Singapore Also Can

Government teams to lead transformation of 20 sectors

From left: Mr Steven Koh, advisor SPETA, Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Feinmetall Singapore General Manager Sam Chee Wah during a tour of the Feinmetall facility on March 28, 2016. Photo: Jason Quah

Roadmaps will be bespoke plans tailored to needs of industry: Finance Minister Heng

By Lee Yen Nee
leeyennee@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 5:05 PM, March 28, 2016
Updated: 9:21 AM, March 29, 2016

SINGAPORE — Officers from various Government agencies will come together to form teams to develop more than 20 selected economic sectors under the S$4.5 billion Industry Transformation Programme, which was unveiled in last week’s Budget.

The officers will come from agencies such as the Economic Development Board, SPRING, IE Singapore, A*STAR and Workforce Development Agency. They are tasked to lead industries ranging from logistics and precision engineering to tourism and retail in charting their respective transformation roadmaps.

Doing this allows the Government to strengthen coordination across various agencies while aligning their efforts with that of the other stakeholders in the economy, such as trade associations and companies, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday (March 28) at the sidelines of a visit to precision engineering firm Feinmetall.

“I’m hoping to give this a much bigger push because… the challenges that we’re facing will be much more complex, much more diverse,” Mr Heng said. “We’re in a much more fast-moving world, therefore our ability to respond to changes requires us to pull our knowledge together in a much more targeted fashion and in a way that allows us to create solutions and have those solutions proliferate.”

He added that the roadmaps will be bespoke plans tailored to the needs of each industry, with the aim of raising productivity, improving skills and innovation as well as promoting internationalisation.
“We will systematically go through sector by sector all the different plans… We have elements of all those plans already: we have different efforts in organising training of staff, we have technology plans, we have plans on raising productivity, what we need to do is integrate these plans into a coherent one,” he said.

On when will the roadmaps be ready, Mr Heng singled out logistics and precision engineering as sectors where discussions are on a “more advanced stage”.

Trade associations and chambers welcomed the Government’s move to bring together the various agencies.

Print and Media Association Singapore (PMAS) vice-president Edwin Ng said: “Different industries have different needs, having a Government (team) to work closely with is definitely helpful so the different agencies the trade associations have to work with have a more strategic approach and are well-coordinated.”

Economists whom TODAY spoke to said the Government’s new approach is worth trying given the shift from top-down and broad-based measures, to more targeted initiatives. During the Budget speech, Mr Heng said the Government will take a “more targeted and sector-focused approach to better meet the needs of firms in each sector” under the Industry Transformation Programme.

CIMB Private Banking economist Song Seng Wun said: “It is going down to micro-management but by going down to that level, you can get immediate feedback on what can or cannot be done on a practical level.

Some of the major complaints have been that the policy planners are in their ivory tower, here is an example of them coming down from the ivory tower. It will be a learning curve for both industry players and the Government.”

Ms Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC, noted that the Government has poured in resources in various policies in the past such as the productivity roadmap. However, not all of these efforts have borne fruits. Therefore, the “partnership approach” may be the right way to go in steering the economy ahead.

“This may be the right way to go about it after being rather top-down in the past, but how things will pan out remains to be seen,” she said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ANGELA TENG

 

Minister Heng launches startup initiative


Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat. TODAY file photo

By Rumi Hardasmalani
rumih@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 3:12 PM, April 1, 2016

SINGAPORE — Finance Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat on Friday (April 1) announced the launch of SG-Innovate — an initiative to boost the Republic’s push to help start-ups commercialise.

He also announced that FinTech Office — a one-stop service for startups in the financial technology sector — will be jointly set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The announcements are part of initiatives announced during the Budget last week to transform the economy through technology, innovation and enterprise.

“Universities should be the Centers of wealth creation..Transforming our economy through innovation is critical going forward. We are setting up SG Innovate to provide a way for connecting budding entrepreneurs with smart money, mentors as well as with the global markets. All these initiative are important in transforming our economy to create better jobs for our people and a vibrant economy,” Mr Heng told reporters on his visit today to start-up co-working spaces at NUS Hangar, and Infocomm Investments Private Limited (IIPL)’s BASH at JTC Launchpad@one-north.

SG innovate, Mr Heng noted, will connect companies and budding entrepreneurs from all across. “We have been investing significantly in R&D. It is important now for us to have a better platform to take our R&D findings to the market and that is how we can capture the value of our R&D efforts. So by creating SG innovate we will have a platform to connect all across different areas of research we are doing,” Mr Heng added.

The FinTech office will be set up on May 3rd this year and will be co-led by Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS and Mr Steve Leonard, CEO of SG Innovate with representatives from the Economic Development Board (EDB), Infocom Investments Pte, Info Communications Media development Authority, NNRF and SPRING Singapore.

“The FinTech Office will enable a whole-of-Government approach to develop the FinTech Ecosystem in Singapore and support MAS’ vision of fostering a Smart Financial Centre. Through the FinTEch Office, MAS will be able to go beyond the financial industry to help nurture a wider FinTech ecosystem and engage the FinTech community more actively,” said Mr Mohanty.

It will review align and enhance the FinTech related funding schemes across government agencies; identify gaps and propose strategies, policies and schemes in industrial infrastructure, talent development and manpower requirements and business competitiveness; and manage the branding and marketing of Singapore as a FinTech hub through FinTech events and initiatives, MAS and NRF said in a joint press release.

Mr Leonard said, “SG-Innovate will be working with public and private sector leaders in the Singapore ecosystem to help build companies in key sectors such as Finance, Energy, and Health. We want to help translate innovative tech from the research phase into start-up and onwards into commercial success. We are proud to partner with MAS and kickstart the FinTech Office as part of the newly-formed SG-Innovate.”

 

Singapore to set up dedicated office to attract fintech firms

Singapore Central Business District skyline. TODAY file photo


Published: 2:49 PM, April 1, 2016
Updated: 2:59 PM, April 1, 2016

SINGAPORE — The Singapore government will set up a separate office for financial technology firms, in a bid to position itself as one of Asia's top locations for technology startups that aim to compete with traditional banking and financial services.

Singapore's central bank and the National Research Foundation (NRF) will set up the one-stop virtual office on May 3 to attract financial technology firms into the city-state, as part of government efforts to promote Singapore as a fintech hub.

Banks such as UBS and Standard Chartered have already set up fintech labs in Singapore to test new technology for banking services.

The move also comes at a time when the United Kingdom has become the global fintech capital with more people working in this industry than in New York, or in the combined fintech workforce of Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, a recent report by consultancy firm EY showed.

The fintech office is expected to review sector-related funding schemes across government agencies, the central bank and the NRF said in a joint statement.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Chief FinTech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty will co-lead the department along with Steve Leonard, Chief Executive Officer of SG-Innovate, a government innovation body, it said. REUTERS

 

NTU scientists score breakthrough in quake prediction


Indian soldiers remove debris from a house that collapsed in an earthquake in Imphal in January 2016. Photo: AP

By Asyraf Kamil

SINGAPORE — Small vibrations or slow fault movements of the Earth’s surface may point to an impending earthquake, according to a study by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scientists that has been touted as a major breakthrough in the prediction of earthquakes.

The study by the team from its Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, the NTU said on Tuesday (April 5).

Previously, it had been thought that larger earthquakes are unlikely to happen following tremors and earthquakes that measure below a Richter scale of 2, as pressure had already been released.

However, the NTU team, comprising Assistant Professor Sylvain Barbot and PhD student Deepa Mele Veedu, found that smaller vibrations or slow fault movements, caused by moving sub-layers of the earth, could point to an imminent earthquake.

