Singapore Also Can

Sure his company has been a role model for the world's investment houses for a long time but still it can fail as it did recently.

If the above report is accurate on an annualized basis for March 1999 to March 2009 in percentage terms, the total return for Temasek is 5.4% whereas that for Berkshire Hathaway is only a miserable 0.7%!

Compare these with MSCI (Singapore) 3.1%; MSCI Asia Pac ex Japan 4.5% and MSCI World -3.0% (Negative!) and Investor AB 3.7% then Temasek has done reasonably well instead. There should be nothing much to complain about.

 

Of course stock or commodity prices are not stagnant. Whilst 2008 has been a terrible year for most investment houses, especially those who invested largely on finance and property stocks, and this has affected their returns, it is expected that the world economy should turnaround by next year and stock prices will rise again.

But for the assessment of performance, a time-frame has to be set and calculations of returns, etc, must of necessity be based on that period. It is unfortunate that Berkshire's valuation has been negatively affected as a result.

However, the 10-year period that was the subject of the study is not a short-term period for it covered more than the bad years and it must therefore be quite indicative of the performance of the investment houses.

 

Singapore's web access ranks 2nd

The Straits Times
June 19, 2009


WASHINGTON - SINGAPORE, where 88 per cent of homes have broadband, South Korea and Taiwan are among the top five countries in terms of access to the high-speed Internet, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The United States, where just 60 per cent of households had broadband as of last year, ranked 20th in the survey of 58 countries by Boston-based Strategy Analytics.

Five of the top 10 countries or territories in the survey were in Asia and the firm predicted the broadband subscriber base in the Asia-Pacific region will grow on average by a further 15 percent a year between 2009 and 2013.

Strategy Analytics said South Korea's highly urbanised population and its government-backed broadband policy accounted for its 95 per cent rate of broadband penetration.

Singapore ranked second on the list with household broadband penetration of 88 per cent, followed by the Netherlands (85 per cent), Denmark (82 per cent), Taiwan (81 per cent), Hong Kong (81 per cent), Israel (77 per cent), Switzerland (76 per cent), Canada (76 per cent) and Norway (75 per cent).

Among other Asia-Pacific nations, Australia ranked 11th with 72 per cent, Japan ranked 16th with 64 per cent, New Zealand ranked 25th with 57 per cent, China ranked 43rd with 21 per cent and Malysia ranked 44th, also with 21 per cent. Thailand ranked 51st with seven per cent, Vietnam ranked 52nd, also with seven per cent, the Philippines ranked 53rd with five per cent, India ranked 57th with two per cent and Indonesia ranked 58th with one per cent.

Strategy Analytics acknowledged that measuring broadband penetration has been a subject of controversy with arguments being made over whether it should be measured by household or per capita.

'Broadband rankings are often the subject of great debate and hand-wringing,' said David Mercer, vice president of Strategy Analytics.

'Though our rankings may differ from those of other organisations, it is because we are looking at the appropriate metrics,' he said. 'In far too many cases, people are looking at the wrong things,' said Ben Piper, a Strategy Analytics analyst.

'Residential broadband is overwhelmingly consumed on a household basis - not individually,' he said. Reporting broadband penetration on a per capita basis misses the mark, and can provide grossly misleading results.' -- AFP

 

I don't need to resort to this tactic which Dato used.

My message is in answer to yours on maid abuse when you joined hands with Dato to criticise and "put down" Singapore on the maid issue. Please refer to Dato's post which I answered with post #58.

You supported him in your post #65 when you said: "thank you for your sharing...my maid comes from indonesia...she had worked in singapore for 4 years before coming to work in hong kong.

she told me that her master in Singapore was very very very very cruel to her ...from her description, i really couldn't believe that such thing could have been happened in this world!"

I hope you now believe that such thing can happen anywhere, even in Dato's country.

Because I know that this problem is not Singapore's alone, that was why I suggested that a separate thread be used to allow more views and not be included in my thread which is not related and which I have made clear from the onset why I named it "Singapore Also Can". It appears you are still in doubt judging from your first sentence.

But Dato was unhappy with my suggestion and in his post #63 he even sarcastically accused me of "... Other than that, all swept under the carpet, especially under Uncle Loh house's carpet". Later events proved that this was never my intention as I was willing to discuss the subject further.

What I'm trying to tell you is that you should not put down Singapore with your post because maid abuse is a problem that happens in many places. The latest report concerning Dato's country is to prove it is a fact.

