. Together with the former City Hall, the imposing grey stone buildings that face the Padang are very much what we have always seemed to identify immediately with Singapore and the heart of Singapore, and had been among the buildings that were my favourites when I was growing up.
ARTiculations
To all Singapore Malays, I am writing this to tell you how lucky we all are in Malaysia. You think you all are so great, you sure have not seen how greater we, Malaysian Malays, are.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore won’t be able to become energy-independent because of its lack of natural resources, said Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s minister mentor.
The country can tap solar energy as a source of power, while wind and nuclear energy aren’t options, Lee said at a conference in the city state today. Neighboring countries may raise the price of gas sold to Singapore even though a contract is in place, he said.
See Leong Kit, Sgpolitics.net
If the people can do everything by themselves, the government would have made itself redundant and deserved to be voted out of public office.
Gandhi Ambalam, Singapore Democrat Party
What is disturbing is Singapore’s role in the manufacture of landmines. According to the International Convention to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Singapore has been identified among a dozen countries as a manufacturer of land mines. Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK), a government-linked company, remains the only company in Singapore that manufactures landmines. STK was formally known as Singapore Technologies.
Katrina Nicholas, Bloomberg
Chemical Generation Singapore
Ironically, Sinha by his whining about HDB rental income being so low and missing the big picture that he at least has a second property, is more Singaporean than people think.
Mok Fei Fei, Channel NewsAsia
AFP
But with Singapore steadily approaching self-sufficiency and exporting technology to recycle sewage into drinking water, there is a growing sense of confidence that it is less vulnerable to Malaysian water pressure.
Technology has played a vital role in Singapore's dramatic success in turning a weakness into an opportunity to not only become self-sufficient in water but make billions exporting the technology as well.
The Temasek Review
We may be seeing another bubble about to burst caused by China’s real estate and infrastructure growth propped up by massive borrowings from China’s local banks.
Singapore’s GLC bank and SWF have invested heavily in China’s finance/banking and real estate industries. Our ruling elite’s blind pursuit for GDP growth, so that they can have high bonuses and increased salaries, may have put the local citizens’ hard-earned money (in the form of taxes and bank deposits) at risk.
Malaysia Flip Flop
Go ahead and build a crooked bridge to watch Singapore grow in abundance.
The Lycan Times
Liau Yun Qing, ZDNet Asia
Sakmongkol AK47
Singapore on the other hand does everything with a winning mentality. If it can exact the harshest terms even from a traditional friend, it’s done in the name of business. It’s unlikely that Singapore is willing to agree with Malaysia if it doesn't acquire some valuable assets and concessions. It’s always bottom line reasoning. Nothing personal.
Moving Higher In Souped-up Heuristically Agon Moment
I realise that we have a vibrant society who contributes actively, to discuss the topics of traffic management, water management & conservation and healthcare system in Singapore.
Business Beyond the Reef
Normally, in any kind of diplomatic fracas, informal communication continues between the two sides. This is absolutely essential if the countries involved are to be able to have “what if” discussions. “What if” my side takes this action, or your does that – so surprises are kept to a minimum and mutually acceptable solutions have a chance of being developed. Singapore shut this off. The Embassy could find no one to talk to in the Foreign Ministry, the judicial system, or any other part of the Singapore Government. Word had obviously gone out from on high not to talk to the Americans. This likely led to Singapore’s seemingly honest surprise that the White House was angered when Fay’s caning sentence was reduced by only two strokes. Singapore’s foreign policy objective had been achieved when President Clinton asked for clemency, but keeping the four strokes just rubbed it in and kept Singapore under a cloud during the remainder of the Clinton Administration.
Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen
It is simply not true that everyone who is overweight has poor lifestyle habits.
大纪元
新加坡政府这样利令智昏的无理智行为实在令人担忧与痛心，因为这样的事件其实没有赢家，而真正损毁的是新加坡的整体前途与利益！
Chia Ser Huei, Straits Times
The question Ms Saw should reflect on is whether the situation is acceptable regardless of train load figures. If commuters keep pleading that SMRT's train load figures do not reflect that inconvenience to commuters, we should find a solution to the problem together.
Kwan Jin Yao, Today
After years of paying toll charges at gantry after gantry, Singaporeans have a right to know if their payments have genuinely improved road and driving conditions.
Feed Me To The Fish
No Sir, let's not blame others for our own screw ups.
Green Kampong
Our very own Channel Newsasia ignores the fact that the Giant Garoupa or Queensland Grouper was put on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2006, and instead celebrates the story of a restaurateur who bought one this week and is selling it to customers at $20 per 200g.
Free Malaysia Today
Was Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak “coerced” by Singapore’s secret service into agreeing to the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) land swap deal? This was the question posed by PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shahrin today.
He believes that Singapore’s secret service may have used photographs of murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu with Najib to threaten the premier into sealing a lopsided deal over the KTMB Tanjung Pagar issue.
Sin Chew Jit Poh
Allegations that Malaysia sold away its railway land in Tanjung Pagar to Singapore are not true, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
SpotlightOnSingapore
Janice Teo, Channel NewsAsia
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it has no plans for bank consolidation in Singapore and it's up to the banks to evaluate the merits of any merger.
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore wants to triple its output of recycled water by 2060, to meet growing demand. And it is expected that NEWater will account for half of projected needs. There are also plans to ramp up desalination capacity to meet a third of future demand.
Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia
He wants the opposition party led by Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam to come up with a long-term plan if it intends to contest in his Bukit Gombak division in the next General Election.
The Sun Shines on Singapore
According to one of the world’s most highly paid PM in terms of salary (other PM’s don’t get paid so much as ours but they get other perks nonetheless), given our climate, it is impossible to prevent floods in Singapore. I have to agree. But I also have the prerogative to be cynical.
Kevin Lim, Reuters
Singapore welcomed 30.3 percent more visitors in May than the same month a year ago as the city-state's two new casinos helped draw in tourists.
Indonesia, India and Malaysia provided the largest number of visitors to the city-state, while arrivals from Hong Kong chalked up the strongest growth of 48.8 percent compared with a year ago.
Yuxiang Corner
My question is, without any preparation, without any rehearsal, without any wayang and notification to the related management or what so ever, have these highly paid CEOs, minister or so, take the public transport (meaning trains or public buses), in the morning/evening peak period or not?
Dee Kay Dot Posterous
Jarrett Walker, Human Transit
As in many cities of similar vintage, key parts of Singapore's density were built at a time when nobody was thinking of pedestrians -- a world-view that I struggle to grasp.
Sakmongkol AK47
Care4Malaysia
The work on the new CIQ cum bridge began even when an agreement had yet to be reached with Singapore counterpart. This is just one of the many proofs that the BN government never consider wastages and the consequences if things do not work out as it intended to be.
Global Witness
Singapore insists that sand imports are a purely commercial activity, and says that it has regulations in place that require its companies to abide by the laws of the countries with which they trade. However, Global Witness' report makes it clear that this is insufficient, especially given the history of mismanagement and misappropriation of natural resource wealth in Cambodia by its political elite.
Alicia Wong, Today
Would a law deterring libel tourism have an effect on defamation suits by Singapore politicians against US-based foreign media? The impact is minimal if the suit is won here and the defendants have assets here to be seized or frozen, said National University of Singapore Adjunct Professor Kevin Tan.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
胡爱妮, 联合早报
我们这一代人的“新加坡梦”是不是已经和上一代人不一样了？是不是我们已经不再相信政府会一直照顾我们？是不是我们已经看见太多为公司奉献一生，人到中年却被裁退的专业人士？是不是我们已经对“新加坡社会主流的体制和价值观”感到厌倦？又或者说，我们的社会可以更包容地对待另辟蹊径的人，对成功的定义可以更宽广。这个社会可以不必什么都觉得“过于敏感，不宜讨论”。公民社会的话语权不应该只属于少数人，也不应该由少数人来决定什么可以，什么不可以。
Allvoices
Of all the things, chewing gum is illegal in Singapore. It seems like a basic right to make such a non-consequential decision, whether or not to chew gum. But the city state has made this decision for everyone there. In America, the ACLU would have filed a lawsuit so fast against the ban that by the time I had my gum wrapper off, the law would be repealed.
Kevin Brown and Jeremy Grant, Financial Times
Singapore is pushing to become an Asian hub for derivatives clearing and to poach business from Europe and the US as regulation reshapes markets.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is discussing ways of expanding the city-state’s clearing capacity, possibly by allowing international derivatives clearing houses to compete with the two existing Singapore exchange clearers, according to financial sector executives.
AFP
Senior US politicians unveiled legislation on Tuesday to shield US journalists, authors and publishers from "libel tourists" who file suit in countries where they expect to get the most favourable ruling.
"England, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore are just a few of the countries whose weak libel protections have attracted libel lawsuits against American journalists and authors," said Democratic senator Patrick Leahy.
Eugene K B Tan, Today
We should see the flash floods as an opportunity for a thorough review of how climate change is affecting Singapore.
Singapore Democrat Party
Ms Teo Soh Lung has broken her long silence about her cruel detention under the Internal Security Act with the publication of her memoir Beyond The Blue Gate: Recollections of A Political Prisoner.
Eventually the truth will be revealed and all will learn of the proper history of this Republic of Singapore.
Alicia Wong, Channel NewsAsia
The Ministry of Law has refuted a comment by a United States lawmaker that Singapore's defamation laws - along with those in countries like Australia, Indonesia, England and Brazil - are weak.
Lawyers and legal experts told MediaCorp they have not heard of cases of libel tourism. However, compared to the US, Singapore's law could be considered weaker, they noted.