They also found that studying the patterns of these smaller earthquakes and tremors could be used to predict larger temblors.

The NTU team had studied data gathered by the United States Geological Survey before the 2004 Parkfield Earthquake along the San Andreas Fault in California. They found that minor tremors regularly occurred at the fault, until it was hit by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that year.

Asst Prof Barbot said: “This discovery defied our understanding of how faults accumulate and release stress over time. These vibrations are caused by alternating slow and fast ruptures occurring on the same patch of a fault.”

“If we assume that faults only rupture in earthquakes and nothing else, we might miss some important clues that could be used to forecast earthquakes. Our study shows slow ruptures can occur before large earthquakes at the same place, and this discovery is an important step towards forecasting earthquakes,” he added.

Asst Prof Barbot noted that their findings could be used to help experts better forecast large earthquakes in South-east Asia.

EOS scientists had earlier pointed out that a large earthquake may occur in the region at any time as the Mentawai seismic gap in Sumatra, Indonesia, has yet to experience an earthquake in over two centuries.

“The impending earthquake in Sumatra is dangerously aligned with Singapore,” said Asst Prof Barbot. “A lot of seismic energy can be directed at Singapore. Earthquake damage to surrounding areas, including seafloor infrastructure, such as underwater Internet cables and gas or oil pipelines, will certainly impact Singapore and the region financially.”

“Our study suggests that it’s theoretically possible to forecast large earthquakes based on the slow movements that may occur before them. We need to find ways of measuring slow earthquakes.

“NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore is focusing on developing the seafloor measurements that could be used to detect such phenomena,” he added.

 

• Singapore

NTU emerges second in Times Higher Education’s young universities ranking

Nanyang Technological University is also the only Singapore university listed in the Top 150 Under 50 ranking.

• Posted 07 Apr 2016 13:34
• Updated 07 Apr 2016 13:40

File photo of Nanyang Technological University.
SINGAPORE: Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been ranked second in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) ranking of the world’s best young universities that are under 50 years old.

The university jumped three spots, overtaking three other Asian universities which were ahead of NTU last year. It is also the only Singapore university listed in the Top 150 Under 50 ranking.

Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne retained the top spot while Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was placed third on the list.

NTU President, Professor Bertil Andersson, said: “NTU has been making good progress and is recognised internationally for excellence in teaching, research and innovation. This latest league table reflects the talent and dedication of our faculty, the quality of our students, the growing global impact of our research and the strong support of our alumni and industry partners.”

“It also shows that Asia is the place to be, with Asian universities in four out of the top six places. As they continue to ascend, competition within Asia will further intensify as the region's universities strive to become leading global education and research institutions,” he added.

On NTU, which has risen 114 places in the rankings over the last four years, Times Higher Education's rankings editor Phil Baty said the new list “confirms NTU’s status among the world elite”.

“To have achieved so much in just 25 years of existence, while other universities have required centuries of development, is extraordinary,” he added.

The 150 Under 50 list uses the same 13 performance indicators found in the overall THE World University Rankings, but with a reduced weighting on academic reputation to reflect the special characteristics of younger universities.

The indicators are grouped together into five categories: Teaching (30 per cent), research (30 per cent), citations (30 per cent), international outlook (7.5 per cent) and industry income (2.5 per cent).

 

PSLE scoring system to be revamped, T-scores will be removed

New Primary One students at St Hilda's Primary School participating in class on the first day of school. TODAY file photo

By Amanda Lee
leeguiping@mediacorp.com.sg
Published: 1:02 PM, April 8, 2016
Updated: 7:30 AM, April 9, 2016

SINGAPORE — Almost three years after the changes were first mooted, it was announced on Friday (April 8) that pupils in Primary 1 this year will be the first to be awarded wider grade bands — instead of T-scores under the present system — when they sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2021.

Tweaks will be made to the Secondary 1 posting system in tandem, Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng told Parliament during the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Committee of Supply debate.

Mr Ng said also that the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme — which was introduced in 2004 to promote holistic education for students — will be reviewed. Details of the review, which will seek to “realign the implementation of (the scheme) with its original policy intent”, will be announced later.

Nevertheless, Mr Ng said the guiding principles are to “expand opportunities in more secondary schools” under the scheme and sharpen its focus to “better recognise talents and achievements in specific domains, rather than general academic ability”.
Mr Ng said: “In sum, with changes in the PSLE, DSA and a more variegated secondary school landscape, we will create more opportunities and choices for students at the Secondary 1 posting juncture.”

Plans to change the PSLE scoring system – which will make it similar to the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels – were first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally in 2013. Noting the “tremendous stress” which the all-important exam puts on both students and their families, Mr Lee said the move would “reduce excessive competition to chase that last point – an A* is still an A*”, whether the student score 91 marks or 99 marks.

On Friday, Mr Ng reiterated that the Government wants to “reduce excessive focus on academic results”. He said: “Today, there is a deeply ingrained mindset that the PSLE is a very high-stakes exam.”

He added that many hold the erroneous view that a child’s PSLE T-score, or aggregate score, determines his or her success and pathway in life.

“What we observe is that a student’s PSLE indicates the progress that a child has made in his or her learning in primary school, but it does not cast in stone what he or she can achieve in the future (or) in life,” said Mr Ng. “Yet, such mindsets have persisted.”

Over the last few years, the Government has taken several steps to reduce the over-emphasis on academic results. For example, the names of top PSLE scorers have not been made public since 2012.

“The way that the T-score is calculated may have also created unhealthy competition among our young children,” said Mr Ng. By blunting the scoring system to a large extent, the new system will be “more reflective of a student’s learning and level of mastery”.

“Once a student shows a level of understanding and ability that meets the professionally-set standard, he will receive the grade, regardless of how his peers perform,” Mr Ng said. “This is more educationally meaningful than assessing a student’s performance relative to his peers.”

The Secondary 1 posting system will remain “fair and transparent” and based on academic merit, he said. Nonetheless, with the move to broaden PSLE scoring bands, students will be able to choose a school that is a good fit for them from a wider range of schools of a similar academic profile. “In doing so, students can consider factors such as the school’s distinctive programmes, CCAs (Co-Curricular Activities), and partnerships with the community and industry, and better match these factors with their interests,” he added.

Mr Ng said the MOE will take the next few years to work through these changes carefully. This will also give parents and students enough time and support to understand and adjust to the new system when it kicks in.

On the DSA review, Mr Ng noted that there has been “some unevenness in how different schools select their DSA students”. Still, the scheme has benefitted many students, he said.

By next year, all secondary schools will each offer two distinctive programmes in various domains, through the Applied Learning Programme and Learning for Life Programme. “With a more diverse and vibrant secondary school landscape, we want to enable more students to benefit from the DSA scheme and tap on the range of programmes our schools offer,” Mr Ng said.

In response to TODAY’s queries, MOE said that every year, about 2,700 students are successfully admitted to secondary schools under the DSA.

Under the existing DSA scheme, students are accepted by participating schools, namely “independent, autonomous and schools with distinctive programmes”.

MOE said: “The number of DSA places for different types of schools takes into account the nature of their programmes. We will be reviewing these as part of the review of DSA, recognising the development of schools’ distinctive programmes, to provide students with more choice out of a larger range of schools.”

