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khunking · Jul 12, 2010

Another White Elephant?

<CITE>By Channel NewsAsia, </CITE>Updated: 12/07/2010

HDB makes single largest purchase of solar panels

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has made its single largest purchase of solar panels to date.
The panels bought from Renewable Energy Corporation are worth about S$2.3 million.
They will be installed in the 4th quarter of this year at six HDB precincts covering about 3,000 residential units.
The precincts are Jurong, Aljunied, Telok Blangah, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio.
The procurement is part of HDB’s efforts towards a more eco—friendly and sustainable environment for public housing.
HDB carried out its first solar panel installation at Serangoon and Wellington precinct in 2008.
The trial programme achieved a 10 per cent reduction in energy consumption.
Another key initiative announced on Monday is HDB’s collaboration with engineering consulting firm Camp Dresser & McKee to develop Punggol as an eco—town.
A set of Key Performance Indicators would be developed in areas such as waste reduction as well as reduction in water and energy consumption.
The results of the study will enable a more effective design for sustainability.
The HDB says that Punggol, being Singapore’s youngest town, presents an opportunity to apply new planning processes.

— CNA/ir

khunking · Jul 16, 2010

Singapore needs 100,000 workers as economy "sizzles"

Published on Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph)

Home > Singapore needs 100,000 workers as economy sizzles
<HR class=print-hr>Singapore needs 100,000 workers as economy sizzles

SINGAPORE, July 16 (AFP) – Singapore will need 100,000 new foreign workers this year to keep on track an economy enjoying a stunning rebound, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in remarks published Thursday.
Rich but worker-starved Singapore has historically rolled out the welcome mat for foreigners, whose numbers rose dramatically in the boom of 2004-2007.
But with one in three of the five million people living on the tiny island now a foreigner and citizens complaining about competition for jobs, housing and medical care, the government has been looking anew at its open-door policy.
Nonetheless Lee said the need for more overseas labour was unavoidable despite efforts to slow the influx after complaints from citizens facing tougher jobs competition during last year's recession.
''If we don't allow the foreign workers in, you are going to have overheating,'' the Straits Times quoted him as telling Singaporean media during an ongoing visit to the United States.
On Wednesday the trade and industry ministry sharply upgraded its forecast for economic growth this year to 13-15 percent from 7.0-9.0 percent.
That could make Singapore the world's fastest growing economy this year, according to economists.
Lee assured Singaporeans the government would manage the inflow of foreign workers with measures such as higher levies on companies hiring from abroad.
But even so, ''I'd imagine there will be more than 100,000 extra foreign workers this year,'' he said.
''I cannot see it otherwise, but we have to accept that.''
Experts interviewed by the Straits Times newspaper said this year's expected inflow was still lower compared to previous years.
In 2007, there were 144,500 new foreign workers and 157,000 were hired in 2008, they said.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley said Thursday it expected Singapore's economy to grow by 16 percent this year, ramping up its previous projection of 9.0 percent.
Lee said Singaporeans should not expect such stellar growth every year and cautioned against comparisons with other economies.
''Maybe numerically, the growth figure may be higher than other countries, but I would hesitate to compare myself with China,'' he was quoted as saying.
''I think if you compare yourself with Shanghai, they may well be ahead of us.''

<HR class=print-hr>Source URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/267247/singapore-needs-100000-workers-economy-sizzles

Copyright 2010. Manila Bulletin | All Rights Reserved

khunking · Jul 16, 2010

Singapore needs 100,000 workers as economy sizzles Part 2

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Published on ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com)

Home > Global Filipino > Singapore needs 100,000 new workers in 2010
Singapore needs 100,000 new workers in 2010 [1]

<HR>abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/16/2010 3:35 PM

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MANILA, Philippines – New opportunities are in the offing for many Filipinos with thousands of jobs expected to open in Singapore.

Agence France-Presse reported that Singapore will need about 100,000 new workers this year.
According to the report, this is what Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had been telling the media during his visit in the US.
Although Singapore had implemented stricter measures in hiring foreigners, it will soon open its doors to foreign workers to be deployed in several sectors of the Lion City.

A headhunter confirmed that Singapore is in need of workers in the finance, information technology, and hospitality sectors.
As this developed, several headhunters have said that local job prospects are also getting brighter with the new administration.
Accounting, IT and the call center industry are still in demand in the country. Job opportunities in sales in real estates are also opening up.
Meanwhile, JobsDB.com, a search engine for job seekers, said employers are looking for employees with good communication skills, computer literate, and can multi-task.
as of 07/16/2010 3:35 PM

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khunking · Jul 26, 2010

The Rising Price of TV Football in Asia

<TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="70%" colSpan=2 align=left>Written by Our Correspondent </TD></TR><TR><TD class=createdate vAlign=top colSpan=2>Monday, 26 July 2010 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>

European football dares government intervention for swingeing rights prices

Singapore's attack on commercially negotiated television rights, as reported on Asia Sentinel (July 19) is already having reverberations around Asia.

Now media in Vietnam have taken up the cry. They are complaining that competition between local pay TV providers has pushed up the price of watching major European league football, notably the English Premier League and out of the price range of many people. There are demands that the government step into create a buying monopoly and require channels to share the rights to football and other popular imported programming.

In Vietnam this amounts to an attack on VSTV owner of satellite TV provider K+. VSTV, itself partly owned by Canal+ of France, has the rights to a huge range of football including some of the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue 1, the European Champions League and even the US Major League Soccer.

As a result of this football dominance, the channel is charging customers VND250,000 (US$ 13) a month compared with the VND70,000-80,000 being charged by other TV providers with. The other providers are demanding access to the football and suggesting that there should be an agreement among them to negotiate with the program suppliers and share the content.

There have also been suggestions that somehow purchase of exclusive rights is somehow against the nation's Competition law.

It remains to be seen whether the government is induced to act or the matter will die a natural death. But it underlines the size of the can of worms that Singapore, supposedly a bastion of free markets and compliance with World Trade Organisation and Intellectual Property Rights rules, has opened up. (The government's Media Development Authority in effect tore up contracts between program suppliers and the two local TV providers and decreed that both channels could carry such programs as it deemed desirable.)

