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新浪网
Stanislaus Jude Chan, Asia Media Forum
The Singapore government treats dissent with the same tactic it does drug trafficking: with an iron fist, to make an example of a few in the hope that it will deter others from even the thought of trying.
On the flipside of the coin, the fact that there are even a few voices that dare speak out provides a beacon of hope to illuminate the darkness.
Yawning Bread
It’s the affective divide again, in the famous words of writer Catherine Lim, who in the 1990s was rapped by the prime minister for undermining public confidence in the government through her plain speaking. But it’s true: There’s a gulf between citizens and the government. As soon as something is seen as being important to the government, especially if it is seen as important to the ego of the government, the average Singaporean keeps his distance. There’s that sense of alienation all over again.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
People are broadly sceptical about how much the boom will benefit the masses in terms of jobs and wages, or in reducing the gap between rich and poor.
Their doubts seem justified.
张贤贞 赵菊玲, 东方网
纪丽贞，建屋发展局, 联合早报
我们认为私人企业在经营湿巴刹和熟食中心上可以扮演一定的角色，因为它们有更多的诱因去快速对居民不断改变的需求作出反应。
白士德, 联合早报
詹时中从政34年，当选议员至今也已26年，一手成立的民主党遭人夺权，现在领导了14年的人民党又因他急于壮大反对党，以在新加坡的反对党政治史上留下功绩而闹分裂，实在令人不解。
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Instead of letting GIC and Temasek Holdings losing billions of dollars in financial crisis, it will only cost us less than 10% of the total losses suffered by GIC and Temasek Holdings to engineer our way out of flooding. Tokyo is many times bigger than Singapore and I guess we should use less than the total amount of money needed for such project.
Yawning Bread
A lawyer sitting near me in the public gallery felt that Quentin Loh acted fairly. Another lawyer noted that Chong, lead counsel for the AGC, ought not to have objected to the application for leave to file affidavits. The accused should have the right of reply. In the case against the Wall Street Journal (where David Chong was also lead counsel for the AGC), the accused had about six weeks to file an affidavit.
Kevin Leong, Straits Times
The Tanjong Pagar MRT station is probably one of the most user-unfriendly stations in the city despite its big and beautiful design.
Netty Ismail, Bloomberg
James Gomez, The Guardian
The administration has spent large amounts of money on marketing Singapore internationally, most recently over the upcoming Youth Olympic Games. But at the same time it continues to damage Singapore's reputation with its censorship.
In keeping with tradition, one strategy used at today's court hearings was to threaten legal action against the media for publicising the alleged contemptuous remarks in Shadrake's book. That was a lost cause, given the information already circulating on the internet.
Singapore Democrat Party
Bernama
Senior Malaysian and Singaporean officials met here for two days, beginning Tuesday, to discuss further Points of Agreement (PoA) on Malayan Railway Lands in the republic.
Patricia Lui, Bloomberg
Singapore’s planned issuance of central bank bills will help limit money-supply growth as investors channel more funds into the world’s fastest-growing economy, say Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc.
What I Don't See Doesn't Exist
There we have it, our citizen, living on that small island; he hopes that people like me, who criticize his great Lee Kuan Yew, would just go away and leave him and his Singaporean "paradise" alone.
谢川, 经济参考报
新加坡是一座在夜晚醒来的城市，告别白昼的炙热、拥挤、繁忙，走出冷气开到摄氏10度的盒子间，海风拂面，人潮熙攘，每一处流光溢彩，每一处车水马龙，都鲜活起来。让我们昼伏夜出，在这座赤道以北137公里的热带岛国，尽情体验热辣香甜、海味十足的每一个日落黄昏后。
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore employers expanded payrolls for a fourth consecutive quarter as record economic growth prompted companies in the services and construction industries to boost hiring.
David Soh Poh Huat, Today
If you wish to take a train on the Circle Line from Marymount Station, the fares to Esplanade and Bras Basah stations are $1.54 and $1.50, respectively, as shown on the TransitLink website. However, the fares displayed on the notice board at Marymount Station indicate that the fares to the stations are $1.44 and $1.40, respectively. Which is correct?
Blowin' In The Wind
Sam Ho, Sam's Thoughts
While I agree to an extent, the idea of "active seniors", I believe it should be a concept strictly voluntary.
I don't think Mr Lee was advocating changing the laws to force folks not to retire.
Under The WIllow Tree
Andrea Tan, Bloomberg
The trial of Alan Shadrake, the British author charged for contempt of court over his book on Singapore’s death penalty challenging the integrity and independence of the city’s judiciary, was adjourned today.
Justice Quentin Loh gave M. Ravi, Shadrake’s lawyer, two weeks to file an affidavit. Ravi had asked for a month’s adjournment to file a defense of “fair criticism and fair comment.” Ravi said he needs to consult with various government bodies and other parties about their views and Shadrake’s medical conditions.
Andrew Tan, Life Of A Married Singaorean
Satish Cheney, Today
The highly-anticipated smartphone was launched at midnight, and eager fans were already in line long before to be among the first in Singapore to get their hands on what will be the apple of their eye for the weeks or months ahead.
Yeoh Siew Hoon, Asian Correspondent
刘丽仪, 联合早报
本地三家电信公司今天凌晨推出第四代苹果手机（iPhone4）。为避免混乱场面，三家公司只开放给已登记的顾客。但还是有iPhone迷为了“安全”起见及抢先拥有梦寐以求的科技新宠，提早16小时排队。
Channel NewsAsia
Employment has continued to grow with the number of people gaining jobs in the second quarter of 2010, up by 26,500. A release of the Manpower ministry found that the continuing employment gains that started from the third quarter of 2009 was however lower than the 36,500 in the first quarter of 2010.
Singapore Notes
Evelyn Lam/ Alvina Soh, Channel NewsAsia
Burger chain, Wendy's, will reopen its outlet at Liat Towers on Friday. The new franchise in Singapore was in business for only three days before it was hit by floods twice and was forced to close.
Flaneurose
Given these positive fundamental drivers, high property prices in Singapore may stay high for a very long time. 'Normal' could be a long time coming, which might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your personal financial situation.
Channel NewsAsia
MediaCorp publication TODAY will launch a new weekly newspaper this weekend in partnership with The New York Times. Called the TODAY-New York Times International Weekly, the newspaper will showcase features on international affairs, social trends, arts and culture as well as business and finance, said Singapore's leading media company MediaCorp.
Note: Link goes to Channel NewsAsia, which is also published by MediaCorp.
Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
Asked about the issue during a news conference on its annual report Thursday, MAS said it will assess the outcome of the investigation before deciding on the appropriate regulatory action to take.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi and P.R. Venkat, Dow Jones
Singapore's central bank Thursday said its current policy of allowing the local dollar to gradually appreciate remains appropriate, as economic activity is expected to remain high though the pace of expansion will ease.
Channel NewsAsia
Singapore Democrat Party
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Kazuto Tsukamoto, 朝日新聞
Asian dynamo Singapore, a city-state of towers, open spaces and a thriving economy based on its port facilities, has begun to export its know-how in urban development.
mrbrown, CNNGo
Actually, now that I think about it, Lew Lian MRT Station would be a way cooler name for Serangoon MRT Station. But then some people may confuse Lew Lian with Esplanade MRT Station.
Blowin' In The Wind
Singapore download speeds are below average, according to the Household Download Index, measuring download speeds across the globe. The average download speed in Singapore is 5.54 Mbps while the global average is 7.60, according to the index, based on Speedtest.net test results.
Victor Khoo, Straits Times
Furry Brown Dog
Singapore’s recent stellar economic performance has not necessarily benefited its people because of the dual economy and unless appropriate action is taken to remedy this, Singapore is headed towards a future when higher GDP figures only serve to justify ministerial salary hikes, GST increases, fees and fare increments whilst giving the ruling party even less reason to address an inevitable growing inequality and a growing cost of living.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Labour chief Lim Swee Say has said that any additional intake of foreign manpower should not dilute Singapore's efforts in productivity improvement.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Government
In response to media queries, the MFA Spokesman confirmed that the Ministry has received a letter of appeal for clemency for Yong Vui Kong from Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman. The letter of appeal has been referred to the legal authorities.
Wong Chun Han, The Online Citizen
The Supreme Court reserved judgement Wednesday in a hearing on the pardon process for Malaysian death row convict Yong Vui Kong, who is asking for his execution to be stayed on the grounds that he had been denied a fair clemency process.
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that there should be no retirement age for workers. He said: "You work as long as you can work and you will be healthier and happier for it. If you ask me to stop working all of a sudden, I think I'll just shrivel up, face the wall and just that."
Lip Kwok Wai/Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
Six deer escaped from the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoological Gardens on Wednesday morning. Five have been found but one is still missing, although it is believed to be within the Night Safari park.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Government
As our special envoy ambassador Anil Kumar Nayar said when approached by the Romanian media, the trial is not about the Singapore system or its government. The trial is about what happened on 15 December 2009 which resulted in death and serious injuries, and the evidence found has pointed to Ionescu. His responsibility will have to be addressed through the Romanian legal process for justice to be served, and this is where the focus should be.
Mohamad Khan, The Online Citizen
You see guys maybe I’m being selfish for wanting a little personal space. Maybe I am not being far-sighted enough for failing to recognize the importance of being an economic powerhouse. All I see is that with higher GDP it means less space for me.
Singapore Notes
After a lifetime of toil, slaving to pay off the house, car and kids' education, so it's back to the grind, only to work for a younger, less qualified boss at reduced wages? That's the wise man's formula to boost productivity in Singapore.
On the other hand, I think there is a significant difference between retirement and retirement as mandated by law. Especially since we have almost abolished the pension system.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
Yawning Bread
Xinhua
Singaporean investment in Indonesia reached the highest amount in second quarter 2010 compared to other countries, Kompas.com online news quoted an official as saying on Wednesday.
Nick Gier, Politics
Libertarian theory would predict that Singapore’s higher taxes would slow economic growth and increase unemployment, but just the opposite has happened.
王传军, 光明日报
新加坡是世界上推广互联网最早和互联网普及率最高的国家之一,也是在网络管理方面最为成功的国家之一。新加坡从立法、执法、准入以及公民自我约束等渠道加强网络管理,在确保国家安全及社会稳定的前提下,最大限度地保障网民的网络遨游权利。
Suzanne Nam, Forbes
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Eugene Tan, Public Transport Council, Helen Lim, Land Transport Authority, Straits Times
The impact analysis for the distance fares was based on actual data collected through our fare system, and is reflective of the prevailing travel patterns of our commuters. This data source is comprehensive as it is based on all actual trips taken by commuters using their contactless smart cards.
In considering the impact on commuters, the Public Transport Council looked at the weekly rather than daily travel patterns - as most commuters make a combination of direct and transfer journeys during the week.
Eugene K B Tan, Today
Are the guidelines targeted at Christian groups, since they are the most regular and prominent users of commercial spaces for religious purposes, especially on weekends and in the lead-up to Christmas?
Concerns have been also been voiced of an assertive "fundamentalist secularism" that seeks to drive religion out of the public sphere. This fear is unnecessary.
Alicia Wong, Channel NewsAsia
A young grassroots leader has received flak from scores of netizens for calling Singaporeans "third-class" citizens on the People's Action Party (PAP) Facebook page.
Scott Anthony, Harvard Business Review
Changi, in my mind, is an example of intelligent design with the traveler in mind. It's pleasant, peaceful, and efficient. Innovators should always look at the world through the eyes of the customer. Is there a way to challenge common assumptions, like Changi does with distributed security, to delight the customer?
Journalism, Journalists and the World
For all its official pronouncements of allowing free and open discussion, the Singapore government more often acts like a petty dictatorship than a liberal democracy.
The Canadian Press
As his trial opened in the Romanian capital on Tuesday, Ionescu claimed this was the second time Singapore's authorities had tried to connect him with a hit-and-run accident. Ionescu said the first case was dropped after witnesses confirmed he had been at a diplomatic reception at the time of the alleged incident.
Florence Beaugé, Le Monde
La crise n'étant plus qu'un souvenir, les autorités singapouriennes envisagent de rouvrir les portes de l'immigration. Cette année, 100 000 travailleurs étrangers devraient être nécessaires pour répondre au fort rebond de l'économie de la cité-Etat : 18,1 % de croissance pour les six premiers mois.
John Chan, CNET Asia
Chan Sue Ling, Bloomberg
Singapore Democrat Party
Tan Kin Lian
We can stop the price escalation of HDB flats by providing a supply of flats for rental at controlled prices. The government has the means to achieve this goal, if they wish to.
Noodie Mak, Today
I know it is not easy to juggle the demands for transportation with the number of trains in service simultaneously but more thought should be put into giving passengers, literally, a grip on the situation aboard our jam-packed trains.
吴淑贤, 联合早报
一项人力资源公司的调查显示，外劳税的增加不会导致企业减少所聘用的外籍劳工，强劲的经济增长显然已减弱外劳税增幅对企业的影响。
游润恬, 联合早报
新加坡人民党的领导权拉锯战在前天的党大会上白热化。发动支持者到场以影响投票结果，在会上高声对骂，两派人马的行为不禁让人回想起妇女行动及研究协会（AWARE）风波。
Howard Lee, The Online Citizen
For the population and particularly those affected, this is the time to muster another level of determination, for odd weather seems here to stay and, by the rhetoric thrown around, most significantly by MM Lee’s decree, we evidently should not depend on our politicians to provide assistance, must less shield us from it.
联合早报
既然组屋转售市场只是失衡而非失控，政府不以调控溢价的方式来干预市场的运作，无疑是正确的决定。
何荧, 联合早报
同一条路线，提前一个站上车，车程应该是短了，怎么反而得多付7分？少一个站，车资不减反增，令人费解。
Singapore And Beyond
Who would expect that there is still a wetland in the modern city of Singapore?
Mr Wang Says So
For most Singaporeans, the only way to make money from a HDB flat is to downgrade. Many people would say, quite rightly, that this means you aren't really "making money".
Sakmongkol AK47
TheBachelorgirl.com
While I was watching the W!ld Rice restaging of one of its hits — Animal Farm on 21 April 2010 — I was taken aback with some of the references to the Singaporean government, which, even as a foreigner, I could not miss. A few weeks later, the announcement of the cutting of funds came out.
Abdillah Zamzuri
Richard Seah, Today
The SMRT communications staff asserts that MRT trains carry an "average" of only 1,300 to 1,500 passengers during peak hours. These numbers work out to an average of 3.8 persons per square metre, which does not correspond with reality.
Could SMRT please divulge how it arrives at the "average" passenger load? Would it care to also reveal the maximum numbers? Do independent entities, such as the LTA or the Public Transport Council, verify the numbers?