 

Government declares war on diabetes

Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong. TODAY file photo
Multi-year plan to tackle areas such as early screening and better disease management early screening and better disease management

By Laura Elizabeth Philomin
lauraphilomin@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 12:35 PM, April 13, 2016
Updated: 10:27 AM, April 14, 2016

SINGAPORE — With one-third of Singaporeans likely to have diabetes in their lifetime — a disease that already costs working-age adults S$1 billion a year collectively — the Government has launched a “war on diabetes”.

The national strategy will span years, and areas to be tackled range from promoting good eating habits and exercise to children, to encouraging early screening and better disease management.

A new taskforce, chaired by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng will take charge of charting and executing the battle plan.

Based on the National Health Survey in 2010, an estimated over 400,000 Singaporeans have diabetes today, and of this, one in three cases have yet to be diagnosed.

Among those who have been diagnosed, one in three have poor control over their condition, said Mr Gan, as he set out the need to focus on diabetes during the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday (April 13).

“Left undetected, untreated or poorly managed, diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation. In fact, four Singaporeans a day lose a limb or appendage due to diabetic related complications,” said Mr Gan.

These complications not only reduce the quality of life for patients but also increase the burden on families and society as whole, he said, citing a public health study that estimated the total economic burden of diabetes for working-age adults at more than a billion dollars in 2010.

The estimate, done by researchers from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, takes into account medical costs and indirect costs such as productivity loss due to abstenteeism, premature mortality and non-participation in the workforce. And the figure could rise to over S$2.5 billion in 2050.

The Government will be tackling diabetes on several fronts, led by the new Diabetes Prevention and Care Taskforce, which will include representatives from government agencies, the private sector, patient advocacy and caregiver groups.

“The key to winning the war on diabetes is for all Singaporeans to be engaged in the battle,” said Mr Gan.

“By working together, we hope to create an environment that makes healthy choices easy, but Singaporeans needs to play their part by eating healthily, exercising often, and going for the recommended screenings and follow-ups.”

On the pre-emptive end, the MOH will be promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing the obesity rates to cut down new diabetes cases. This will be done by ramping up health promotion efforts through a food-and-exercise strategy.

“We will improve the dietary quality in schools, communities and workplaces, and learn from successful international regulation strategies,” Mr Gan added.

To cultivate healthy habits from an early age, Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min will be leading an inter-agency NurtureSG Taskforce with Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary.

This taskforce will look at children from as young as two years old to students in tertiary institutions, so that “young Singaporeans will maintain healthy lifestyles beyond the school-going age and well after entering the workforce”, said Dr Lam in his speech the debate.

Existing initiatives promoting exercise will also be expanded, such a second run of the National Steps Challenge, which was launched in November last year. Participants were given a free pedometer to track their number of steps each day and receive rewards when they reach certain milestones.

Announcing this in his speech during the debate, Minister of State for Health Chee Hong Tat said the initiative was well-received with one in three participants clocking 10,000 steps a day on average.

Early screening and intervention to detect diabetes among those at risk or undiagnosed will also be strengthened. Mr Chee said there will be more efforts to reach groups of Singaporeans below 40 years of age and at a higher risk of getting diabetes, such as those who are obese and whose immediate family members have diabetes. For example, outreach will be done at workplaces, to reach those with those with trouble scheduling a screening appointment.

Mr Gan emphasised that tackling diabetes will not be a “quick battle”, but a “long war” requiring sustained effort. “If we are successful in shifting mindsets and changing habits, we will be able to curb not just diabetes but other related chronic diseases such as heart disease as well, and we will improve the lives of Singaporeans and reduce the burden on their families,” he said.

 

S$3m plan to jazz up Civic District, Bras Basah-Bugis

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth announced it will be pumping some S$3 million over two years to ramp up efforts by the National Heritage Board and the National Arts Council to revitalise and enliven the Civic District, along with the Bras Basah.Bugis precint. Photo: TODAY File Photo
MCCY to expand programming and publicity, build social connections in next 3 years

By Joy Fang
joyfangz@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 12:48 PM, April 14, 2016
Updated: 12:04 AM, April 15, 2016

SINGAPORE — Already abuzz in recent months with the opening of the National Gallery Singapore and the introduction of car-free Sundays, the Civic District and the Bras Basah-Bugis area are set to get a S$3 million shot in the arm to raise the areas’ appeal with more cultural and lifestyle offerings.

In place for the next three years, the funding will be used by the National Heritage Board (NHB) and the National Arts Council (NAC) to expand programming and publicity, and build social and civic connections.

Noting that “a strong sense of place and local artistic content feature prominently in culturally vibrant places”, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Grace Fu said the efforts will “deepen the distinctive character of places which make Singapore attractive and unique”.

Ms Fu, who announced the plan during her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Thursday (April 14), also spoke about the role of arts and culture in national identity.

“Local arts and culture are important touchstones of what it means to be Singaporean. In a very visceral way, through what we see, touch and hear, the arts hold up a mirror, that show us who we are,” she said.

Apart from recent events like the Car-Free Sundays launched in the Civic District in February, other efforts launched earlier to develop the two areas as distinct cultural spots include the restoration of some historic buildings, the addition of more green spaces, and making the spot more pedestrian-friendly.

To further efforts, the NAC is working with agencies such as Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Parks Board (NParks) and SportsSG, as well as National Gallery Singapore and Asian Civilisations Museum, to develop outdoor and indoor experiences across sports, culture, food and entertainment. For example, the NAC is exploring bringing its signature programmes, such as Got To Move and Arts In Your Neighbourhood, to the Civic District. Discussions are ongoing to tap both programmes, as well as the Singapore Writers Festival, to add “diversity and vibrancy to the Civic District”, said the MCCY. The NAC will be sharing more details at a later date.

The NAC is also discussing with NParks to extend sustainable light art festival i-Light Marina Bay from Marina Bay to the waterfront area. The two agencies are working with partners to see how they can make use of the outdoor spaces within the Civic District.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Night Festival, which is under the NHB’s purview, remains a programming mainstay for the Bras Basah-Bugis precinct. The Armenian Street Party, which was launched last month, will be an annual affair. An overhaul of a guide on the area’s museums, historic sites and other leisure, food and beverage spots, is expected to be ready by mid-July.

During the debate, Nominated Member of Parliament Kok Heng Leun had commented that the placemaking efforts seemed “top-down” and asked how the Government democratise the engagement process.

Ms Fu said this will evolve, citing the People’s Association’s (PA) PAssionArts programme as an example of how some local communities came to embrace the project and made it their own. “I think that should be the way to go. With the local community stepping forward, I think agencies like PA would gladly step back and let the locals have greater decision making,” she said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng said placemaking efforts need to go hand in hand with community ownership and strong support from the arts and heritage groups. The Government also wants to help Singaporeans build a stronger sense of attachment to their surroundings in the heartlands and neighbourhoods, he added.

There will also be efforts to promote the traditional arts — which include art forms like Indian classical dance or Malay drums — to the younger generation. Mr Baey said the Government will continue to professionalise and nurture the next generation of talent in this area, noting that the NAC’s funding to traditional arts groups has almost doubled in the last five years from S$1.26 million in financial year 2011 to S$2.51 million in financial year 2015.

More traditional arts groups will be commissioned to produce programmes with interactive elements. For starters, NAC is working with the Traditional Arts Centre to develop an original and age-appropriate Chinese opera production to be performed in schools. The Stamford Arts Centre is also being redeveloped to have a traditional arts focus and is expected to be ready by next year.

