Singapore Also Can

Underground museums next?

The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

By Joyce Teo, Property Reporter

A STUDY will look at ways to carve out more underground space - for possible use as public areas such as museums and galleries.

It could also be used for facilities such as power stations and for storage, said Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu.

Singapore now has underground malls and pedestrian walkways, though underground uses can be 'quite varied', she said.

'We can foresee a museum, an art gallery, a science museum, something for the public to use as well as public infrastructure like an electrical substation,' said Ms Fu, co-chair of the ESC sub-committee on land productivity.

Talks are under way on using MRT stations for such functions. 'URA has always been thinking about what we can do at the Botanic Gardens station... We know there's a potential there; we haven't found a specific use so we will look out for the opportunity,' she said.

Architect Tai Lee Siang said if underground space was promoted properly, 'people's acceptance... will change rapidly, especially because Singapore has a finite land resource'. He added underground areas can suit uses needing little or no daylight, such as theatres.

 

No foreigner policy U-turn

The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

By Jeremy Au Yong, Political Correspondent

MANAMA (Bahrain) - THE Government's recent moves to slow the influx of foreigners do not mark a 'sudden turnaround' in policy, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.

Rather, it is simply a recognition that the country is nearing what it can accommodate. While foreign worker numbers may still rise, it will now grow more slowly.

Speaking to Singapore reporters in Bahrain at the end of a six-day visit to the Middle East, SM Goh explained that Singapore needed to be open to foreign workers in the past to fuel its rapid growth.

'If you look at the last decade, we wanted to grow fast. And there were opportunities to grow fast. Employers were crying for workers. We were trying to tighten the dependency on foreign workers, but the demand for goods and services from Singapore was high, so we liberalised. Then once we reach the limit, you've got to tighten,' he said.

The Government, he said, constantly monitors its policies and tweaks them where needed.

'Past models which have worked may not work in the future, so we've got to constantly monitor, adjust when necessary, sometimes even discard. But in our case it's modifying the model, not discarding the old model,' he said.


The Government, SM Goh said, constantly monitors its policies and tweaks them where needed. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG

 

PM hails Raja's vision

The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

His ideas were ahead of their time in the 1950s

By Rachel Chang

AN UNKNOWN series of radio plays scripted by founding father S. Rajaratnam was brought to life last night.

Written in 1957 and set in the tumultuous period of the time, the series 'A Nation in the Making' is about the need to separate race and religion from the foremost task of nation-building.

The scripts were unearthed by MP Irene Ng in her research for the biography of Mr Rajaratnam, who died in 2006 at age 90.

Titled The Singapore Lion, it is a 576-page narrative of Singapore's first culture minister, and later its first foreign minister. At its launch, an adapted version of Mr Rajaratnam's plays was performed by The Necessary Stage at the Drama Centre Theatre, to the delight of the 600-strong audience.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the guest of honour, said he never knew Mr Rajaratnam had written the radio plays, which 'set out in dramatic form his belief in building a Malayan nation'. It was but one of the 'interesting nuggets' in the book, he added, in a speech on Mr Rajaratnam's role in and contributions to Singapore's modern history.

His ideas on multiracialism were 'ahead of their time' when he expounded them in the 1940s and 1950s, said Mr Lee. 'But over the decades, they proved relevant and enduring. Today, they appear less striking and original than they truly were, only because they have shaped our values as a nation, and become widely accepted as the way things should be.'


Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong presenting Dr V.K. Pillay, a relative of Mr S. Rajaratnam, with a copy of the book The Singapore Lion signed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at the book's launch last night at the Drama Centre Theatre. Looking on is MP Irene Ng, the author of the 576-page book. An adapted version of Mr Rajaratnam's plays was performed last night, to the delight of the 600-strong audience. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

 

7 factories at Seletar near the future Rolls-Royce facility.