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore must learn from the recent flooding episodes and upgrade its infrastructure and systems, said prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
However, he added, it is also not realistic to expect the country to be completely free of floods.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
MM Lee sees no bubble so his ministers will now take the cue and do nothing as prices rise.
Pritam Singh, The Online Citizen
The PAP has been remiss in communicating the necessity of large numbers of foreigners into Singapore and winning over the public’s support for the foreign talent policy. While Singaporeans recognise and welcome foreigners to top-up the population numbers because of the country’s low total fertility rate (TFR), no PAP minister has come out to explain or justify with any conviction why the Singapore population must expand indefinitely, beyond the population replacement figure.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Yawning Bread
Philip Lim, AFP
Flip through the pages of Aquila Asia magazine and it soon becomes apparent that the publication is different from other glossy women's magazines sold across the region.
Elan Perumal, The Star
The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) had not been visited by sand barges since 2003 although the sand smuggling syndicate had claimed that the sand from Sungai Johor was being sent to the port.
Gerald Giam
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
Minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Mandarin is important but it remains a second language in Singapore. So parents must be realistic in their expectations.
Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia
Transport minister Raymond Lim said an assessment will be made to see if penalties should be imposed on SMRT following the recent security lapse at one of its depots. This will be done after the Public Transport Security Committee (PTSC) concludes its review of the transport network in six to eight months.
Irene Tham, Straits Times
The twenty bus routes will get 71 additional trips a day. Double decker and bendy buses will also be deployed instead of the usual single-decked short buses.
However, these measures will only kick in during what the operators termed as 'peak of peak' hours. The 'peak of peak' period - an half-hour duration anytime between 7am and 9am, and between 5.30pm and 7.30pm - varies depending on the bus routes.
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's taxi drivers are now unified under a new umbrella body, the National Taxi Association (NTA). It's made up of the six associations affiliated to the labour movement, NTUC.
Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia
Plans to implement stricter measures to ensure workers' safety on lorries may come sooner than expected. The Ministry of Transport said the Land Transport Authority is considering calls to do so following the recent lorry accidents.
RT
The illegal trade of bear gall bladders, bear bile powder, deer limbs, snake skins, lizards and bats is where Singapore’s Chinatown’s oriental charm stops.
Chinatown's markets openly and fearlessly offer what its owners could easily be punished for.
The Temasek Review
Though Mr Sinha may have rented out his HDB flat legally, questions remain about HDB’s guidelines which appear to be fuzzy and unclear.
At a time when young Singapore couples are struggling to afford a roof over their heads, is it fair to allow these newcomers to buy resale flats when they already own private properties?
The Temasek Review
Defiant YPAP leader and new citizen from India Mr Sinha Shekhar has threatened to sue a netizen who lodged a complaint against him to HDB for “slander”.
A poster-boy of the YPAP, Mr Sinha Shekhar who has NEVER served a single day of National Service in his entire life, may end up standing for elections in the future under the banner of the pro-foreigner PAP, or rather FAP (Foreigner Action Party).
Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim, Reuters
There is no "bubble" yet in Singapore's residential market and the government is taking steps to ensure the sector does not overheat, the city-state's senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew said on Friday.
Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim, Reuters
Singapore could do better with two instead of three local banks so they could expand overseas in a more meaningful manner, the city-state's senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew said on Friday.
"I would have preferred personally that there were only two banks because I don't think Singapore was big enough for three banks," Lee said at a dinner hosted by the Association of Banks in Singapore.
But would the two bigger banks be too big for ordinary Singaporeans? Do we have to pay and help these two banks when we discover they are too big to fail?
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
According to Associate Professor of Political Science, Hussin Mutalib, from what Lee revealed, that role appeared more significant than so far believed. This was because Lee’s remarks had suggested the break-up was decided unilaterally at the crucial moment by Dr Goh, against the proposition of Lee and even the collective Cabinet.
“This would imply that it may well have been Singapore which precipitated the idea of separation, rather than Malaysia, as has been the notion all this while,” Hussin said.
Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
While Fricker's case has attracted substantial coverage in the Western media, scores of Singaporeans and other Asians are caned in the city-state every year with few eyebrows raised except by human rights organisations such as Amnesty.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Singapore Notes
SpotlightOnSingapore
Some may argue that the law is the law, and must be enforced. True, but let’s temper the law with mercy, and not enforce it ruthlessly in an attempt to extract every ounce of flesh.
联合早报
国大生物科学系副教授陈长华受访时说，虽然有其他因素可以影响一棵树的稳定性，但强烈的雨势与风势在很大程度上能影响树的坚实度，昨天有多棵树倒下主要是狂风暴雨所致。
联合早报
昨早的倾盆大雨，造成水淹樟宜路，路旁的一排店屋的店内水淹及膝，货物全泡水中，损失不菲。
受访店主表示这是这地带12年来水患最严重的一次，并怀疑是后巷的大水沟目前修建成封闭式，排水孔不够，导致无法迅速排水。
刘丽仪, 联合早报
乌节路在昨早一场豪雨中没出现淹水，车辆通畅无阻，没重演上星期水淹乌节的情况。不过，曾有那次经历的店主受访时表示仍心有余悸，有些已采取些防范措施，有些则认为当局已改善，相信历史不会重演。
Lee Yew Moon, Straits Times
Even if the Orchard Road deluge worsened because of a clogged culvert, how does one explain the inundation in Newton, Novena, Kampung Java and Little India? National water agency PUB could have made its case more convincingly if it had released pictures to show how badly clogged the culvert was.
Yesterday's flash floods must spark deeper investigation into these embarrassing shortcomings in our drainage system.
Jolovan Wham, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, Today
Small- and medium-sized companies may be concerned that hiring safer modes of transport such as buses may add to their costs. However, the lives of human beings should not be measured in dollars and cents.
Heng Chee How, Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union, Today
Costs and profitability should not be reasons for taking the safety of workers less seriously than they should be.
Channel NewsAsia
Singapore says there is no evidence that sand received by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has been smuggled out of Malaysia as alleged by The Star newspaper.
In response to media queries, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Development (MND) said that HDB engages sand suppliers on a commercial basis to supply sand for its development works.
Sona Remesh, Channel NewsAsia
Swiss national Oliver Fricker has been sentenced to five months jail and three strokes of the cane.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
It is not really clear what is causing all these floods but we have been getting explanations that result in the least amount work and effort on the part of the authorities.
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
The heavy downpour Friday morning left at least four people injured, and several others trapped in flash floods and vehicles hit by fallen trees. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), was involved in four rescue operations during the morning's heavy downpour.
AFP
Singapore said Friday that manufacturing output surged a record 58.6 percent year on year in May as factories raced to meet robust foreign orders for electronics and pharmaceuticals.
AFP
A Swiss expatriate pleaded guilty on Friday to vandalism and trespass for spray-painting a Singapore metro train in a daring stunt for which he is expected to be caned and jailed.
Singapore considers the intrusion a serious offence because its metro system is believed to be the target of Southeast Asian Islamic extremists. Its vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when an American teenager, Michael Fay, was caned for damaging cars and public property despite appeals for clemency from the US government.
Elena Chong, Straits Times
A Swiss national pleaded guilty on Friday to entering a protected place and vandalising an SMRT train by spray-painting two of its carriages.
Oliver Fricker, 32, an IT consultant, faces a fine of up to $2,000 or a jail term of up to three years and caning of at least three strokes on the vandalism charge. For entering a protected place, he can be fined up to $1,000 and/or jailed for up to two years. He is expected to be sentenced on Friday after his mitigation plea.
Today
Nine days after a blocked canal running under Orchard Road overflowed and caused millions of dollars in damage to shops, floods were again reported along Singapore's main shopping stretch this morning.
Singapore Democrat Party
Through all these incidents the Prime Minister has, and is continuing, to hide. Mr Lee Hsien Loong has not uttered a word about the recent floods and the security breach into tthe MRT depot. He has shown absolutely zero leadership.
When there are accolades the ministers stand right in front to absorb the fragrance, using it to increase their salaries. When troubles come, they hide and push the blame to others. Welcome to the world of the PAP.
Furry Brown Dog
A perennial question some spouses ask of their significant other is to choose between saving their life or that of their parents should a choice have to be made. This is a painful choice, should it ever arise, of the individual themselves and I do not think the state has a right to implicitly endorse either option.
Nelson Benjamin, The Star
The state government will initiate its own probe into allegations that sand is being smuggled out of the country via Sungai Johor.
Yawning Bread
Mark Ng’s mocking words about Taoist deities were made two years ago. They were contained in DVD recordings that had been on sale since. In other words they circulated for two years before somebody noticed.
None of these cases were preemptively censored. They even circulated for a while before they came to light. And yet, we’re doing alright. It only goes to show: We do not need preemptive censorship. Not even of racially and religiously offensive speech.
Channel NewsAsia
The heavy downpour Friday morning is causing chaos on the roads.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
Procedures concerning the questioning of suspects by the police should be spelt out clearly, argues the president of The Law Society of Singapore.
Mr Michael Hwang said it is a question of morality that the basic needs of a suspect like how much rest he should be given, and whether he can record his interviews, be stated explicitly in police handbooks.
Feed Me To The Fish
All they do is just talk their way out of any situation. No matter how condescending, unreasonable or dumb they sound, as long as they are elites connected to the obnoxious power that is, they get away with it.
Joshua Chiang, The Online Citizen
Singabloodypore
Nanaghan, P.M. News
I will give an example of how Singapore solved a lopsided educational disadvantage against the Malays of that country and turned it into an asset of inestimable value.