At the pre-school level, the NAC will work with the Early Childhood Development Agency to further drive arts education for this group. The pre-school NAC-Arts Education Programmes, which provides children with access to quality art programmes, will be expanded from the pilot of 19 pre-schools last year to 55 centres, in partnership with anchor operators PAP Community Foundation and MY World Preschool. An arts-based pre-school — a pilot between the NAC and NTUC My First Skool — will be launched in June.

 

Climate change forces S’pore to look at 5th desalination plant, in Jurong

Singapore’s first desalination plant, SingSpring. TODAY file photo

Plan comes after drier weather causes levels in Linggiu Reservoir to drop to historic lows
By Siau Ming En
siaumingen@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 3:41 PM, April 12, 2016
Updated: 12:21 AM, April 13, 2016

SINGAPORE — Just seven months after announcing the construction of Singapore’s fourth desalination plant in Marina East, the Government is exploring the development of a fifth desalination plant, on Jurong Island, to “further enhance resilience”.

The move comes as more extreme weather patterns due to climate change poses new challenges to Singapore’s water sustainability, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Tuesday (April 12), noting the need to further strengthen the country’s water supply resilience.

Speaking during the debate on his ministry’s budget in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Masagos painted a picture of how effects of drier weather on water supply has already been seen.

“The drier weather this couple of years saw the water level in Linggiu Reservoir drop to historic lows, from about 80 per cent in 2015 to 36.9 per cent as we speak and decreasing when there’s no rain. This has impacted the reliability of imported water that supplies half our current needs,” he said.

“Fortunately, because we have diversified our water sources, our sources, we have been able to mitigate the impact of the drier weather. But we cannot be complacent.”

Under the 1962 water agreement between Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore can currently extract and treat up to 250 million gallons of water per day (equivalent to 60 per cent of Singapore’s daily water needs) from the Johor River. Water from Linggiu Reservoir is released into the Johor River to prevent saltwater intrusion from the sea into the river, as salty water cannot be treated by the water plant further downstream.

Water levels in Linggiu Reservoir has seen flagged as an area of concern four times in the last eight months.
Last August, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who was then helming the environment ministry, had said Linggiu Reservoir’s water levels were at a historic low of 54.5 per cent and have not recovered since the dry spell in early 2014. He had also said there had been 77 occasions, at that stage, where the PUB was temporarily unable to draw water from the river due to salinity intrusions caused by tide levels.

In November, Mr Masagos said the reservoir hit another all-time low of 43 per cent. Last month, the minister said the levels have receded to 42 per cent due to the prolonged dry weather, adding that PUB has been pumping an average of 16 million gallons of NEWater per day into Singapore’s reservoirs to maintain healthy water levels.

Singapore currently has two desalination plants — SingSpring and Tuaspring — which can produce 100 million gallons of freshwater per day from seawater. This can meet almost 25 per cent of the current water demand of 430 million gallons a day.

A third desalination plant in Tuas is under construction and is due to be completed next year while the fourth desalination plant in Marina East and will be completed towards the end of 2019. Both plants are able to produce 30 million gallons of freshwater per day each.

Under the Water Master Plan 2016 review, the fifth NEWater plan at Changi will also be completed at the end of the year and will be able to produce 50 million gallons per day of NEWater. NEWater can currently meet 30 per cent of Singapore’s total water demand.

PUB is also planning to harness more seawater as a resource and will work with companies on Jurong Island to meet cooling demands with seawater instead of freshwater supply, noted Mr Masagos.

About one-tenth of Singapore’s water demand now comes from Jurong Island, which is home to around a hundred petrochemical, specialty chemical and supporting companies. But a large portion of water supplied to them is lost to the atmosphere from cooling processes, reducing the amount that can be collected for reuse.

 

The Big Read: When it comes to innovation, the food industry has a winning recipe


Chef Janice Wong, founder of 2amessert Bar. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
By Joy Fang
joyfangz@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 1:18 AM, April 16, 2016
Updated: 6:41 PM, April 16, 2016

SINGAPORE — Three years after she opened her dessert eatery in 2007, Ms Janice Wong found herself at a crossroads: Her 2amessert Bar, which opens only at night, as its name implies, was drawing the crowds and the business was in the black. Where would she go from there?

She could go the usual route and open franchise stores overseas. Or she could take an unconventional path. She opted for the latter.

In 2011, she opened a research laboratory to experiment with ingredients and cooking techniques. The lab, where chefs do research and conduct workshops, started out at Fusionopolis before moving to Tokyo three years later. Currently, researchers there are studying sake.

“The model for Singapore food businesses is always: Do well, open another, franchise, and then retire ... I thought about it, but I decided to not do that and to instead put all my resources into research ... if I did (open) stores in Indonesia and Thailand, I would probably not have reached the stage that I am at,” said Ms Wong, 33, who has since picked up coding to help her program machines.

Her efforts in the lab led to creations of edible art and kickstarted a flurry of activities which saw her expanding her business and making a mark on the international stage: Among her edible art installations was one displayed last year at the 
Singapore: Inside Out travelling showcase, which features the Republic’s contemporary creative talents, it featured chocolate lollipops in flavours such as kaya and bak kwa, and was hung from a ceiling. She has also begun collaborating with French fashion houses to come up with chocolates, and has opened a factory along Mactaggart Road which makes a retail line of sweets.

Less than a decade after the economics graduate took the plunge to set up her eatery, she has made a name for herself: Last year, she was invited to be a guest chef for the reality TV cooking competition series MasterChef Australia, where contestants had to re-create her signature dessert, the Cassis Plum.

Innovation is a buzzword these days in Singapore, but few would associate food with it.

The fact is, however, that the industry is choc-a-block with many entrepreneurs like Ms Wong who are blazing a trail and making a mark for themselves – so much so that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat held it up as a role model for innovation and overseas expansion during his recent Budget statement. It is one industry that appears poised to tap the spirit of enterprise which the Budget aims to encourage, with measures such as tax incentives and support for automation projects to help local firms to place a “stronger emphasis on technology adoption and innovation”, among other objectives.

TRAILBLAZERS

After Ms Wong finished her studies at the National University of Singapore, she had a three-month stint at the famed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. Having seen how fashion labels use codes to develop their collections, her next big idea was to develop technology to paint her chocolates and replace the hand-painting process. “Our confectioneries have a strong relation to art and design. I’m slowly trying to change the way people think. Chocolates are almost always brown … but why not make them fashionable?” said Ms Wong, who is selling the sweet treats to places around the world, including Hong Kong. “New ideas and new techniques equate to sustainability in the long run, that’s my business model.”

Currently, hand-painting each mould takes 10 to 15 minutes, but by using a machine, the time could potentially be cut to 5 minutes. “We cannot meet the world’s demands (without automation) ... I have only that number of chefs I can hire,” said Ms Wong, who has already assigned codes to her colours and brush strokes, and is looking for a partner to provide the machine.

Chef Daniel Tay is another who is pushing the boundaries in the food industry. The founder of Bakerzin sold the French-style bakery chain in 2007, but managed it until end-2013. Shortly after starting food solutions and contract manufacturer Foodgnostic, the 46-year-old launched online gourmet cheesecake shop Cat and the Fiddle.

In January, he rolled out online confectionery Old Seng Choong, which took its name from his father’s old bakery, Seng Choong Confectionery.

Mr Tay said he makes full use of technology to help his business along. For example, he uses a high-speed blender to mix his ingredients. The machine can mix 300 kg of ingredients in five minutes. Previously, it took 25 minutes to mix 60 kg. The end product is also more homogenous, which makes it “creamier and more palatable”, said Mr Tay.