Leong Sze Hian / Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Siew Kum Hong
By mixing up the public policy goals of providing affordable accommodation and helping citizens plan for their retirement, the Government has ended up achieving neither, with public housing becoming increasing unaffordable and many retirees being asset-rich and cash-poor.
BBC
Singapore Airlines (SIA) made a first-quarter profit of 253 million Singapore dollars ($184.7m; £119m) for the three months between April and June. The figure, which was above ...
Tim Johnston and Kevin Brown and Amy Kazmin, Financial Times
When Khazanah, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, launched a bid for control of Singapore’s Parkway Holdings healthcare group earlier this year, it triggered a cross-border takeover battle involving companies in three Asian countries.
The tussle demonstrates the high value attached by the rival bidders to Parkway’s extensive hospital network, which the bidders hoped to use to create a leading Asian healthcare provider – and capitalise on the region’s fast-growing medical tourism industry.
Alex Au, Asia Times
Three recent incidents have brought renewed attention to the repressive nature of Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP)-led government at a time when the island state is bidding to attract more foreign tourists and investment.
Pritam Singh, The Online Citizen
The points raised with regard to the foreign worker levy hike in the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) Report released in February 2010, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement of the arrival of 100,000 more foreigners into Singapore’s workforce this year make for a curious contrast.
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
Figures from the Samaritans of Singapore, SOS, showed that the total number of suicides has increased from 364 in 2008 to 401 last year. This it says brings the suicide rate to 9.35 per 100,000 residents from 8.76 per 100,000 in 2008.
Channel NewsAsia
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s industrial production rose at the slowest pace in four months in June as pharmaceutical and electronic manufacturers made fewer goods, suggesting demand may ease as the global recovery cools.
Green Drinks Singapore
Singapore Notes
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind
The truth is the PAP GDP growth strategy now has become highly dependent on foreigner labor and this imported labor is brought in at a faster rate than what our infrastructure can support.
林放, 星洲日報
楊偉光的案件受到民間團體的關注，確實有案例可尋，可為他的死刑奔走的理由。新加坡政府在執法方面的膚色歧視或輕重失據留下了話柄，該國的印裔公民沙慕甘姆遭問吊，而同樣因販毒而罪名成立的德國女子朱莉婭波爾（Julia Bohl）卻因為德國當局的壓力而由死刑改判5年徒刑，最終只需服刑3年。
楊偉光案件，馬新政府當然不會把死刑存廢的問題相提並論，但是，由於政府本身也存在要求和自動寬赦的先例，自然就應給楊偉光第二次生命的機會，否則，政府的慈悲心就顯得厚此薄彼了。
Pan And Zi
独立新闻在线
很多年轻人运毒是被误导，是无知。这样的无知罪不至死，OK？要彻底解决问题，就要抓后面的大集团。大马政府官商勾结，所以从来没有抓大鱼。可是新加坡政府这么厉害，居然也抓不到大鱼，很奇怪咧！
星洲日報
以新加坡99.1%的依賴性來說，如果不依靠外來入口，新加坡僅能養活500萬人口中的1%，也就是5萬人。
Blowin' In The Wind
Otterman Speaks...
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
The opposition Singapore People's Party (SPP) held its ordinary party conference on Sunday, and elected 14 members to its decision making central executive committee.
Veteran politician Chiam See Tong remains in the committee. The new faces include his wife Lina Chiam and member Desmond Lim, who's reported to have differences in the party over the possible inclusion of the Reform Party into the Singapore Democratic Alliance.
Susuteh 奶茶 Blog 大马政治时事博客
站在新加坡的立场，会因为一位毒贩而赦免其罪行吗？就算改成终身监禁，能保证下一次同样案件不会再次发生吗？
Loh Chee Kong, Today
Mr Zink believes that size does matter. But it is by no means the critical ingredient - as Citi's experience has shown.
Dotseng
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia
National development minister Mah Bow Tan said more new HDB flats will be built for first-time applicants, so as to relieve the pressure on the resale market.
Yawning Bread
Desiree Tresa Gasper And Brendan Vive Suppiah, The Star
Singaporeans are complaining that a ruling banning foreign-registered vehicles from filling up with RON 95 petrol is unfair to them. They are also confused about whether they are totally prohibited from buying petrol in Malaysia or if they are allowed to buy limited quantities of lower grade fuel.
Salma Khalik, Straits Times
On June 28 when the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) opened its emergency department, its CEO expected just 30 patients to walk through. Instead, more than 100 came, and the numbers are going up by 15 per cent every week.
But the team at the new hospital in Yishun was prepared for the load which, more importantly, has helped to ease the squeeze at other public hospitals.
Vincent Wijeysingha, The Online Citizen
随心随乐的个人空间
The British Weekly
“I don’t believe in backing down from bullies,” Shadrake said, who is best known to BW readers as the author of the long-running and controversial column Shooting From The Lip. “Everything I wrote (in the book) was true and when I go to court I intend to give as good as I get.”
In his book, Shadrake examines the history of the death penalty in Singapore and exposes its unequal and frequently merciless aplication. The books alleges that foreigners and the wealthy are less likely to receive the death penalty.
Khairulanwar Zaini, The Online Citizen
Because when you’re desperate, you go for broke. And there’s no better way to cajole back an indignant population than through fear.
Blowin' In The Wind
Blowin' In The Wind
Singapore, according to the 2009 UN report, had a Gini coefficient of 42.5, exceeded only by Hong Kong (43.4) among the countries with very high human development.
PetuniaLee
I don't understand why people's eyes go unfocused when I tell them I live in Woodlands. What's wrong with Woodlands?In an age of global warming (strong winds and nonstop rain), Woodlands oughta be the IN place to be. It oughta be the CHIC zone and the COOL spot. It should be moving UPmarket.
Like Endless Rain Into A Paper Cup.
The government is giving excuses, we pay lots of money and taxes and yet they can’t get simple things like drainage and tree maintenance right, the government only knows how to shift blame to Singaporeans for littering and clogging the canals, and even comparing Singapore to the Netherlands.
Life In All Its Fullness
One case in point is Bishan MRT station. Angie, Sihui, Sarah and I have always complained that every time the train bounded for Jurong East reaches Bishan station, a strong stench of fart will hit us when the train doors open. Then people will unanimously cover their noses, thinking that their neighbour has farted, when in fact it is just the station smelling like fart.
Leaving the Asylum
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
It was the worst since the disastrous 1978 monsoon floods, which caused seven deaths and hundreds to be evacuated. One man died when an uprooted tree fell on his car, and several people were injured.
However, the population had more than doubled from 2.23 million in 1978 to 5 million now. This means more high-rise buildings disgorging used water into the drainage system.
Bloomberg
Singapore’s inflation is likely to accelerate and policy makers should stay vigilant on the outlook for growth and prices, which may require the “further calibration” of monetary policy, the International Monetary Fund said.
AFP
In a report after annual consultations with the Singapore authorities, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Singapore dollar "would likely strengthen in real effective terms over time as reforms promote faster productivity growth and the domestic economy continues to expand."
The Singapore dollar "appears to be somewhat weaker than its medium-term equilibrium level although considerable uncertainty clouds this assessment," said the report by the fund's board.
Anthony Dennis, Sydney Morning Herald
Travellers have always loved Singapore for its convenience as a stopover to and from Australia but it's never quite won the acclaim to which it aspired. Now the city-state, in one of its biggest gambles, is betting that travellers will be inclined to linger.
郭丽娟, 联合早报
事实上，真正从车资调整中获益或受影响的是两家公共交通业者。它们既然都是上市公司，除了向乘客负责，也要向股东负责，或许公交理事会今后在核准车资调整申请后，可考虑要求业者站在第一线面对乘客，让它们做好本身该做的宣传，也要它们直接为调高车资的必要性作出公开透明的解释。唯有这样，它们才能对民众的“切肤之痛”有所理解，也能在乘客的注目之下，认真做好节省成本、提高生产力和改善服务的工作。
何惜薇, 联合早报
要使本地人对“有了客工，生活更美好”这句话心领神会，恐怕还需要更长时间，让复杂的情绪沉淀。
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
Thomas Lee, Straits Times
I totally do not understand what the heck this writer is arguing about. The World Cup was almost not shown in Singapore because the licensing fees were too high -- and that has nothing to do with incompatible set-top box technologies. In fact, the new regulations imposed by MDA has nothing to do with "solving" the high fees in content acquisition, and is just a stupid hack to workaround the two incompatible standards used by StarHub and SingTel. It will not lower costs at all.
Joko Hariyanto, Dow Jones
Indonesia will seek to reduce natural gas exports to Singapore to meet rising domestic demand, a minister said.
Musings From the Lion City
AFP
Insurers may hike premiums for flood-prone properties in Singapore after a deluge caused millions of dollars in damage and led to luxury stores being barricaded with sandbags, a report said Friday.
Nipa Piboontanasawat, Bloomberg
China agreed to a three-year currency swap with Singapore valued at 150 billion yuan ($22 billion), or S$30 billion, the People’s Bank of China announced on its website today. The swap, which may be extended, aims to facilitate trade and investment between the two nations, the statement said.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore’s consumer prices rose for a sixth month in June as an increase in car and electricity prices pushed transportation and housing costs higher.
Housing prices, the biggest component of the consumer price index, climbed 2.3 percent from a year earlier, and transport costs increased 10.3 percent. Food prices rose 1.2 percent.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Dow Jones
The rise in Singapore consumer prices took a breather in June, to analysts' surprise, but it's likely to prove an aberration as the island nation grows at its fastest clip ever.
Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that overall prices rose by 5.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2010, compared to 5.6 per cent in the first three months of the year.
The increase pushed the residential property price index to an all-time high, surpassing the market peak of 181.4 points in Q2 of 1996.
Channel NewsAsia
Data released by the Department of Statistics shows that CPI increased by 2.7 per cent on-year. The higher expenses were due to more expensive costs of transport, housing and food.
Barbara Kiviat, Time
While the cultural differences at play make it hard to adapt any lessons without flexibility—one could not lump the Thai and Singaporean economies into the same category—there is something to be said for taking the wisdom of age-old economics and applying it with prudence. It might be time to re-learn the lessons we lent to Asia.
Our Unspoken Confessions
International Freedom of Expression eXchange
The Singapore government's pattern of repressing free expression continues with the recent arrest of a British journalist for writing a book critical of the city-state's death penalty, and the ban of a film about ex-political prisoners by a Singaporean filmmaker, report the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International.
Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Too Many Thoughts
Can I just say again that censorship is not the way forward, that all we are seeing is the state arresting or censuring people without being beholden to give any clear, cogent and logical explanations why they are doing so? Which is ridiculous for a developed country with developed-world aspirations, and a population of people who are not clueless or uninformed.
胡洁梅, 联合早报
在沟渠雨水泛滥时刻，沙包通常只能减缓水流量，可是在长远的防水设施落实之前，短期内沙包似乎成了最即时的“挡水”工具。现在，不论曾是“重灾区”的烈大厦，或是低洼地区公寓，处处可见沙包挡水阵。
Chan Joon Yee, Yours Toothfully
If the relevant authorities are not doing anything about the flooding problem even when Orchard Road (not Pulau Ubin) is affected, what does it mean for the average, powerless Singaporean?
Kidnap My Heart
Just to let you know, Singapore has this law that whenever the government thinks that someone has the power to win the people over and overthrow the government, the government has the right to detain him/her without trial.
Singapore Notes
The Online Citizen
Each move to remove ‘offending’ literature from the official canon would be met by an opposite, although not equal, force.
Danny Lee, Channel NewsAsia
Speaking to the media in Hanoi on Thursday, Mr Yeo said the final statement from the ASEAN Ministers Meeting is unlikely to go beyond the tone of the UN statement.
Yawning Bread
Such a sweeping formulation of contempt of court makes it akin to lese majeste laws, which begin with the presumption that the king can do no wrong: He is perfect and any criticism of the king is necessarily false simply because it treats him as fallible. Our Attorney-General is taking a similar approach with contempt of court: Our judiciary and justice system is perfect and infallible and must be held beyond reproach; any criticism must by definition be wrong and criminally liable.
Food fuels me to talk...
Feed Me To The Fish
Are they so omnipotent that being honest, transparent and taking responsibility for screw-ups is considered a human weakness?
Blowin' In The Wind
Vasanthan Kanmani, Straits Times
It would be good to consider Dr Lennard's views and not confuse "standard of living" with "liveability". Our priorities in life need to be reassessed.
Molitics
Part of stability, Singaporean style, has to do with appeasing or even convincing the naive. Another part of it has to with telling people to shut up and move on.
Evelyn Choo, Channel NewsAsia
A strong economic rebound and robust growth of 13 to 15 per cent projected for the year for Singapore spell good news for wages. Labour chief Lim Swee Say said he is optimistic that workers will get better wage increases this year compared to last year.
AFP
The Singapore government's measures to reduce the impact of recent floods on homes and businesses were insufficient, the island's founding father Lee Kuan Yew said in remarks published Thursday.
The 86-year-old former prime minister, now an adviser to his son Lee Hsien Loong's government, said Singapore's small land area made it difficult to deal with "acts of God."
Chinmei Sung and Paul Allen, Bloomberg
Taiwan may seek a free-trade accord with Singapore following its first such deal with China, the island’s top negotiator with China Chiang Pin-kung said.
Funny Little World
We pay our ministers good amazing salaries and put our trust in them to run this country and serve the needs of the people. When troubles arise, we deserve to know that they are stepping up to the plate and doing the jobs they have been entrusted with. We deserve to hear their apologies for having let us down the first time ’round, and assurances that they are learning from their oversight and fixing the problem.
陆彩霞, 联合早报
一项全球调查显示，新加坡中央商业区的每月停车费是十大环球金融中心当中最便宜的，今年的每日停车费与去年相比也没有涨价。
Blowin' In The Wind
Singapore Notes
The Asia Zone
The PAP must have been very frightened to have arrested Shadrake. Apparently, the pen is still mightier than the sword.
Saint Marce
My challenge is simple, who forseen that rainfall in Singapore can hit that high?
Singapore Short Stories
Elvin Ong, Straits Times
This unhappiness can be traced to the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) estimate that one-third of commuters will have to pay 31 cents more a week on average, while two-thirds will save 48 cents. How did LTA derive these figures? What evidence was used in formulating them? Is it true in reality?
Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
Mr Ravi’s application argued that the clemency process has been so prejudged that the court should issue an order of prohibition to prevent the execution and the clemency process from moving ahead.
Singaporean Skeptic
After all, are we not supposed to be paying for results? If you want us to have a lower expectation of the government, just lower your pay cheque to match your abilities and we'll have more realistic expectations of what you can and cannot do.