The Temasek Review
"HDB flats are primarily for home ownership purpose. However, lessees who have fulfilled their requisite occupation period (5 years for flats purchased directly from HDB or from the open market with a CPF Housing Grant; and 3 years for flats purchased from the open market without a CPF Housing Grant) may apply to sublet their whole flats subject to HDB’s written approval and subletting terms and conditions."
Not much of a reply.
Free Malaysia Today
The government has been urged to disclose to Parliament the details of Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong's “specific proposal” on the land swap deal before the two nations ink an agreement.
Christopher Tan, Straits Times
Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, 55, was paid $1.67 million last year, including stock options, making her the highest-grossing chief executive that public transport operator SMRT Corp has ever employed.
Remuneration for the company's top five executives, excluding Ms Saw's, totalled $3.2 million - 17.2 per cent higher than the previous year's. SMRT's total wage bill grew by 6.3 per cent to $294.8 million over the same period.
Grace Chua, Straits Times
The PUB is spending $25,000 to install five debris-trap gratings at Stamford Canal to prevent future floods. All five will be in place by Friday.
Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama
Fancy a tropical oasis in the sky? This is what literally a Singapore hotel is offering to its guests. The newly-opened Marina Bay Sands Singapore today officially launched its 1.2-hectare park, Sands Skypark, sitting 60-storey high on three hotel towers like cricket-stumps.
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Jit Poh
Datuk Seri Najib Razak's newly acquired Persian kitten recently received a scratching post and toy ball from Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. Such a tender gesture shows the attentiveness of the Singapore prime minister while conveying a message: that the island republic is paying close attention to every move of Malaysia, including such a small matters like keeping a pet.
The Temasek Review
At the moment, it seems that we are not only paying millions of dollars for monkeys who keep screwing up and who are not willing to take responsibility for these screw-ups, but we’re also paying for monkeys who scatter and go awol when the trees fall.
The Gigamole Diaries
If measures are unsafe, they should be stopped dead in their tracks. Full stop. Is the MOM and the LTA really serious about workers health and safety?
The Temasek Review
Surely the YPAP will not be so stupid to use the same excuse again to wriggle themselves out of the situation.
Chua Chin Leng , My Singapore News
Where were the other ministers, notably Muhyiddin and Hishammudin? Is their absence an indicator that strong disagreements within UMNO is surfacing?
Sam Ho, Sam's Thoughts
Textually, the MCYS video is strangely aligned with the political rhetoric and strategies of the PAP government. Like the old woman who once unconditionally care for her son, loved him in a way a son’s love for his mother can never match a mother’s love for her son, the PAP government often invokes history to put its citizenry in its place.
Temasek Hedge
Sex Sells, So Does Politics
The Online Citizen
Mr Ng Teck Siong, former chairman of the Reform Party, has confirmed with The Online Citizen that he is in the midst of setting up a new political party.
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
All the Straits Times article does is to assure us that the government will not do anything major to drastically reduce the import of new citizens in the name of increasing productivity.
You can be rest assured that the status quo will continue, no matter how the government seems to be changing its tune every now and then.
联合早报
东南亚研究院资深研究员黄基明博士在肯定新马两国关系回暖，降低两地通关费能带来诸多好处的同时，指出马国政治充满暗流，经常会出现变数。黄基明说，两国最高领导人最近的互动，清楚显示两国关系正在回暖，但因马国政治漂浮不定，有些事很难预料。
Elan Perumal and Stuart Michael, The Star
Sand worth millions of ringgit is being illegally “floated” out of the country daily via Sungai Johor here. And this has been going on for the past three years. A Starprobe team investigating this lucrative trade found that the sand ends up in Singapore, despite a ban on sand export imposed by the Malaysian government.
Singapore Democrat Party
There is no reason for the PAP to withold information about the redrawn boundaries except to cripple the opposition's planning and campaigning. This is just one of the many dubious practices that the PAP has instituted to ensure "victory".
Singapore Recalcitrant
He is paid more than $3 million a year from taxpayers' money to do what he himself has described as "forecasting". His position is a sinecure and he has so much time on his hand that he jets around the world, not infrequently, on taxpayers' funds to overwhelm his gullible audiences with his irresitable charms, making booboos in the process.
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia
Importers in Singapore do not expect the lower toll charges at the Second Link to lead to cheaper goods from Malaysia. That's because toll charges make up a small portion of transport costs.
Singapore Notes
Kevin Kwang, ZDNet Asia
The Singapore government's upcoming IT investment will likely revolve around seven key themes, among which emerging technologies such as cloud computing and Web 2.0 initiatives will take precedence, according to a new IDC report.
星洲日報
新加坡內閣資政李光耀說，當年是大馬首相東姑阿都拉曼先提出分家的建議。
Neel Chowdhury, Time
Singapore does a creditable job in presenting a lively food culture to tourists, however the reality is that the advent of branded fast food, and the proliferation of more lucrative careers for the descendants of food-stall owners, is pushing that culture to slow extinction.
时代周报
了解新加坡对中国移民有极强吸引力的原因，或能揭开中国移民潮的一个侧面。
Witold Rybczynski, Slate Magazine
The combination of a notoriously authoritarian, not to say puritanical, city-state and gambling is bizarre. Needless to say, there will be no Singapore Strip. Instead, the government has authorized what it euphemistically calls integrated resorts, stand-alone vacation destinations that will include cultural and recreational amenities, as well as hotels and casinos.
Kevin Lim, Reuters
Las Vegas Sands' bet on gambling-wary Singapore may be paying off. The world's most valuable casino firm said its $5.5 billion casino resort in the city state is on track to draw up to 150,000 visitors a day once things are in full swing, the highest number for any of its properties worldwide.
Leah Hyslop, Telegraph
Singapore is taking the incident seriously because it exposed security lapses in their transport system, believed to be the target of Islamic extremists in Southeast Asia.
Shamim Adam and Christian Schmollinger, Bloomberg
Since the opening of Resorts World Sentosa in February and Marina Bay Sands in April, the island-state has seen cases of fraud, embezzlement and identity theft. Some offenders were fined or sent to prison, three European suspects have jumped bail and two Africans have been charged for cheating the casinos out of about S$140,000 ($102,000).
Stephanie Phang, Bloomberg
Singapore’s inflation held at a 14- month high in May as the island’s economic rebound boosted food, housing and car prices.
Housing prices, the biggest component of the consumer price index, climbed 1.6 percent from a year earlier, and transport costs increased 15 percent. Food prices rose 1.3 percent.
Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama
Singapore's second integrated resort, the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) formally opened Wednesday, with its owner Sheldon G. Adelson, Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp saying it would become the benchmark for future tourism development elsewhere. "The MBS is not a casino-centric development project as in the old days," Adelson said.
The Online Citizen
We have noticed that of late, government ministers & officials, and People’s Action Party members have been criticizing Singaporeans and their attitudes towards a myriad of issues – from employment to public housing.
Singapore Democrat Party
Singapore is not invited to the meeting because of the undemocratic nature of the PAP government.
Yawning Bread
The claim that there are no outright bans is utter bullshit. It’s bad enough that the MDA is as heavy-handed as ever, it’s worse now, because they won’t even admit to banning, they’d rather resort to concealing the truth. This is corruption: corruption of public integrity.
Would journalists please check facts before buying wholesale into the disinformation put out by government agencies?
Cien Xu, August Man
What I am trying to say is that in Potong Pasir it is not always about the money, or the upgrading, or the $1 abalone porridge that gets waved in our faces every time an election draws near. What the voting majority appreciates, as it has been proven time and time again, is our MP’s sincerity and determination to make things work despite the lack of government funding for more extensive maintenance and upgrading projects.
The Temasek Review
In the above exchange, Mr Sinha Shekhar, who works as an occupational therapist at Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, wrote that he paid “really high” for a resale HDB flat and the rent he is collecting is not enough to pay for the bank installments.
Mr Sinha also revealed that he owns a private property, implying that he bought the resale HDB flat not for staying but for renting and making money.
Xinhua
陈望 蒋文平, 南海网
海南文昌的李莉(化名)女士，为了确保出国费用的安全，她把钱存到了VISA信用卡内，身上只带了400元新加坡币。不料，在新加坡入境时，当地移民机关以其携带旅费不足以维持在新旅行生活为由，拒绝其入境，既承担了往返的机票费用，还不得不“留宿”在新加坡移民局的拘留所。
AFP
Malaysia and Singapore said Tuesday they expect to agree a land swap deal in the next three months to resolve a decades-old territorial problem.
Mazwin Nik Anis, The Star
Prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia needed to look into details of the Singapore offer, adding that he was looking forward to go to Singapore with a final resolution of the Points of Agreement (PoA) issue on the status of KTMB land.
Nazry Bahrawi, The Guardian
A Christian preacher's sermon against Taoism is only the latest in a series of controversies to unsettle Singapore's faith relations.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Speaking at a news conference after their meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, the leaders announced that both countries will reduce their toll charges at the Second Link by 30 per cent with effect from August 1.
Lisa Lubin, Britannica
Andrea DiMaio, Gartner
钟忠, 湛江日报
有着花园城市国家之称的新加坡，在小小的国土上却矗立着年产8000万吨的炼油“王国”。我们应该如何跟上新加坡的脚步，迈向蓬勃的发展之道？
The Mind Game
丁绮, 科教新报
She Rambles On
Nothing that I saw in Singapore was cheaper than the same items sold here in Malaysia. Nothing in Singapore is not available in Kuala Lumpur, and at a cheaper price too.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
One can only wonder why the Prime Minister feels that his leadership is not needed at this time and why he prefers to, as it were, bury his head in the sand.