He also has a cake-slicing machine which can cut a cheesecake in 10 seconds, compared to five minutes by hand. “In today’s climate...technology is the only way to go. It’s a simple equation, if you can’t make it cheaper and better, then other people will...We need to always be ahead with technology,” he said.

Explaining why he sold Bakerzin and left his comfort zone, he said that increasing rentals were eating into profits. “Sales are no longer substantial enough to cover rentals,” he said.

 

The Big Read: When it comes to innovation, the food industry has a winning recipe (2)

HOW OLD BRANDS KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES

Homegrown coffee brand OWL International, which is marking its 60th anniversary this year, also saw the need to innovate despite its success, and has since grown from producing two basic coffee items to almost 300 individual product variants, including coffee, tea, cereal drinks and soybean curd mixes.

For decades, the company, which began as a family set-up, concentrated on roast and ground coffee, ignoring the growing trend of pre-mixed coffee, said Mr Richmond Te, 31, the company’s group assistant general manager. As a result, sales dipped, and the company was acquired by Super Group in 2003.

Super Group kept the OWL brand for its rich heritage of roasting coffee. But it was not until 2010, when Mr Te joined the family business, that OWL began evolving. Mr Te, whose father Ronald is the executive director and co-founder of Super Group, said he was determined to refresh the brand’s image.

“When I came in, OWL was very comfortable. That was the reason it started declining in the first place,” he said. “We cannot be comfortable with where we are. We need to constantly remind consumers that we are improving, we are moving forward, we are appealing to a younger group of customers.”

In 2012, the company launched a new logo and opened a café. It now runs four cafes, with one more – a flagship outlet in Chai Chee – slated to open before the third quarter of this year. In terms of product innovation, it is tapping on freeze-drying technology, which locks in the aroma of coffee beans, among other initiatives. The company also developed its single-serving capsule range last December, serving Straits Asian flavours branded with familiar names: Kopi-o, Kopi-o Gao, and Teh-o. “With the rise of specialty cafes and mega-coffee chains, people are upgrading themselves...so we have moved on with a much more premium offering,” Mr Te said.

Ms Li Li Hong, who co-founded Mr Popiah with her late husband Tan Kok Hoo, who died last year, also credits automation for the business’ expansion. For instance, it developed and custom-made a machine which can mimic the movements of the human hand. The result: A final product that resembles handmade popiah skins. It also has machines which can whip up sauces and ingredients, thus cutting manpower demands.

While workers can only roll out 100 popiah skins in an hour, a machine can produce 1,200 pieces, she noted.

Coming up with unique flavours is another selling point, said Ms Li, who is in her 40s. Besides the traditional popiah filled with turnip, it has added kimchi beef popiah, sushi popiah and ice cream popiah, among others, to the menu. Ms Li gets inspiration from travelling to trade shows overseas and observing the food culture there.

“I noticed that the younger generation and foreigners here don’t like to eat the traditional popiah. I thought I could draw them in with flavours that they are familiar with, so that I could hit every segment of the population with my products,” she said.

Ms Li and Mr Tan started out selling Western food, rojak and popiah from a stall in a coffeeshop at Bedok North in 1995, Soon after, they began experimenting with their popiah fillings, rolling out fish fillet and rojak popiah. Two years later, they opened a factory and began distributing their popiah skins and fillings to others. They closed the stall shortly after, as they found the wholesale business was more viable, but reopened it in 2014.

Currently, there are 11 stalls islandwide bearing the Mr Popiah brand, including nine franchisees. Mr Popiah also supplies popiah skins and ingredients to coffeeshops, food court stalls, restaurants and hotels.

But innovation is not always about automation.

Komala’s Restaurants, for example, experimented with new dining concepts, to great success. The eatery chain’s roots go back to 1947, when Komala Vilas - a restaurant in Serangoon Road owned by the late Mr Murugiah Rajoo - was set up, serving traditional south Indian vegetarian meals.

Mr Rajoo’s son, Mr R T Sekar, joined the business at the age of 22 in 1981. In 1995, he realised that the restaurant needed to expand. However, his father had reservations. “He’s not used to the idea of running a (large-scale) restaurant. He always had a belief which was: do what you can, don’t go out (and expand),” Mr Sekar said. “He never liked the idea of self-service. He felt that if you have a restaurant, you have to serve the food.”

Undeterred, Mr Sekar rented four units at Upper Dickson Road from his father and launched a new eatery with a fast-food concept under a new name, Komala’s Restaurants. Bouyed by the success of his first outlet, new ones sprouted up quickly: There are currently nine self-service outlets, including three owned by franchisees. His father, who died a few years ago, became convinced eventually that he was right, said Mr Sekar, who is Komala’s Restaurants’ managing 
director.

Three years ago, Mr Sekar overhauled his Upper Dickson Road restaurant and turned it into a fusion dining spot, serving dishes that are a mix of Indian and Chinese vegetarian food. “There must be some constant change in any business. People today are all looking for what’s new. So we need to keep on changing and coming up with new products,” said Mr Sekar.

CRACKING THE OVERSEAS MARKET

Given the small size of the Singapore market, businesses that want to keep growing have to set their sights beyond the Republic’s shores. The food industry is no different, and those who have ventured abroad rely on good partnerships or franchising to get a foot in the door.

Ms Wong, for example, partnered a Hong Kong-based property developer to open her first overseas eatery, Cobo House by 2am: Dessert Bar, in the territory last month. The casual fine-dining restaurant serves savoury dishes and desserts. Her second overseas eatery, a dessert restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, opened just on Friday (April 15).

A Japanese property developer approached her in April 2014 offering her a space at its mall, said Ms Wong. She found a partner, ANA Foods, to come onboard, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The two-time Asia’s Best Pastry Chef winner has seen her staff strength grow, from seven in 2007 to around 30 in Singapore, 40 in Hong Kong and 20 in Tokyo currently. She is not stopping there, and aims to open six eateries in Japan in the next decade, and three more in Hong Kong. She is also looking for an Australian partner to expand Down Under.

OWL, meanwhile, signed an agreement last year to open franchised cafes in Jakarta. The plan is to open one or two this year and another three in future.

This year, it opened two franchised cafes in China and hopes to have at least 10 more by next year. Mr Te noted that opening outlets overseas can be challenging as one may not understand local regulations, and it also takes time to build trust.

Cat and the Fiddle’s Mr Tay, meanwhile, is rolling out his gourmet cheesecakes in Kuala Lumpur and China this year, after forming joint ventures with multiple partners. After China, he will be targeting Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. Further down the road, he is eyeing the American market.

Mr Tay said his “Asian-flavoured cheesecakes” — Milo Dinosaur and durian are among them — would appeal to overseas customers. “Singapore is just my stepping stone. If my market is just Singapore, it’s not worth my investment,” he said.

For Mr Sekar, overseas markets are now his priority as well. Komala’s Restaurants has four outlets in India and is planning to open four more there, and Hong Kong and the Middle East are its next targets. “There’s no growth in Singapore. With all the strict manpower guidelines, I can’t (open more outlets),” he said.

As a testament to how far tastes travel, the Middle East is also among the growing markets for popiah skins.

Mr Popiah exports products to agents from China, Dubai and Egypt, who in turn sell these to hotels there.

To the food entrepreneurs, then, innovation is more than a buzzword. It is a credo to live by.
To Ms Li, the key to success for food entrepreneurs is research and development in everything from manpower to taste and quality.

She summed up her approach thus: “The world is changing and everyone is improving. Their expectations are also progressing. If you don’t follow the trends and continue to improve, you’ll definitely be eliminated.”