The Singapore move began with complaints in the media about the cost of watching the English Premier League. But the principle of creating a monopoly program buyer is now being applied, at least in principle, to any programming imported from the major US and other vendors of program rights.

With Vietnam now considering following Singapore, can it be long before other countries start to pander to popular demand to create monopolies and cut prices? China and Indonesia are two countries where European football is avidly followed. Then the same principles can be applied to other prime foreign content such as the crime series CSI.

Then it will be up to the US government in particular but also UK and other European ones to stand up for their movie and TV makers and providers who make billions of dollars in exports every year and demand enforcement of WTO rules.

But so far the typically kid glove western response to Singapore's authoritarian ways has merely encouraged others to think of following suit. This time the price of kow-towing to Singapore may prove much higher than ever before.

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khunking · Aug 5, 2010

Global policies govern S'pore IT tenders

Global policies govern S'pore IT tenders

Eileen Yu, ZDNet Asia on August 5th, 2010 (4 hours 41 minutes ago)

To ensure IT tenders are properly managed, governments must establish strict legal policies and build compliance procedures into the procurement process, an industry analyst urges, noting that the Singapore government has adopted global guidelines to ensure trade transparency.
The Auditor-General's Office last week highlighted several lapses in the internal controls over the management of public funds in several Singapore government bodies including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance.
According to local reports, the oversights included a security lapse in the government's accounting system managed by the Accountant-General's Department, which allowed some users to modify programs and records in the system, as well as an unauthorized testing of an IT system within the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, resulting in two invoices being generated with incorrect values.
The Auditor-General's report said the lapses underscored the need for greater vigilance, especially in IT security as government agencies are now extensively computerized. At the same time, it noted the necessary systems and processes for governance are already in place across local government bodies.
In fact, Singapore ranked as the least corrupt country in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a survey released in March by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy. The country topped the annual poll with a score of 1.42, followed by Australia at 2.28 and Hong Kong at 2.67. The survey polled 2,147 executives working in 16 economies.
John Strand, CEO of Strand Consulting, said Singapore needs to be a role model for the rest of the region and demonstrate how a society with limited corruption can thrive. Corruption, he told ZDNet Asia, is one of the biggest problems in Asia.
Strict guidelines for tenders
In Singapore, the government adopts guidelines that are compliant with the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO GPA), a legally binding plurilateral agreement that looks at the procurement of goods and services, including commodities and technology equipment, by government agencies.
Gerald Wang, Asia-Pacific senior market analyst for IDC's Government Insights, noted that to ensure IT tenders are not mismanaged, governments need to establish strict legal policies and integrate compliance standards and procedures into the procurement process. These should also encompass intelligence tools such as business analytics to ensure the required procurement processes are strictly adhered to, he explained in e-mail interview.
"Singapore's public sector procurement disciplines are tailored to be compliant with the internationally recognized WTO GPA in terms of trade transparency, openness and fair competition, and value for money concerns," Wang said.
Government-led IT projects are mostly procured through a centralized online e-business system, called GeBiz (Government Electronic Partner), which incorporates features typically found in private-sector business portals such as online shopping functions, alongside public-sector procurement requirements as stipulated in the WTO GPA, the IDC analyst noted.
Through the portal, suppliers can trade electronically with Singapore public sector agencies and government officials can also interact with their trading partners to manage procurement and revenue tender activities, he explained.
Asked if specially tailored corporate governance is needed to ensure government IT tenders are properly managed, Wang said: "Ultimately, the public sector has its own set of unique business requirements. Thus, it definitely requires tailored corporate governance solutions in any IT project it pursues."
"This means it has to explore and gather distinctive expertise and knowledge toward building a specialized enterprise-grade IT solution that fits the unique environment it serves, thus, the eventual adoption of technologies lies fundamentally on the business operational requirements it seeks to address," he added.
According to Strand, Singapore remains one of the most advanced countries in Asia in terms of IT deployments.
Its investment in e-government services, for instance, exemplifies a country that recognizes IT as an important driver and understands how to use IT to help a society run more effectively, he said.
But while the government through its ICT regulator, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), has taken the lead in driving several nationwide initiatives--namely the next-generation national broadband network (NBN) and theWireless@SG--Strand believes it is not always necessary for governments to invest in a country's telecommunications infrastructure. In a research note, the analyst noted that many governments around the globe utilize a great deal of resources and financing to support broadband projects failing to first examine if they can reach the same goals without using state subsidies or taxpayers' money.
Strand explained: "There are enough players and enough cashflow in the telecom sector to ensure that all people in Singapore can access the bandwidth they need. In practice, [governments] should sit down with the local telecommunications industry and create a national action plan in which they lay out what [either parties can do for the country]."
That said, he added that Singapore, in many respects, remains "a role model for many countries and especially those in Asia".
And when governments embark on large-scale IT projects that extend beyond a single budgetary cycle, IDC's Wang advised that they begin planning and submitting proposals for funding during the early stages of each budget planning process so they can secure the required funds to support these deployments.
The IDC analyst expects the Singapore public sector to continue to increase its ICT spending year-on-year, albeit through a wider dispersion of smaller value contracts. This, he said, indicates more business opportunities for IT vendors.
"Notably, Singapore's iGov2010 e-government masterplan has yet to kick off and this will bring about pockets of substantial expansion in government ICT spending," he added. "Overall, the Singapore government is continually investing to better manage costs over the long term. Projects such as public services revamp, systems consolidation and other solutions that will allow agencies to reduce long-term software licensing costs, infrastructure investment costs, and more."
"Ultimately, e-government efforts are not all about the implementation of technology alone, but also the changing approach to the way the government delivers its traditional services," Wang said. "The key to successful e-government implementation lies in changing mindsets and taking calculated risks within the government. In addition, strong leadership directives and organization-wide commitment from all stakeholders involved remain crucial ingredients of successful e-government transformation."
Though contacted, the IDA was unable to respond at the time of writing.
URL:http://www.zdnetasia.com/global-policies-govern-s-pore-it-tenders-62201890.htm

khunking · Aug 7, 2010

</TD></TR><TR><TD height="8"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>
PRC Foreign Talent, Floods and the Old Man

August 6th, 2010 |

Author: Contributions

http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/08/06/prc-foreign-talent-floods-and-the-old-man/

As a quitter for 8 years now, I hardly keep up with news from the home much. However I was back recently for 3 weeks and I was surprised by the number of floods, in July! Now, I remember the floods when I was a kid, but that was over 20 years ago, and far as I can remember, there was no major floods in the years before I left.
I know there had been tons of threads, thousands of messages being posted on this and every other forums about the the flood of foreign talents, over paid scholars or god pxxsing on the Old Man.
Well, here is the reason as I see it…

Back in 2005, I was working in Manchester when I got to know this girl from China, lets call her J. She just stepped off the boat, sorry, plane from China to do her Masters degree in the University of Manchester. Her plan was, at that time, to get a job and stay in the UK.