BTW, I find your last sentence "Does Singaporian really need to put down on Malaysia in order to show that Singapore is superior?" not only mischievious but highly provocative and I hope you will refrain from such language in future.

 

Arts Fest a Sellout Success

The 2009 Singapore Arts Festival remains the largest singular event in Singapore’s arts calendar, inviting artists from 22 countries, offering more than 600 activities attracting almost 800,000 attendances is a 4-week infusion of performances and events that inspire and capture the public imagination of the city.

More information can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Arts_Festival

and information and pics on the Esplanade Concert Hall and Theatre:

http://www.esplanade.com/about_the_centre/venues/concert_hall/index.jsp

(As for myself, I managed to attend two shows out of four that I bought tickets for owing to a clash with the Singapore Open. Nevertheless I enjoyed both musicals from South Africa: "The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo" and "Ladysmith Black Mambazo" (after the SO Finals)

The Straits Times
June 22, 2009

By Adeline Chia

THIS year's Singapore Arts Festival has been the most successful one in decades, with the 26 ticketed productions garnering 92.5 per cent attendance on average.

This makes the festival, which is in its 32nd year, the most well-attended one since 1986, which chalked up 94.6 per cent attendance.

Fourteen out of the 26 ticketed productions were sold out this year.

These include the classical ballet Anna Karenina by the Finnish National Ballet; Sutra, a dance production featuring Shaolin monks; Visible Cities, a play by Singaporean playwright Chay Yew; and Long Life, a play without disalogue about five elderly people living in a flat.

Some 794,398 people attended both the ticketed shows and the 400 free outreach events. It is a jump of about 200,000 over last year's 598,478.

Audience satisfaction was also high. In a survey of 1,500 audience members commissioned by National Arts Council (NAC), nine out of 10 people found the quality of the programmes to be 'good' and 'excellent'.

At a press conference at the Drama Centre on Monday, NAC chief Lee Suan Hiang said: 'If you look at the actual numbers and if you look at the very positive survey results, we have had one of the most successful arts festivals in the last 20 years.'

Festival director Goh Ching Lee added that surpassing the 90 per cent mark was like breaking a glass ceiling.

'The last time that we got 90 per cent was 20 years ago, when we didn't have very much competition and we were the only festival around,' she said.

'Now, achieving 90 per cent is phenomenal, given the financial crisis and the fact that there is so much more in terms of choice available to the public.'

This year's festival, which ran from May 15 to June 14, was a stark contrast to last year's, which was dogged by criticisms that the programme was to esoteric and inaccessible. Averqge attendance was 74.2 per cent then, and seven out of 25 productions were sold out.

What worked this year?

Mr Lee cited a "confluence of factors", including cheaper ticket prices and the timing of the festival, which started a week earlier to catch students before they left for their mid-year holdiays.

Another important reason was the change in direction in the programming. The festival took a more crowd-pleasing slant this year in response to feedback from last year.

He said: "The mix (of productions) was one that allowed us to continue to maintain a very high standard in terms of the quality of the performances, the path-beating approach and the progressive nature of the festival.

"At the same time, it allowed us to have a programme that was accessible, enjoyable and engaging to a wide cross-section of our audience."

Students were a formidable force in pushing ticket sales. A record number of 4,724 tickets were bought by 40 schools for students attending in groups. This contributed to more than 10 per cent of total number of tickets sold.

Ms Goh said: "I hope to cultivate a new generation of audiences not just for the festival, but for the arts.

"This is an audience for the future. This is an audience that many of my peer in other festivals would die for, because sometimes when you go to other festivals in Europe, they have an ageing audience."

Looking ahead, she said the festival will continue with the same winning formula next year. Audiences can expect a diverse programme mix and affordable ticket prices.

She hinted that there would be "very big names and major works" in next year's festival, and a production with a sporting element, to tie in with the 2010 Youth Olympics.

She said: "It took us 20 years to break this record. I hope it doesn't take another 20 years to set another record."


June 22, 2009

Arts Fest support up

By Tara Tan, Arts Reporter

IN THE face of an economic thunderstorm, support for the arts still stood strong.

Sponsorship for the Singapore Arts Festival this year reached almost $3.7 million and drew 13 new sponsors.

The total sponsorship in cash and in kind, from 45 corporations and foundations, increased by $1 million from last year's festival.