Nature Society (Singapore)
This community-led project aims to illustrate Singapore’s focus on urban biodiversity: to ensure we have a balance of cityscape and nature and to protect this as part of the lifestyle for future generations.
Singapore Democrat Party
Andy Propst, TheaterMania.com
The Tony Award-winning musical The Lion King will make its debut in Southeast Asia in March 2011 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Casting and creative team will be announced in January.
This was originally scheduled for October 2010.
Jim Tietjen, Straits Times
Today
Foreign banks in Singapore are offering their version of the Nets debit card, called EPins.
Gerald Giam
The problem in Singapore is that our political leaders have it so easy that they are becoming complacent and weak. With no adversarial press, strong opposition or active civil society to keep them on their toes, they are just coasting along and collecting their $150k++ salary each month–plus “performance” bonuses at the end of the year.
Sona Remesh, Channel NewsAsia
For a start, 900 shrubs and 24 trees have been planted along Nassim Road, including the so-called "nectar plants", which will attract butterflies to the area.
Euronews
Oliver Fricker is charged with vandalising a metro train but Human Rights Watch says the punishment is inhumane.
“The issue is that it’s a moral matter, you can’t torture people. That’s something that the UN has agreed upon, that has become a norm around the world. And caning is considered a form of torture. It’s a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. And under the UN convention of torture, it’s included in that definition,” he said.
Yawning Bread
It is hardly surprising that PAP members of parliament have very little to say. Between the selection process (those who are cause-driven will never get into the PAP) and the demands of party discipline (shut up! even if you disagree), content will be as elusive as snow on a Singapore beach.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
So, lets get this clear: The hotspot that PUB was not monitoring closely (Orchard) was flooded, and the hotspot that it was closely monitoring (Bukit Timah) was also flooded?
ECO @ COP
Dow Jones
Bernama
According to Wisma Putra, both leaders are expected to follow up on the valuation of land and the proposal of the land swap discussed during the Leaders' Retreat in Singapore on May 23 and 24.
Monetary Authority Of Singapore, Singapore Government
The PBC’s announcement will not have an impact on Singapore’s exchange rate regime. MAS manages the Singapore dollar against a weighted basket of currencies of our major trading partners. This allows us to accommodate the changes within the existing framework of our exchange rate system.
Dee Kay Dot As Gee
Yes, 500 balloons floating in the air is a beautiful sight. But what about 500 balloons floating in the open sea for weeks or months? Or 500 balloons in the drains or forest as rubbish? That is not a beautiful sight. And you know what? That 500 balloons that Scape Park released on their opening night is most likely in the sea or the forest now. Good job Scape Park. Why not just give all attendees 500 deflated balloons and let them litter on your sparking new park?
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
I think a lot of bloggers are jumping into the wrong conclusions regarding what Mr Shanmugam was saying over the weekend.
This is what he said: "The most effective way to organise our security framework is to identify key installations that needs the government to provide security, and to recommend a framework on how security should be provided for the rest of the buildings in Singapore... Hence the key for us, is to make sure, that organisations which are profits driven, pay enough attention to the security aspects of their businesses."
To me, for this particular case involving SMRT, I read it as: SMRT will have to, at its own cost, ensure it is secure enough to the government's satisfaction. It is a typical regulator-private company relationship, and the role of the government is not to say that security is entirely SMRT's problem and the government doesn't care. The role of the government is to set the minimum level of security requirements, and SMRT, by hook or by crook, have to satisfy the government's requirement.
Of course, you may argue that the Singapore government is not doing a good job in its role as the regulator. And you may be right. But that's a different argument altogether.
Spotlight On Singapore
The government on its part should not sit back and assume transport operators are doing just that. It should audit and stress test their security preparedness rigorously, and heavy fines imposed for lapses.
PN Balji, Today
As the two organisations start analysing their recovery actions, here is the bitter truth: In just one month, Singapore has seen two blemishes on its super efficient and super safe image. Our chieftains have to make sure that that reputation is not tarnished again. The public is not in the mood to accept anything less.
Alan Soughley, Bloomberg
China’s decision to allow greater flexibility in its currency won’t affect Singapore’s exchange- rate regime, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in an e-mailed statement today.
Ministry Of Home Affairs, Singapore Government
The most effective way to organise our security framework is to identify key installations that needs the government to provide security, and to recommend a framework on how security should be provided for the rest of the buildings in Singapore. For private organisations' premises, such as the SMRT depot which has been gazetted as a protected place, the actual security of the premise would be within the control of the company. SMRT has also accepted that this is so. Hence the key for us, is to make sure, that organisations which are profits driven, pay enough attention to the security aspects of their businesses. For SMRT, it is particularly crucial that they take security seriously as they transport hundreds of thousands of people everyday.
Singapore Democrat Party
Singaporeans must increase pressure on the PAP, especially Home Affairs Minister Mr Wong Kan Seng, to hold it responsible for the repeated breaches in our security systems.
Singapore Notes
The Temasek Review
PAP leaders have demonstrated that they are only good at pointing fingers at others, but never themselves when things screw up.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
If the minister insists that SMRT is indeed solely responsible, why then is the government providing resources to them, which would contradict what Mr Shanmugam said – that it would be unfair “for the public, through the government, to pay for that security either in manpower terms or in terms of the costs”? Is the government not already doing so – especially through Transcom?
And since it already is, why is it so adamant in passing the responsibility to the SMRT? Should not the government accept part of the responsibility as well?
My Simple Carefree Life
Instead of collecting less, people relocate elsewhere and forget about collecting taxes and Singaporeans being employed.
Singapore Recalcitrant
It is obvious that the government is trying strenously to manage damage control as a result of the fallout from the serious security lapse at the SMRT Changi depot.
The Mind Game
The National Library is currently holding an exhibition on William Farquhar to shed some light upon his role as a founding father of Singapore. While the exhibition states to “[provide] an insight into the often-untold contributions of William Farquhar in the development of early Singapore”, it seems to go beyond that. It almost seems as though the Singapore Heritage Society is almost trying to subtly (or not very subtly) portray Farquhar’s contributions to be larger than Raffles in building Singapore. In fact, I hardly find it implicit.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
The most puzzling aspect of this entire episode is the fact that the PUB and its executive officers have staunchly refused to apologise for the oversight; despite taking responsibility for the multitude of damages sustained by Singaporeans, the agency chose to rehash antiquated arguments about how future plans were in place to improve the drainage systems, the water infrastructure et cetera. Unfortunately, such public-relations assurances – which had already been highlighted by the PUB during the Bukit Timah flash floods – only serve to reinforce its ineffectiveness and inefficiency.
Rachel Chang, Straits Times
Taxpayers should not be paying the bill for the security of private sector companies, especially since they are profit-making and there are thousands of them.
Law and second home affairs minister K Shanmugam said on Sunday security should be a partnership between the government, private corporations and the public. Putting the responsibility solely on government ultimately means taxpayers foot the bill, he pointed out.
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia
The challenge for the Housing and Development Board (HDB) for the next 50 years is to strengthen the fabric of Singapore's society in the face of changing demographics.
Maxwell Coopers, Free Malaysia Today
Despite its strident reaction to the 2010 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, it is absolutely unlikely that relations may be affected or there be a downgrading in bilateral ties.
Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times
The 18-year-old corrective work order for litterbugs is still feared, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Readings From A Political Duo-Ble
There are various reasons why the ICJ may not interfere in this matter.
Civic Advocator
Perhaps these are signs that we really need a change in government, new blood to shake things up and people out of their incompetence and complacency.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Perhaps in this whole TCMR fiasco, instead of finger-pointing, our MPs should consider if it is time for them to put in more time and effort running the towns, rather than looking for convenient scapegoats to lay blame on.
Yes, service comes with sacrifice – but at $14,000 a month, an MP can live a relatively comfortable life.
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
Environment and water resources minister Yaacob Ibrahim said that new buildings and construction in the area are not a contributing factor to the floods, contrary to what some believe.
王姿英 陈静, 上海新闻网
李光耀虽然与中医药接触的时间不长，但作为长期在西方文化熏陶下成长的一代，能够在这么短的时间内信任和欣赏中医，正显示了中医药文化的无穷魅力和丰富内涵。
Greg Sheridan, The Australian
George Yeo is an old, old friend of Australia, and in a sense a long-term champion of Australia's involvement in Southeast Asia. He has been a minister in the Singapore government for more than 20 years. He embodies a great deal of institutional memory and strategic continuity, not just within Singapore but within the broader councils of the region.
Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy
With both sides feeling relatively secure, compromise on issues like the KTM rail properties no longer carried large political consequences and agreement became much easier to reach. The lesson, if it weren't obvious, is that mutual security is the foundation of far-reaching international cooperation.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
The Town Council Management Report which tracks a narrow set of measures that puts the opposition constituencies is a completely meaningless exercise and a waste of tax payers money that serve only to score political points for the ruling PAP party.
AFP
Victims of Australia's deadly 2009 firestorm have launched legal action against a Singapore power firm alleging poorly-maintained electrical wires sparked the blaze, reports said Saturday.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
With so many foreigners buying real estate, the over-heating market is both a blessing and a curse.
Channel NewsAsia
Sungei Buloh will be conducting a joint study with Johor to develop a cross-border tourist attraction involving Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and three Ramsar sites of Sungai Pulai, Pulau Kukup and Tanjong Piai at Iskandar Malaysia.