Now zoom forward to 2006, J should have finished her Masters, but no! She is so useless that she had to repeat! This tells us a lot about her, no? So she only managed to graduate in 2007, a year late. Now, in UK, there was also a FT scheme called the Graduate Placement Scheme, which basically allows a graduate of an UK university to work in the UK for 2 years, work permit free. (Sorry, this scheme is now closed if anyone is wondering)

Now, graduating in 2007, with a 2 years visa, would means J will have up to 2009 to get a job in the UK with proper work permit right? Well not really, she could not secure a job for over a year. Instead during the time, she was working 10, 12 hours in silly part-time jobs like waitress, supermarket cashier, sales assistance, etc…, with a Masters degree!

I did ask her back in 2005 what if she cannot get a job in the UK and she answered that she will try Singapore then. And after 2 years of failing to get anything in the UK, she had to leave. Guess where she went? Yeap! The Little Red Dot! Which also happens to be her second choice. Now I did not actually keep in touch with her in the past 5 years, but had been keeping track of her on MSN Live and Facebook.

When she first moved to Singapore, she was complaining and moaning about Singapore and Singaporeans, about how poor Singaporean’s English and Chinese is, about how she does not like it there and so on. If she does not like Singapore so much, why go there? There is a motive.
Ok, what about the flood then you may ask. Guess whats her job?
Environmental Consultant providing consultancy services to the NEA!

Now the Old Man was talking recently about bringing in more “talents” to Singapore, and look at the “talents” that are in right now. She started working for NEA in 2009 and we get floods in 2010! And that is not all, few months before the flood, she posted an update about how she cannot cope with the environmental issues that she is facing at work as she do not know how to solve it. 6 months later, the flood came. So she is the kind of “intellectual class” the old man wants to bring in? And one not enough, he wants 3 more?

Mind you, she is not prepared to stay around to watch the “fruits of her labour”, she had applied for and was granted Australia PR in April this year, to be used within a year. All this while, Singapore is just a “stop-over” for her, for her to gain some experience in her work before going somewhere else. She applied for Australia PR the moment she got to Singapore. Now it is approved, should not take too long for her to leave. But then the old man will just bring in 3 more to replace her.

This is what a real FT is like, yet the government want to “integrate” them into Singapore with Singaporeans? “Talent” that cannot make it in their studies, cannot make it in real first world countries, do not know about their job, using Singapore as a stop-over and to gain experience before finally moving somewhere else. That, my friends, is what the Old Man’s policy is all about.

by Alvin LWH

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khunking · Aug 8, 2010

45

AT 45
Still a work in progress
One year at a time, but the drastic demographic makeover is making nation-bonding in Singapore that much harder. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Aug 8, 2010

IS SINGAPORE a country or just a global city? Non-legally speaking, of course!
As its five million residents prepare to mark the republic’s 45th National Day on Monday, the question remains very much alive in the wake of the huge influx of foreigners.
During the past 10 years, one million foreigners have arrived, which has helped to create a stronger economy, but also diluted the proportion of local-born Singaporeans.
This was on top of another one million arrivals in the previous decade, most of them temporarily.
Except for some 20,000 a year who became citizens, the two million arrivals since 1990 have formed a big shifting, transient population that comes and goes – not an ideal ingredient for nation-building.
On Monday (Aug 9), many non-Singaporeans will join the locals to watch the parade and fireworks.
A few representatives from each major country will take part in the march-past.
The country or city question has been popping up more often with the increase in the foreign presence.
The total foreign element of the population is 36% (and still counting) and locals are becoming increasingly worried about its potential impact on national identity.
A recent think tank survey found that the majority of Singaporeans, while understanding why foreigners are needed, believe the vast number of arrivals would weaken unity.
Almost two out of every three Singaporeans felt the policy would “weaken Singaporeans’ feelings as ‘one nation, one people’,” said the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) after interviewing about 2,000 people.
This was a huge jump from the 38% who felt the same way in an earlier survey done in 1998, a strong indication of spreading public concern.
However, the study found that loyalty and pride remained stable.
The dilution of the Singaporean population content is causing long-term concerns about its defence, which rests on the shoulders of young Singaporean males.
From age 18, they have to serve compulsory military training for two years before becoming part of a reservist army that will serve as front-line troops in the event of hostilities.
Foreigners are exempted from national service as are permanent residents; but their sons have to serve.
Even before the immigration wave hit its shores, the question of whether Singapore was a country or just a global city was occasionally cropping up.
The earlier anxiety was caused by the country’s limited size and vulnerability.
It also depended heavily on the outside world.
Last year, the controversy was rekindled by Law Minister K. Shanmugam in a speech in the United States when he was defending Singapore’s dominant one-party system.
Critics, he said, were unfairly judging Singapore’s political system as a country, rather than as a city like New York.
“This is where most people make a mistake. I have tried to explain that we are different.
“We are a city. We are not a country,” the Singapore minister added.
It created a furore among young Singaporeans who were proud of their city state, especially a number of servicemen, past and present.
They were livid.
At about the same time, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew also touched on the issue but in a different context when he said that Singapore was still a work-in-progress when it came to nationhood.
“Are we a nation yet?
“I will not say we are. We’re in transition,” Lee said.
But, more than any of his younger ministers, the 86-year-old Minister Mentor realises the danger of having too many foreigners in the social fabric of this multi-racial, over-crowded island.
He said Singapore must cap the foreign content to no more than one-third of the population.
“... (we must) have a core – at least 65% of people born and bred here who understand this place”.
Lee is evidently aware of the potential rupture of society should public resentment continue to rise against newcomers in Singapore, one of the world’s most over-crowded cities.
There have been increasing cases of friction or conflict between locals and foreigners in recent months.
To put it in perspective, foreigners are not the only cause of the relatively weak national bonding in Singapore.
Singapore is only 45 years old, hardly a generation since independence – far too short a time for nation-building.
Another is the lure of opportunities in foreign countries.
On a visit to Qatar several years ago, Lee talked of the dilemma facing a globalising nation state: “(People) become citizens of the world.
“What does that mean? Lost!”
Lee said: “If more Singaporeans worked abroad and their children forget their roots, there will be no Singapore node to send them out.
“They dissolve and disappear and there is no Singapore.”
Last week Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he intended to bring in another 100,000 foreign workers, indicating the likelihood that he still wanted to see a 6.5 million population.
Some commentators believe the mass arrival of foreigners may dilute the city’s sense of patriotism, as well as its roots and traditions over time.
As the Chinese saying goes, a country without patriotism is like a country without soul.
Despite the rising public resentment against the immigration policy, analysts expect the ruling People’s Action Party to win another five-year mandate if elections were held now.
What is not known is whether it will be strong enough to push back an increase in the opposition voice in Parliament (now with two elected MPs).
Elections are widely tipped to take place within the next 12 months.
Critics believe a strong indication of public sentiment is the relatively low number of national flags displayed spontaneously by individuals outside their homes.