The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

$30m project will boost aerospace sector and back Rolls-Royce unit

By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent

SEVEN new factories, each up to 3,000 sq m in size, will come up at Seletar Aerospace Park next year,

The $30 million project by JTC Corp is partly to support the British power systems and engines giant, which will assemble and test engines, as well as make fan blades for large aircraft, at the site.

Getting big boys like Rolls-Royce in is a good way to grow the local aerospace sector as they can play 'queen bee', attracting other supporting suppliers and firms to set up shop here, said JTC and the Economic Development Board (EDB) at a joint industry briefing yesterday.

EDB director of transport engineering Sia Kheng Yok said: 'There are many discussions now on with local and overseas companies about supply opportunities.'

Growing the manufacturing arm of the aerospace industry is a key priority for Singapore, which currently does more work in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). This segment accounted for about 90 per cent of the industry's total output last year, which hit just over $7 billion - about the level seen in 2008.

Despite the business downturn, which took its toll on airlines and other aviation firms last year, Singapore's aerospace industry has demonstrated its resilience in the face of hardship, said Mr Sia at the briefing, held at the Singapore Airshow.

 

13 and ready for university

The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

By Amelia Tan

A SINGAPOREAN boy sat for the British equivalent of the GCE A-level examinations last year and aced all his papers - and he was not even 13 yet.

Muhammad Haikal Abdullah Zain, a former student of Rosyth School, scored straight As in Biology, Physics and Chemistry, which he took last November.

He turned 13 a month later and plans to apply to study medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The A-level exams Haikal sat last year carry the same weight as the GCE A levels taken by junior college students here, said the British Council, which administers the exam.

NUS confirmed it would accept students with those qualifications.

Said its office of admissions director R. Rajaram: 'We recently learnt of his interest in applying to NUS. We will be pleased to assess his application when we receive it.'

Muhammad Haikal Abdullah Zain, 13, is aiming for a place to study medicine at the National University of Singapore this year. He sat for A-level equivalent papers last year in Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry and scored As in all four subjects. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM

 

Global city, but in our own way

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

S'poreans will decide both path and pace of getting there, says Lui Tuck Yew

By Lin Yan Qin

SINGAPORE - If Singapore aspires to be a vibrant cultural capital, on par with cities such as London or New York, is it prepared to embrace the relatively more "permissive" culture of these societies?

Posed this question yesterday in a meeting with reporters, Acting Minister for Communication, Information and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said the Republic was not seeking to adopt the culture of such cities and that Singapore society will evolve on its own to become more open and diverse.

"Singapore, I believe, has an advantage ... It's an open yet safe and secure society that we have here," said Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui, who co-chaired the Economic Strategies Committee's sub-committee focussing on making Singapore a global city.

"We'll have to chart our own path and, most of all, it'll be determined and decided by how and what Singaporeans are prepared to do ... It's also going to be a process that is evolutionary, proceeding at a pace that is calibrated, that is gradual and Singaporeans are comfortable with."

The sub-committee identified culture as a key area in global city standards where Singapore is lagging.

It said the Government needed to incentivise the growth of "cultural philanthropy and sponsorship" and to develop the "cultural tourism sector", for instance, by doing more to promote Singapore as a "gateway to experiencing the cultures of Asia".

The sub-committee also called for more lifestyle offerings here, not just international heavyweights such as Formula One racing but also local "ground-up" events.

"We have local original events that I think we can grow a lot of ... even things like New Year's Eve countdown, where we wanted to create a tradition for Singaporeans but more and more, the event is picking up, and we're getting more visitors who know about this event," said Urban Redevelopment Authority chief executive officer Cheong Koon Hean, one of the sub-committee members.

When the Gardens by the Bay development in the Marina area is completed, it could become part of the route for marathons held here, which draw as many people as other renowned races such as the Boston Marathon, she added.

Policies such as the tax regime should also be reviewed, according to the report yesterday, to make Singapore more attractive as a hub for the trading of art and collectibles. And there should be more affordable spaces for business clusters such as Gillman Village, with an agency like JTC Corporation managing the infrastructure of emerging arts and creative sectors.