 

S$120m fund to ready S’pore talents for ICT jobs boom

A look at the S$120 million plan. Photo: MCI

By Toh Ee Ming
toheeming@mediacorp.com.sg illiyasj@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 11:15 PM, April 11, 2016
Updated: 11:29 PM, April 11, 2016

SINGAPORE — With the information and communications technology (ICT) sector expected to bring about a rash of opportunities in the coming few years — to the tune of 30,000 new jobs by 2020 — the Government on Monday (April 11) unveiled a S$120 million kitty to grow the pool of homegrown talents over the next three years, especially in software development, data analytics and cybersecurity.

The plans, announced by Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim on Monday, span the breadth of talent sources:

From nudging infocomm students to build a career in the sector instead of heading off into other industries, to giving existing professionals a leg-up in building up their domain expertise and wooing mid-career switchers to plump for a fresh start in the ICT field.

Speaking during the debate on the Ministry of Communications and Information’s (MCI) budget, Dr Yaacob said: “We must do our best to support our Singaporeans to be highly skilled so that they can compete with global talent.”

This starts from children when they are still young, he added.

To that end, the Code@SG programme, which teaches primary school students coding and computational thinking skills, will be extended to 24,000 students per year, up from the current 22,000.

As for those who are already studying infocomm disciplines, his ministry aims to focus on tackling leakage. A “significant proportion” of the 6,000 or so in each cohort head into other sectors upon graduation, possibly due to employers looking for applicants with strong experience, Dr Yaacob said.

To stem this, efforts will go into producing more “industry-ready talent” through expanding an existing programme that offers internship and mentorship opportunities to students, giving them the chance to get hands-on experience in actual projects and build their portfolios.

From about 130 per year, the Industry Preparation for Pre-Graduates Programme will be extended to 800 students per year, over the next three years — with the eventual goal to boost supply by 2,400 over three years.

“It is not enough to ensure that we have sufficient computing science or IT places in our institutes of higher learning (IHLs). We must also ensure that our students have work-ready skills, and our current workers in the sector can easily renew their skills,” said Dr Yaacob.

In terms of keeping existing professionals in the industry au fait with the newest skills, the MCI will accelerate professional development programmes.

The Company-Led Training programme, where structured training by industry partners is co-funded by the IDA, will be scaled up to train 900 new entrants to the industry over the next three years — last year, the figure was 160. In addition, mid-level professionals will also be eligible for the programme, which also features local and overseas training and attachments. The target is to train 350 of these mid-level professionals per year over the next three years, especially in emerging tech areas such as cybersecurity and analytics.

Separately, the Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme will also be expanded to include short courses on entry-level skills, culminating in certifications. About 5,600 a year over the next three years are expected to benefit, up from 3,000 a year.

And to woo mid-career switchers to the infocomm sector, the capacity for Tech Immersion and Placement programmes will be ramped up, with the aim to reach more than 1,000 trainees over the next three years, especially those with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math backgrounds. These programmes comprise boot camps that provide short but immersive training for people with no background or industry experience in tech, but who have interest in a tech career.

Lastly, the TechSkills Accelerator, which was announced in Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s Budget speech, will be anchored by major employers in the sector, including the new Government Technology Agency, Singtel, Mediacorp, and ST Electronics.

Dr Yaacob also spoke about the MCI’s push to grow the media sector on Monday.

For instance, Creators’ Space, a meeting space for digital content creators to experiment and collaborate, is slated to open by end of this year at Pixel Building in one-north – with key partners such as Adobe, digital creative agency Brand New Media, online video platform Dailymotion and Disney’s Maker Studios on board.

Co-located in the Creators’ Space will be Story Lab — an initiative geared towards develop compelling story ideas, and innovative ways to tell these stories across various media platforms. In addition, the Games Solution Centre will also offer budding game developers mentorship programmes, support for them to take their businesses and ideas overseas, as well as business networking and access to financing opportunities.

 

PM Lee calls for stronger business ties between Singapore and Israel



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong during a welcome ceremony on Tuesday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. Both leaders reaffirmed the close and long-standing relations between both countries, said a statement from the Singapore PMO. Photo: AFP

By Albert Wai
albertwai@mediacorp.com.sg -
Published: 6:31 PM, April 19, 2016
Updated: 1:30 AM, April 20, 2016

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (April 19) called for stronger business ties between Singapore and Israel, as he began the official programme for his visit to the country.

He also urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks towards a two-state solution, saying that as friends of both parties, Singapore is concerned about the situation and wish them well.

Speaking at an official welcome ceremony at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday morning, Mr Lee noted that business ties between Singapore and Israel are strong.

“Israel is the second-largest contributor of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Singapore from the Middle East,” he said, adding that many Singaporean firms have shown an interest in doing business and investing in Israel. Among Middle East countries, the United Arab Emirates contributes the most FDI to Singapore.

“We admire your (Israel’s) technical prowess and ecosystem. You have the highest number of scientists, technologists and engineers per capita in the world, and the third-highest number of patents per capita.”

Mr Lee added that Singaporean and Israeli universities and research sectors also have strong collaboration. On Monday, he witnessed the signing of three agreements between the Hebrew University and the National Research Foundation, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, respectively, to manage the Hebrew University’s research in Singapore.

Going forward, he expressed hope that Israel and Singapore can do more together in terms of technology, cybersecurity in business and people-to-people exchanges.

Bilateral trade between Singapore and Israel was around S$1.9 billion in 2014. Top exports and imports are in semiconductor devices, telecommunications, electrical machinery and equipment, as well as across various other industries such as life sciences, and food and beverage, among others.

Mr Lee is on a week-long visit to the Middle East. He visited Jordan before arriving in Israel on Monday, where he received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University. It is his first official visit to Israel.

In his speech, Mr Lee recounted that Singapore-Israel ties began after Singapore’s independence, when the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) helped to train the Republic’s military officers.

“We are very grateful to Israel. When independence was thrust onto us in August 1965, and Singapore’s security and survival were in doubt, the IDF helped us to build up the Singapore Armed Forces when other countries turned us down.”

Recounting that his last visit to Israel was in 1977 as a young army officer accompanying then Singapore’s Chief of General Staff and current Singaporean Ambassador to Israel Winston Choo, Mr Lee said: “ I am very happy that I can come again after all these years to thank you personally.”

On his part, Mr Netanyahu said Mr Lee’s visit to Israel is a “truly historic occasion”, adding that there is a “deep friendship” between both sides.

He listed the similarities between Singapore and Israel. “We are small nations that leave a very large imprint on the world scene ... We have built dynamic, prosperous economies, despite our small size and our limited natural resources,” said Mr Netanyahu.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship have allowed us both to punch well above our weight. We both understand that strong economies with a very powerful incentive for enterprise are the foundations of strong countries, and our cooperation with each other has made each of us even stronger,” he said, adding that Singapore and Israel are anchors of stability and strength in their respective regions.

The Israeli Premier also paid tribute to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

“Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a great statesman of the 20th century who laid a solid foundation for your country, and he taught many of us the idea of economic vision and enterprise that was put to the test and is now the great success that Singapore is,” he said.

Following the welcome ceremony, Mr Lee and Mr Netanyahu met for talks where both leaders “reaffirmed the close and long-standing relations between both countries”, said a statement issued by the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday.

The PMO added that both leaders encouraged Israeli and Singaporean entrepreneurs and businesses to enhance collaboration and explore investment opportunities.