(This was first published in The Star)

khunking · Aug 12, 2010

Singapore woos singles in yet another dating campaign

Singapore woos singles in yet another dating campaign

Foreign

2010-08-12 14:21
SINGAPORE, Thursday 12 August 2010 (AFP) - Singapore is launching yet another campaign to promote dating among its notoriously love-shy singles as the city-state grapples with low birth and marriage rates, reports said Thursday.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) issued a tender this month through the government's official procurement website calling for proposals on how to encourage singles to date.
"This tender is called to engage a communications agency to conceptualise, plan and implement a public communications campaign to promote dating," said a notice monitored on the government's online procurement website GeBIZ.
No details of the tender were given on the website, but the Straits Times said the winning bidder will produce a television commercial to promote dating and draw up a "unique dating concept" to get singles to interact.
Targeted at people aged 20 to 35 who do not date, the initiative is the latest effort by the government to act as matchmaker for its loveless singles population.
It comes amid falling marriage and fertility rates in the tiny but affluent island-state with a population of about five million, more than one million of whom are foreigners.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in February urged citizens to ignore superstitions about the Chinese zodiac and make more babies during the Year of the Tiger in order to reverse falling birth rates.
He said Singapore's fertility rate had dipped to its lowest level ever at 1.23 babies per woman in 2009, down from 1.28 in 2008. This is well below the 2.1 replacement rate needed for a stable population.
The marriage rate hit 6.6 marriages per 1,000 residents in 2009, down from 7.8 in 1999, the Straits Times said, citing government statistics.
Initial reaction to the government's latest campaign at playing Cupid was cool.
"I think it's a bit silly," Koh Hoon Kiat, 25, a university graduate who is single, told AFP.
Asked if the television commercial will prompt him to find a dating partner, he said: "I can say that it's unlikely to do so... I'm not at a very desperate stage yet."
Previous government attempts to heat up romance and encourage couples to make more babies have so far failed to reverse the falling birth rates.

MySinchew 2010.08.12

khunking · Aug 12, 2010

Your Olympic Games

<TR class=msghead><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>AcidSand <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>3:07 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 11) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowspan="4"> </TD><TD class=wintiny nowrap="nowrap" align="right">37386.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height="8"></TD></TR> <TR><TD class=msgtxt>
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/11/food-galore-for-yog-athletes/
Food galore for YOG athletes

YOG volunteers complain about being served “dog food”

http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/08/11/yog-volunteers-complain-about-being-served-dog-food/
Makes me wonder .....
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khunking · Aug 15, 2010

Youth Olympic games gamble for Singapore

Business of Sport

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15 August 2010 Last updated at 08:10 GMT Share this page

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Youth Olympic games gamble for Singapore

By Sharanjit Leyl BBC Asia Business Report, Singapore

The games budget has trebled since Singapore won hosting rights
The first ever Youth Olympic games opened in Singapore this weekend with an elaborate ceremony featuring over 7,000 young performers dancing on a floating platform and several fireworks displays over the course of the two hour show.
It's the first new Olympic-branded event since the winter games made its debut 86 years ago.
The event features around 3,600 athletes aged between 14 to 18 from 204 countries.
They will compete in the same 26 sports that are represented in the current summer Olympics.
'Once in a lifetime' The games were the brainchild of the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, who said before the opening ceremony on Saturday that he felt like an expectant father awaiting the birth of a child.

The event will be a memorable experience for its young competitors
It was a culmination of his long-term desire to create a global sporting event for young people.
For athletes like 15-year old Jeffrey Lightfoot, who was one of the torchbearers, it's a chance to fulfil a childhood goal.
The aptly named Lightfoot is the captain of the Singapore youth football team. He has been playing soccer competitively since he was seven.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," he says.
"It's a very rare chance to be playing for Singapore and playing for these big Youth Olympic games, because you can only go to the Youth Olympics once in your life."
Budget questions But behind the hopes of the young athletes are worries over mounting costs and how much interest there would be in these new games.
Singapore won the bid to host the games in a tight race with Moscow more than two years ago, and the government has spent nearly $290m (£186m) on them.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

If I could rewind time, with the benefit of hindsight, I should have budgeted a larger amount in the first place”

End Quote Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore government minister
That's three times above the original budget of around $90m which was submitted to the IOC.
It's sparked criticism on internet blogs, one of the few places Singaporeans can voice their frustrations within the tightly-controlled city-state.
The government minister in charge of spending on the games, Vivian Balakrishnan, is unapologetic.
"If I could rewind time, with the benefit of hindsight, I should have budgeted a larger amount in the first place," he says.
"But the real question is if I knew that it was going to cost this amount, would I still have proceeded to bid for the games? The answer is a definite 'yes'."
Mr Balakrishnan, the Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports sees it as a chance to extend Singapore's image as an efficient globally connected city.
"I think this is not a trifling amount," he admits.
"But it is an amount that will give us value for money in terms of positioning ourselves, in terms of marketing ourselves, in terms of making sure we are on everyone's radar screen the next time they make an investment decision, the next time they decide to site an international or regional headquarters or the next time they decide to expand their business."
Slow sponsor take-up Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