 

Pay, Talent, Government

Singapore's high ministers' pay has always been a sensitive issue and has angered not a few Singaporeans in the past. It has been reported that our Prime Minister's pay is even higher than that of the US President and many other leaders in the developed countries. For a small country this appears to be overboard

See these links for a comparison in 2007 and the salary formula:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/asiapacific/2007410/106768.htm
http://www.salary.sg/2007/salary-benchmark-for-ministers/

However, not many people can doubt that Singapore has done relatively well over the years since independence and the government has much to do with Singapore's success.

I understand that Ghana has been independent for 51 years or about the same period that Singapore was independent, but Ghana's per capita GDP is estimated at only US$1,500 against Singapore's US$51,142 in 2008 according to IMF statistics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

The first Prime Minister of Singapore has decided that in order to attract talented and committed people to join the government they must be adequately remunerated otherwise very few would risk their high paying jobs in the private sector and also having to be scrutinised in public.

Thus a formula has been devised to benchmark the minister's pay at 2/3 the median income of all the top 8 earners in these 6 professions: lawyer, accountant, banker, MNC executive, local manufacturer and engineer in Singapore.

Even then our ministers' pay pales in comparision with those of the CEOs of the big financial institutions and multinational corporations. Remember it was largely the US banks which recently created the financial crisis that caused the world to suffer. Recently, the Royal Bank of Scotland is reported to pay its CEO, Stephen Hester, a package worth up to S$23 million. I'm sure some CEOs in the US must be paid much more, certainly more than the US President.

One of the strongest arguments for paying ministers well is to prevent corruption which can bleed the country's treasury and cost the country much more ultimately. At the end of the day, people will accept it provided the ministers must be able to deliver well.

Of late reports have been made on corrupted ministers and high officials in China and elsewhere, the most recent being Taiwan's past-president Chen Shui-bian and his family.


The following article is an interesting one by an outside observer:

The Straits Times
June 19 2009

Take a look at Singapore

By David J. Rothkopf

MAYBE the problem in the United States isn't that we're paying our business executives too much. Perhaps it's that we pay our government officials too little.

The Obama administration made headlines last week by appointing yet another czar, this one to ensure we don't pay too much to the executives of the financial institutions the US government has bailed out. They have also made noises about trying to tackle the broader issue of executive pay in the United States.

The second point is idle posturing that almost certainly will amount to little constructive change. The first has already sent the companies the government bailed out scurrying for the exits of the Troubled Asset Relief Programme and it will be a while before we see whether this is a healthy step or an unhealthy one, with institutions hopping out of their hospital beds before they are fully cured. I also can't help but wonder if cutting executive pay is the best way to attract the kind of brains and efforts that will be needed to fix our busted banks.

Meanwhile, I have arrived in Singapore, home according to one count, of the 30 highest paid government officials in the world. And trust me, given the extraordinary success this city state has enjoyed, none of the people whom I met complained that those officials were overcompensated. This country wants the best minds in the government and recognises that they have to pay to get them there, otherwise they go to work in the financial community, sell their souls and ultimately add to the overcrowding problem that is currently one of the biggest social issues facing Hell.

Come to think of it, the overcrowding in Hell probably plays directly into the hands of management down there. I know this because I was in Mumbai airport last night. And for all my enthusiasm for India, Mumbai airport, thronged with people as the late night flights prepare to depart, hot, fetid and chaotic, would have had Beelzebub feeling right at home. In fact, I think I may actually have seen the Prince of Darkness himself there. He was manning a security line and he gave me such a thorough pat down that I think we are now engaged.

It would have been unbearable were it not for the staff of Singapore Airlines (SIA) who met us - mere ticket holders albeit of premium tickets - at the door and whisked us through the crowds and ultimately onto the plane. And once on the plane, I knew exactly how Dante felt once he had left Virgil behind and reconnected after all those years with his old squeeze Beatrice.

Suffice it to say that it does not appear that SIA is even in the same business as American Airlines or United. From the meticulous, exceptionally well-appointed aircraft to a seemingly enthusiastic commitment to service, the airline that was one of the first of the businesses created by the Singapore Government after it gained its independence in 1965, is achieving its strategic goal. It makes you want to travel through Singapore on every flight.

Then you arrive at Singapore's Changi Airport and you are powerfully reminded that the excellence of the airline is not a fluke. This is the best airport in the world: spacious, efficient and attractive. It is the perfect preparation for Singapore itself, almost certainly the best run political entity on the planet.