Constance Singam, Straits Times
The State has the obligation to broaden its definition of trafficking in order to capture more accurately the data and ensure that it is the perpetrators and not the victims who are punished.
Yawning Bread
Singapore deserves to be on the watchlist. And if the government insists on maintaining an attitude of combative denial, that itself is a sign that it’s not doing enough.
Gerald Giam
The PAP always accuses the opposition of showing up just before elections, but they overlook the fact that many of their new candidates have barely started climbing down from their ivory towers when they are fielded as candidates under the wings of powerful Cabinet ministers in a GRC (Group Representation Constituency).
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Mr Ravi’s grounds for seeking the Malaysian government’s intervention were entirely omitted by the Straits Times.
It truly is highly irresponsible reporting – a brand of “journalism” which belongs to the gutter.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
The Marina Bay Sands SkyPark opens to the public next Thursday, and for those who can't wait to get on top of the roof, you can start booking your tickets now.
Land Transport Authority and Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee, Singapore Government
The Youth Olympic Lane is a traffic scheme introduced based on a Give Way concept. Motorists only need to give way when they see Youth Olympic Vehicles approaching, similar to what they would do when they see an emergency service vehicle.
Claire Huang, Channel NewsAsia
The chief executive of Singapore's national water agency, PUB, has acknowledged that his agency was caught off guard by the Orchard Road flood on Wednesday.
"The impact on people, businesses and traffic is something that we view as not acceptable. We've done our initial investigations; it was due to a combination of very unusually intense double-peaked rainstorms that were aggravated by the flow of debris that partially obstructed the culvert," said Khoo.
As Zewt As It Gets
They are just so nice! Perhaps it’s a norm, perhaps it’s because I am walking on crutches, but they have been patiently helpful. 7 is the amount of times I have taken a cab since I arrived in Singapore and the ratio of good cabbies is 100%.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Tan Keng Leng, The Temasek Review
Victoria Vaughan & Grace Chua, Straits Times
Members of Parliament and experts yesterday questioned if a lack of maintenance was behind the flooding of Orchard Road on Wednesday.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Too Many Thoughts
As a writer, I realise that some of the things I write may not please everyone, but I'm not forcing anyone to read or publish it. I prefer to live by the apocryphal line attributed to Voltaire, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
黄慧慧，通联公司, 联合早报
所有改变或者延长现有车资优惠计划的要求，都会在新的车资制度稳定下来后才获得考虑。
曹仁超, 21世纪经济报道
各有各的优点和缺点。例如新加坡人可以安居乐业，因楼价长期升幅有限，大部分新加坡人至今仍过着俭朴生活。反之，港人在楼价上升时个人财富大增，生活奢华；在楼价回落时出现负资产效应，消费大减。
Bangkok Post
The government will not buy Thaicom from Singapore if it is too expensive, prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.
Julie Quek, Janice Teo, Channel NewsAsia
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Opposition MP for Hougang, Low Thia Khiang, has called on the Ministry of National Development to let the public know how much each town council has benefited from various upgrading programmes from the time they were started.
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
A choked drain caused the massive flooding in Orchard Road on Wednesday. This was revealed by Singapore's national water agency, PUB, a day after floods wreaked havoc in the downtown area.
Investigations found that the downpour led to a heavy build-up of debris trapped in an underground drain known as a "culvert".
Zazali Musa, The Star
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) senior director (investment) Phang Ah Tong said Johor would always be the preferred destination for Singaporean investors due to its close proximity with the republic.
Shahrim Tamrin, The Malay Mail
Johor Baru member of Parliament Datuk Seri Shahrir Samad believes a high-speed rail link and a full bridge between Johor Baru and Singapore may see the light of day in the near future.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s exports rose for a seventh month in May as a surge in electronics shipments offset declining overseas sales of pharmaceuticals.
Alfian, The Jakarta Post
Indonesia may cut down its gas export to Singapore in a bid to cope with the shortage of gas supply in the domestic market, energy and mineral resources minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Hoe Pei Shan, Straits Times
Starbucks was one of the worst-hit retailers in the area, which bore the brunt of the of the floods, turning the intersection outside Liat Towers into tea-coloured canals within three hours of Wednesday's morning downpour.
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common
The worst hit stores include the Starbucks outlet and Massimo Dutti boutique at Liat Towers. Lucky Plaza was also not spared. Among the worst hit stores include the front-row shops that line the heavy-traffic pavement stretching from Orchard Paragon to C.K. Tangs — Giodarno, Bossini and the adult store House of Condoms. Electronic and tourist souvenior shops that populate the lower basements were equally affected.
The Corporate Observer
Dotseng
What puzzles me no end is how positive ratings are usually milked right up to the hilt by both the government and the state controlled media to showcase how life is beautiful. But when it’s a negative rating, the response goes the other way.
Dormgrandpop
Jeremy Au Yong, Teo Wan Gek & Andrea Ong, Straits Times
A sneaking suspicion by Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang that PAP town councils were writing off arrears in service and conservancy charges (S&CC) was dispelled yesterday by the managers and MPs of those councils.
Seven of them told The Straits Times they write off only a tiny amount of unpaid S&CC, typically around 0.1 per cent.
赵琬仪, 联合早报
根据初步调查，昨天滨海堤坝未发挥最大的排水功能，9个闸门，只开动了6个。这是因为滨海蓄水池的水位未超标，因此滨海堤坝无须启动所有闸门加速排水。
至于负责疏通中区流水到滨海蓄水池的史丹福水道，昨早也没有出现泛滥情况。到底是哪个环节出了问题，当局需经过仔细调查才有结论。
联合早报
乌节路上一回发生大淹水，已经是1984年5月22日的事。当天两个小时的豪雨，造成乌节路、荷兰路及惠特里路等14个地区淹水，水深及腰。植物园一带的降雨量纪录达125毫米。
周殊钦, 联合早报
后港区议员及这一区市镇会主席刘程强前天在声明中提到国家发展部曾在2008年发出关于市镇会注销住户所拖欠杂费的准则这一点，国家发展部发言人昨天受询时表示确有此事，并指出当时发出这项准则的目的是希望借此让全体市镇会针对拨出准备金和注销欠款采取划一标准，而各市镇会的审计师也都熟悉这项准则。
Hoe Pei Shan, Straits Times
Efficient flood gate management and a new water level sensor helped ensure that Bukit Timah was yesterday spared a repeat of last November's severe flooding.
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) attributed the lighter effects of yesterday's rain to the opening of a canal flood gate, which helped mitigate flooding in the area.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore faces more rain in coming days after downpours yesterday caused the worst flooding of the Orchard Road shopping district in 26 years. About 70 people were rescued from buses and cars in the worst flooding of the shopping strip since 1984, while no injuries were reported.
Cassandra Chew, Straits Times
Membership at women's advocacy group Aware has plummeted to about 550, from a peak of 3,000 last year when its numbers surged amid a controversial takeover. But executive director Corinna Lim, 45, is not perturbed, as the number is twice the old membership figure.
Yawning Bread
It’s THE emblematic divide between the PAP and the opposition. One appealing to selfish instincts and gain, the other appealing to larger themes of justice and transparency. One using both craftiness and the advantage of incumbency in making its case, the other the disadvantaged with little going for it but its wits.
Do not underestimate the appeal of fairness.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
The relationship between upgrading and maintenance - as Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang had painted - "is not a direct one", senior minister of state for national development Grace Fu said yesterday.
"If you have lift upgrading, originally you have two lifts, now you have six or eight lifts, surely after that you need to have cleaners to clean the lifts," she explained. "In some areas, there may be savings, but in others, there may be an increase in workload of town councils."
The Long and Winding Road
The flooding that occurred yesterday morning brings to mind some massive floods that hit Singapore previously which had resulted in much devastation and damage. Looking back in time, yesterday’s flooding pales in comparison to the monster flood that affected much of the island some 40 years ago on 10 December 1969.
PUB, Singapore Government
Almost 100 mm of rain fell within a two-hour period from about 9 am to 11 am. The amount of rainfall is approximately more than 60% of the average monthly rainfall for June.
PUB advises the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms. The cause of the flood is still being investigated.
Leona’s Blog
The online citizen journalists were out in full force today to capture footages of the devastating floods at Orchard Road.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
The Public Utilities Board said investigations on the cause of the flood can only be carried out when the water level in the drains subsides. The agency said it’s clearing up debris on the roads and assisting property owners in pumping out water from basements.
Kishore Mahbubani, Straits Times
We have not experienced political messiness for almost 50 years now. So the obvious question we need to ask is: How will we handle it if political messiness returns again to Singapore, as it has to Thailand?
Alex Kennedy, Associated Press
A Christian church in Singapore has apologized for a sermon by one of its pastors that mocked Taoist beliefs, the second such incident this year in the city-state where religious speech is closely controlled.
Channel NewsAsia
The heavy rain Wednesday morning caused flooding in many areas in central Singapore. National water agency, PUB, says almost 100 mm of rain fell within a two-hour period from about 9 am to 11 am.
Bernama
A book on the history of the Johor Causeway based on information gathered from Malaysia and Singapore will be jointly launched by the prime ministers of both countries.
Chris Anderson, CNNGo
Straits Times
Large stretches of Stevens, Evans and Bukit Timah Road, as well as Orchard Road were submerged in floodwaters on Wednesday morning following heavy downpour, forcing traffic to a crawl in the areas.
The Online Citizen
Dow Jones
Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. appeared to respond positively when the Thai government discussed its intention in April to buy Temasek's interest in Thaicom PCL, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavnij said Tuesday.