I think what is good is that [sponsors] agree that this is a case where they should promote the games more than their own products”

End Quote Ng Ser Miang Games organising committee
But, unlike the summer Olympics where the numbers of viewers tuning in from all around the world is more or less known, the fact it is the first time the Youth Olympic games are being held means a risk for both governments and sponsors undertaking the cost.
Ng Ser Miang, the chairman of the Singapore Youth Olympics Organising Committee admits that it was a struggle at first to find companies to spend the money because the games are a first.
"In the case of sponsors, it was slow in the take-up," he says.
"But I think once they know the concept and they understand what these youth Olympics games is all about, we had a good response.
"We managed to raise about 60 million Singapore dollars and I think what is good is that they agree that this is a case where they should promote the games more than their own products."
And that is precisely what a number of the sponsors have done.
'Out on a limb' Coca Cola says it the longest serving continuous corporate sponsor of the main Olympic Games.
And according to its public affairs director in Singapore, June Kong-Dhanabalan, the goal of the company is to "help raise the awareness and excitement of the games and make some genuine consumer connections".
For the Youth Olympics, Coca Cola has provided cash and products - including more than 1.5 million cans and bottles of its various beverages.
Ms Dhanabalan adds that Coca Cola stands behind the Singaporean organising committee's decision in going "out on a limb".
No targets Also going out on a limb with these new games is Procter & Gamble.
Unlike Coca Cola, they are a new sponsor, having just signed up with the IOC in a 10-year deal last month.

Procter & Gamble has helped with costs for participants' families
But they had some prior experience, sponsoring Team America at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this year.
Marc Pritchard, P&G's global branding chief, says that campaign brought in $100m of extra sales for their products, a number which met with their targets.
However they, like other sponsors, will not disclose how much was spent.
Nonetheless, he does not expect the firm to generate as large a sum from the Youth Olympics and has set no targets.
For these games, they have sponsored 25 mothers of young Olympic athletes from around the world, helping with their travel and lodging costs.
'Strategic sponsorship' No money exchanged hands in the case of Pico, a local events management company that helped set up the many venues being used for the games, including the floating stage for the opening ceremony.

Pico says it wants to boost its presence through the Youth Games
Pico did not pay a fee to be one of the games' sponsors, but did some of their contracted work for free.
"We being a home-grown Singapore company, we want to show that we are a player in this industry," says Jean Chia, the managing director.
"So it is a strategic sponsorship for us because we want to be associated with the Olympic games as well as the Olympic spirit."
It is that spirit that Singapore's government is hoping to will capture audiences around the world.
Minister Balakrishnan admits that being the first to host the games is not without its risk.
"We will have to prove that we made the right decision over the next two weeks."

More on This Story

Business of Sport

BBC © MMX

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khunking · Aug 15, 2010

HFMD cases increase in Singapore

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 borderColor=#ffcc66 cellPadding=0 width=600 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffcc00 width=465>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wellcome to English.news.cn[/FONT] </TD><TD bgColor=#ffdc71 width=23> </TD><TD bgColor=#ffe8a2 width=13> </TD><TD bgColor=#fff1bb width=12> </TD><TD bgColor=#fff8d9 width=15> </TD><TD bgColor=#fff9dd width=34> </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#eaeaea><TD class=p9 colSpan=6>

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HFMD cases increase in Singapore

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</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR><TR><TD>SINGAPORE, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) cases is on the rise in Singapore with some 900 cases reported last week alone, local media reported on Friday.
This brings the total number of cases since the start of this year to 18,000, or 67 percent higher compared to the same period last year, local TV broadcaster Channel NewsAsia reported.
Of the cases notified this year, about 65 percent occurred in children aged less than five years old.
The Health Ministry said its surveillance has also detected an increase in the circulation of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) among HFMD patients.
The ministry said HFMD due to EV71 has been associated with increased disease severity and even death.
Twelve percent of the patient samples testing positive for EV71 in July.
The current rise in the number of notified HFMD cases is in keeping with the regional situation. (Yeo and Gao)
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khunking · Aug 15, 2010

Scientists find new superbug spreading from India

» Print

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Scientists find new superbug spreading from India