Admittedly, the country, led from the start by the man who is now known as its Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, has practised what I would characterise as a constrained form of democracy. But few places have ever so compellingly made the case that what is traded away in terms of the occasional citation for spitting gum on the sidewalk is more than made up for in a society that is prosperous (Asia's second richest), innovative and safe.

It is a government that has led the way by behaving in many ways like a corporation, taking ideas like competitiveness and strategic planning seriously. (At dinner with a senior business executive who is one of the country's great entrepreneurial success stories, she said: 'In the beginning, in Singapore, the state was the entrepreneur.' And that was said with a genuine appreciation for all the state achieved in that role.) Even in the midst of a global recession, the Singapore Government has been seen as not just responsive, but creatively responsive, promoting retraining of workers and focusing on new growth industries.

Part of the credit must go to its unique system of senior government official compensation. Ministers are paid via a formula: two-thirds of the average of the eight highest salaries in six key professions - lawyer, accountant, banker, multinational executive, local manufacturer and engineer. As a result, in recent years, the President and the Prime Minister have made in excess of US$2 million (S$3 million) a year in salary and other ministers in excess of US$1 million. The result is that many of the best minds will be found in the government and there is zero corruption.

Want an example of innovation? The President, Prime Minister and ministers took an almost one-fifth pay cut this year because of the recession. What? Accountability among public officials? Real incentives? Imagine the loud 'gag' you would get out of the US government as they choked on these ideas.

I could go on about innovation here, but while we're on the subject of incentives, one last thought. Yesterday, I noticed that in exchange for taking those 17 alleged Uighur terrorists, Palau was getting US$200 million from the US government. That's US$14 million or so per terrorist. And incentives being what they are, I immediately concluded that I want some of that terrorist action.

I will take 100 of them or however many they have left. A hundred will fetch me US$1.4 billion. With this, I will spend maybe US$200 million on a small island on which to house them. Maybe I could buy Devil's Island from the French space agency - which apparently currently controls it - for about that much. Then I would set aside another US$200 million to care for the prisoners (at US$50,000 each per year for an average of 40 years). And I'll pocket the billion as my fee. US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates or his representatives can contact me at Foreign Policy to work out the details.

The writer, the author of Superclass: The Global Power Elite And The World They Are Making, is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and President and CEO of Garten Rothkopf, an international advisory firm Foreign Policy

 

Well I wish I could predict what will happen in the long term but honestly it will be very difficult. The situation is not static but dynamic. For example, this financial crisis has helped Singapore reduce the number of foreigners working here peacefully. It is only natural that whenever possible, citizens will be retained in their jobs and foreigners will be the first to go if their services can be performed by locals.

I think we have not reached the point that we are 'overdependent' on expatriates and foreigners in the better paying jobs. Singapore's emphasis on quality education and the increase in the number of universities here have helped in filling the gaps. More highly qualified locals can take over the jobs of expatriates and our local polytechnics are also complementing the middle management/technician job market. Indeed, many CEOs of MNCs have often cited that they chose Singapore because of the availability of an educated workforce.

Those industries, such as ship building and repair, manufacturing, etc, that require workers from neighbouring countries will have to juggle with their own requirements depending on their order book. During this downturn, despite government help with cash grants for retaining workers and upgrading them with further training, there is still job attrition and unemployment will continue to rise until the world economy stabilizes and demand returns to the Singapore market.

Currently, the more difficult problems are more social in nature. Our well-educated mothers cannot devote more time for their children as they are more needed in the work place in building up the Singapore economy. So we have to import maids or helpers from countries which may have a social system and culture quite different from ours and they will be the ones who will inevitably influence our young ones. Therefore whenever possible the grand parents will be enlisted to supervise.

And foreign workers on the lower-end of the employment market may bring with them social habits which may contradict local practices. Some may resort to crime if they need more money or are temporary out of job.

But so far our government agencies including the police, have been doing a good job as crime rate here is relatively low and problems with maids are still manageable. Expatriate problems are very rare. Educating foreigners on good social habits has been ongoing. And the law is fair to both locals and foreigners.

I guess it goes back to how our governement officials and civil servants are being paid to do their job. If their salaries are adequate, they tend to do a better job. Our law enforcement agencies must be strong if the foreign population should grow further. But right now, Singapore is lucky not to have experienced that kind of demonstrations and riots that some countries are undergoing.

And recent discussions on an optimal population size for Singapore stand at around 6 million. We have about 1 million more to go!