Baradan Kuppusamy, IPS
Lawyers, human rights activists and chapters of leading human rights advocate Amnesty International in both countries are working to save Yong from execution.
FARS News Agency
Singapore's senior minister Goh Chok Tong reiterated his country's support for Tehran's access to peaceful nuclear technology.
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Sky News
The mailbox provides a centralised platform for the government to contact individuals and businesses.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Seemingly subtle increases in the prices of food, utilities and housing might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of economic development; but the consequences can be dire, such as widening income inequalities and more evident disgruntlement.
DPA
Singapore's foreign ministry called the report 'rather puzzling because the US has not satisfactorily explained how it had arrived at its conclusions.'
Singapore's efforts to fight human trafficking 'have certainly not weakened since last year,' the foreign ministry's statement said.
Teo Xuanwei, Today
Responding to MediaCorp's queries, National Council on Problem Gambling chairman Lim Hock San said it had requested MBS to reduce the visibility of its casino. Mr Lim added: "NCPG understands that the integrated resort at Marina Bay is targeted at Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions and business customers, while the integrated resort at Sentosa has a family theme. Hence the question of casino visibility is treated differently at the two resorts."
Ng E-Jay, The Online Citizen
What does Singapore’s opposition need to do in order to become another Pakatan Rakyat that will once and for all shake the PAP from its undeserving dominance?
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s retail sales unexpectedly dropped for a second month as car purchases plunged, offsetting higher spending at department stores.Singapore controls pollution and congestion on its roads by selling a limited number of permits every year for each category of vehicles, and the prices of the licenses have climbed this year. Retail sales excluding automobiles may continue to rise in the coming months as Singapore’s two casino resorts attract more tourists and an expanding economy boosts hiring.
Bangkok Post
The plan to buy back Thaicom Plc from Singapore's Temasek Holdings would not hurt relations between Thailand and Singapore, information and communications technology minister Juti Krairiksh said on Tuesday morning.
Tiny Island
In France you are just French. Forms will never ask you to state your race or ethnicity. It’s considered racist. Everyone, as long as you’ve got citizenship, just states that they are French instead of Indian, Chinese or Malay as we do here.
Yvonne Koh, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
Kathy Chu, USA Today
In a nation that prides itself on law and order, where the sale of chewing gum is tightly regulated and spitting is prohibited, it's not surprising that the casinos unsettle some residents.
王珏琪, 联合早报
游润恬, 联合早报
一群艺术工作者倡议政府完全放弃对艺术创作的审查，改以明文法律及一套不由公务员决定的分级制度进行管制。
有了互联网之后，任何被禁的电影或艺术作品都垂手可得。本地知名艺术教育家沙士德兰（T.Sasitharan）说：“我们都知道审查行不通，不应该继续在这方面白费力气。”
Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
Tan Weizhen & Chua Hian Hou, Straits Times
This morning, the government announced that it was rolling out a nationwide two-factor security system to secure sensitive online transactions like banking- the world's first such service.
The service, scheduled to be up and running in mid-2011, is expected to offer Net users secure and more convenient access to government, bank and health online services.
Channel NewsAsia
The Manpower Ministry, MOM, says total employment rose by 36,500 in the first quarter of 2010, comparable to the seasonal high of 37,500 in the last quarter of 2009. The bulk, or 33,400, of the employment gains came from services, higher than 31,500 in the fourth quarter and 7,500 in the first quarter of 2009.
Muhammad Shamin, Singapore Democrat Party
We should work towards the kind of relationship that fosters trust and ensures mutual benefit with our neighbours, one that forges regional solidarity instead of behaving in a manner that agitates and provokes unfriendly ties.
Mok Fei Fei and S Mustafa, Today
Tenth on the list of the most expensive locations in Asia to live in last year, Singapore crept up one notch this year, dislodging locations such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It is now the ninth-costliest Asian location, according to a survey by human resources consultant ECA international.
Not only that, Singapore has also gained six places in ECA's global rankings and is now in 67th position.
Neo Chai Chin, Today
A second Christian pastor has apologised for his remarks about Chinese supersititions and a Taoist diety. His remarks were made in August 2008 and have only recently been brought to public attention through an audio clip posted on YouTube.
Prime Sarmiento, GoBackpacking
They are the best in Asia, benefiting not only from the government’s vast resources (this wealthy country is competing with Hong Kong to be Asia’s art center) and the the city’s state fondness for organization and efficiency. That may be boring, but it has nevertheless produced well curated art spaces.
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times
This island city-state, thanks to its small size and a big public investment, could soon be the first country blanketed with a fiber optic infrastructure so fast that it would enable the contents of a DVD to be downloaded in only a few seconds.
Shaun Tandon, AFP
The United States on Monday put allies Singapore and Thailand as well as Vietnam on a human trafficking watch list, accusing them of failing to prevent women from being forced into prostitution.
Explaining the downgrade for Singapore, the report said that some women from China, the Philippines and Thailand are tricked into coming to the city-state with promises of legitimate employment and coerced into the sex trade.
The report said that while Singapore launched "some significant new steps" against trafficking, there were no "quantifiable indicators" that the government was identifying more victims or prosecuting more culprits.
DPA
In Singapore, researchers now not only research the maggots, but also whether their farts - their wind has anti-biotic properties - can be collected and put to good use.
Low Thia Khiang, Hougang Town Council
It is time the Ministry of National Development let the public know how much additional funding each PAP TC has received through the various upgrading programmes funded by the national budget or has benefitted from the programme up to the financial year 2009 so that Singaporeans can have a clear idea of which PAP TC did not qualify for the upgrading program as mentioned by Grace Foo. The public should know how much additional funding is given to PAP TCs via the upgrading programs and hence can judge for themselves whether it could affect the outcome of town management.
Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
A spokesperson from ION Orchard said the pedestrian passageway will be widened to double the existing width, and there will be shops on both sides of the underpass.
Daniel Ten Kate, Bloomberg
Thaicom Pcl shares jumped the most in 12 years after Thailand’s government announced plans to buy Temasek Holdings Pte’s stake in the satellite monopoly for national security reasons following anti-government protests.
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
Andrea Ong and Zakir Hussain, Straits Times
All residents will have an online mailbox to which various Government agencies will send statements and bills from tax statements to TV license renewals and service and conservancy bills. Called OneInbox, this service will be launched by 2012.
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
联合早报
他指出，由于各市镇会的整体情况和组屋区屋龄完全不同，对各市镇会的管理表现进行比较是不恰当的。“此外，各市镇会所得到的拨款不同，而政府在各区所展开的改进工程也不一样。”
John Lee, Dallas Morning News
Talk to the locals and they'll regale you with lip-smacking tales of their favorite places to eat. Instead of food snobbery, you'll find a proud focus on value. In fact, Singapore is a world capital of budget dining, and with English widely spoken, it's highly accessible to visitors.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
A spotlight has been thrown on this issue after MediaCorp checked out four bus interchanges in the early hours of the morning last Friday, and found the interchanges easily accessible, with the doors of the buses at one of them - the Yishun bus interchange operated by SMRT - left completely open.
Tim Heydon, The Green Arrow
Lee Kuan Yew is forgiven his ‘racism’ because he is not White.
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia
Senior minister of state for national development, Grace Fu, has refuted claims by some opposition MPs who say the Town Council Management Report (TCMR) is "unfair" and "subjective".
Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle
A pointed remark by a Singaporean official set the tone for a meeting of Asian financiers who gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco last week.
"Some countries just are not profligate," said Teo Swee Lian, deputy managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, in a reference to the debt-burdened economies of the United States and Europe.
Anniston Star
Gerald Giam
The Online Citizen
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
While it may be explained that the ministers would be working behind the scenes to put things right, one would think that reassuring a jittery and concerned public would also be one of the ministers’ top priorities – and that they would do so promptly.
Xinhua
The Singapore authorities have begun discussions with Google over its controversial collection of personal information for its Street View service, which was launched here recently, in the light of concerns overseas over privacy issues, local media reported Saturday.
Yaw Shin Leong
For residents living in PAP-run Town Councils, perhaps the question to ask should be ‘Empathy, Empathy, where art thou?’
Alicia Wong, Today
Putting into perspective the news that some City Harvest Church members are under investigation, law minister K Shanmugam said on Friday: "It's got nothing to do with religion."
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Nowadays with the help of the Internet, Singaporeans are taking their complaints public to seek a solution, especially if they think the government is the cause.
Melissa Kok, Straits Times
In the wake of the break-in at SMRT's Changi train depot, a comprehensive security review of the entire public transport network will be conducted over the next six months.
This was announced by the Public Transport Security Committee (PTSC) last night. Alongside this review, SMRT will be engaging a professional security consultant to carry out a thorough audit of its systems.
Tan Wen Dee, Straits Times
Jolene Tan, The Online Citizen
Acts of violence dehumanise not only their victims but also their perpetrators. In the case of judicial torture, all of society is implicated every time a struggling, screaming man is beaten in our name. I believe we can do better than this.
Singapore Notes
The rub is this: their low grades have to do with collecting of arrears in S&CC (service and conservancy charges). Penalised for being sympathetic to the financial pain of the residents in their ward.
Singapore Democrat Party
What the opposition wants to see is a society that is more compassionate and more egalitarian where the people benefit from the system rather than one where the Government engorges its coffers and then use the money to publish inane reports ranking town councils.
Kelly Wu, Green Kampong
Development doesn’t have to wipe out all traces of history and can still give nature some room to flourish, right?