Wed, Aug 11 2010
By Kate Kelland and Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - A new superbug from India could spread around the world -- in part because of medical tourism -- and scientists say there are almost no drugs to treat it.
Researchers said on Wednesday they had found a new gene called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM-1, in patients in South Asia and in Britain.
U.S. health officials said on Wednesday there had been three cases so far in the United States -- all from patients who received recent medical care in India, a country where people often travel in search of affordable healthcare.
NDM-1 makes bacteria highly resistant to almost all antibiotics, including the most powerful class called carbapenems. Experts say there are no new drugs on the horizon to tackle it.
"It's a specific mechanism. A gene that confers a type of resistance (to antibiotics)," Dr. Alexander Kallen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said in a telephone interview.
With more people traveling to find less costly medical treatments, particularly for procedures such as cosmetic surgery, Timothy Walsh, who led the study, said he feared the new superbug could soon spread across the globe.
"At a global level, this is a real concern," Walsh, from Britain's Cardiff University, said in telephone interview.
"Because of medical tourism and international travel in general, resistance to these types of bacteria has the potential to spread around the world very, very quickly. And there is nothing in the (drug development) pipeline to tackle it."
Almost as soon as the first antibiotic penicillin was introduced in the 1940s, bacteria began to develop resistance to its effects, prompting researchers to develop many new generations of antibiotics.
But their overuse and misuse have helped fuel the rise of drug-resistant "superbug" infections like methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus, or MRSA.
MEDICAL TOURISM
In a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Wednesday, Walsh's team found NDM-1 was becoming more common in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan and was also imported back to Britain in patients returning after treatment.
"India also provides cosmetic surgery for other Europeans and Americans, and it is likely NDM-1 will spread worldwide," the scientists wrote in the study.
Walsh and his international team collected bacteria samples from hospital patients in two places in India, Chennai and Haryana, and from patients referred to Britain's national reference laboratory from 2007 to 2009.
They found 44 NDM-1-positive bacteria in Chennai, 26 in Haryana, 37 in Britain, and 73 in other sites in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Several of the British NDM-1 positive patients had traveled recently to India or Pakistan for hospital treatment, including cosmetic surgery, they said.
NDM-1-producing bacteria are resistant to many antibiotics including carbapenems, the scientists said, a class of the drugs reserved for emergency use and to treat infections caused by other multi-resistant bugs like MRSA and C-Difficile.
Kallen of the CDC said the United States considered the infection a "very high priority," but said carbapenem resistance was not new in the United States. "The thing that is new is this particular mechanism," he said.
Experts cited two drugs that can stand up to carbapenem-resistant infections -- colistin, an older antibiotic that has some toxic side effects, and Pfizer's Tygacil.
For many years, antibiotic research has been a "Cinderella" sector of the pharmaceuticals industry, reflecting a mismatch between the scientific difficulty of finding treatments and the modest sales such products are likely to generate, since new drugs are typically saved only for the sickest patients.
But the increasing threat from superbugs is encouraging a rethink at the few large drugmakers still hunting for new antibiotics, including Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.
Anders Ekblom, global head of medicines development at AstraZeneca, whose Merrem antibiotic was the leading carbapenem, said he saw "great value" in investing in new antibiotics.
"We've long recognized the growing need for new antibiotics, he said. "Bacteria are continually developing resistance to our arsenal of antibiotics and NDM-1 is just the latest example."
(Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Myra MacDonald and Peter Cooney)

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khunking · Aug 16, 2010

Number 1 $port In Singapore

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width=620><TBODY><TR><TD>The Electric New Paper :</TD></TR><TR><TD>Money used to fund projects</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12>Fifa's reply to TNP: It was need, not greed</TD></TR><TR><TD>The New Paper asked football supremo Sepp Blatter on Tuesday whether his organisation, Fifa, was being greedy by asking for too much money for television rights in Singapore.</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>By Gregory Loo</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12>14 August 2010</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12>
The New Paper asked football supremo Sepp Blatter on Tuesday whether his organisation, Fifa, was being greedy by asking for too much money for television rights in Singapore.
The question stumped the normally eloquent Fifa president, who paused for a full four seconds before asking another Fifa official to attempt an answer.
And when that failed, he promised The New Paper a response, a guarantee that was fulfilled yesterday by his spokesman.
So what was Fifa's reply?
Their bottom line: We need the money. Or more accurately, football development around the world needs the money. And that is why Fifa, football's world governing body, uses television rights to secure its funding. Fifaâ€™s spokesman explained to The New Paper that its primary source of income is derived from the television and marketing licensing rights that comes once in four years from the World Cup.
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khunking · Aug 21, 2010

Incoming

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<FORM id=searchform method=get action=/search/default.aspx sizcache="25" sizset="0">August 20, 2010</FORM>

Migration Could Triple Populations in Some Wealthy Nations

Some poor nations could see adult populations reduced by half

by Neli Esipova and Julie Ray

Page: 1 2

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index finds Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, and Kuwait atop the list of countries that could see the highest net adult population growth from international migration. If all adults worldwide who desire to migrate permanently to other countries actually moved where they wanted today, each country would see their adult populations double or even triple.

A Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) score is the estimated number of adults who would like to move permanently out of a country if the opportunity arose, subtracted from the estimated number who would like to move into it, as a proportion of the total adult population. The initial index released in 2009 was based on 135 countries and about 260,000 interviews conducted between 2007 and mid-2009. The latest results include 148 countries or areas surveyed through early 2010 and a total of about 350,000 interviews.
The higher the resulting positive PNMI value, the larger the potential net adult population gain. For example, in Switzerland, subtracting the estimated 800,000 Swiss adults who would like to move to another country if they had the opportunity from the 10 million adults who would like to move to Switzerland and dividing that number by the total Swiss adult population (6 million) results in a PNMI value -- or a net adult population gain -- of +150%.
Except for Switzerland and Kuwait, which are new to the index, the list of countries with the highest positive index scores remains relatively unchanged from the first release. The United States, the top desired destination among all potential migrants, continues to place farther down the list, after Canada and several other developed nations. It's important to keep in mind, though, that a country's population size affects how high or low its index score is and its ranking.
There are also few changes among countries with the highest negative PNMI values -- the ones that could potentially lose as much as half of their adult populations to migration. New additions Comoros and Somaliland join Liberia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Sierra Leone at the bottom of the list.

While Gallup's findings reflect people's wishes rather than their intentions, the implications of what could happen if these desires become reality are serious considerations for leaders as they plan for the future. Gallup will continue to monitor these trends in desired migration and will publish an updated index in 2011.
For the full list of countries and scores, see page 2.
Rajesh Srinivasan and Anita Pugliese provided additional analysis and technical assistance.
For complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150 countries Gallup continually surveys, please contact [email protected] or call 202.715.3030.
Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with 347,717 adults, aged 15 and older, in 148 countries from 2007 to early 2010. The 148 countries surveyed represent about 95% of the world's adult population. In Gulf Cooperation Council countries, only Arab nationals and Arab expatriates were surveyed. Potential Net Migration Index scores for countries where non-Arab expats make up more than 50% of the adult population are not reported: United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Index scores are not reported for countries where total sample sizes are 500 or lower because of the volatility in the index as measured by the margin of error: Belize, Cyprus, Guyana, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
For most countries, aggregated sample sizes (across multiple years of surveys) range between 1,000 and 4,000 interviews. A total of 8,196 interviews were conducted in India, 7,561 in China, and 7,010 in Russia.
The Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) is measured on a scale of -100 (meaning the total adult population of the country would leave) to infinity (meaning the potential inflow of adult population to the country is unlimited and depends on the number of adults who want to move in from around the world). As with any survey-based estimate, the PNMI has a corresponding margin of error for each country, calculated using the Standard Error (SE) of the index. Sample size, size of the country, and range in population projection weights affect the PNMI margin of error.
The index for each country and range at the 95% confidence level are presented in the table on page 2. For example, the PNMI for El Salvador is estimated at -45%, meaning if all adults who desire to move in and out of the country did so, the adult population would decline by 45%. With the margin of error at the 95% confidence level, this estimate ranges from -48% to -43%. Gallup estimates that Singapore's adult population would increase 219%, with the margin of error, this estimate ranges from +168% to +270%.
Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index is based on responses to the following questions:
Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?
(If "would like to move permanently to another country") To which country would you like to move? [Open-ended, one response allowed]

Page: 1 2

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khunking · Aug 23, 2010

Green Green Grass Of Home

Dear Sir/Madam,

It was recently reported on the 21st August 2010 that jobless numbers are on the rise again and close to 68,100 Singaporeans are unemployed.