Yawning Bread
Joseph Kaos Jr., The Malay Mail
Yong Vui Kong, the 22-year-old Malaysian who is facing the gallows in Singapore for drug trafficking, has received more support from his countrymen today – with Dewan Negara senators backing a campaign to plead for Yong’s clemency from Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan.
AFP
Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has urged London to "do everything possible" to prevent Singapore from charging the British author of a book on executions in the city-state.
Shadrake's book alleges double standards in Singapore's use of the death penalty, which is carried out by hanging for crimes like murder and drug trafficking.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
The minister mentor acknowledged that Singapore and Singaporeans expect everything to be perfect in the country and he said the leaders tried their best to do just that.
Mr Lee added: "Somethings are beyond (that); it's an act of God unless you want to lose half the roads and have canals."
Singapore Democrat Party
Reuven Firestone, The Jewish Journal
There is a lot bubbling up in the Muslim world these days, and contrary to the expectations of many of us, the news is not all bad. Don’t be put off by the hijabs and the turbans. Women make up a dynamic part of the young Muslim leadership in Singapore, and they challenged the scholars in the Q-and-A in a way that I would like to see in my own students. Speaking of waking up from a deep sleep and wondering where I am, we should all wake up and see the Muslim reality beyond the stereotypes. And we need to respond to the outstretched hands of the growing community of Muslims in the United States and abroad who are working toward making this world better for everyone.
Bryan Caplan, EconLog
Singapore doesn't just execute drug dealers; it censors and arrests those who expose the ghoulish process.
Kong See Hoh, The Sun
Singapore has been making concerted efforts to woo Malaysian Chinese independent school leavers in recent years.
Among others, the island republic waives entrance examinations and doles out scholarships, permanent residency or even citizenship to absorb the crème la de crème of the Malaysian Chinese education.
Lost In Singapore
Fred Stopsky, The Impudent Observer
It is unusual to be charged with “contempt of court” prior to entering a court and being charged with a crime, but this only goes to demonstrate a double standard does exist.
曹爱华, 人民网
社会和谐是现代化国家高度文明的重要标志，是经济持续发展的必要条件。新加坡是在上世纪60年代，脱离马来西亚，英军宣布撤离，经济基础脆弱，失业率高；政治党派纷争，矛盾重重；思想意识形态多元、种族冲突严重的背景下建立的新生国家。他们致力于社会和谐建设取得的成功经验给我们带来了一些有益启示。
Airkosong.com
Booksellers in Malaysia, time for your contribution to the freedom of Singaporeans now, and make money from it.
Free Malaysia Today
Responding to prime minister Najib Tun Razak's statement that Malaysia will conclude its deal with Singapore by September, PKR vice-president Azmin Ali said it was odd that Singapore agreed with Malaysia on several contentious issues if they (Singapore) were not getting what they want.
联合早报
快捷交通系统（修正）法案昨天在国会提出一读，以修改地铁线资助架构以及赋予陆路交通管理局更大权力，为衔接无间的综合式公共交通系统铺路。
联合早报
花了17个月翻新的雅柏中心虽然更大、更宽敞，但有店主表示生意较以前逊色。
Sam Ho, Sam's thoughts
I am perplexed that there exist Singaporeans who believe self-identified homosexuals are dangerous people, hence deserving of criminalisation, censorship, defamation and abuse.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
Three days after their basements were flooded, residents of this Bukit Timah development still do not have electricity supply to their homes.
Tam Ah Hock, Straits Times
Can PUB explain how effective it has been in controlling flooding in Singapore? In fact, we see more floods after the barrage was built.
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net
Dr Lim Hock Siew may or may not be a sage but he must be a remarkable man. He was stored away for 20 years and then led a quiet life for the next 28 years. Yet when he made his speech at a book launch, he created enough anxiety for the video to be banned.
Truly remarkable!
Siew Kum Hong
Making the same mistake again only suggests that nothing has been learnt from the first mistake, and that is unforgivable. Not confronting the truth squarely and admitting errors simply means that the problem has not been openly acknowledged and so will not be fixed.
Zul Othman, Today
Court proceedings have been initiated against British writer Alan Shadrake because of certain passages in his book, which the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) says "scandalise the Singapore Judiciary".
In court documents obtained by MediaCorp yesterday, the AGC is alleging that several passages in Shadrake's book contain allegations and insinuations that the Singapore Judiciary "in determining whether to sentence an accused person to death, succumbs to political and economic pressures" and therefore "lacks independence".
Shadrake also insinuated that the Judiciary "has been facilitating the suppression of political dissent and criticism in Singapore through the award of heavy damages in defamation actions brought without legal basis by the People's Action Party", the AGC says.
May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
Business operators generally see no impact from a set of new guidelines that stipulate the amount of commercial space allowed for religious activities. Many say their operations are already in compliance.
Yawning Bread
What therefore is unclear is whose reputation has been damaged that the State so keenly feels about? On the surface, it would be the MDA since it was they who lodged the police report, but as far as I can recall, Shadrake did not even mention the MDA in his book. So what standing does the MDA have to lodge such a complaint?
How can it be that a police report of defamation is made without any specifics as to whose reputation has allegedly been injured and by what item of speech? Saying it’s the book is too broad a brush; it has some 200 pages.
Latest reports are that Shadrake was held nearly 40 hours before he got bail, during which he was intensively interrogated. Were the police on a fishing expedition trying to catch him on something? So, is this whole thing yet another example of intimidation again?
Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore Democrat Party
The Singapore Democrats submitted our application for the renewal on 21 Apr 10 and was told the process would take about two to three weeks to process. Even a new application for a publication permit would, according to the Media Development Authority's (MDA) telephone recording, take only three to four weeks. Our application has already taken three months.
When contacted MDA Customer Service Officer, Ms Toh Siew Kuan, informed us that she had done everything to facilitate the process of our application. She indicated that the application is with Minister Lui and that there is nothing else she can do.
Lai Han-Wei, Straits Times
Channel NewsAsia
Under the guidelines, sites zoned for "Commercial" use in URA's Master Plan are intended for commercial activities should serve as secular spaces for all. Religious activities should be conducted at sites zoned "Place of Worship".
While religious activities are generally not allowed in commercial buildings, URA said it is prepared to exercise some flexibility.
Under The WIllow Tree
Singapore Notes
Lester Lim, Kent Ridge Common
Two versions of the story have since emerged.
Karim Raslan, The Star
While no one is accusing the city state of fostering poverty, there’s clearly a growing polarisation between the haves cruising around in their Lexus limousines and patronising expensive marble-lined hotels and the have-nots tucked away in their Housing Development Board (HDB) flats.
The latter’s feelings of deprivation and disenchantment has been made worse by a gnawing sense that foreigners are the main beneficiaries of Singapore’s prosperity.
Jason Tan, Benny Tan, Phua Kok Hee, Wen Zheng Tay, Koh Yao Ming, Allan Tan, Tan Hui Min, Ong Beng Geok, Ian Loh, Beatrice Law, Danam Raphel, May Ong, Today
Straits Times
The government will go ahead with a proposed auction of unused frequency, over the objections of the three telcos.
The additional spectrum up for grabs was originally put up for auction in 2001, together with three other lots bought up by SingTel, StarHub, and M1. But there was no taker for this last lot, which has languished unused since.
何惜薇 周殊钦 吴淑贤 王阳发 胡洁梅 林诗慧, 联合早报
由于史丹福水道两旁都是建筑物，要扩建并不容易，公用事业局表示在成立跨部门小组合力检讨提升史丹福水道排水量的同时，也吁请建筑物业主在这段期间采取防水措施，如建设防水墙或闸门。
Singapore Government
Shadrake is now under investigation for criminal defamation. He is also the subject of contempt of court proceedings initiated by the Attorney-General's Chambers. His anti-death penalty views are not the issue in these investigations; it is his violation of the laws of Singapore which are.
Anyone, Singaporean or otherwise, who breaks the law regardless of the cause he touts, will be taken to task. Shadrake is no exception - he cannot expect to commit offences and then assume that he will be exempted from being held accountable under the law.
Singapore Government
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net
Recent events have shown unequivocally that not only has the PAP Government run the country as a police state, but also that the authorities are now getting panicky and desperate to the point that they are fumbling and making glaring mistakes.
Loh Hon Chun
Reporters Without Borders
“To hold the 75-year-old author of an investigative book who is in fragile health for nearly two days and at a secret location, is shocking and totally disproportionate”, the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
“We urge the interior minister and deputy prime minister Kan Seng Wong to order the immediate release of Alan Shadrake and the dropping of charges against him. The death penalty should be freely debated and by whomsoever in Singapore as anywhere else. Alan Shadrake has no business being in a police cell”, the organisation added.
Maxwell Coopers, Free Malaysia Today
As how the arrests and jailing of those posting racist rants in the recent past showed, the latest arrest and detention will almost certainly be hotly debated in parliament and measures maybe necessary to filter out subversive literature from cyberspace.
Yet there is no denying the shock the arrests have entailed. A cabinet minister has even asked the families to turn in their family members if they suspect something is indeed amiss.
Channel NewsAsia
Both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G versions of the iPad will be on sale at Apple Authorized Resellers at a suggested retail price of between S$728 for the Wi-Fi 16GB model, and S$1028 for the top end 64GB Wi-Fi.
Philip Lim, AFP
Alan Shadrake, a 75-year-old freelance journalist, told AFP at a police complex that he was freed after a local activist posted bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars (47,000 pounds) for him.
Speaking later to reporters after his release, a haggard-looking Shadrake said he had hardly slept "since they dragged me out of bed" the morning after launching his book in a private function.
Amnesty International
“Singapore uses criminal defamation laws to silence critics of government policies,” said Donna Guest, Asia Pacific Deputy Director at Amnesty International. “The Singapore government should release Shadrake at once.”
“If Singapore aspires to be a global media city, it needs to respect global human rights standards for freedom of expression,” said Donna Guest. “Singapore should get rid of both its criminal defamation laws and the death penalty.”
Criminal defamation in Singapore carries a sentence of up to two years in prison and uncapped fines. This has had a chilling effect on freedom of speech. According to Amnesty International, peaceful criticism of government policies must never be the subject of criminal proceedings.
The Asia Zone
It is astonishing that a nation like Singapore, so developed, so educated, could condone this ridiculous action. Is the People’s Action Party (PAP) so frightened these days that a foreign critic must fear setting foot on the island? Do they believe that constructive criticism can be publicly stopped in this fashion? The PAP seems to be suffering from a great deal of paranoia lately.
Philip Greenspun
Kimberly Spykerman, Straits Times
There is no ministry policy that prohibits the taking of flood pictures, Minister for environment and water resources Yaacob Ibrahim told Parliament on Monday.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
After blaming a blocked culvert along Stamford Canal for the flood at Orchard Road on June 16, national water agency PUB now says, after completing investigations, that the debris only "worsened" the flood but did not cause it.
Gerald Giam
Sona Remesh, Channel NewsAsia
Sona Remesh, Channel NewsAsia
The government does not target a specific population size. Instead, it seeks to achieve a sustainable population size to grow the economy and develop a more vibrant society.
Mr Wong said the government recognises that the proportion of foreign workers in the workforce cannot increase indefinitely, due to physical and social limits.
Straits Times
'The runoff from this initial rainfall flowed down the canal. When it reached the middle section of the can (from Cuscaden Road to Grange Road0, it coincided with the funoff from the second burts of rain which fell over the entire catchment at 10.10 am.
'This generated a combined storm flow that caused the water level to rise rapidly and overlow on Orchard Road. The situation was worsened by debris carried into the canal by the first first of rain.'
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Dr Amy Khor stressed that Singapore's policy has never been a "GDP growth at all cost" approach.
She says a responsible government takes a balanced approach towards developing a country. This means taking a holistic account of economic, social and security needs for the benefit of citizens, so that progress is broad-based.
S.Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
By February next year, all light lorries used to transport workers will have to be fitted with canopies and higher side railings.
Heavy lorries used to transport workers will need to comply by August 2011. And the minimum deck space per seated worker will be doubled to 8 square feet by then as well.
Straits Times
Blocking radical websites would be a futile exercise as the architecture and reach of the Internet make it practically impossible to interdict all such sites, said deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament on Monday.
"The common goal of [education] efforts is to help Singaporeans who chance across radical teachings in the guise of religion to see through the falsehood and not be led astray. These community efforts are a positive development and we hope even more community organisations and leaders will step forward to do likewise,' said Mr Wong.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Since the flood on Orchard on June 16, national water agency, PUB, has been engaging the managing agents of affected premises as well as the Orchard Road Business Association to recommend early warning systems and structural measures to limit the impact of flash floods on premises.
Minister for the environment and water resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim told Parliament on Monday that these measures include flood barriers and road humps to protect basement car parks.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Minister for the environment and water resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said there are plans to implement drainage improvements to several major canals and drains.
He said an urgent review of the Stamford Canal is also being undertaken.
The Lycan Times
Just what excuse will Yaacob Ibrahim give this time round after the PUB cleared the blockage at that culvert or whatever? Perhaps some contractor didn’t do a good job, eh? After being paid a million dollars for his alleged talent, the million dollar minister cannot expect us to be forgiving or patient in the face of such repeated fiascos.
Vitaly Katsenelson, Daily Markets
Singapore is one of the most non corrupt countries in the world; this may explain in part the government’s success. China is not Singapore.
Blogging For Myself
Ambiguity
Per Bylund, Bastiat Institute
Political solutions cannot replace subjective valuations of real owners and users. They only make things worse: adding a politically negotiated fee for usage of politically enforced commons does not make it a market solution. Two wrongs don’t make a right – two wrongs only make it double-wrong.
Blogged Out Loud!
Icarus Flew Too High
John Schmid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As industries and populations put ever-greater demands on drinkable sources that are growing more scarce and polluted, water infrastructure is a rapidly developing, $425 billion-a-year part of the global economy. It's little wonder that a handful of regions want to become centers of water innovation. Singapore by all accounts is the most advanced, leading a small group that includes Israel and Dubai - as well as metro Milwaukee.
BBC
The arrest of 75-year old Mr Shadrake came while he was in Singapore to promote his book. The government told the BBC last week that the book had not been banned but that the government had the right to advise book stores not to stock it.
Mr Shadrake told AFP news agency before his arrest that he expected trouble. "If they do anything, it'll just draw more attention to it all, and they have no defence," he said.
Asia Sentinel
Will the media moguls of the United States fight for their open-market principles against the Singapore government's arbitrary demands? Or will they, after a brief skirmish, surrender like their counterparts in the print media to Singapore authoritarianism at the unspoken behest of a US government anxious to keep its Singapore facilities and executives desperate to keep their cushy Singapore expatriate living standards?