 

Singapore is more liveable

The Straits Times
June 19, 2009

By Tessa Wong

SINGAPORE has been ranked the 18th most liveable city in the world in an annual survey by international affairs magazine Monocle, up from last year's 22nd position.

The survey, which lists the top 25 liveable cities in the world, attributes the bump-up to the lowering cost of living in the republic.

"A compact city-state that is reliant on global trade, Singapore has been hit by the worldwide economic slowdown. But falling prices, from property to cars and electricity, are making the city more affordable," said the magazine in its July/August issue, which hit the newstands today.

The magazine also gave a thumbs-up to Singapore's F1 night race, the upcoming casinos, green spaces, nightlife, airport and flight connections, "world-beating" medical facilities, all which make it "a pleasant home for people of all backgrounds." For a better ranking, Monocle suggested that the republic encourage more media freedom.

Singapore is the third Asian city in the list, after Tokyo (no. 3) and Fukuoka (no. 16). It is also the only South-east Asian city mentioned. Zurich topped the list this year, followed by Copenhagen.

Monocle measures cities based on factors like public transport, education, cultural outlets, crime, hours of sunshine and global flight connections.

This year it also takes into account the ease of opening a business, major infrastructure improvements currently underway, and "chain store pollution", or the prevalence of international brands such as Zara and Starbucks.

Singapore had ranked 17 when the survey first came out in 2007, but slipped in the Monocle rankings last year thanks to a lack of tolerance, said its editor Tyler Brule.

He had remarked in a Straits Times interview last year: 'If Singapore wants to push itself from a creativity perspective and wants to build a greater design community, you don't have to read Richard Florida's book on the creative class to know that cities need to be much more tolerant of other lifestyles, be they gay or otherwise.'

The slippage prompted the government to invite him to Singapore last year to share ideas on how Singapore could improve. In another liveable cities survey announced earlier this month, Singapore was ranked 54th in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and the best among Southeast Asia.

 

Most Liveable Cities Ranking and Comments

More information from this link:

http://www.huliq.com/1/82415/zurich-copenhagen-lead-25-most-livable-cities-list

Zurich, Copenhagen Lead 25 Most Livable Cities List

Monocle magazine released it's ranking of the 25 Most Livable Cities of the world. European cities are leading. Surprisingly Tokyo is arguably the third best livable city after Zurich and Copenhagen. Few years ago a survey showed that Danes are the happiest people in the world. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Copenhagen is the second most livable city in the world after Zurich.

We've been around the globe putting cities to the Monocle metrics test, writes the Monocle magazine's editor ranking the 25 most livable cities based on quality of life. Monocle's researchers have spent the past months putting the world's leading cities to the test to find the best places for you to make your base.

For a third year running, Italian cities failed to make our list.

01 Zurich
Zürich leaps into the winning spot with its extraordinary urban plans.

02 Copenhagen
Our 2008 winner is pipped at the post but is a city we still admire Metropolitan life coupled with intimacy, Scandinavian welfare, low crime rates and a relaxed atmosphere - an ideal combination, right?

03 Tokyo
Tokyo runs like clockwork and its service culture beats any competition.

Quality of life: Getting interactive
Increasingly, how cities are run is evolving to include grass roots organisations - particularly when elected officials fail in their civic mission.

04 Munich
Our 2007 winner slips as others up their game.

05 Helsinki
Defying its small size, Helsinki continues to advance eastwards

06 Stockholm

Living in the European Green Capital of 2010 has its major plus points

07 Vienna
A city with big ambitions, Vienna has high hopes for its hub status.

08 Paris
If Paris improves its suburbs, it's on its way to offering the full package.

09 Melbourne
Melbourne holds its position but must do more about its urban sprawl.

10 Berlin
Berlin is the home of start-ups. Shame it's not more connected.

11 Honolulu
Honolulu is more than a pretty face, and is our top (and only) US city.

We can make it
City halls need a new focus on helping small businesses.