In reference to http://www.ahp.mohh.com.sg/index.htmlhttp://www.ahp.mohh.com.sg/index.html
MOH Holdings (formerly known as Health Corporation of Singapore) provides training and employment services to Singapore's governmental healthcare, such as polyclinics and hospitals.

If we take a look at their webpage, it is cleary seen they are trying to attract foreigners to work in our heatlhcare sector.
And they will be heading to Australia, Ireland, UK and Taipei to look for more foreign 'talents'.

Why are they not reaching out to the 68,100 unemployed Singaporeans? Surely a small percentage, if not all, would be willing to work in the healthcare industry.

I do not deny that some of the jobs in healthcare, most Singaporeans would not want to do it as it is considered dirty.
But if we take a closer look, some of the jobs offered are Speech/Occupational Therapists, Prosthetics & Orthotists, Physiotherapists and Healthcare Administrators. Is MOH Holdings trying to tell us out of those 68,100 unemployed, not even 1% are good enough for such jobs? Even on their website banner, they are proud to display testimonials from foreigners who got the jobs in Singapore through MOH Holdings.

Do we really need such organisations that blatantly and openly ignore Singaporeans to import foreigners?
Why do our own Governement-run stat boards and ministries turn a blind-eye to such an act?

Other examples:
http://worksingapore.com/http://worksingapore.com/ - a site run by Jobsfactory and Jobcentral, which are WDA approved Job Directories.
http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/working-in-singapore/Pages/default.aspxhttp://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/working-in-singapore/Pages/default.aspx - our own Ministry of Manpower touting Singapore to Foreigners, even when our Prime Minister has promised to 'slow down' the number of foreign workers.

It is quite unfortunate that the sacrifices of born and bred Singaporeans, continued to be ignored in favour of foreigners in the name of GDP growth and the current ruling party's ridiculous fat salaries and bonuses.

- A Singaporean Patriot

khunking · Aug 28, 2010

More Singapore Facebook arrests likely

Home / News & Blogs
More Singapore Facebook arrests likely

Liau Yun Qing, ZDNet Asia | August 27, 2010 8:33 AM PDT

SINGAPORE--Arrests related to questionable comments made on social media platforms are likely to continue in future, says an industry analyst, who adds that both users and the government have a role to play in minimizing such incidents.
According to local reports, Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali was arrested earlier this week on charges related to incitement of violence due to comments he made on Facebook, Currently released on bail, the 27-year-old had urged other users on the social networking site to "burn" a local cabinet minister.
Quoting Abdul Malik, local media group Mediacorp said the police had interrogated him about his use of words "burn", "rally" and "sit-down protest". A report on news blog Temasek Review included a screen capture of his comment which was posted on Aug. 18:

Such cases are likely to continue in the future, according to Shivanu Shukla, associate director at research firm Frost & Sullivan. In a phone interview Thursday with ZDNet Asia, he said Singapore is a well-connected country with about two-third of its online population users of Facebook.
For more on this story, read Singapore Facebook arrest unlikely to be last on ZDNet Asia.

khunking · Aug 28, 2010

Singapore’s tough balancing act on immigration

Business

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> </SCRIPT>Singapore’s tough balancing act on immigration

By Mariko Oi Asia Business Report, BBC World, Singapore

Some of Singapore's 245,000-strong army of foreign construction workers built the SkyPark
Overlooking Singapore's central business district, construction workers are busy building a new high-end restaurant on the rooftop park of Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Located on the 57th floor, the SkyPark is the latest attraction that Singapore boasts.
Despite the ongoing construction, the hotels and the casino downstairs are already open to the public.
So visitors, whether or not they like it, get a glimpse at the driving force behind Singapore's construction boom: foreign workers.
Jay Chiu, chief executive of Grandworks, employs 150 of them to work on projects across the city state.
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Jay Chiu: "Singaporeans are not willing to take on this type of job"


"Our workers are from Malaysia, Bangladesh and China," he says.
Others also come from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Burma, the Philippines, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan.
They are part of a huge army of 245,000 construction workers in Singapore.
"In our industry, all the work is very tough. Singaporeans are not willing to take up this kind of job," Mr Chiu says.
"So we have no choice but to rely on foreign workers to help us in our industry."
They are also much cheaper to hire than Singaporeans.
Immigration control However, the industry is facing a big challenge.

Foreign workers make up a third of all workers in the city state
The government has reduced the annual intake of immigrant workers from 150,000 to 100,000.
It has also raised levies on foreign workers to make it less attractive for companies to import labour.
This means higher costs or not enough workers for Mr Chiu.
"If we don't have enough manpower, it will slow down our whole work progress," he says.
"We might need to pay more in order to get more skilled workers to work for us."
"If the government controls the entry of foreign workers, how can we complete projects on time?"
Foreign talent Singapore has also been trying to attract more foreign professionals.
"Singapore's future rests on growing a deep pool of highly talented and entrepreneurial people," says the Economic Strategies Committee chaired by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugratnam.
One of them, British project manager Duncan Craig, came to Singapore five years ago.
"I decided to come here because Asia's economy was going off back then. Since then, Singapore in particular has been booming," he says.
However, employment agent R. Narayanamohan says that the government is being increasingly selective of foreign professionals, too.
"They are taking a more qualitative approach," he says.
"Over the past year, a few visa applications have been rejected and the government asked for more information. When we went back to them with extra documents, we got them approved."
"I think they want to check the background of the applicants more thoroughly."
Growing complaints Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