Looking ahead, however, it is important the Government does not "script it to the nth degree", stressed RAdm Lui. "What we can do is provide some stimulus, hopefully it acts as a catalyst, but leave enough room for the organic development to take place."

 

Live, work, play

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

Self-contained enclaves may help maximise land value

By Neo Chai Chin

SINGAPORE - The Economic Strategies Committee thinks that Singapore should have more liveable industrial townships.

Instead of the manufacturing clusters that come to mind now, the image for the future is a clean, high-rise complex with manufacturing, research and test-bedding facilities under one roof.

Tenants would enjoy shared facilities such as carparks and storage space. Housing, dining and recreational facilities would all be within easy reach of employees, with machinery discreetly and conveniently tucked underground.

"Live-work-play" enclaves with distinctive characters are the way to go, if proposals from the subcommittee on maximising land value are realised. And its members believe this is possible, as the shift toward knowledge-intensive jobs means "there will be greater room to integrate economic uses together with residential and leisure uses".

Industrialists have highlighted the difficulty in getting workers to commute to remote parts of Singapore, and as new and emerging industries in Singapore will bring fewer environmental concerns, "there's really a need to bring elements together", said sub-committee co-chair Grace Fu, who is also Senior Minister of State (National Development).

Creating liveable and desirable industrial spaces is essential to attract talented workers to Singapore, and "as the line between manufacturing and services gets blurred ... we can bring jobs closer to people and bring workers closer to workplaces", said sub-committee member Tai Lee Siang, director of DP Architects. Industrial townships will have to shed their "pollutive and dirty image" and become live-work-play environments within a green setting.

It was revealed yesterday, for example, that there are plans for an industrial park at Lorong Halus - a former landfill that is now a green spot with grasslands and wooded hills - with lifestyle products and food industries set amid greenery and the Serangoon River.

Industries of the future will be less dependent on land, so it will be possible for estate planners to "stack the spaces in high-rise configuration", Mr Tai added.

Such a vision has already been articulated for the Kallang Riverside precinct, which will consist of an industrial area, waterfront residences, office and entertainment venues.
And for industrial sectors that are "large land-takers and/or with low plot ratio", such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, solar and marine sectors, the subcommittee asked for the Government to provide incentives to "encourage experimentation" in innovative industrial plant layouts.

The aim: To achieve a smaller land footprint, given that industrial land now takes up more than 10 per cent of Singapore's total land stock.

The subcommittee also recommended providing choice and diversity in business locations. This is already underway, for example, with the Jurong Gateway near Jurong East MRT station, which will have 500,000 square metres of office space, and provide an alternative to the Central Business District for global and Asian headquarters.

Property observer Colin Tan of Chesterton Suntec International told MediaCorp that with relaxed zoning policies, each business cluster will likely develop a stronger identity. In the past, he said, the Government didn't allow flexibility of use.

"Now, we say one urban centre looks very much like another because of these strict guidelines. The moment you allow some flexibility, each area will have its own distinctive identity," Mr Tan said.

To create more land in the longer term, the sub-committee called for underground space to be developed and synergised with above-ground facilities.

While it is unclear if this latest call would be in time to take advantage of ongoing underground rail works for the Downtown Line, Ms Fu said the Urban Redevelopment Authority has "started discussions at some stations", such as the Botanic Gardens.

Plans for an industrial park at Lorong Halus, a former landfill, were revealed yesterday. DON WONG

 

Land: Lever, support in economic strategy

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

By Neo Chai Chin

SINGAPORE - How might unproductive businesses in Singapore be weeded out in the future? It is clear from the report from the Economic Strategies Subcommittee on Maximising Value from Land as a Scarce Resource, that land is a good lever.

Singapore should consider the resource efficiency of sectors in its economic development and investment attraction efforts - not simply the value added and skills level entailed, the sub-committee said.