Mr Lee also touched on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East Peace Process during his speech at the welcome ceremony. “We are concerned about the situation, as many around the world are. We wish you well because we are friends with both Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.

He expressed hope that both sides “will be able to resume negotiations and make progress towards a just and durable solution to a longstanding and complex conflict”. “We hope to see a two-state solution with both Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security one day,” Mr Lee added.

Multiple efforts have been made to broker an agreement on a “two-state solution” in which Israel would exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands seized by Israel in the 1967 war.

However, such a solution appears remote because of ongoing Jewish settlement building; a split between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions; preoccupation within the Palestinian National Authority about who may succeed ageing President Mahmoud Abbas; and a wave of Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings of Israelis.

Efforts led by the United States to broker peace between Israel and Palestine collapsed in April 2014, although France is making another push by convening an international peace summit to work towards a two-state solution.

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Maliki Osman recently told Parliament that Singapore welcomes the latest French initiative.

Mr Lee will meet Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Leader of the Israeli Opposition Isaac Herzog today. He will separately meet Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah.

 

Mediacorp wins 21 awards at 2016 New York Festivals

Mediacorp took home six Gold, seven Silver and eight Bronze awards at the prestigious New York Festivals TV and Film Awards 2016. The wins came largely from Channel NewsAsia, which bagged five Gold, six Silver and seven Bronze awards.

• Posted 20 Apr 2016 10:00
• Updated 20 Apr 2016 10:10

Channel NewsAsia's landmark investigative series Undercover Asia received seven awards at the New York Festivals.

SINGAPORE: Media company Mediacorp took home 21 awards at the prestigious New York Festivals TV and Film Awards 2016 on Tuesday (Apr 19), held at Las Vegas' Westgate Resort and Casino Hotel.

The 21 medals – six Gold, seven Silver and eight Bronze – came largely from Channel NewsAsia, which bagged five Gold, six Silver and seven Bronze awards.

This is Mediacorp's biggest haul since 1999.

Channel NewsAsia’s investigative series Undercover Asia, where reporters go undercover to expose the secret underbelly of Asia, was awarded seven medals by a global panel of judges.

The other winning titles include The Worlds of Georgette Chen, the first mega docudrama series on a pioneer Singapore artist whose extraordinary life spanned three continents, as well as Boat People – Journey to Hell, an investigative documentary exploring the plight of the Rohingya people who have been fleeing Myanmar over the past few years.



Actress Rui En shooting the docu-drama The Worlds of Georgette Chen in Paris by the River Seine. (Photo: Channel NewsAsia)

Mediacorp’s Travel SSBD, a programme targeting the youth, clinched a Gold for the Online Entertainment Program category. The show, hosted by popular Mediacorp radio deejay Sonia Chew, aims to speak to a new breed of travelers.

Mediacorp’s English television channel, Channel 5, won two Silver awards as well in the Animation and Production Design categories.

Ms Mok Choy Lin, Vice-President of Network Programme & Promotions at Channel NewsAsia, said: “This is the biggest medal haul at the Festivals to date for Channel NewsAsia. We are proud to win honours in various genres - the channel’s landmark investigative series, Undercover Asia; a series on women, Bring Back Our Girls, and our first ever feature-length documentary, Little People Big Dreams.”

“New York Festivals is proud to recognise the outstanding achievements of Mediacorp,” said Rose Anderson, Executive Director of the New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards.

“Their exceptional and innovative programming – from documentary and journalism to drama – demonstrating the depth of their subject matter and their storytelling ability, has captured the attention and respect of their audiences and the New York Festivals International TV & Film Awards Grand Jury. Congratulations on a brilliant year.”

The awards underscore Mediacorp’s commitment to engage, entertain and enrich its audiences by harnessing the power of creativity.

New York Festivals was established 59 years ago and its International Television and Film Awards recognise the "World’s Best TV & Film" in news, sports, documentary, information and entertainment programme as well as in music videos, infomercials, promotion spots and others. Entries were received from more than 50 different countries, making the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards one of the most well-known and widely respected competitions in the world.

Viewers can catch a selection of the winning documentaries on Channel NewsAsia from Friday, and online on toggle.sg/videos.

 

Scientists in Singapore identify potential way to tackle Zika virus spread



An artistic rendering of the Zika virus structure. Photo: Duke-NUS

Published: 12:34 PM, April 20, 2016
Updated: 5:58 PM, April 20, 2016

SINGAPORE — Scientists in Singapore have successfully reconstructed a high-resolution structure of the Zika virus, opening up possibilities on how to treat the virus with potent antibodies or drugs.

They found that the overall Zika virus architecture was similar to other flaviviruses like dengue, but more thermally and structurally stable due to tighter interactions between the Zika virus surface proteins, which help the virus attach to a host cell. This could explain why the virus was resilient enough that it could be transmitted via sexual contact, scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School said,

This discovery could lead to future developments where the Zika virus could potentially be destablised by potent antibiotics or drugs, said the study’s senior author Associate Professor Shee-Mei Lok. No suitable antibodies or drugs have been identified thus far, said Assoc Prof Lok, who is working to understand the effect of potent antibodies on the Zika virus. Assoc Prof Lok added there is a potential to develop a safe vaccine with reduced side effects.

The findings were published online on Tuesday (April 19) in the journal Nature.

To reconstruct the Zika virus structure, the team imaged the virus under a cryo-electron microscope from a large number of purified viral particles, and pieced together thousand of images.

“Our structure will provide important clues to other researchers around the world who are working to find therapeutic agents against the Zika virus,” Assoc Prof Lok said.

In February, the Zika virus was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a public health emergency of international concern. As of last Thursday (April 14), 42 countries are experiencing a first outbreak of Zika virus since 2015, with no previous evidence of circulation, according to WHO data.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also confirmed last week that “there is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly” — a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects.

In South-east Asia, Vietnam reported its first case of Zika about three weeks ago. Various countries in the region, such as the Philippines, Thailand and East Malaysia, have also reported cases of the mosquito-borne virus.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement in January that it was “inevitable” the Zika would eventually be imported to Singapore. Senior Minister of State (Health) Amy Khor reiterated this message on Sunday during a Zika-related event.

The MOH and the NEA have put in place control measures, such as the testing of suspected cases of the virus being expanded to public hospital laboratories and islandwide inspections to uncover mosquito breeding habitats, as a means to control the potential spread.

 

Singaporean student wins prestigious Keats-Shelley Young Romantics Prize

Sofia Amanda Bening, a Media and Communications student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, is the first Singaporean to take home this accolade.

• By Diane Leow, Channel NewsAsia
• Posted 21 Apr 2016 06:33

Ms Sofia Bening receiving her prize from Mr Richard Holmes, judge of the 2016 Keats-Shelley Prize. (Photo: Sofia Bening)


SINGAPORE: Media and Communications student Sofia Amanda Bening has always had a love affair with words, but never imagined she would be recognised in the world of Romantic literature.

The 17-year-old Singaporean entered her essay into a competition run by the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association, and received a shock when she found out earlier this month she had been named as the winner of the Young Romantics Prize. She is also the only winner in this year's competition from outside the UK.

“This competition is based in the UK, and the students there are exposed to so much more literature,” the Ngee Ann Polytechnic student told Channel NewsAsia on Wednesday (Apr 20). “I was sure that they would know so much more.”

The competition invites young writers to submit poems, short stories and essays inspired by Romantic writers such as Mary Shelley with the theme "After Frankenstein". Sofia submitted an essay which explores why authors like Keats and Shelley have a fascination with writing about dreams.