If they fight, Singapore's reputation as offering a free and fair playing field for foreign business will suffer. If not, the way is open for governments all over Asia to act in a similar fashion to determine not just what their citizens can view on TV but how much they pay.
The issue is not about the right to censorship but the right to normal commercial bargaining.
Everything Also Complain
Musings From the Lion City
Mr Goh wasn’t in danger and he was taking photos of a common occurrence in Singapore. Let’s not make too much out of this; sounds like nothing but an over-zealous police officer to me.
Wayne Arnold, New York Times
In considering this risk and the increasing evidence of the toll that rapid economic development is already taking on Asia’s environment, economists and other experts in Asia have taken up the call to re-examine the prominence of economic growth as a measure of policy success, particularly the use of gross domestic product.
Asian governments have become particularly enthralled with gross domestic product statistics for validation, becoming what Vishakha Desai, the president and chief executive of the Asia Society in New York, has called “G.D.P. junkies.”
Lee Yuk Peng, The Star
An online petition is racing against time to collect as many signatures as possible by Aug 22 to save Malaysian Yong Vui Kong, convicted of drug trafficking, from being hanged in Singapore.
徐鑫, 联合早报
徐鑫, 联合早报
吴俊刚, 联合早报
我国是个小岛，地势也相对平坦，没多少高出海平面很多的高地，加上城市密集发展，到处是钢骨水泥森林，因此，我们的确无法期望完全没有水患的发生。但是，过去一个月来的三次雨后淹水，不免让人产生这样的疑问：接下来，淹水现象是不是会从罕见变成常态？
Funny Little World
You don’t quite notice how much the climate of fear, anxiety and paranoia weighs on you until you’ve been away for some time, enlightened, and then return to Singapore only to feel the burden drop back down on your shoulders with a palpable thud.
Liang Kaicheng, Straits Times
Surely, Mr Tan is aware that companies are naturally inclined towards hiring young and energetic individuals, many of whom have budding families of their own, and who, unlike himself, certainly need the salary.
Is our economy only large enough to hire "young" and "energetic" workers, and have no room for experienced and mature workers? Is it only one or the other?
Linda Loh, Straits Times
As a country that strives to be a world-class city, our urban planning authorities need to buck up. Imagine how Singapore would appear if floods took place during international events such as the International Monetary Fund meetings and the upcoming Youth Olympics?
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
Criminal defamation brings the resources of the State to bear in what is essentially a question of protecting personal reputations. So what agitated the authorities enough to arrest Alan Shadrake for criminal defamation, amongst other charges?
Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
Tell the journalists this: by your silence and your neglect of your professional responsibility, you will be complicit in a boy’s hanging.
Sam Ho, Sam's thoughts
Historical accounts are based on oral narratives, apart from publications and state releases. It is important that we do not silence individuals who were part of Singapore history.
Alicia Wong, Channel NewsAsia
In weeks to come, community clubs will be handling one of their most expensive events, the National Day dinners. According to some members of Parliamant (MPs), the costs run up to a five-figure sum.
However, they are quick to add that much of the cost is offset by the tickets residents buy to attend the sit-down dinner.
Abdillah Zamzuri
Mark Tran, The Guardian
Alan Shadrake's arrest came two days after Singapore's Media Development Authority lodged a police report. The Foreign Office in London said it was seeking more information from local authorities.
The 75-year-old's latest book, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice In The Dock, contains accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore involving the use of the death penalty, and includes interviews with a former executioner, Darshan Singh. Published by a Malaysian company, the book was first released in Malaysia.
AFP
Singaporeans were salvaging cars, soaked belongings and damaged goods on Sunday after a third flash flood in two months submerged low-lying areas of the city-state.
The flooding issue has become so serious that the Singapore parliament is scheduled to address the problem when it convenes on Monday amid forecasts of more rain.
Tessa Wong, Straits Times
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
The government did not try to stop Lim making his speech, which he did openly at a book launch in Singapore last year, but feel that a straight-up recording of his comments is "against the public interest" because it "gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Dr Lim’s arrests and detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1963".
Why not let the Singapore public decide?
Channel NewsAsia
British author Alan Shadrake was arrested by Singapore police at a hotel at 8am on Sunday. It is believed the arrest is linked to his latest book, "Once a Jolly Hangman - Singapore Justice in the Dock" launched on Saturday night.
Singapore Short Stories
Yesterday's incident demonstrated the fact that the (in)famous Orchard road flooding incident was not an isolated case and the reason of that flooding being attributed to the choking of drains by some twigs was now known to be intenable.
Beyond Toxicity
Of course, Singapore’s multicultural society is so apparent not only on its people and places but moreso on its food.
Freak Thoughts
So did the contingency plans kick in this morning? Looks to me that they just waited it out.
Lost In Singapore
Maybe the police constable was under instructions from top-level to prevent anyone from taking pictures of the flood. Maybe the politicians are trying to cover up their incompetence at solving choked culverts that caused previous flooding after a month.
Civic Advocator
The Online Citizen
Straits Times
This time round, Mr Yeo hinted that he will be better prepared for the upcoming election, where he is expected to stand again at Aljunied GRC. The Straits Times reported on July 15 that he had told party activists to be ready for an election either at the end of this year, or in the second quarter of next year after the national Budget.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
If Hong Kong can pass a minimum wage law, where does that leave Singapore? Think hard about what kind of political system we have here. How the PAP has become intertwined with a network of businesses to which it is linked and how the establishment has other interests and priorities other than that of ordinary Singaporeans.
Singapore Democrat Party
It has been reported that a newspaper photographer has been handcuffed and briefly detained because he was taking photographs of the flood this morning. Obviously the repeated and widespread flooding is making the Government anxious and it is irrationally trying to prevent pictures from being taken.
What law did the photographer break? Was he interfering with police work? Was there a security issue that caused him to be arrested?
These are questions that the police must answer. If they cannot provide a satisfactory explanation, then they must apologise unreservedly and assure the public that police officers will not abuse their powers and threaten journalists and members of the public willy-nilly.
Ravi Philemon
We don't need bureaucratic MPs, who sit behind their desks oblivious to the troubles faced by their constituents. Or MPs who come to meet their constituents once a week for 2 - 3 hours, to write petitions for them. Or even MPs who send their grassroots leaders and civil servants to fix a problem when it arises. We need an MP, who will walk his grounds. An MP of the people for the people.
Dylan Loh, Channel NewsAsia
It looks like money down the drain again for retailers at Lucky Plaza. About a month after the massive Orchard Road flood, the watery mess returns.
Straits Times
After being hit by the worst flooding in 26 years last month, Delfi Orchard was again flooded on Saturday morning.
A tenant of the building, Ms Shanta Sundarason, said she arrived to work to find the basement three carpark flooded with 'waist-deep' waters. 'It would be nice for the problem to be addressed and dealt with, rather than a sweeping statement from the ministry,' she added.
Channel NewsAsia
The Singapore Civil Defence Force says the flash floods at all affected areas have receded.
There were flash floods in several low-lying areas in Singapore as a result of heavy rain Saturday morning. SCDF officers evacuated some 60 people in about 20 different locations islandwide.
Myrna Thomas, Temasek Holdings, Straits Times
We recognise there may be some interest to co-invest with Temasek. We are exploring such possibilities, particularly for co-investors who have a long-term investment horizon and the ability to tolerate the volatility. We will share these ideas when we are ready.
As for sharing returns with the wider community, Temasek has committed more than $1 billion since inception to community, philanthropic and public good causes. We have, since 2003, formalised our commitment to set aside a share of our returns for community contributions whenever we deliver returns above our risk-adjusted hurdles.
Yawning Bread
No serious historian or intellectual in Singapore gives any credit to the government’s version of events. Under the circumstances, a smart politician would take whatever opportunities that arise to begin distancing himself from the indefensible. In other words, once again, the smart decision would be to let Martyn See’s video stand, so as not to call too much attention to it. The stupid decision would be to try (and fail) to ban it.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Houston Chronicle
When Lee talks, people listen. We did, attentively, during an informative hour the prime minister spent with the Chronicle editorial board on Tuesday.
Channel NewsAsia
Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore authorities said money laundering activities have yet to be detected in the casinos. This was said at a news conference at the end of the 13th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering on Friday.
Aware
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common
Under The Willow Tree
The PAP will give themselves a pat on the back again and give themselves record pay rises and bonuses. All on the back of massive economic growth numbers based on foreign factor inputs, that does not benefit ordinary Singaporeans.
Xin Chao Saigon
曾渊沧, 新浪财经
黄罗林, 联合早报
车资上涨，长期累积，对日薪微薄的乐龄散工是一笔负担。当局说转车会享有低车资的好处，请问从43321车站上车到港湾，要如何转车才可以省钱，并且不会浪费时间？
明应劭, 联合早报
首先，请问要等到什么时侯公共交通网络才会扩大？车资为什么不在交通网络扩大后才调整呢？其次，一个每天都得乘搭公共交通工具上下班的乘客，要如何改变乘车的习惯？
Gerald Giam
Why does the PAP government have such an obsession for GDP growth? Don’t they realise that GDP growth does not necessarily indicate a healthy economy? Isn’t it more important to have equitable growth—where all citizens, especially the poor, benefit from growth?
Xinhua
Bhavan Jaipragas, journalism.sg
Yawning Bread
As history proved, our societies were so dissimilar, it was an unhappy marriage and we had to separate within two years. The last few decades has seen Singapore reverting to type, rebuilding our relationships with Indonesia, China, India and farther afield. We are not drifting away from our Malayan template. We’ve always been different; we were never really Malayan.
Singapore Democrat Party
Neo Chai Chin, Today
If not for an alert Today reader, bus commuters travelling along a stretch at Buona Vista may well still be over-charged for their rides. And the question now is if the error he uncovered is happening elsewhere.
Imran Ahmed, Straits Times
The government should explore alternative mechanisms to share Temasek's investment successes with the population at large.
Aries Tan, Straits Times
Robert J. Cochrane, Straits Times
Instead of designing smokescreen regulations, like the proposed rule to increase space per worker in the back of open-top vehicles, which has no real major impact on safety, the government should simply make construction companies pay for foreign workers to be transported on buses.
Shaun Teo, Straits Times
I used to work in a transport unit in the army and there are many safety considerations when it comes to putting soldiers on the trucks and even smaller jeeps.
For instance, all trucks are fitted with seat belts and proper secured benches. They are also covered with a steel superstructure and canvas, which protect passengers against the elements and also minimise the danger of passengers tumbling out in the event that the truck tips over.
Wong Chun Han, The Online Citizen
Hundreds of jobless migrant workers may go hungry as the food aid programme they depend upon could fold due to a lack of funds.
Some 450 men, forced out of work by injuries or non-payment of wages, are receiving free meals everyday from The Cuff Road Project to help them get by while they recover or seek legal redress. But the progamme, which runs in Little India, could run out of money in a month’s time, forcing its closure.
Blowin' In The Wind
Read that as "Your wages will soar and property prices skyrocket until employers decide it is better to do business elsewhere." So foreign workers do depress wages while making the economy more competitive, right?
Shamim Adam, BusinessWeek
The bigger risk is how Singapore handles a global slowdown in the second half. Casinos can empty out pretty fast if people feel poor. Whatever happens, growth feels better than the opposite: Singapore's economy contracted last year.
Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times
In the next general election, officials at places such as polling and counting centres will have mobile Internet access and the ability to make video calls to each other.
Yeah, they want iPhones 4 with FaceTime. :-)
The Edge
Dylan Loh, Channel NewsAsia
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said Changi-Simei and Bedok towns will have dedicated cycling paths. They will complement the existing cycling infrastructure within these HDB towns and will be progressively implemented by 2014.
The Online Citizen
The Singapore Prison Service has denied access to Ms Ngeow Chow Ying, a Malaysian lawyer representing death row inmate, Yong Vui Kong. Ms Ngeow had requested access to her client in order to advise him on his constitutional rights as a Malaysian, now that Yong’s case is a matter which has come under consideration by the Malaysian government.
The request for access was first made to the Prison Service on 5 July. It was only today, 15 July, that the Prison Service responded to the request. In its letter, signed off by Superintendent Tan Khek Keong and addressed to Mr M Ravi (Yong’s Singapore lawyer), the Prison Service said: “We have considered your request and we regret to inform that we are unable to accede to it.” It added: “However, please be assured that we will continue to facilitate Mr Yong’s access to his current appointed Singapore lawyer.”
Tan Kin Lian
Singapore has a culture of "no tolerance for failure". Is this going to be another example of over-reacting to a mistake, to edge into the psyche of Singaporeans?
李亦筠, 联合早报
过去几年，本地各大大小小的电影节魅力似乎大不如前。一反10年前大家对“电影节”的期待。是因为电影节没有一个“好的开始”？还是片子的素质大跌？或是电影节的节目表中，放了不少会在戏院商业性公映的片子？
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Some 32,000 flat owners have registered their subletting of rooms with HDB as at end June.
Blowin' In The Wind
Ladyironchef
Singapore Democrat Party
If Singaporeans are ignorant, who made us this way? After all, didn't we live under PAP for more that half-a-century? Is this is not a failure of the Lee's rule, unable to produce an intelligent population after 50 years?
Who jailed the journalists and crushed all independent media so that Singaporeans only get to hear one voice - his?
Who instilled so much fear in society that even historians dare not let Mr Vincent Cheng speak at a library seminar?
Who groomed an entire generation of unimaginative ministers who know everything about banning information they don't agree with like Dr Lim Hock Siew's video and nothing about inspiring a people?
Esther Ng, Today
A sharp increase in the number of jobless and homeless migrant workers could wind up a food aid programme within a month unless it receives an influx of donations and grants.
Though the spike in numbers could be due to the programme's higher visibility, TWC2's president John Gee believes that most of the participants have "either been forced to leave their jobs due to injuries or the non-payment of wages".
Feed Me To The Fish
Are they afraid of the ex-ISD detainees (namely, Said Zahari, Lim Hock Siew and Teo Soh Lung) because they know that truth exposes, embarrasses and hurts the guilty villians?
China Post
Singapore could lose its crown as the world's busiest container port to Shanghai this year. A strong rebound in world trade this year has had container traffic through Shanghai's ports growing at a blistering pace of 19 percent over last year's figure, compared with Singapore's 14 percent.
Analysts had expected Shanghai to pip Singapore as early as two years ago, but that did not happen when the global recession put a dent in Chinese exports. And while it now seems inevitable that Shanghai will surpass Singapore, the result is not so cut and dried.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
A Singapore minister recently praised the mainstream media for being “accurate, timely and balanced in its reporting”.
This latest episode, however, shows the Straits Times is nothing of the sort. Instead of checking its facts and reporting them fairly, the Straits Times has instead help propagate inaccuracies.