12 Madrid
Its strength is its adaptability, which is why Madrid's risen up the ranks.

13 Sydney
Progress is a little unforthcoming but the Sydney lifestyle is enviable.

14 Vancouver
Canada's sharp-looking outpost gets ready to take its Olympic bow.

15 Barcelona
So far, changes have been cosmetic and the routine is getting tired.

16 Fukuoka
Fukuoka edges ahead because of its great connections and easy living.

17 Oslo
Oslo bursts in this year thanks to the wise use of its oil wealth.

18 Singapore
Singapore is adding a softer side to its reputation as a business city.

19 Montreal
Quality of life is uneven in Montréal but its liberalism is admirable.

20 Auckland
Re-formed Auckland re-enters our Top 25 after a year's absence.

21 Amsterdam
Amsterdam is green-thinking but may be a bit too relaxed.


22 Kyoto
Kyoto has a sense of its own identity and a commitment to craftsmanship.

23 Hamburg
Hamburg's economic and educational reforms get top marks.

24 Geneva
Geneva lacks the oomph of a big city but that's also its beauty.

25 Lisbon
Lisbon comes last but we're looking forward to seeing how plans develop

 

Key step to water adequacy

The Straits Times
June 24, 2009


Changi water treatment complex plays a role in sustainable development

By Clarissa Oon

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a massive water treatment complex on Tuesday that symbolises Singapore's green policy, land-use approach and drive towards water self-sufficiency.

The $3.65 billion plant in Changi, connected to an underground tunnel system, will free up nearly 1,000ha of land now occupied by older plants in places such as Bedok and Seletar.

This land, to be developed for other purposes, is roughly three times the size of the Central Business District.

The Changi building will have a Newater plant built on its rooftop to turn the treated used water into water safe enough to drink.

When ready next year, the Newater plant, with the existing four, can double Newater capacity to meet one-third of Singapore's water needs.

These benefits were highlighted by Mr Lee at the opening ceremony of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant.

It was a main attraction of the Singapore International Water Week, attended by some 10,0000 policy-makers and industry leaders from around the world.

Through the five-day annual conference, now in its second year, Singapore also hopes to promote an international exchange of ideas on innovative water solutions, Mr Lee said.

With rapid urbanisation and population growth draining the world's natural resources, "cities will require a combination of far-sighted planning, sustained investment in infrastructure and break-throughs in technology", he added.

In Singapore, the approach involves a network of underground tunnels that will pipe waste water from all over the island to two centralised treatment plants.

The Changi plant is the first in this deep tunnel sewerage system. A second plant in Tuas will be built over the next 10 to 20 years. The Changi plant can treat 800,000 cu m of used water, piped daily from the northern and eastern parts of Singapore. This will form a vital feedstock for the Newater factory.

The ultimate goal is to have an adequate supply of water for Singaporeans for years to come, he said.

Singapore imports 40 per cent of its water from Malaysia under two international agreements, one expiring in 2011 and the other in 2061. The rest of its supply comes from Newater, rainwater capture and desalination.

The plant is part of Singapore's overall strategy for sustainable development, showing that environmental sustainability is not incompatible with economic development.

Although the population has soared from 1.6 million in 1959 to 4.8 million today (based on 2008 survey), the environment has not suferred but improved.

Said Mr Lee: "Singaporeans enjoy fresh air, clean water and good public health and almost half the island is covered with greenery, parks and nature areas."

But a challenge awaits Singapore: sustaining the environment as the city grow and gets denser.

An inter-ministerial committee made it first recommendations in April on how Singapore can develop sustainably.

The water industry is a key plank of this green policy, Minister of the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.

He pointed out to the Changi plant as a good showcase of cutting-edge water technology, involving about 350 local and overseas contractors, consultants and suppliers.

Visitors touring the facility yesterday were keen to find out more about it.

India's S. R. Roop Kumar, a chief engineer of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said he is planning for an underground waste water reclamation plant in the southern Indian city.

 

On the contrary, I'm very proud that we have the first Malay Brig. General who rose from the ranks as a professional soldier. In the past, Singapore had to endure much criticism on race relations, including the promotion of our Malay citizens in the armed forces.

Granted, in the early years of Singapore's independence, race relations had been very sensitive, it still is and from time to time, we have been reminded not to take it for granted but to take all necessary steps to promote better understanding and cohesion among the races.

I think we have made improvements, especially after the terrorists attack in the US where even innocent Muslims were killed. Muslims in Singapore understand that it is essential for citizens to protect their families and the country and to fight terrorism together. As a matter of fact, Singapore has a special way to deal with JI detainees and to slowly bring them back to society with the help of their Muslim families and proper Muslim teachings.

As regards Brig Gen Ishak Ismail's promotion, I thought I should let some others take the initiative to break the news first. I have no doubt his promotion was based on meritocracy and he truly deserves it.