We will control the inflow, to ensure that it is not too fast, and not too large”

End Quote Lee Hsien Loong Singapore Prime Minister
So why is the government restricting the entry of foreign workers?
The issue, it seems, is political.
Singapore's citizens have been complaining about the soaring number of immigrants.
The country now has the highest proportion of them in Asia, as foreigners make up one third of the island's workforce of 3 million. It is a sharp jump from a mere 3% in 1970.
"Without warning, the floodgates were opened to allow foreigners into the country indiscriminately," says an opinion piece on the popular online forum Temasek Review.
"In the past, the foreigners [who were] given a permit to work in Singapore were either highly qualified or filled positions [which were] shunned by Singaporeans. They are now competing directly with them (Singaporeans) for limited jobs."
The latest National Orientations of Singaporeans Survey, conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, shows that more than six out of 10 Singaporeans believe that the government's immigration policy was weakening national unity.
Dilemma It is a dilemma that the government faces.
Singapore's birth rate of 9.9 per 1,000 people in 2009 is one of the lowest in the world.
At the current rate, the population is expected to begin shrinking in 2020.
However, ahead of the next general election, which the government must call by February 2012, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is keen to ease concerns of its citizens.
He has addressed the issue on many occasions, including on the eve of Singapore's 45th National Day.
"I understand Singaporeans' concerns about taking in so many foreign workers and immigrants," he says.
"We will control the inflow, to ensure that it is not too fast, and not too large."
"We will only bring in people who can contribute to Singapore and work harder to integrate them into our society."
It is a likely hot topic when he addresses the nation in his National Day Rally speech, equivalent of the State of the Union in America, on August 29.
But it's a tough balancing act.
The government is well aware that it needs immigrant workers to continue its speculator economic growth.
"We will develop and invest in our people, but we also need to reinforce the Singapore team with talent and numbers from abroad," Prime Minister Lee says.
"We must make up for the shortage of Singaporean workers in our economy and the shortfall of babies in our population."

BBC © MMX

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khunking · Aug 28, 2010

Re: Blackout hits Novena MRT!

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</TD><TD noWrap>borom

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Alfrescian
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Posts: 409
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Re: Blackout hits Novena MRT!
<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(152,152,152); COLOR: rgb(152,152,152)" SIZE=1>We should call it Brownout -that's what the Pinoys call it.

It's s very common in the Philippines and somehow as we have more Pinoys here,the number of blackouts,oops I mean Brownouts seems to increase.

Same for the PRCs- as we have more and more PRC's, its a matter of time before we have poisons in our food, like melamine, bleach ect.Building collapse-just wait for the PRC built structures to reach certain age

As for the Indians FT , just look at DBS-more and more IT failures.

As for the Burmese, I'm not sure what's their speciality,but it seems flood prone and somehow we seems to be having more floods also.

Its definitely going to be very vibrant indeed.
__________________
"The Taiwanese are ruthless, Hong Kongers are shameless and Singaporeans are ignorant."
</TD></TR>

khunking · Aug 29, 2010

M'sia, S'pore Joint Implementation Team Meets

<TABLE style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px" class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD>Local </TD></TR><TR><TD class=createdate vAlign=top>Sunday, 29 August 2010 14:57
Last updated on Sunday, 29 August 2010 15:13

</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 10px" class=contentheading width="100%">M'sia, S'pore Joint Implementation Team Meets </TD><TD class=buttonheading width="100%" align=right>| Print | </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 10px" vAlign=top>KUALA LUMPUR, 29 AUG, 2010: The second meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Implementation Team (MSJIT) held in Singapore saw fruitful discussions by both sides over two days from Aug 26, according to a press statement.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Singaporean counterpart George Yeo said in the joint press statement that the meeting discussed the implementation details arising from the agreement reached between Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Leaders' Retreat in Singapore on May 24.

"It was agreed that the next MSJIT meeting would be held after (Malaysian) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's visit to Singapore in September 2010," they said.

The Malaysian delegation to the MSJIT meeting was led by Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa the Singapore team by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Peter Ho.

During the Leaders' Retreat, Malaysia agreed, among other things, to move the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) station in Tanjong Pagar to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by July 1, 2011.

Malaysia will also co-locate its railway customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facilities at the WTCP.

A rapid transit system link between Tanjung Puteri in Johor Baharu and Singapore, aimed at enhancing connectivity between the two countries, is to be jointly developed.

-- Bernama

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khunking · Sep 2, 2010

Singapore Airlines warns employees

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</TD></TR><TR><TD id=container-6-0-layout-web-article-containers-articlecontainer_1-index.xml class=wide2 rowSpan=3 colSpan=2>Singapore Airlines warns employees

Thursday, September 02, 2010 » 05:43pm

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Singapore Airlines has directed its flight attendants to avoid discussing work-related matters on Facebook.

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Singapore Airlines (SIA) has directed its flight attendants to avoid discussing work-related matters on Facebook and other social networking websites, company officials said Thursday.
The image-conscious airline, which is consistently ranked by passengers as one of the world's best, took action after some cabin crew were found to have discussed confidential job issues on Facebook.
The Straits Times newspaper reported on Thursday that some crew members got warning letters for grumbling about duty rosters, passengers, and their bosses and colleagues on Facebook.
'Our staff may of course have a blog or Facebook and Twitter account like any other member of the public,' an airline spokeswoman said.
'But our policy is clear that they must not comment on work matters about business or customers, so as to protect proprietary information as well as the privacy of other staff and our customers.'
A posting on the SIA staff union website stated that 'recently, there have been a few cases of crew being penalised for their postings on Facebook about company-related matters such as their rosters'.
'Please refrain from such postings on your Facebook wall or any public forums or blog, as you do not know who is really lurking out there and who are really your friends,' it added.
On one Facebook account checked by Agence France-Presse, a woman calling herself an SIA flight attendant said she was 'going to be upset' if she was called up for 'lousy' flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong on Airbus A380 super-jumbos.
'No fair... roster no good again... no fair,' said another account.
'So many flights.. So little Off Days.. I'm going crazy...' a third Facebook user remarked.

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