Which master, and what purpose, does the Straits Times serve?
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
In Singapore, the government would prefer to protect the interests of the banks and financial institutions in such an ultra-capitalist manner basically because the government itself holds substantial shares in most of the local financial banks and institutions. It would be difficult for the government to be a good referee (i.e. regulator) as well as the main players (shareholders of these institutions). Naturally, the interests of investors would be compromised in the process.
This situation is further worsen by the fact that there is a lack of true checks and balances in parliament. In HK's case, the Legco enforce an equivalent of "Commission of Inquiry" to get civil servants from the Finance ministry as well as chiefs of those banking institutions to be questioned thoroughly. Such pressure has finally paid off by a reasonable settlement being made by getting the institutions to compensate up to 60% to 70% to their investors.
In great contrast, Singapore Minibond victims are left to their own peril.
Civic Advocator
Clearly, what is ‘right’ for Singapore and her history is very one-sided. The government’s side.
Mok Fei Fei, Channel NewsAsia
DBS' Hong Kong unit has agreed to pay out $651 million Hong Kong dollars or about S$115 million to some clients who bought products linked to Lehman Brothers.
Monetary Authority Of Singapore, Singapore Government
Furry Brown Dog
There isn’t any way existing and fully paid HDB home owners can exploit housing equity which increases along with the price of their flats. At the worst, it gives them a false sense of social security and certainly less reason for the government to do something about the problem of retirement. And certainly, let us not forget whom the true beneficiaries of rising HDB prices are, the privileged and wealthy few whom can afford multiple (public) properties for subletting unless this glaring loophole in HDB regulations is finally closed.
Dow Jones
The Monetary Authority of Singapore may move toward tighter economic policy by “re-centering” its targeted band for the local currency if the economy continues its rapid growth, HSBC economist Frederic Neumann told Market Talk. The government reported second-quarter GDP rose 26% from previous quarter, on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis.
AFP
A Singaporean filmmaker on Wednesday complied with a government order to remove a political film from video sharing site YouTube but said others were defiantly spreading it on the web.
The banned video titled "Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore" is about a rare public talk in 2009 by Lim Hock Siew, a leftist medical doctor and activist held from 1963 to 1982 during then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's rule.
Claire, Channel NewsAsia
The number of gambling addiction cases more than tripled in the last three years. While it used to account for 5 per cent of all addiction cases in 2007, gambling accounted for 17 per cent of all addiction cases last year.
Chua Chin Hon, Straits Times
Singapore can expect the number of foreign workers to increase by at least 100,000 this year in response to the demands of the booming economy, said prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Jenalia Moreno, Houston Chronicle
Singapore's leader hopes two new casinos in his country will stimulate tourism and economic growth and not the vices that often creep up with gambling.
Yawning Bread
My point is this: Leave that cruising ground alone. It disturbs no one, and all who participate do so consensually. The same people who look for sex in there would know to behave quite respectably once they walk out of its confines. To enforce the standards of the shopping belt on a cruising ground is to demand that certain activities inappropriate for the shopping belt must never be permitted anywhere; it is to confine our own humanness to prescribed actions and desires, leaving no space or legitimacy to any other. We reduce ourselves to uni-functional robots.
郭丽娟 休斯敦, 联合早报
李显龙总理昨天在由亚洲学会和大休斯敦商会（Greater Houston Partnership）主办的午餐会上演讲后回答一名来自印尼的与会者的提问时，驳斥他所提到的有大笔“热钱”从印尼流入新加坡的说法。
Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily
蓝国维, 联合早报
所谓以距离算车资，应该是以点对点直线距离，而不是以巴士行驶距离。不管巴士以什么方式绕道，只要是甲点到乙点，就是同样车资。
Barnyard Chorus
Yang Razali Kassim, Eurasia Review
Under prime minister Najib Razak, we are seeing a government that is prepared to break new ground in seeking mutual accommodation for mutual gain. Singapore’s leadership has also contributed to this major shift by not being too calculating, and showing that Singapore can also think out of the box to secure a more harmonious long-term strategic relationship. The end result is not just a resolution of the railway land issue, but also possibly a settlement of other outstanding issues that have bedevilled bilateral ties for too long.
Singapore Democrat Party
Perhaps it is worth remembering the wise words of Benjamin Franklin when the American independence fighters were battling their British colonialists: "Gentlemen, we must hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
Is the Singapore system good? It is good only when income inequality is small ...then your quality of retirement life relative to others depends on your own discipline to save, and the system achieves both low taxes and high social equity. However, when income inequality is high, the system amplifies the inequality - lower income groups are forced to save degrading their quality of life and those who are too poor don't have enough to set aside cannot even retire.
Singaporean Skeptic
This is what happens when a former military man is put in charge of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA). He bans a video expecting the obedient soldiers of Singapore to comply and forget Dr Lim Hock Siew. But even the most stupid person in the advertising industry will tell you that far from suppressing the video, more people will actually watch it.
Martyn See Tong Ming, Only "objective" and "factual" political films please, we're Singaporeans
I have received notices that the film has been downloaded by anonymous netizens who have already or are in the process of uploading it to various video sites such as this. Although I remind all that it is criminal offence (to the tune of a maximum $10,000 fine or two years imprisonment) to possess or distribute the film, I have no wish, nor the means, to hinder the viral spread of the video.
Siew Kum Hong
If his speech was somehow illegal or unlawful, then the authorities should go after him for having made that speech and used those words. Go to the source and address the root problem, so to speak. Instead, the Government has chosen to suppress the film, without prosecuting Dr Lim for the speech. If the speech itself was lawful, then how can the possession or distribution of the film be unlawful? Why should the film be banned? How can the recording of words be somehow more illegal than the words themselves? And if Dr Lim had acted unlawfully, so much so that the Government saw fit to take action and ban the film, then why are they not prosecuting him?
And so we get to the nub of the matter. Censorship by administrative fiat, as in this case, allows the censor to hide and suppress inconvenient or unfavourable facts, ideas and/or words, regardless of whether those facts, ideas and/or words are true, justified or lawful. It gives the censor a convenient tool that obviates any need to confront or address the facts, ideas and/or words in question. It denies one's right to speak words that are lawful. And the fact that all this can be done, in itself has a censoring effect.
Becktan
Xinhua
China Tuesday pledged to continue to promote the development of military relations with Singapore.
Bloomberg
Singapore raised its growth forecast for a third time this year after manufacturing output surged and the opening of two casinos boosted services, spurring a recovery that’s prompted the central bank to tighten monetary policy.
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common
The belief that Lim Hock Siew’s account of his 20 years in detention is ‘against public interest’ must surely be debated, since the judgment is made in part by the government whose interest is affected as a result of Dr. Lim’s speech.
This ban calls into question who determines what is ‘factual’ and the ‘truth’ in Singapore’s history.
Duncan Mavin, Wall Street Journal
When it comes to cash and stocks, rich Hong Kongers are better off than their nearby peers in Singapore and mainland China, according to a new survey.
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.
Straits Times
The Monetary Authority of Signapore (MAS) wants DBS Bank to give a full account of the collapse of its banking services last week, including the actions it will take to prevent future recurrence.
Straits Times
DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta , in a personal message to the bank's and POSB customers, on Tuesday apologised for the seven-hour discruption of its banking and ATM services on July 7, acknowledging that 'we have failed you'.
Mr Gupta said the outage was triggered during a routine repair job on a component within the disk storage subsystem connected to the bank's mainframe.
Linette Lai, Straits Times
In three years time, all Primary 1 pupils will no longer take the mid-year and end-of-the-year examinations. Instead they will be eased into the formal education system through more holistic assessment practices, like 'show and tell' or the keeping of a Maths journal.
财华网
俄罗斯一家国际房地产咨询公司最新公布的研究报告显示，全球36个城市的工薪阶层当“房奴”的时间存在很大不同。以用工资购买一套70平方米的公寓为标准，柏林人付清全部房款的时间最短，平均只有3年，而新加坡人所需时间最长，是柏林人的12倍。
新加坡人当“房奴”的时间则最漫长，与其他城市相比，房价高，收入却不高，造成新加坡人至少需要攒36.4年的工资才能买一套房子。
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
All in all, it is a rather oppressive month, and not because of the weather. I remember a National Day speech by PM Lee in 2006. He said, "We have to debate. If we didn't have a debate, I think we will come to the wrong conclusion." Right now my impression of 'debate' is really the joke I keep using - "Debate is de thing that you catch de fish with".
The Online Citizen
Musings From the Lion City
I like to know why the budget has gone up by more than 3 times! Singapore is not building any new stadium or sport facilities, so why did the budget got overshot by so much?
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
Dr Lim Hock Siew was detained for 20 years without trial. During that period, the PAP govt had all the time to show the evidence and tell the truth so that we can all see how wonderful a job the ISD has done to protect us from evil. We are all still waiting.
Freak Thoughts
杨萌 王秘, 联合早报
为期一个月的世界杯已经结束，投下大笔资金订购直播权的咖啡店业者似乎并没有从中获益，还担心成本无法回收，没直播的也说自己生意少了三成。另一方面，德士司机说乘客没有增加，生意没起色。
Ong-Ang Ai Boon, The Association of Banks in Singapore, Today
Mr Kumar's suggestion to have a common ATM network to provide customer convenience is noted. However, such a decision involves evaluating cost structures, integrating operating platforms and considering whether an integrated network would yield more benefits than the current arrangement. It is a commercial decision that is best left to each of the retail banks operating in Singapore.
Singapore Notes
Anonymous X
陈陆庆, 联合早报
明明布告板就在组屋电梯旁边，而且还有空位，不知道市理会为何不把宣传单贴在里头而选择贴在墙上。这样一来，事后还得叫清洁工人清除宣传单所留下的污迹，既不环保又浪费钱。
陈秀敏，公共交通理事会，林玮琪，陆路交通管理局, 联合早报
根据我们的分析，63％的乘客会从新的制度受惠。这些计算是以我们的车资制度所收集的确实数据为根据，反映了乘客当前的乘车习惯。对个人的影响，则要以他一个星期的乘车模式而定。
Yawning Bread
What is the police’s responsibility in creating the crime?
Georgina Joseph, Channel NewsAsia
Sales are still going strong for so-called Mickey Mouse apartments or those that measure 500 square feet or less.
The Temasek Review
Martyn See Tong Ming, Only "objective" and "factual" political films please, we're Singaporeans
The film, which I had labelled "Dr Lim Hock Siew", was submitted to the Board of Film Censors in February 2010. Since then, it had been undergoing review by the Political Films Consultative Committee (PFCC), a seven-member advisory panel set up to criminalise "party political films", an offence under Section 33 of the Films Act. Since the PFCC has never communicated with me, I have no idea what the committee had thought of the film. A moot point now, as RADM Lui Tuck Yew, the Acting Minister for Information, Communications & the Arts, has now decided to ban the film outright.
Claire Huang, Channel NewsAsia
Censors have banned the film "Dr Lim Hock Siew" by filmmaker Martyn See Tong Ming, with effect from July 14 under the Films Act, saying it is against 'public interest'.
A statement from the Information, Communications and the Arts Ministry said the film "gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Dr Lim's arrests and detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1963."
Temasek Hedge
Free Malaysia Today
Prime minister Najib Tun Razak’s call to Malaysians to keep an open mind on his decisions involving Singapore in the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) land swap deal and investments in Iskandar Malaysia (IM), has drawn flak from the opposition and raised even more suspicion.
Jerai MP Mohd Firdaus Jaafar said as long as Najib does not explain the true reason behind his decision to surrender the KTMB land in Tanjung Pagar to Singapore and the deals struck with the island republic over investments in IM, “there will always be suspicion”.
赵倩玉, 联合早报
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
There is no bold vision to look forward and no desire to improve the current system.
M Ravi, Counsel for Yong Vui Kong, The Online Citizen
The only way in which the Constitution can be observed in relation to my client is for the Elected President to peremptorily pardon him in order to assuage the gross procedural and substantive improprieties that have taken place in this case. The Elected President must now pardon my client or the Court must grant my client’s application for judicial review where there has not been and cannot be a proper clemency process.
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Lim Swee Hua: Over time, as more transport links are added, the new fare system will allow 'maximum choice and flexibility'.
This coming from a government that actively remove choices when it comes to public transportation. This is the government who removed bus routes when MRT came on line. This is the government who artificially limited price competition with bus services going into town and call it Premium service. This it the government that artificially divided the island into two different monopolies and call it competition. This is the government who promised investment in GPS technology in buses meant real time tracking and reaction to road conditions, but when a pedestrian bridge got knocked into, the only choice for bus commuters were to either walk or wait for 6 hours.
Choice and flexibility? Forgive me if I simply don't believe you, Ms Lim. We have a term for this kind of empty promises in the tech industry: vaporware.
Singapore Commuter
So you can forgive me if I am cynical about the latest Distance Fares. Isn't it just another way of increasing the fares of public transport?
陈小川, 联合早报
当局不断强调，多数转车的搭客都可以受益，那些没有转车的搭客则需多付高一点的车资，但是我发现并不竟然如此。
林福成, 联合早报
以前从车头一次坐到车尾才69分，现在实在增加得使人瞠目结舌。记得不久前，车资调高一二分，社会便动荡起来，喊打喊杀，而这次车资对老人剧增一二角钱，可怜的老人家，欲喊无声，欲杀无力。
Singapore In Decline
Investment banks are run by greedy, selfish and often unethical sharks. Singapore is run by greedy, selfish and often unethical scholars who think they're morally superior beings.
Vasanthan Kanmani, Straits Times
A deep sense of insecurity engulfs us whenever the issue of foreigners creeps up. Yet, we are not averse to exploiting the opportunities for ourselves abroad.
Wong Chun Han / Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Peter Stein, Wall Street Journal
A new US$2.9 billion hedge fund backed by Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. is starting to throw money around in global debt and equity markets, the latest outgrowth of the sovereign-wealth investor's push to diversify its US$135 billion portfolio.
Kavi Chongkittavorn, The Island
In the past, Singapore has been the uncontested intellectual leader of Asean, providing new ideas related to economic and security matters to reinvent and make Asean relevant to the global community.
This time, however, there is a new regional environment with the rise of democratic Indonesia. The grouping’s biggest member has come up with many bold and liberal ideas of its own regarding Asean. It has played crucial roles in pushing for the drafting of an Asean charter and security community. Gone are the days when it used to be ridiculed as the grouping’s smallest denominator—nothing moves without Indonesia’s consent. Now the country has become the biggest demoninator that can inspire the rest of Asean.
Conrad Raj, Today
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's recent call for further consolidation among Singapore's three remaining banks appears at odds with current thinking about any country having giant banks that are too big to fail.