Singapore currently measures land productivity chiefly by looking at gross plot ratio (the ratio of the gross floor area of a building to its site area), but "land policy must not only support but also drive economic strategies ahead ... We must think about what sectors to promote and allocate land to, by considering how much value-added, jobs and spillovers for the economy they generate per hectare of land", said sub-committee co-chair Wong Fong Fui, the chairman and group chief executive of Boustead Singapore.

Businesses consulted also called for new ways to make Singapore's limited land space work harder and more efficiently for them.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority will inject more flexibility into current zoning rules, tweak the tenures of land leases, and make it "less onerous" to trigger sites on the Reserve List via a review of the security deposit that developers have to fork out.

Increased flexibility will be practised in a "very targeted way" to keep industrial land affordable, said sub-committee co-chair Grace Fu. Suggestions include allowing companies with service, industrial and manufacturing synergies to be located in industrial areas.

At the moment, rules are fairly rigid, with companies providing services to be sited in commercial buildings, and up to 15 per cent of space in business park zones allowed for "white" uses such as restaurants, shops and childcare centres, for instance.

Citing an example, Ms Fu said flexibility would be ideal for a food manufacturer that is also conducting research and development as well as test-bedding consumers' response.

More varied lease terms would also benefit companies in an era of shorter product life cycles.

Some industry players suggested having more 60-year commercial leases, which are currently few and far between. The sub-committee also suggested longer leases for capital-intensive industries and shorter leases for others.

 

Attention to design the way to go

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

by Lin Yan Qin

SINGAPORE - He was no longer satisfied with just selling the products of other designers and wanted to distinguish his eyewear business from that of his competitors.

So Nanyang Optical founder and managing director Yang Wah Kiang set up a team to design its own eyewear.

That decision led to overwhelming demand from retailers in Europe, a slew of international design prizes and a new revenue generator for the decades-old company.

"If you're a small player, you have to differentiate yourself to be noticed," said Mr Yang.

His experience underscores a key point of the Economic Strategies Committee's (ESC) subcommittee looking at building a global city: Attention to design, be it for a product or a solution to a problem, is the innovation that Singapore needs in order to become a competitive, enterprising nation.

And incorporating "design thinking" into Singapore society has to start in schools. "We're not talking about teaching design as a subject, but more of design as a teaching approach," said subcommittee member Shirlene Noordin, director of marketing firm Phish Communications, at a media briefing yesterday.

"For example, you can teach science and use design concepts and approaches to solve a problem."

Mr Chris Lee, founder of chocolate boutique and cafe The Chocolate Research Facility, agreed.

"We don't want to test people on this; It could be a co-curricular activity in schools, where students can learn and appreciate good design," said Mr Lee, who also heads design firm Asylum.

Already, it has been mooted that Singapore's fourth university take a design-centric approach to its programmes.

The subcommittee advocated "accelerating the introduction of design thinking programmes in modules (from pre-tertiary to post-graduate level)" and broad-based design literacy training for professionals.

Nanyang Optical's Mr Yang said the challenge of getting businesses to take design seriously is in the amount of time and money that needs to be invested. Thus, companies need more encouragement and support from government agencies.

The subcommittee recommended that incentives be provided for businesses to venture into design, experimentation and commercialisation, and more platforms and physical infrastructure be created for industry collaboration.

Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew, who co-chaired the subcommittee, said: "Going forward ... we'll want to put a lot more emphasis on design, design thinking, helping enterprises be more creative, recognising they have some traditional strengths but ... we need to fuse in the marketing and design to strengthen the traditional engineering capabilities they may very well have."

 

More avenues to hone talent locally

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

by Lin Yan Qin

They could be institutions specialising in a range of areas, from dance, theatre and music to arts management, conservation, curation and research - or even sports, fashion, culinary skills and sommelier training.

Which ever the programme, Singaporeans will have new opportunities to hone their talents at home instead of having to venture elsewhere, while other talents come here to add to the Republic's capabilities.