Pure Libre
SMRT president Mdm Saw Phaik Hua’s comment that the security breach showed why it was vital that the public should maintain vigilance at all times. In case she didn’t realize it, the train wasn’t vandalized while it was in service; it was vandalized while parked in Changi Depot, which is scarcely a public place.
Alexis Leondis and Joyce Koh, Bloomberg
Singapore and Malaysia led a recovery of global wealth to pre-crisis levels as the number of millionaires grew by about 14 percent in 2009, the Boston Consulting Group said.
联合早报
据了解，驳船码头一带好些酒廊之前已向警方执照组申请延长售酒时间，但被驳回，目前还有一些酒廊正尝试提出申请。
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
This information should be made transparent and broken down, so that residents can discern for
themselves the real differences between town councils, instead of a summary report from the Ministry of National Development, which itself throws up more questions about the report’s objectivity.
Dow Jones
Singapore, which for years promoted itself as a bastion of bank secrecy, is now pushing to portray an image of transparency after U.S. moves to clamp down on tax evasion.
Nikhil Hutheesing, DailyFinance
According to a recent report from Boston Consulting Group, Singapore has the greatest proportion of millionaire households in the world. A first blush, that may sound surprising for the "no gum chewing allowed" country. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that not only has Singapore's economy been resilient during times of economic trouble, but the country has also taken significant steps to become a great place to work -- and live.
Living Vegan
Gilbert Goh, The Temasek Review
Ananda De Costa, Lankaweb
Lee Kuan Yew’s latest’s comments on Sri Lanka are outrageous, racist and inaccurate by any standard.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
At the press conference, Mr Ravi laid out his reasons why he is asking for the Malaysian government to intervene. He cited two incidences which he feels warrant the authorities in Malaysia to bring the case to the International Court of Justice.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Is it a coincidence that the two lowest-scoring wards are opposition-run ones and the two best-scoring are helmed by the PM and the MM?
In short, a vague set of numbers put forth as “objective” assessment runs contrary to Ms Fu’s aim of providing residents with “the facts that will help them engage better with their town councils on estate management issues.”
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Companies are still somewhat cautious about wage increases, according to a survey conducted by the Singapore Human Resource Institute (SHRI) and Remuneration Data Specialists (RDS).
AFP
Edward Basse, a Manila-based campaigner for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said he was whisked away in a police car after he arrived by taxi outside the restaurant in a working-class district.
"I am now in my hotel room. I am under functional house arrest. I will stay in my hotel room under police surveillance until I leave tomorrow," 24-year-old Basse told Agence-France Presse by telephone.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Yawning Bread
We could make a tourist attraction in Singapore out of the disused ribbon of land the way New York has made one out of its track. All it takes is flair.
李帅, 腾讯网
如此看来，新加坡剧想不流行都难了。
陈锦柏, 联合早报
越来越多人在车内装置闭路摄像机，不单是为了抓捕刮花或破坏汽车的“元凶”，同时，也为了避免车祸发生时，对方明知理亏还硬不认错，录像正好拿来作证。
Jimmy Yap, iMerlion
Nathan Gardels, The Huffington Post
When the history of the 21st century is written, Afghanistan will matter little. But the rise of China modeled on the pragmatic, soft-authoritarian template of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore will be seen as the game changer of our time. Plate has had the uncommon vision, for a Western journalist, to see this. And his book could not be more relevant at a moment when recession, debt and dysfunction are plaguing the West while Asia strides boldly into the future.
Want Some Tau Huay?
For all the talk of how safe Singapore is, this incident has thrown a spotlight on Singapore’s defence vulnerability.
Harm Reduction & Human Rights
In any case, the government of Singapore fails to publish detailed crime data, and data on executions it carries out, makes Mr Teo’s claims about the effectiveness of its policies impossible to test independently. In fact, drug offences of any kind are conspicuously absent from Singapore's official crime data. Given that Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau regularly reports on major trafficking arrests on its website, this seems an odd omission.
natasha_ahsatan
No seriously, guess where Zion street ends? The "Great City Mall."
Tim Mou Hui, Straits Times
Considering that the incident was brought to public awareness only after video footage of the vandalised train was uploaded onto YouTube, one cannot help but wonder whether SMRT intended to avoid public discussion of the embarrassing episode entirely if it could indeed have done so.
Alicia Wong, Today
Unhappy with her school's dress code, she whipped out her mobile phone, logged into her Twitter account, and tweeted a furious message, containing a vulgarity, criticising her school.
A few weeks later, the 20-something student got a call from her school. They had tracked her down and told her to remove the vulgar tweet.
Tony Sagami, HoweStreet.com
What did you do last weekend? I spent mine with 25,000 Singaporean investors.
Eric Chia Kuan Meng, Today
The last time round, one of our weapons in our fight against littering was a total ban on chewing gum. Today, our fight must include the total ban on flyers - a cheap, inconsiderate form of advertisement.
One man's junk mail is another man's freedom of expression. Where do draw that line?
Chee Soon Juan, Singapore Democrat Party
Mr Wong must take responsibility for the security lapse and tell the public what went wrong. The Government must be completely transparent about the matter. The Minister's silence, like his silence in the Mas Selamat, is indicative of the the confusion and/or lack of transparency at the Ministry under his charge.
Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
Industry players have said Singapore's property market is in for a correction in coming months. Tell-tale signs include a plateau in home prices and a drop in transaction volumes.
My Queenstown
These sound of chooing trains and the chit-chatter of young kids playing along the tracks will soon be thing of the past.
Singapore Notes
Law enforcers in Singapore have it easy, they simply go by the letter of the law. Not for them the headaches of solving the idiomatic antithesis of pitting the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.
Andrew Thiam, The Temasek Review
Yawning Bread
Our socio-economic model is based on the idea that the racial split in Singapore can/must be maintained even if we import foreigners to do the low wage jobs. The rise of China, specifically the rise of wage levels in China, will put this complacency to the test.
Maria Almenoar & Teh Joo Lin, Straits Times
The gaffe was admitted yesterday by SMRT's chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa, who apologised for the 'serious lapse'.
Today
Telco SingTel said it was in the final stages of discussions with Apple to bring the handset to Singapore, while StarHub and M1 said they hoped to bring in the product in the coming months.
Wendy Lim, Today
From what I can see, in such carriages, people do not stand as close to one another, maintaining more personal space around themselves. Besides, most people force their way into the carriages with seats in the hope of getting one should someone alight.
追梦者...
Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones
All phases of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (LVS) Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore will be completed by the first quarter of 2011, a company executive said Tuesday.
黄瑶 , 齐鲁热线
随着中国高资产人数的急剧增长，新加坡被不少人当做了“财富避风港”，越来越多的中国买家选择投资新加坡地产。
朱英华, 南国早报
新加坡政府的这一举措在留学生中“一石激起千层浪”，有中国留学生忧虑重重，也有留学生觉得不必看得太重。
Gaurav Raghuvanshj, Wall Street Journal
India is negotiating a $2 billion fund with Singapore's state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. for infrastructure projects in the world's second-fastest growing major economy, India's minister for road transport and highways said Tuesday.
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
SMRT has explained why there was a lapse of two days before a police report was made about the train that was vandalised with graffiti. The company said its staff noticed the graffiti on the train on 17 May but did not sound the alarm as it was done artistically and they mistook it for an advertisement.
Reuters
Musings From the Lion City
Is vandalism more serious than corruption? In Singapore, that seems to be the case.
From My Perspective
Come on, as long as I am living in a first world country, with GDP per capita one of the highest in the world, great infrastructure, good transport system and one of the best education systems in the world, do I freaking care if I have no freedom of speech?
Kaya Toast
Why do we have to be so clean?
Yawning Bread
If you look at the totality of the changes, the effect is one of setting clearer boundaries. The vague language that existed before has been cleaned up considerably, and through that cleaning up, it is much clearer now what is allowed and what is not. The forbidden areas are slightly fewer, but at the same time, if you cross those, the police can seize you.
Kenneth Mak, Straits Times
Anand A. Vathiyar, Straits Times
Jimmy Yap, iMerlion
Picture on Mobile Crunch live blog definitely shows Singapore and July in the same slide.
Teo Xuanwei, Today
The tricky aspects of having an entry levy system are only now beginning to surface.
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
A warrant of arrest has been issued for Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, the man suspected to be an accomplice of the Swiss national charged with vandalising an MRT train in Singapore.
Alex Tan, Utopia8787
AFP
Southeast Asian nations must coordinate efforts to cut cross-border red tape and promote regional road transport as they move towards a common market, industry players said Monday.
Associated Press
Singapore, where painting graffiti can get you caned and drug smugglers are hanged, is trying a new tactic against the city-state's litterbugs: Embarrassing them in front of their neighbours.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia
It's easy to start a blog. It's more difficult to maintain it and make it relevant.
AFP
The Swiss embassy said on Monday it plans to observe the court case of a citizen facing prison and caning for allegedly spray-painting graffiti on a Singapore metro train.
Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Government
星洲日報
杭州网
上周，求是星洲小学迎来了一批新加坡裕华小学交流互访的老师与孩子。来访问的大多是四年级的学生，他们和求是星洲小学部分四年级的孩子结对，入住杭州学生家中，共同生活、共同学习。一个星期的结对，有意思的事情很多，孩子、老师、家长都看到了彼此的不同。
Funny Little World
周文龙, 云南信息报
可以说，这些剧作家都透过他们的剧本，忠实地反映了现实生活，让我们看到这些剧作家的成长轨迹，不同时代社会群众的不同价值观，以及新加坡这繁华社会底下的边缘申诉。
Channel NewsAsia
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has declined a request by the Singapore Medical Association, SMA, to exclude its Guideline on Fees (GOF) from the Competition Act.