It was also ironic that Singapore largest bank, DBS, had its computer systems break down soon after Mr Lee's comments - almost at once illustrating one of the dangers of the country having a single bank.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Enough of all the short-term deviations that do not relieve overcrowding on our trains; move beyond this rigidity.
after post modernism
Straits Times
The money collected by the two casinos in entrance fees from Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) is already being recycled back to the community. This is being done via the Tote Board which is given all the money collected.
It then hands them out as grants to community projects, said second minister for finance Lim Hwee Hua at a dialogue with Bukit Gombak residents. Mrs Lim, who is also second minister for transport, did not specify the types of projects that gained from the collection.
Sue-ann Chia, Straits Times
The senior Parliamentary secretary for environment and water resources on Sunday sought to dispel talk that it was futile to build the Marina Barrage as it did nothing to prevent the flood in Orchard Road last month.
Dr Amy Khor said it was working well. Otherwise, other areas in Singapore might have flooded too.
Siew Kum Hong
Come on! That was the standard of English proficiency being tested, and two-thirds failed?
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
Commuters who feel they are paying more under the distance-based fare system should look at fares over time, instead of how much they are paying per trip. Second transport minister Lim Hwee Hua said that by doing so, commuters might find they have benefited.
Singapore Notes
Minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs Yaacob Ibrahim asked instead his Malay community to use the troika of the office of the Mufti, registered religious teachers and the Islamic Rellgious Council of Singapore (Muis) to snitch for the ISD. Instead of helping their misguided brethren who have may have strayed inadvertently from the righteous path, he wants the ISD goons to do the dirty work.
Bernama
Prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called on all parties to keep an open mind and not to be emotional about Singapore's investment in Johor, particularly in Iskandar Malaysia.
Najib, who is the Umno president, said if Singapore or other countries were investing in Iskandar Malaysia, it would be to the benefit of the people of Johor.
The Online Citizen
Singapore Life and Times
Let's be honest, no matter how broken the language is, all of us understood what he said and what he meant. There wasn't any ambiguity.
Ben Tan, New Straits Times
With the impending relocation of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) railway station from Woodlands, Singapore, to Malaysia, the state government has allocated 80.9ha in Kempas for the purpose.
New Straits Times
The state government has reiterated that Pulau Pisang is part of the Johor sultanate to defuse any potential dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over the sovereignty of the island.
Feed Me To The Fish
Signals signifying justice? I'm confused.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Just as in societies like China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Singaporeans worship academic achievement, maybe a little too excessively, some believe.
The Star
Johor will discuss the building of a new bridge to replace the 87-year-old Johor causeway with Singapore after issues relating to the points of agreement (POA) are resolved.
Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said there were matters that needed attention, including the cost of untreated water to Singapore.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
Mrs Leuthard noted that the practice of corporal punishment has ceased "in Europe and in many other countries". "The perception in our country is not a positive one," she added. "It has been a long time that we have moved from such penalties to others."
Singapore Notes
赵琬仪, 联合早报
而这63%的受惠者，主要是那些在一周乘搭公交的总趟次里，有转车习惯或车程较短的乘客。对于那些不转车、“一车到底”的乘客，他们会发现车资涨价，而这类乘客估计是以乐龄人士为多。如何说服他们多利用转车便利来看待这次的新车资结构，是决策者需要正视的问题。
Yawning Bread
With the release of this book, we cannot now say we can’t take in the bigger picture. Once a Jolly Hangman allows us to compare how one case was handled with another that had similar circumstances or gravity. What emerges is a very unflattering pattern of inconsistent “justice”, the dispensation of which is compromised in three important ways:
1. When foreign governments have clout over our economic interests and are willing to use that clout, their citizens will not face the death penalty;
2. When local citizens come from rich, well-connected families, or when a case threatens to involve others from this stratum of society, a way is found to avoid having them face the death penalty or even severe penalties;
3. When the state is convinced that an accused who is poor and “low-class” is guilty, and provided that exception no. 1 above does not apply, due process is less important than putting him on the fast-track to the noose.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
The 320,000 YOG tickets mysteriously became 245,000 tickets – leaving 75,000 tickets “missing”.
20,000 tickets were sold in two months. MOE stepped in and bought 80,000 tickets in May but refuses to disclose how much it paid for them.
DPA
Visiting Swiss president Doris Leuthard said Friday that her country accepted the conviction of a Swiss national sentenced to caning and jail for vandalism in Singapore, adding that she did not ask the city-state's authorities for clemency.
"For us, it's not a big debate because, obviously, this Swiss citizen did not follow the laws of Singapore," said Leuthard after a one-day working visit to the island state.
Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia
In response to MediaCorp's queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said there have been a number of cases in the past where individuals were in the early stages of jihadist radicalisation. However, not all were detained or issued with Restriction Orders as they did not pose a threat.
The Online Citizen
The UK released papers pertaining to Singapore’s independence several years ago.
We publish a copy of the memo for one interesting note – contained in the second paragraph of the memo. Mr Lee was reported to have “threatened ‘punitive’ measures against any newspaper which printed pictures of him smiling.”
Readings From A Political Duo-ble
As former ISA detainees accused of being Marxist or Communist have come out publicly to challenge the arrests, torture and the unjust accusations leveled against them, it becomes necessary to question the wisdom and current ISA detentions that are wielded against ‘militant jihadists’.
Kevin Lim and Raju Gopalakrishnan, Reuters
Singapore state investor Temasek, whose energy and resources portfolio grew by $3.6 billion last year, on Thursday dismissed talk it had held discussions with BP Plc for a strategic stake. Temasek's comment comes amid speculation the troubled British oil major is approaching several sovereign wealth funds for cash to ward off a takeover and help pay for the worst oil spill in U.S. history. BP boss Tony Hayward met an Abu Dhabi state investment fund on Wednesday.
林慧慧, 联合早报
本地环保分子为拯救岛国周围海洋生态与珊瑚礁而提出的部分建议获得政府采纳，国家公园局将借助非营利组织和其义工团的力量，展开相信是本地最大规模的海洋生物多样性调查，希望能完整记录新加坡海域内珊瑚、红树林和海草等海洋生物的品种和分布。
Miyagi.sg
Don't Sue Me.
This is not right. I do not want to see one of my friends lose their lives over school issues.
The Temasek Review
The Singapore police has declined to take further action against a Saudi diplomat for assaulting a Singaporean citizen.
Mr Jaafar can only curse his luck that he is not a PAP MP or YPAP member. Had he been one, the Singapore police will surely attend to his concerns immediately and his attacker will most likely be charged in court.
Furry Brown Dog
I’d like to say that I personally find it troubling that so much of a paper which was written primarily for fat cat corporate America is directly applicable to the pay structure of Singapore ministers is a sobering reminder of the current state of Singapore’s political system.
Josh.sg
We're talking about the sovereign wealth fund that bought strategic stakes in great banks like... erm... Merrill Lynch. And... erm... Barclays.
John Chan, CNET Asia
We haven't demonstrated anything that hasn't already been well-documented by folks in the US and UK. What did surprise us a little was that we couldn't reproduce the signal loss at all outdoors when it was so evident indoors. We suspect the quality of the cellular network has a big part to play in this whole iPhone 4 antenna issue.
Kevin Brown, Financial Times
For an Asian sovereign wealth fund, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings is remarkably transparent, as it showed on Thursday in the detailed notes accompanying its announcement that the mark to market value of its portfolio is back to where it was before the global financial crisis.
The 42 per cent increase in the portfolio, to S$186bn (US$134.5bn), was the most eye catching element of Temasek’s annual report for the year to March. But the report also documents a dramatic change in the focus of the group’s investment strategy.
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore may overtake China as Asia’s fastest-growing economy this year, increasing the attractiveness of the city state’s stocks and putting pressure on policy makers to check inflation with a stronger currency.
An acceleration in pharmaceutical output and the opening of two casino resorts boosted growth in the first half, the result of Singapore’s efforts to diversify sources of expansion beyond electronics exports. The push to bolster services may sustain the economy and support investment that spurred the island’s benchmark stock index to outperform counterparts in China, Taiwan, Japan and Australia this year.
Arun Shenai, Today
Neo Chai Chin, Today
They are just a few hundred metres apart but while business is back in full swing at Lucky Plaza's basement shops, the shutters are still down for the four Liat Towers stores hard-hit by Orchard Road floods three weeks ago.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
So, I am really quite confused, as the MOM says less than 3 per cent, NTUC said about 80 per cent, and the Public Service Commission said “a good majority”.
flaneurose
Like the red herring of shareholder value that bankers put forth, we have ministers and CEOs and other high priests telling us that such and such KPIs have been met or even surpassed. That everything is going according to plan. Yet that fails to assuage the disquietude in so many of us, that there are things happening here which are viscerally wrong.
Molitics
Raju Gopalakrishnan, Reuters
Executive Director Simon Israel emphatically told reporters the chief executive of Temasek Holdings, the world's eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund, was staying.
"Ho Ching is our CEO, she is continuing as our CEO," he said. "There is no, underline no, active, immediate search for a CEO."
Mansha Daswani, WorldScreen.com
A report from Media Partners Asia (MPA) and Charles River Associates (CRA) has identified "potential flaws" in the new cross-carriage rules for Singapore's pay-TV sector.
The analysis take issue with cross-carriage itself as a remedy, citing customer confusion and rising costs as potential consequences of the new rules. Other concerns include reduced investment in pay-TV content and limited product innovation and differentiation, the report continues. MPA and CRA also list the temptation for deeper intervention in order to remove the hurdles to full implementation of the cross-carriage rules—bundling and existing exclusivity deals.
Blowin' In The Wind
Peter Stein, Costas Paris and P.R. Venkat, Wall Street Journal
Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. said Thursday it posted a 26% drop in net profit for the year ended March 31 on the back of weaker contributions from its portfolio companies, even as its portfolio rose 43% in value.
The divergence between profit and portfolio performance shows that the share price of many companies owned by Temasek did well as global capital chased returns in emerging markets, yet many had trouble making money in a tougher business environment that included higher fuel costs and weaker international trade.
P.R. Venkat, Costas Paris and Sam Holmes, Dow Jones
Government of Singapore Investment Corp.'s giant real estate arm, GIC Real Estate, is leaning towards an initial public offering of its overseas assets, two people with knowledge of the deal said Thursday.
GIC Real Estate invests globally in real estate and real estate-related assets outside Singapore. It manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio of direct and indirect property investments with close to 300 investments in more than 30 countries.
The Online Citizen
“Once A Jolly Hangman – Singapore Justice In The Dock” has been “banned” in Singapore, The Online Citizen has learned.
The book by renowned investigative journalist, Alan Shadrake, delves into and exposes the lesser-known aspects of Singapore’s criminal justice system. The book focuses on death penalty cases in Singapore – and it gives readers a more intimate look into some of the high profile cases, especially those of recent years.
王继雨, 人民网
新加坡现代化发展模式的成功之处，不仅仅在于其经济上全面推进对外开放和产业转型，更在于其以经济发展带动政府管理和社会治理水平的全面提升，在东西文化有机整合的基础上重塑国家主导价值观，以经济社会的协调发展推动社会的整体进步。特别是在处理好经济发展与文化传承、宗教信仰与族群和睦、言论自由与媒体责任等平衡上探索出一条不同于西方发展的东方模式。
Nelson Benjamin and Mohd Farhan Shah, The Star
A state assemblyman urged the state government to provide answers to the claims of illegal sand mining in the state.
Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Dow Jones
BP PLC is investigating the reasons behind the resignation of some of its traders in Singapore in the "last few weeks," a company spokeswoman said Thursday.
韩宝镇, 联合早报
五名民主党中委、党员和支持者在初庭受审后，今年2月被裁定试图参与非法游行的罪名成立，各被判罚款1000元。他们未在限期内提出上诉申请，因此在昨天向高庭提出刑事动议，要求延长提出上诉申请的期限。他们的理由主要是对上诉程序不熟悉，及在限期截止前被太多案件缠身，以至忽略上诉申请。
胡莉珊, 联合早报
国家图书馆管理局今年第11次举办旧书热卖会，供读者选购的旧书籍和杂志比去年和前年的40万本少了将近7.5%，但价格不变，依然维持在1至5元左右。
郭丽娟, 联合早报
国民团结党表示希望能同国家环境局官员举行会谈，以找出让各政党能合法地沿街售卖党报的途径。它表明双方如无法对此事找到圆满的解决方法，党副主席梁廷玮将不会缴付上星期天接获的非法售卖党报的传票上所规定的罚款，而会选择上庭抗辩。
张建新, 联合早报
从我周围的人的第一天车资费用中，我们看不到业者所说的，在新车资实施的前期业者会减少收入，这似乎没有理由。
The Rot Within
Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
Kadir began his narration by attributing the root of the dispute to “Singapore's arrogance in the conduct of its relations with Malaysia and the insensitivity towards the feelings of Malaysians”.
Dave Gottlieb, Grobstein
Coming from a more liberal society, though, there are many things to admire about Singapore, perhaps including the PAP’s political management regime. It’s hard to feel sympathy for heavy-handed repression like political censorship and imprisoning dissidents. But the PAP is able to implement a lot of pragmatic and sensible policies that are impossible in a competitive political environment like the United States.
Zul Othman, Today
Deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean has said that the Defence Ministry and the island's security agencies will work together to step up vigilance against possible security threats in the wake of the detention of full-time National Serviceman Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid, 20, under the Internal Security Act.
"Mindef will be working together with the security agencies. We'll make sure that we step up vigilance to identify any such security threats. But we continue to proceed with training. Life goes on as normal in our units, and we don't expect any difference there," said Mr Teo.
Cassandra Eng, Youth.sg
Eric J. Brooks, Straits Times
When humble work is seen as humiliation rather than dignity, foreigners who are brought up to be self-reliant with their own hands will enjoy a massive advantage.
At the end of the day, there is no 'us' or 'them'. There is only 'you' - and your willingness to take responsibility for your own life.
Tan Chui Hua, Straits Times
If we are really that concerned with safety, it should be safety for everyone, not just those who can afford it.
Foo-Ho Yoke Ming, Housing and Development Board, Today
At the same time, we recognise that a HDB flat is the single largest asset for most Singaporeans. Sub-letting allows owners to unlock some of the flat's value in times of need. The policy is applied consistently in an equitable manner - all flat owners who fulfilled their MOP and obtained an approval from HDB can sub-let their entire flat.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Neither of the two reports mentions Mr Ravi, nor his reasons for his trip to KL. Neither carries any pictures of the day’s event. There is also no mention of the Singapore Law Minister, Mr K Shanmugam, nor the Attorney General, Mr Walter Woon, and their earlier remarks which are the basis for Mr Ravi’s appeal to the Malaysian government.