That is the aim of the recommendation, by the subcommittee on making Singapore a global city, to have another five "world-class" institutions or programmes here by 2020.

Singapore's economic agencies should provide "calibrated grants" to make these opportunities accessible to Singaporeans, while non-polytechnic students could be allowed, through bridging courses, to enrol in the foreign university programmes brought in by the Singapore Institute of Technology, said the sub-committee.

It also recommended that Overseas Singapore schools - such as the Singapore international schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Suzhou - be given support to better meet the needs of overseas Singaporean children.

The report suggested other possibilities: A one-stop welcome centre for newcomers and returnees, a programme office for "fans, friends and family outside Singapore" and a targeted engagement programme for local talent, for example, through regular townhall dialogues.

As for global talent who may wish to live and work in Singapore for only part of the year, the subcommittee proposed an enhancement to the Manpower Ministry's Personalised Employment Pass scheme: The responsibility to facilitate the entry of these individuals and their spouses should fall on relevant agencies, based on the needs of industry.

 

An airshow for the entire family

Channel NewsAsia
05 February 2010 0731 hrs

SINGAPORE: Proving that it is not just a business event, this weekend, the Singapore Airshow will transform its grounds into a giant family-oriented carnival as it opens to the public.

Visitors can try out traditional local games like congkak and capteh at the Sports Museum showcase by the Singapore Sports Council; Play handball or table tennis with Youth Olympic Games representatives; or pose with more than 20 movie mascots. Providing the music will be the United States Air Force and Swiss Alpine bands.

But the highlight will be the aerial display - and organisers this year have put in an extra 30 minutes of adrenaline-pumping aerobatic display daily over both days.

The public will witness the debut appearance of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, and high-profile aircraft such as the RSAF AH-64 Apache and F-16 Falcon coming together in an integrated air display. The F-111 strike aircraft will also make its last appearance in Asia.

The Singapore Airshow is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am to 5pm, at the Changi Exhibition Centre. The flying displays take place at 11.30am and 3pm on both days.

Tickets are priced at S$20 (adults) and S$8 (child below 12), or S$100 for a family package that includes a carpark label. T

Tickets can be booked at www.sistic.com.sg, and included in the ticket price is a two-way shuttle bus transfer from Changi Airport. The service runs from 8am to 7pm. More information can be found at www.singaporeairshow.com.sg.


A Gulfstream jet on display at the Singapore Airshow

 

'Opposition can criticise policy, but...'

TODAY
05:55 AM Feb 05, 2010

by S Ramesh

SINGAPORE - The Opposition can be expected to find fault with government policies but Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong believes that the Government will be able to defend them "quite well".

Mr Goh was commenting yesterday on reports that opposition parties plan to contest in Tampines GRC by turning growing concerns over the affordability of public housing into an election issue. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan is an MP there.

Noting that the opposition is trying to win one GRC or one or two single seats in the next general election, Mr Goh said the ruling People's Action Party would have to convince the voters that its policies are right.

He said: "Housing prices have gone up but is this the work of the minister or is it a wrong policy? Or is it the demand for housing is so high?

"And the answer lies in liquidity. There is so much liquidity in Singapore and the interest rate is so low. So anybody who can borrow money from the bank, think they can just hop to property and make a killing.

"But there is a danger. When the interest rate goes up sometime in the future, are you able to service your loan? Most people don't think that way."

He added: "You can target such policies but the voters got to ask themselves are you just criticising without offering an alternative solution. If they (opposition parties) can criticise and offer a superior alternative which the voters believe in, of course the opposition will be in a strong position to win over votes.

"But if you criticise without an alternative solution and sometimes you criticise without giving the full facts and the context, it is our job to point out that you are just giving wrong information and giving figures out of context," Mr Goh said.

"One must expect the opposition to try and find fault with our policies but we will be able to defend our policies quite well. That is the nature of this contest."