MTI, in consultation with the Health Ministry, has assessed that MOH's current and continuing measures to improve information transparency better serves this purpose. MOH's measures include publishing actual medical fees on its website, requiring hospitals to provide financial counselling to patients and requiring medical bills to be itemised.
Daily Mirror
Sri Lanka is in the process of rebuilding the nation after a horrible war and there’s a responsibility by the likes of senior international politicians of the calibre of LKY to avoid making statement that would harm the reconciliation process by pitting one community against the other.
Ephraim Seow, Today
Local developers of mobile applications, or apps, are turning to companies as a new driver of growth.
Peter Gleick, San Francisco Chronicle
Some of the most interesting water stories are coming out of Singapore -- an example of a place with serious water constraints and important political and economic incentives to address those constraints in a sustainable way.
Singapore Democrat Party
Lara's Singapore Blog
Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times
Casinos would be allowed in Singapore only “over my dead body,” Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s founder and a fierce opponent of gambling, once said.
The so-called minister mentor of a government led by his eldest son, Mr. Lee, 86, still casts a long shadow over this city-state. But two casinos, as grandiose and gaudy as anything in Las Vegas or Macao, have opened here recently — with his blessing.
Trial Of Tears
Re-education, fines and CWO are so yesterday in the fight against litterers.
Allan Lazaro, Take Two, Up Three
We know Chicken Rice isn’t really gourmet food – you can find it in almost every hawker food center in Singapore — but the one we had wasn’t a good imitation.
Wild Shores Of Singapore
Clean-up costs are estimated to reach hundreds of thousands.
Ravi Philemon
Tara Tiger Brown, Singapore Metblogs
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
Tougher penalties, like stiffer fines and greater public shaming, are being introduced to keep offenders at bay. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is also stepping up public engagement efforts, while making it easier for people to bin their trash.
Michael Teo, The Guardian
Every society strikes its own balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of society. Capital punishment is an integral part of our successful comprehensive anti-drug strategy. Our tough stance against drugs has saved tens of thousands of lives from the drug menace. It is therefore not surprising that the majority of Singaporeans continue to support the death penalty.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Singaporeans blame the greed on a materialistic society rather than just the priests and monks, who are also humans like us. However, some call for a strict separation between religion and business.
Ryan Huang, Today
Mobile phone auto-roaming charges between the two countries may fall by as much as 20 per cent as early as August, if a push by regulators to clamp down on high rates takes hold.
Surekha Yadav, Today
A 33-year-old Swiss male national who is alleged to have broken into an SMRT depot and vandalised a train will be charged in court today. He faces a charge of trespassing into a protected place and two charges of vandalism.
Tan Hock Chuan, Straits Times
Can the telcos claim to truly care for their customers when they have made it so inconvenient and costly for us to even sign up for their packages?
Excuse me, if you did not sign up, you are not a customer! If you cannot afford, maybe the telcos don't want you as a customer?
Channel NewsAsia
Temasek Cares, an Institute of Public Character that focuses on supporting the community in Singapore, has received an endowment gift of S$70 million from Temasek Holdings.
Channel NewsAsia
It is now safe to do water activities at East Coast Beach and Changi Beach. They were re-opened for such activities Friday.
The National Environment Agency, NEA, said its checks Friday morning revealed that the water at the two beaches have returned to normal.
Michael Perry, Reuters
Singapore hopes to become the "Cannes" of Asia in 2011 when it stages the "ScreenSingapore" film festival, which will premiere Asian films and previews of U.S. blockbusters and hopefully attract Hollywood's A-list.
Esther Ng, Channel NewsAsia
SISTIC has been fined $989,000 for abuse of dominant position by Singapore's competitive watchdog.
Patricia Lui, Bloomberg
The Singapore dollar will outperform Asian peers as its “safe haven” status attracts funds amid Europe’s debt crisis, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Plc and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Food Fanatics Unwashed
I absolutely loved this little home of a cookbook store during my travels in Singapore. 25 Degree Celsius is part bookstore, part cafe, and part test kitchen. Yes, that's right. They actually take books off the shelves, test the recipes to make sure they work, and then feature said recipes in their cafe.
Marcus Tan
Yes, when I was only 11 years old, my government was so afraid of my leaving the country to escape military conscription that they issued me a passport which was only valid for 9 months. It signals paranoia when the government of a country which is not at war forces all males into 2 year conscriptions.
Tricia Lee, SingTel, Huang Shu-Yin, StarHub, Straits Times
We are not profiteering from the carriage of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. In fact, all we are hoping for is to break even.
Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
The NLB's actions send a signal to students, academics and others interested in history that certain subjects ought to remain off limits. Unfortunately there is no clear signal about where exactly these red lines (or "out-of-bounds markers", as they are often dubbed in Singapore) are drawn so ambitious Singaporean academics (or those who want to ensure that they can get a job) invariably give even vaguely sensitive issues a wide berth.
Straits Times
The controversial crooked bridge project to replace the Causeway was not discussed when the prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia met last week, says Malaysia's foreign minister.
赵敏, 联合早报
缺少了娱乐的深刻可能枯燥，但是，缺少了深刻的娱乐只能沦为搞笑，如果搞笑的手段又只是局限于语言、动作、装束的出位，那么，这样的电视节目注定会被观众遗弃。
S.Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's Elections Department is in the process of updating its system records of all premises that will be used as polling stations or counting centres for the next General Election and Presidential Election.
Jeremy Koh, Channel NewsAsia
The Mother Tongue issue has brought out strong emotions, hundreds of letters to the media, and even more postings on the Internet.
But in her first public comments on the review of Mother Tongue languages (MTL), the director-general of education, Ho Peng, hinted there won't be a radical overhaul to the teaching and learning.
Sukrit Sabhlok, Thoughts On Freedom
Sure, Singapore is a low-corruption society, but wealthy politicians are not the reason why.
Crystal And Bryan In Singapore
The Local
Singapore’s big research and academic budgets are becoming increasingly popular with German scientists and students, who say their country simply can't compete.
The German scientists said they were willing to even deal with Singapore's draconian penal system, which discourages homosexuality and levies hefty fines for offences as minimal as throwing chewing gum on the street, given the benefits.
Singapore Democrat Party
There are alternatives. It's a matter of whether we care enough or are bold enough to want to take charge of our own destiny and make Singapore a livable home.
何惜薇 赖诗琳, 联合早报
社交网站面簿上，有教徒认为，这是信仰须接受考验的时候，因此呼吁教友不要动摇，一起为康希祈祷。亚洲网的网上论坛也有网民讨论，有关城市丰收的贴子有180个，浏览人次近3万。一些人质疑城市丰收与一些公司有密切生意往来的妥当性，并表示无风不起浪，因此当局必须展开彻查。
Singaporean Skeptic
Why don't we just hold judgement until all the facts of the investigation are out?
Remember, innocent until proven guilty.
Esther Ng, Today
Amend work permit conditions to give migrant workers the right to switch employers without permission from present ones. Abolish the practice of banning or blacklisting workers unless they are charged in court for a criminal offence.
These are some of the recommendations by migrant welfare groups Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) in a report, Justice Delayed, Justice Denied: The Experiences of Migrant Workers in Singapore.
Nur Dianah Suhaimi, Straits Times
Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek Bak Chye, 46, former chief of defence Force, will be permanent secretary at the environment and water resources ministry.
He succeeds Mr Tan Yong Soon, 55, who will become permanent secretary (national climate change) in the Prime Minister's Office.
Eugene Tay Tse Chuan, Today
We can prevent future accusations if we take proactive, concrete and transparent steps to ensure that our supply of sand from other countries is responsible.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Ravi Philemon
"NUS History Society (NUSHS) had indicated that Junior College and Upper Secondary students were the target audience and that academics would form the line-up of speakers. The initial line-up provided by the NUSHS for NLB's support were academics from the local tertiary institutions researching on these areas. The academic exploration that the seminar would pursue was also in line with NLB's programming objectives to seek insights into Singapore's history through research and study. The late inclusion of Mr Vincent Cheng, by the society was not consistent with the direction of the initial proposed line-up, of academics, by NUSHS."
Xinhua
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Singapore increased 84 percent in 2009, driven by sand exports from the Kingdom, local media reported on Tuesday, citing a Ministry of Commerce (MoC) official.
Military Life: Memoirs Of A Conscript In The Lion City
Conscription is an anarchronism in today's world. It is less about mobilising the citizenry to military defence than a mechanism to enslave the young male citizens to a system of compliance, obedience and fear of authority.
Leona’s Blog
Channel NewsAsia
The government will be giving out the last tranche of GST credits on July 1 for all eligible Singaporeans who have already signed up or who sign up by 18 June.
Singapore Democrat Party
The tragedy is that while the rest of the modern and democratic world continue to prepare their societies to embrace and compete in an environment where change is the constant, Singapore is stuck with an regime bent on holding on to power even if it means holding the country back.
Reinventing Urban Transport
The KTM corridor would make a wonderful "rails to trails" type project. It would be tragic not to preserve this right-of-way for non-motorised transport. Such a park connector could provide a direct, flat, bicycle route free of road-crossings all the way to the edge of the financial district at Tanjung Pagar from Woodlands via Upper Bukit Timah, Ghim Moh/Holland Village, Biopolis and Queenstown.
I support this suggestion.
Paul Chan, Straits Times
The seniors in our society deserve genuine concessions. They have no desire to be treated as 'load-fillers' by public transport operators and 'lull-period customers' by commercial businesses.
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