In other words, the Straits Times and Today’s reports have avoided reporting on the reasons for this latest turn of events in the case of Yong Vui Kong.
flaneurose
Ephraim Seow, Channel NewsAsia
Carrefour said it is not closing any of its stores in Singapore and Malaysia. In a statement, the company said it is "business as usual" for every store in the two countries.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
Singapore Democrat Party
There is no denying that groups who use violence as a method to achieve their objectives exist. However, these articles, coming at a time when the election fever is being felt are seen as tactics to divert attention especially of the Malay community away from the real issues affecting them.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
If it were any other country or organisation, there would surely have been an inquiry into what the final budget overrun will be, when the YOG ends. Will this happen in Singapore?
Kai Portmann, DPA
Lisa Lubin, Britannica Blog
Changi Airport in Singapore was, by far, the best airport I’d ever been to, not only on this world tour, but in my entire life.
Ng Kok Lim, The Temasek Review
One key criterion that was obviously missing or not sufficiently highlighted in the index is housing price. You add that and Singapore’s ranking will plummet straight away.
Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court' provides a compelling narrative of Singapore's preparations and presentation of its case before the ICJ. But it also provides a startling account of Malaysia's conduct during the court proceedings.
According to the authors, Malaysia displayed a “certain sense of desperation” that saw it resorting to questionable tactics. These tactics involved deliberately mis-translating a text, suppressing parts of quotations used to support its arguments, as well as producing a distorted photograph of PBP that showed it nearer than it actually is to the coast of Johor.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
The PAP tells us that we need to pay more to get better leaders. It has been 3 years since those massive pay hikes for ministers ....are things better today than they were 10 years ago?
陈能端, 联合早报
根据最近两年的情况，每年只有五六所学校转为单班制，按照这个进度估计，到了2016年还会有60多所小学保持现状。再加上实行单班制可能得收紧小一学额，目前还是部分单班或双班制的众多热门小学，如乐赛学校、爱同学校、恒力小学、孺廊小学等，在转型过程中相信会遇到不小的阻力。
本报针对这个情况询问教育部，这两年学校的“转型”进度是否能实现2016年的目标？教育部说，为了在2016年全面实施单班制，他们正在积极与各校合作。实施单班制关键问题之一就是校舍的空间。
Islamic Republic News Agency
Finance minister of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam said Tuesday his country welcomes trade cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Reuters
Singapore wealth fund Temasek Holdings is expected to show the extent of its portfolio shift towards the resources sector and may provide clues about leadership changes when unveiling its annual report on Thursday.
Eric Poon, Straits Times
Are such restaurants allowed to set pricing rules?
Of course restaurants should be allowed to set such rules. Barring a small number of discriminatory or anticompetitive rules, most businesses should be able to set any rules they want.
Chua Lay Kwan, Today
It is quite unlikely that most commuters are able to commit the fare structure to memory to check that the correct fare has been deducted.
Ashok Kumar J, Today
Why don't we bring all the bank ATMs in Singapore under one common network?
It was DBS/POSB bank that chose to remove itself from the ATM NETS network. (Once upon a time, before the acquisition of POSB, DBS was part of the network.) So if you feel that DBS/POSB' ATM service is not up to your liking now, please switch bank. Regulators should not need to intervene as there are good competition.
Singapore Recalcitrant
It is all very well for the PAP government to promote an international humane image. When it comes to the local scene, it shows it is not so benign in its ruthlessness in dealing with the opposition parties and those who are not so sparing in their vitriolic criticisms of the government. Maybe it is in its mental make-up that it finds it antipathic to show the same kind of justice and fairness universally as in its international image projection.
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
She is missing bigger concerns here – the safety and security of our trains and stations.
Joel Kotkin, Forbes
A catastrophic plunge in the country's birthrate--a problem plaguing many of the world's affluent economies--could undermine Singapore's success.
But if any Asian society can confront, or at least ameliorate, the great fertility crisis, it is this tiny island country with a track record of solving seemingly insurmountable problems.
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy
The case speaks well of the alertness of the Singapore intelligence and security authorities and their ability to detect radicalizing trends before they assume threatening proportions. At the same time, it should be a matter of concern that despite the prosperity of the Muslim community of Singapore and the interest taken by the authorities in promoting their welfare, there are elements which are amenable to extra-territorial indoctrination and inclined to take to jihad.
Netty Ismail, Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte is set to post a record jump in the value of its assets as markets rebounded and the Singapore state investment firm increased bets in Asia.
Guanyinmiao's Musings
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
The Singapore government now expects to spend S$387 million on the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG). It was initially estimated to cost about S$122 million.
Amena Bakr and Nicolas Parasie, Reuters
British oil company BP has approached sovereign wealth funds with a view to securing a strategic investor to fend off takeover bids while it deals with its massive U.S. oil spill, a senior UAE source said on Tuesday.
BP executives have held talks with a number of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) including Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore, the source told Reuters under condition of anonymity.
Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Government
In response to media queries on the case of Yong Vui Kong, the MFA spokesman said that MFA is aware of the media reports on the issue. However, MFA has yet to receive any request for clemency from the Malaysian government.
Muhammad Cohen, Asia Times
Chee Soon Juan just won't shut up. The Singapore establishment's most frequently harassed dissident has been fired, jailed, sued, beaten mercilessly - in elections - barred from traveling, and, he claims, drugged. But Chee still keeps making noise as leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Monday's islandwide DBS-POSB ATM disruptions were the result of a systems outage said the bank's vendor IBM.
Military Life: Memoirs of a Conscript in the Lion City
How sure are we about the loyalty of conscripts? Perhaps it is timely to review if a fully-volunteer system replace conscription that feeds the Army's insatiable appetite for the two plus ten years of annual ICT from male citizens.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
A 20-year-old Singaporean Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid has been detained for two years under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said he is a full-time national serviceman in the SAF.
Muhammad Fadil was detained under the ISA on April 4.
Yawning Bread
We clearly need to raise such a worker’s income from S$1,500 a month to S$3,000 as part of a wholistic approach to our demographic crisis. But how? The latest mantra is productivity improvement. But even though it will make a difference, I frankly do not see this as sufficient to close the gap.
DPA
Trade negotiations between Singapore and the European Union are on track with an agreement expected by next year, an EU official said Tuesday.
P.R. Venkat and Costas Paris, Dow Jones
Leading supermarket chains are interested in the assets of French hypermarket Carrefour SA in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, two people with direct knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.
Ng E-Jay, The Online Citizen
After the PAP has milked the Singapore system for what it is worth, I fear that future generations of Singaporeans will be faced with a hollowed out economy and slow growth rates that will not match their expectations. I fear that many people, especially those just embarking on their careers, will not be able to afford to retire peacefully when they grow old. They will be faced with an overcrowded city, lack of job opportunities, rising inflation, and poor economic prospects.
Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
Truly Singapore
So when you ask us to choose what is right, we need not choose love or hate, we can simply choose indifference. Because we have the right to feel indifferent to an event that genuinely does not tug at our heartstrings. We refuse to accept the cheapening of what it means to be Singaporean to be forced upon us.
Investment Marathoner
Just last week, Lee Kuan Yew raised the possibility of merger of local banks. But. if a merger is to be carried out, DBS will probably be out of the picture with its latest debacle.
AFP
Malaysia will plead with neighbouring Singapore to spare the life of a drug trafficker who has been sentenced to death in the city state, according to reports Tuesday. Both Malaysia and Singapore have tough anti-drug laws and rarely seek clemency for nationals facing drug charges in the the other country.
Straits Times
DBS could face possible action from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) over its banking systems failure on Monday, which left scores of customers and businesses fuming. Responding to media queries, MAS suggested that supervisory action might be taken to ensure a bank's compliance to IT guidelines.
Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
Muhammad Cohen
It's all about Amelioration
The government sees Singapore as a globalized city, it’s time that we should see ourselves as globalized citizens too or forever be that Oompa Loompa trapped in a well.
Juha Uitto
It seems indisputable from the evidence of places like Switzerland, Japan, Singapore and, yes, my country of origin, Finland, that wealth and its relatively even distribution, high levels of education throughout the population, and a strong government are good for the environment and well-being of the people.
Straits Times
DBS has ruled out sabotage in its largest ever system breakdown on Monday, which crippled its entire consumer banking services for at least seven hours.
Cathy Chan and Andrew Roberts, Bloomberg
Carrefour SA, Europe’s biggest retailer, plans to exit Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and is seeking offers for its operations in the Southeast Asian countries, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Sha Najak, Transient Workers Count Too, Straits Times
National servicemen are transported in trucks with canopies as well as seatbelts. Foreign workers are transported in lorries without seat belts and often without canopies too.
Ng Jing Yng, Today
The six-hour closure of Bukit Timah Road began at 2pm on Saturday, to facilitate the removal of affected portions of the bridge, but even as evening came, some motorists heading in that direction were still unaware about the situation.
Some commuters at affected bus stops were also left none the wiser that the buses they were waiting for had been diverted. And they are fuming about their experience over the weekend.
Singapore Democrat Party
Dr Chee Soon Juan asked for clear guidelines from the courts as to what constitutes a speech. The SDP leader made this call in his closing submissions today to District Judge Jill Tan.
Die neue Welle
What is wrong is the very reason why he should not be a politician. Lim Swee Say is a straight-talker – he shoots off his mouth without sending his thoughts through Central Processing. What he has said ia something which everyone actually knows, i.e., that one can always be better, but never wants to hear in cleartext, since it reduces happiness.
Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) says it has a comprehensive maintenance system for all overhead bridges. It gives this assurance amid concerns over the safety of old bridges, after a crane struck one such bridge.
Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen
Liang Kaixin/Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia
Some commuters have called the Channel NewsAsia hotline, saying the fare for the journey from Kranji MRT Station to Johor is up by 40 percent - from $1 to $1.40. This has affected many who are working or studying in Singapore, as they are also not allowed to cross the Causeway on foot.
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Loh Foon Fong and Joshua Foong, The Star
Foreign minister Datuk Anifah Aman said his ministry would write to the Singapore government to plead for clemency in the case of Sabahan Yong Vui Kong, who was sentenced to death last year for drug trafficking.
"We sympathise with what had transpired and will do everything possible within our powers or diplomatic means to solve the problem," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby Monday.
Singapore Government
The fact is that Singapore does not have a serious TIP problem. The mere reliance on absolute reported and prosecution figures as a basis to judge Singapore's commitment against the TIP problem is superficial and perfunctory at best. Singapore has a comprehensive and holistic three-pronged approach of Prevention, Prosecution and Victim Assistance which the US has chosen to ignore. This three-pronged framework has proven to be an effective deterrent in the trafficking of persons to Singapore, a fact that is borne out by the extremely low number of substantiated cases.
We recognise that the US, in dealing with its own TIP problems, has developed its own mechanisms and measures. Different countries adopt different approaches and it is a matter of what works for each country. Singapore will continue with its calibrated and pragmatic approach to TIP issues, and review this if necessary, rather than blindly follow a one-for-all operating model just to achieve a better technical ranking on the US TIP Report.
(Note: Link goes to a PDF document.)
Yawning Bread
Crowded trains today? I suspect we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Shaffiq Alkhatib, Channel NewsAsia
Secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, 44-year-old Chee Soon Juan has been fined S$5,000 for making an address without a licence at the open space between Blocks 259 and 260 Bangkit Road at Bukit Panjang on 15 April 2006.
WonderPeace
It is unacceptable for the CEO of SMRT to acknowledge that she knew the trains are overcrowded but not do anything because they have not reached the stage where SMRT needs to employ 'pushers' or 'crush load' level.
Lai Han-Wei, Straits Times
The Malaysian Insider
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continued to pour scorn on the Najib administration’s recent land-swap deal with Singapore, saying Malaysia could have retained ownership of Tanjong Pagar had it wanted to.
“Tanjong Pagar is our land... this land is KTM land,” the de facto PKR chief said last night after a meeting with Johor party leaders here.
Angela Giuffrida, The National
Many are looking to Singapore as a model for inspiration.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
The PAP leaders have this habit of pointing out what they think is wrong with Singaporeans and demanding Singaporeans improve themselves. However, when Singaporeans suggest much needed improvements to our transport system, our public housing and flood control mechanisms, the first thing they do is deny there is something wrong and once the evidence become overwhelming and there is no way to deny the facts, the 2nd thing they do is blame something else (other than their policies) for the problems we face. The PAP leaders who are paid the highest salaries in the world should be the ones to do a "betterer" job....
The Online Citizen
Mok Fei Fei, Channel NewsAsia
Banking services at Singapore's largest lender, DBS, have resumed. Services at its DBS and POSB ATMs were disrupted as early as before 7am on Monday. The problem was attributed to technical difficulties though details were not specified.
Richard Tyler, Telegraph
It is understood that fund, which lost at least 20pc of its value during the financial crisis, wants access to Lady Vadera's financial and geopolitical expertise, as it restructures parts of its S$127bn (£60bn) investment portfolio.
As Zewt As It Gets
I have to say, Singapore is terribly un-environmental friendly. Usage of plastic bags, plastic cups, styrofoam containers, disposable plastic cutleries are as rampant as corruption in Malaysia. When I told them I used to bring my own container to pack food, they were astonished.
Lim Poh Seng, Today
I think SMRT's plan for buses to "run parallel to MRT lines in a bid to alleviate overcrowding" during peak periods is a good idea. A discount could be given for those who choose to take the bus because of the increased time taken to reach their destinations. Announcements could be given at MRT stations for commuters to take the bus as an alternative when the crowd gets bigger during peak periods.
Jake Teo, Today
An average figure does not take into account variation between passenger loads of each individual train. An average figure also does not take into account how Singapore's population congregates in certain town centres; leaving only one stop to make the difference between an empty or congested train.
Soh Star, Straits Times
The current system works because it is supported by the psychology of human behaviour. It has highly visible gantries and fees levied are displayed prominently. Motorists remember the location of gantries as well as the fees levied and ERP timing, so they think twice about driving on roads clearly marked by gantries. A satellite-based ERP system, on the other hand, does not have these features.
It's all about Amelioration
Whatever it is, the very immediate challenge is the need for the current ruling party to see the problem, admit the policy flaws and address them. However, I really wonder if they are up to it anymore.
Singapore Recalcitrant
The trend of ministers, including the Prime Minister, of showing indifference towards occurences and happenings that the public view as affecting their security and welfare is disquieting, to say the least. There are very considerable criticisms by netizens on the ministers' haughty attitude. It automatically brings up the question that the astronomical salaries that the prime minister and his ministers get are really what they deserve and a fair charge on the taxpayers' fund.
Channel NewsAsia
Four new members have been elected into the Workers' Party's Central Executive Committee, while Chairman Sylvia Lim and Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang have been re-elected to their posts.