On the problems faced by the Malay community in Singapore, Mr Goh emphasised that they were national problems.

Mr Goh said: "Their performance in mathematics, in education - dysfunctional families is not peculiar to the Malay community. But for the Malay community, the sense of proportion of the whole community, it is higher. It may be double what we see for the Chinese population or the Indian population.

"... We've got to attend to the problem in two ways. One, on the national basis, the national policies must be right and also resources must be given to solve the national problems. At the community level ... how do you reach out to dysfunctional families?

"I still believe that using Muslim leaders will be more effective than using a Christian leader to reach out to the Muslim family on their problems."

 

Romanian diplomat involved in hit-and-run accident suspended

Channel NewsAsia
04 February 2010 1850 hrs (SST)

By Hoe Yeen Nie,
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1035338/1/.html

SINGAPORE: The Romanian diplomat who is a suspect in a fatal hit-and-run accident in Singapore has been suspended from his duties by his country's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The announcement was made by the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday morning.

This came after reports said Dr Silviu Ionescu was charged with manslaughter by Romanian authorities on Wednesday.

Romanian media reports, quoting the general prosecutor's office, said Dr Ionescu faces three charges for manslaughter, for fleeing the scene, and for giving false statements.

Dr Ionescu was previously his country's Charge d'Affaires in Singapore.

Singapore police said that on 15 December 2009, the embassy car driven by Dr Ionescu hit three pedestrians in two separate incidents at Bukit Panjang. One of the pedestrians, Mr Tong Kok Wai, later died.

After the incident, Dr Ionescu called the police and reported that the embassy car was stolen. It was recovered later that morning, locked and abandoned at Sungei Kadut Avenue.

The Romanian embassy told MediaCorp that the suspension will hold until criminal investigations are complete.

Separately in Singapore, the coroner's inquiry will begin on March 3.


The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2010

EMBASSY CAR CRASH

Envoy faces jail if guilty

Ionescu could spend 2 to 7 years behind bars for hit-and-run accident

By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

THE Romanian diplomat charged with homicide for a deadly hit-and-run accident here could be jailed between two and seven years if convicted in his home country.

This is the penalty prescribed in the Romanian criminal code for causing death by negligence; up to another three months' jail could be tagged on for causing hurt, among other things.

Silviu Ionescu, 49, who is now back in Romania, has additionally been accused of making a false report and fleeing the scene of an accident, said a statement from the Romanian Prosecutor's Office.


Both Romania and Singapore are parties of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

The Convention states that "a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State...the immunity of a diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of the receiving State does not exempt him from the jurisdiction of the sending State".

This means the penal investigation in a case in which a diplomat is involved in the receiving state takes place in the state whose citizen he is.


Silviu Ionescu, 49, who is now back in Romania, has additionally been accused of making a false report and fleeing the scene of an accident, said a statement from the Romanian Prosecutor's Office. -- SHIN MIN FILE PHOTO

 

Singapore's first synthetic ice rink opens

Channel NewsAsia
05 February 2010 2039 hrs


SINGAPORE : Singapore's first synthetic ice skating rink has opened for trials at the Stamford American International School's (SAIS) Foundation Campus at Lorong Chuan.

The school, working in collaboration with the Singapore Ice Hockey Association (SIHA), said the trial of the technology aims to make ice skating and ice hockey more accessible in Singapore, and offer ice sport programmes to students.

Made of high-tech polymeric compounds which closely mimic the performance of real ice, synthetic ice is especially suitable for Singapore's tropical climate as it does not require a climate-controlled environment. It is also easier and cheaper to maintain compared to real ice surfaces, said SAIS.

"Since the closure of the Jurong Entertainment Centre in 2008, the national ice hockey team has had to resort to training on a concrete hockey court," said Michael Lambert, Treasurer of SIHA.

"This ice rink certainly comes as a timely arrival to both SIHA and SISA (Singapore Ice Skating Association) as our associations work towards helping Singaporean ice sports break into the international arena," Mr Lambert added.