Essayists with Essays Judge Professor Sharon Ruston. (Photo: Sofia Bening)

“I found that through their works and poems, we may be able to conclude that there are a few reasons why we dream – namely to heal, to remember, and to fulfil our wishes,” she said of her essay titled "The Stuff that Romantic Dreams are Made of".

Sofia, who said she started her fascination with the Romantic genre as a child, said she always found herself drawn to the "really dark" stories.

"I really liked Frankenstein as a kid, and I realised there are more writers who write this way. That's when I knew more about the writers (and the genre)," she said.

As the first Singaporean to be named the winner of the Young Romantics Prize, Sofia travelled to London on Apr 12 to attend the prize ceremony, where she got to meet biographer Richard Holmes, among other writers.

"PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE"

She also hopes that this accolade will help raise awareness about other genres within literature.

“Even though literature is taught in secondary schools and junior colleges, right now, we just study one book – I’m not sure that counts as literature,” Sofia said. “I’d like to see schools touch on the actual history of literature; hardly anyone knows anything from the Romantic era, or before that. People don’t know the history of literature, and I think it’s important to recognise that.”

More importantly, she believes that literature is more than just a subject at school.

“Literature is important because I think it really changes our perspective. It changes how we think and how we feel. Everyone has that one book that they have read that really changed something in them – literature has the power to do that,” she said.

Sofia, who counts Neil Gaiman as one of her favourite authors, said she is glad she entered the competition despite initial reservations.

“I usually don’t write anything non-fiction. I wanted to try (entering) this contest as a challenge for myself, and to help me maintain that love for literature,” the aspiring magazine writer said.

"The experience of writing something that's out of your comfort zone is really important to improve as a writer."

 

Focus is on building drug-free, not drug-tolerant, Singapore: Shanmugam

The Home Affairs Minister acknowledges there are different possible approaches to tackling drugs internationally, but says the demand reduction approach "has been very successful" for Singapore.

• Posted 21 Apr 2016 14:41
• Updated 21 Apr 2016 15:29

Minister K Shanmugam (far left) at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) roundtable session on demand reduction. (Photo: Ministry of Home Affairs)

The focus for Singapore is to build a drug-free country, not a drug-tolerant one, and there needs to be a consensus on how to move forward as a global community to address the drug issue, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on two occasions at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS).

During his statement at a roundtable discussion on demand reduction, Mr Shanmugam said there are generally two broad approaches to the drug issue: Demand reduction and harm reduction or legalisation.

Singapore's approach is on demand reduction, and this "has been very successful" for the country in its fight against drugs. For instance, the number of drug abusers arrested in the last 20 years has dropped from more than 6,000 in the 1990s to about 3,000 now, he said.

"This is against the backdrop of a more prosperous Singapore where people have more money to spend on drugs, and amid a worsening regional drug situation where the supply of drugs has mushroomed. Despite that, the numbers have been reduced substantially," the Minister added.

Another indicator is recidivism. Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, said recidivism rates have also halved from more than 60 per cent to 30 per cent.

"These figures stand in stark contrast to the experience of other countries which have tried to reduce drug demand. However, we understand that what works for us may not work for others," he said.

His comments come amid growing calls to make the worldwide fight against illicit drugs less punitive. The Minister was addressing a special three-day session of the 193-nation General Assembly called by Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico to discuss the global war on drugs, which Latin American countries say has failed. This is the first major UN review of the issue since 1998.

FOUR FACETS TO TACKLING DRUGS

Elaborating on Singapore's approach, the Minister highlighted four facets: Targeted preventive education; tough laws within a robust legal framework; comprehensive rehabilitation and supervision programmes to prevent relapse; and active partnership with families, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the community.

"We have therefore not seen the need to go down the route of harm reduction. We have very few HIV infections from drug users who inject themselves. And deaths from drug overdose are extremely rare," he said.

The Minister said countries go into the harm reduction approach if they believe demand reduction would not work, but Singapore is "not there yet".

Besides, that approach raises an underlying issue - drug use impairs the individual's cognitive ability, he added.

Mr Shanmugam said experts at Singapore's Institute of Mental Health had conducted a literature review of more than 500 articles and the evidence was "clear": Cannabis is harmful and addictive.

In a separate speech at the Plenary Session at UNGASS 2016, the Minister had pointed out that about one in 10 regular users develop dependence and this increases to one in two among daily users.

"We do not believe in Singapore that providing abusers with drugs is going to help. And I don’t think many people believe that drug abuse is a good thing," he said.

COMING TO CONSENSUS

The Home Affairs Minister said there are different possible approaches and there is a need to come to a consensus on how to move forward as one global community to address the issue.

He added that every country "should have the right to choose" the approach that works best for them, based on their unique norms and circumstances.

During his Plenary Session speech, Mr Shanmugam also said Singapore will change its position if people showed how drugs are good for the person taking it based on evidence, and that the crime situation will not get worse and that the rest of society will not pay a price for it.

"We are not very impressed with rhetoric alone. Good speeches are one thing, enjoying safety and security ... that is different," he said. "I say to anyone with a different view – come forward. I am prepared to compare our experiences with any city that you choose. Show us a model that works better, that delivers a better outcome for citizens, and we will consider changing.

"If that cannot be done, then don’t ask us to change," the Minister added.

 

Singapore taking action against companies responsible for haze, says Masagos Zulkifli

People walking on the street during a hazy day in Singapore on Sept 10, 2015. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER
The Straits Times

Published
10 hours ago

Zakir Hussain, Deputy News Editor (Politics), in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV - Singapore is taking action under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to go after companies that started fires or let their concessions burn, and contributed to last year's haze, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli has said.

It has issued notices to six of these Indonesia-based companies, asking them to explain what steps they are taking to put out and prevent fires on their land.

Two of them have replied. A director of one of the four firms that have yet to respond has also been served with a notice to provide information on what his company is doing to mitigate fires on its land and prevent a repeat.

"Should he not return, he would have violated our laws and therefore, among others, we can arrest him upon entry later than the notice on which he is supposed to return," he added.

Mr Masagos declined to reveal the name of the director or his company, but said he can also be detained in Singapore if he does not give the information required.

"We must not let companies, corporations get away with their most egregious acts," he said.

Mr Masagos made these points when asked by Singapore reporters about comments by his Indonesian counterpart questioning what Singapore had done to combat forest fires.

Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar had told environmental news site Foresthints.news last week that her country had been attempting to prevent the recurrence of land and forest fires, and consistently enforcing the law.

"My question is - what has the Singaporean Government done? I feel that they should focus on their own role," she was cited saying.

Mr Masagos noted that Singapore has a good relationship with Indonesia on many fronts because both countries are working together.

But he said the haze was a complex issue that had to be tackled not just bilaterally, but also at the Asean and regional level.

For instance, Singapore led an Asean peatland management programme to raise awareness of what people can do to manage and restore peatland, on which most forest fires take place.

The National Environment Agency had served notice to Asia Pulp and Paper last year, asking for information on steps its subsidiaries and Indonesian suppliers are taking to put out fires in their concessions.

"We are now looking at them to see how we are going to move forward," Mr Masagos said.

But he would not be drawn into commenting on what actions could be taken against the companies, saying investigations are still ongoing.

"The message to everybody is: whether you are Singaporean, whether you are a foreigner, if you violate our laws, we will take the law to its full extent."

 

Thank you my friend. You are always welcome. Bring your badminton gear along one day and have a session with my badminton kakis!