The Temasek Review
It is obvious that Lee has not been reading the papers lately which are full of reports of construction workers, cleaners, masseurs and even prostitutes being given PRs and citizenships by the PAP. How these “foreign talents” are better “educated’ and will bring “new skills” to Singapore is anybody’s guess.
Neel Chowdhury, Time
The Tanjong Pagar station has long been an irritation to Singapore, a physical reminder of Malaysia's former sovereignty over the island nation.
Peter Stein, Wall Street Journal
The tale of rival Indian and Malaysian bidders for a Singapore-based health-care chain might be described as "same hospital bed, different dreams."
Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia
Authorities have not yet decided what to do with a pedestrian bridge that was damaged by a crane on Saturday. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) told MediaCorp that it will assess the extent of damage and weigh its options before making its decision.
The Online Citizen
“An officer called me up and told me that there is only licence for individuals who are from the low income group to do mobile hawking,” NSP secretary-general, Mr Goh Meng Seng, told The Online Citizen. “Apparently there isn’t any license for political party like ours to conduct our political outreach. However, our activity is deemed as ‘illegal hawking’. I told him to write to me officially to state his stand. I have not received his official letter so far.”
The Online Citizen
I think the entire experience casts a huge doubt over our public transport system’s ability to deal with “unforeseen circumstances”.
Although there was crisis management in the form of diverting traffic, the lack of accountability and communication just reeks of irresponsibility and ineptness to me. In the near-six hours of crisis, it seems that some people did not respond critically.
Gerald Giam
Residents in PAP wards should talk to their friends and family in Hougang and Potong Pasir and discover for themselves that decent opposition politicians can do a good job in running their wards, if given the opportunity.
News Release by UncleYap
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia
One in three commuters would see a fare increase.
Just Gan, Malaysia Today
He has never dared do anything drastic in controversial Malaysia-Singapore issues when he was in power because he knows that Mr. Lee Kwan Yew will defeat him in any showdown.
Yawning Bread
The settlement over the railway issue and the evaporation of one of the water treaties next year cannot be good news to Mahathir and Perkasa. Lowering of tensions undercuts their domestic agenda.
So launch the crooked bridge again.
Singapore Notes
The stash money is dispensed by the MND, not out of the largesse of their own pockets, but from the taxpayers. Maybe the residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir should get a tax rebate for this exceptionally shoddy treatment.
Singapore Kopi Tok
Although Sweden's model might not fit into the Singapore context at this moment, it does give valuable insights on how parental leave should or should not be done. Parental leave is after all a good populist vote-winning policy when the election comes.
Shaffiq Alkhatib, Channel NewsAsia
A crane on Saturday knocked into a pedestrian bridge at Bukit Timah Road, just before the turn into Sixth Avenue.
National Express Malaysia
The Najib administration has no intentions of reviving the crooked bridge project proposed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed to replace the Johor Causeway, according to Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. The minister in the Prime Minister’s department said the government will stick to the decision reached during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration.
P.T. Jyothi Datta, Business Line
The Singapore Government does not seem to be losing sleep, as two overseas players — India's Fortis Healthcare and Malaysia's Khazanah — battle over its leading healthcare-provider, Parkway Holdings.
Global Sikh News
The lure of greener pastures, coupled with the nexus of a fake travel agent, has landed two girls into the vicious circle of forcible prostitution. The girls have been trapped at Singapore since June 19.
Farik Zolkepli, The Star
A new bridge to Singapore is in sight following the points of agreement (POA) on the KTMB land reached recently between the republic and Malay sia. Johor Baru MP Shahrir Samad said the agreement could be viewed as a precedent towards improved bilateral ties, including possible cooperation in building a bridge to replace the Causeway.
Elrica Tanu, Straits Times
Invest in productivity instead of relying on foreign workers, is the government's response to the issue of the foreign worker levy hike, raised at a dialogue session between a panel of ministers and the local business community. Companies here are also being encouraged to invest in innovation and technology to increase productivity in order to grow their business.
The Online Citizen
Simeon Bennett, Bloomberg
Singapore doesn’t have a serious human trafficking problem, its government said in a response to a U.S. State Department report that said the city-state had regressed in its battle against the practice.
The report’s reliance on reported and prosecution figures was “superficial and perfunctory at best,” the government said in a six-page response received today by e-mail. The low numbers show that Singapore’s approach to combating trafficking in persons, or TIP, has been effective, it said.
Andrea Tan, Bloomberg
Oliver Fricker, the Swiss executive serving a five-month jail term and waiting to be caned for breaking into a Singapore depot and spray-painting a commuter train, appealed his sentence today, his lawyer Derek Kang said.
NetworkWorld Asia
David Whitley, Viator
With a high population and not much space, wildlife and rainforests are not readily associated with Singapore, but seek and ye shall find. Aside from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Singapore is said to be the only city in the world to have natural rainforest within its boundaries. Admittedly, there’s not much of it left, but some stretches have been deliberately preserved.
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
At the rate their numbers are increasing, it will not be long before the population of new migrants will start leaving a mark on elections in Singapore. It is widely believed that the bulk of their support will go “out of gratitude” to the ruling party for giving them a chance to get a new life here.
This has fuelled talk that the immigration policy is partly motivated by politics to keep the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in power for many more years.
Kevin Brown, Financial Times
The high point of my stay – literally and emotionally – was the Skypark.
Bernadette Low, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times
This is the highest frequency our network can maintain given the system's design. At this frequency, train loads range from 1,200 to 1,450 passengers. This averages 3.8 passengers per sq m, lower than that of metros in major cities like London, Shanghai and Tokyo, where it is five to eight passengers per sq m.
Bernadette Low, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times
Since the introduction of these trains, more passengers have been able to board the train during peak hours. A survey in late 2008, shortly after these trains were introduced, revealed that nine in 10 commuters on platforms and seven in 10 commuters in trains preferred being able to board a train quickly to having a seat.
Diary of A Singaporean Mind
I'm glad there is finally admission that the trains are crowded. I hope the denial has finally ended.
黄伟曼, 联合早报
新加坡夜间动物园为了保护在一个发展地段上发现的几棵珍稀品种大树，特聘承包商和动用长臂吊秤车，小心翼翼地将它们吊起，移植别处。
陈锦柏, 联合早报
受选择性整体重建计划影响的红山景20多名组屋店主，不满建屋发展局给予的赔偿额太低，昨天集体要求该区国会议员英兰妮代为传达诉求，希望建屋局能增加赔偿金。
Singaporean Skeptic
Don't you find it strange that a ranking system developed in Singapore rates Singapore as one of the best cities in the world?
Leong Wee Keat, Sona Remesh, Channel NewsAsia
Frankie Ho, Wall Street Journal
A rise in Singapore private home prices by more than 10% so far this year to levels above the 1996 peak has raised affordability concerns, and may trigger more government measures to cool the property market, says CIMB.
Yaw Shin Leong
While I am not against technological improvements, I propose that the monies be better spent on giving our roads systems a long overdue overhaul instead.
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
We strongly condemn PTC for its attempt to implement such a fare system which is in fact an outrageous hike in fare in disguise.
SpotlightOnSingapore
Are Singaporeans so lacking in education and civic-consciousness in the 21st century that they need laws on caning to behave?
Leslie Lee, The Online Citizen
I would like to see the local mainstream media take up Ms Saw’s challenge to see if it is indeed possible (taking safety and some degree of comfort into account) to fit a maximum of 1,500 people into a single train service.
Singapore Democrat Party
What evidence is there that litter choked the drains and caused the floods to occur? Isn't Singapore one of the most litter-free cities in the world where even chewing gum is banned? The PM must show proof that the floods were a result of litter clogging the drains. Otherwise he should stop trying to distract Singaporeans from the real issue which is that it was poor planning by the government that caused the floods.
The truth is that the prime minister is conveniently deflecting the blame onto the people because this Government feels that it can do no wrong and, therefore, is above accountability.
No one expects Singapore to be flood-free, but we expect the PAP to be humble and apologise when it has failed to do its job properly instead of making cockamamie excuses like flash floods occuring only once every 50 years or that a blocked culvert caused Orchard Road to flood or that litter clogged up our drains.
胡洁梅, 联合早报
国家环境局昨天受询时说，今年六月份的总降雨量是240.5毫米。这个雨量在过去100多年来的六月份雨量记录中，排行第19高。
Martha C. Nussbaum, NPR
In Singapore, nobody even attempts to use the new techniques when teaching about politics and contemporary problems. "Citizenship education" typically takes the form of analyzing a problem, proposing several possible solutions, and then demonstrating how the one chosen by government is the right one for Singapore. In universities, some instructors attempt a more genuinely open approach, but the government has a way of suing professors for libel if they criticize the government in class, and even a small number of high-profile cases chills debate.
It is time to take off the rose-colored glasses. Singapore and China are terrible models of education for any nation that aspires to remain a pluralistic democracy. They have not succeeded on their own business-oriented terms, and they have energetically suppressed imagination and analysis when it comes to the future of the nation and the tough choices that lie before it.
Sumner Lemon , IDG
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily
The society is very open to allow topless shows, but its politics is being tightly controlled. An overly controlled country will face difficulties in finding qualified political successors. Kuan Yew's set of political thinking may be a disaster to the country once he is no longer around to make correct judgments.
Today
Bus and train fares will be calculated based on distance travelled and the type of service taken to get to a destination.
Gerald Giam
Without a vibrant political atmosphere on university campuses, it is an uphill task to get our leaders of tomorrow to see the value in investing time to fight for causes that have national impact.
Feed Me To The Fish
How dare they use such terms when they are nothing but a bunch of greedy mercenaries who pay themselves millions to be in the holy order! To describe oneself in such an altruistic manner while leaving the people no choice but pay the king's ransom to the holy order's paycheck is really 'siah sway'.
The Long and Winding Road » A last look at Kallang as it was
Having already said farewell to the Grand Old Lady, it is appropriate to also bid goodbye to some of the views of which we have for so long identified with the area around the stadium…
Tan Lek Lek , Straits Times
If army personnel can be transported by lorries, why not workers?
Rachel Chang, Straits Times
Converting maternity leave to parental leave, which would allow either parent to take paid time off to care for a newborn baby, would 'possibly be a step in the right direction', Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said at a dialogue on Wednesday.
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
A former Romanian diplomat wanted by Singapore authorities for two hit-and-run accidents in December last year will be tried in his own country.
According to the Romanian General Prosecutor's Office, Dr Silviu Ionescu has been indicted for homicide, causing physical injuries and making false statements.
Straits Times
Some parts of Singapore were flooded again on Thursday, with waters rising up to knee-high, due to another heavy downpour in the afternoon.
Floodwaters were seen along Paterson Road, near Wheelock Place in Orchard Road, the scene of the worst flooding in 26 years two weeks ago, as well a in Tai Seng Road, Kampong Ampat Road and MacPherson area.
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia
Prices of HDB resale flats have continued to rise. According to the housing board's flash estimates, prices rose a steeper 3.8 per cent in the second quarter, compared to the first three months of this year.
It's the fifth consecutive quarter of price increase.
Vincent Kang, Today
If we envision a future where the majority of Singaporeans can afford public housing, I think all public housing units should be owner-occupied.
曾薛霏, 独立新闻在线
马来西亚青年杨伟光因运送47克海若英而遭新加坡高庭判处死刑，杨伟光辩护律师拉维（M. Ravi）于上周五抵马，原本将与掌管法律事务的部长纳兹里（Nazri Aziz）和外交部长阿尼法（Anifah Aman）会面，但会面临时取消，不过纳兹里在受询时表示，他完全不知道此案，也不知道将与律师会面。
mrbrown, CNNGo
I think it's time Singaporeans learn to swim.
Lee Kuan Yew, Forbes
DJ Yap, Philippine Daily Inquirer
If there was something ultra-rich Singapore could learn from the still-developing Philippines, it would be how to have a more engaged civil society, a Singapore official here said.
Dee Kay Dot As Gee
Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors and Companies who associate themselves with such pay to pitch scheme should be ashamed of themselves. They are not helping the startups. They are preying on the desperate entrepreneur who is dying to find investors to fund their next big thing.
黄瑶, 广州日报
在多个国家和地区移民政策生变的情况下，目前越来越多的人开始关注新加坡的投资移民。“没有任何一个国家能让你这么快拿到绿卡。”
星洲日報
新加坡內閣資政李光耀說，當新加坡脫離馬來西亞獨立時，就已清楚知道有朝一日大馬會對新加坡施加壓力，所以她們必須能做到水供自給自足。
Molitics
I have reason to believe that PAP politicians are given a handbook with a title like The PAPalian Hermeneutics of Criticism. This seems to me to be the only reason they quite consistently interpret what the public says in a style for which they should be awarded a patent. My guess would be that the book has a maxim: When people ask for an inch, it means that they are trying to extort a yard from you. This should not come across as too much of a surprise since the linguistic ineptitude of most citizens below the ruling class is appalling, most not having been even a mile near an Ivy League.
The Rot Within
Military Life: Memoirs of a Conscript in the Lion City
Daniel Chin, Singapore's Land Transport
This calculation show that the journey time from Bras Basah to Serangoon is faster via a transfer at Dhoby Ghaut instead of taking a direct Circle Line train, contrary to what PTC and LTA claimed. This is even after taking into account of walking time and waiting time as advised by them.
Eugene Tan, Public Transport Council, Helen Lim, Land Transport Authority, Straits Times
For a journey from Bras Basah to Serangoon station, the fare is based on the fastest travel route via the Circle Line. This explains why the fares are higher for a journey from Bras Basah to Serangoon than from Bras Basah to Kovan, even though the former is located nearer to Bras Basah.
Leong Wee Keat, Today
With the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) relying less on the total number of troops and becoming an increasingly modernised force, could the duration of National Service (NS) be further reduced? No, said deputy orime minister and defence minister Teo Chee Hean.
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jesop, New York Times
During the 1960s and ’70s, the Singaporean artist Yeh Chi Wei created highly distinctive oil paintings, drawing inspiration from a wide range of cultural and historical Asian sources while also incorporating Chinese ink calligraphy techniques. As the leader of the Ten Men Art Group, a loosely-knit group of art teachers and artists that would morph in 1970 into the seminal Southeast Asian Art Association, he played a key role in developing the Singapore art scene. Yet, his name fell into near obscurity after he moved, seemingly at the peak of his career, into a village in Malaysia.
“The Story of Yeh Chi Wei,” a major retrospective at the Singapore Art Museum running until Sept. 12, sheds new light on the artist’s achievements and his importance as one of the country’s pioneer artists.
The Sun
Award-winning Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa’at talks about writing and his love-hate relationship with his homeland.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.