The school said the all-Singaporean national ice hockey team will be training on the SAIS rink three times a week as they prepare to represent Singapore in the sport for the very first time at the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan.


Singapore's first synthetic ice rink

 

Lawyer contributes S$1m to help NUS law students

Channel NewsAsia
05 February 2010 2154 hrs

By Evelyn Choo,

SINGAPORE: A lawyer is showing her gratitude to society by giving S$1 million to help law students at the National University of Singapore.

The money from Ms Ella Cheong, who is a pioneer in the field of intellectual property law in Asia, will be used for scholarships, bursaries and student loans.

"My reason for the gift is simple - the money was generated as a direct result of my having been chosen to set up an Intellectual Property practice in Singapore in the 80s," she said.

"Since this is money earned in Singapore which I would never have had otherwise, I felt it only right and proper that it in turn benefits to a very small degree the country which had been so generous in giving me this wonderful opportunity."

The Ella Cheong Intellectual Property Scholarship will be for well-performing law students, while the Ella Cheong Bursary will support law students who need financial assistance.

"The financial support that the donation provides will be immensely useful to the recipients and I hope that when they graduate, it will be an example and inspiration for them to give back to the community that has provided them with the opportunities to succeed," said Professor Tan Cheng Han, Dean of NUS Faculty of Law.

Up to three bursaries and two scholarships will be given every academic year.

"I am very thankful for the bursary that Ms Ella Cheong had kindly granted. This award not only keeps my mind off my own financial issues, on a larger scale, it also bears witness to the importance of contributing back to society," said Seng Han Ting, a first-year student at the NUS Faculty of Law.


NUS Law School

 

RWS gets casino licence

The Straits Times
Feb 6, 2010

SINGAPORE'S authorities issued a casino licence to neighbouring Malaysia's Genting group on Saturday, allowing the company to add gaming to its ambitious development plans in the city-state.

Resorts World Sentosa, built by Genting on a former British military outpost at a cost of US$4.4 billion (S$6.25 billion), opened four premium hotels last month in expectation of the licence.

Singapore's casino regulator said the licence was issued on Saturday.

'The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore has issued a casino licence to Resorts World... on Feb 6 2010,' the regulator said on its website.

In addition to the casino, hotels and convention facilities, Genting will open a Universal Studios theme park by March at the complex on Sentosa island, which is already packed with leisure attractions.

A marine life park, maritime museum, spa and two more hotels are scheduled to launch after 2010.


Singapore's casino regulator said the licence was issued on Saturday. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

 

3,500 barred from casinos

The Straits Times
Feb 6, 2010

By Lim Wei Chean

ABOUT 3,500 people with serious criminal records will be barred from Singapore's two casinos when they open.

Starting today, notices called the Commissioner of Police Exclusion Orders will be served on those with a history of crimes related to drugs, illegal moneylending, prostitution and secret societies, among other things.

This is the latest in a series of steps taken by the authorities to keep criminal elements out of the casinos opening soon at the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa integrated resorts.

In a statement on Friday night, police said the notices will be sent out by post.

A spokesman said the people barred have been involved in serious syndicated crimes or illegal activities that 'will directly affect the crime-free gaming environment'.

The police drew up the list after a thorough review of its records.


Gantries being installed outside the casino at Resorts World at Sentosa. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE

 

Horse riding as CCA

The Straits Times
Feb 6, 2010

Thirteen schools, mostly in the heartland, allow students to pick up horse riding at lower cost

By Amelia Tan

HORSE riding - the sport of kings?

Think again. It has been introduced as a co-curricular activity (CCA) this year in 13 primary and secondary schools.

By year end, 11 more schools may be added to the list.


Jurong Secondary students (from right) Louis Chin and Peck Jun Wen, both 14, at a horse-riding session at Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre yesterday. The centre aims to banish the image of horse riding as an elite sport by making it accessible to students. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW