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Switch to backup system failed during Singtel outage on Oct 8: Janil Puthucheary​

Calls to emergency services and healthcare institutions, as well as as banks and businesses, were disrupted in the Oct 8 landline outage. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Anjali Raguraman
Correspondent

Nov 11, 2024

SINGAPORE – A backup system did not kick in as planned when an unprecedented Singtel outage occurred on Oct 8, causing intermittent service disruption that lasted several hours, said Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary on Nov 11.
On Oct 8, calls to emergency services and healthcare institutions, as well as as banks and businesses, were disrupted in the landline outage. The disruption lasted more than three hours before services progressively resumed in the evening.
According to preliminary findings, a network component in one of the two systems supporting Singtel’s fixed line voice service experienced a technical issue, said Dr Janil, who was responding to several questions raised by MPs in Parliament.
“The two systems, located in separate telephone exchanges, are designed to immediately take over the full load of the other when one system malfunctions,” he said.
“However, in this instance, the failover did not happen seamlessly, which caused the intermittent service disruption.”
All services were progressively restored over a four-hour time period from the start of the incident, he said, adding that half of all calls made could still be connected.
He said there is no evidence to suggest that the incident was related to sabotage or cyber-attack.

“IMDA takes a serious view of this incident and is investigating the cause of this disruption and whether Singtel’s incident response was adequate,” said Dr Janil, adding that investigations are continuing.
Singtel is held to a “high level of reliability” in the Government’s regulatory framework, he said, and noted that IMDA will not hesitate to take strong action under the Telecommunications Act, including imposing financial penalties should any lapses be identified.
Singtel previously said the disruption was an “isolated incident”.

Five MPs had asked about what could have caused the Oct 8 landline disruption, how such an incident could be prevented in future, and whether any action will be taken against Singtel.
Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong), Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) and Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) had asked the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) what the root causes of the disruption were, and whether operational continuity plans are adequate for instances where a telco supports essential hotlines.
Dr Tan also asked the Ministry of Home Affairs whether critical landline hotlines such as 995 and 999 can be protected in the event of a single telco failure. Singtel is currently the only service provider for both hotlines.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling weighed in, saying that the SCDF and police are working with IMDA to consider additional resiliency measures for their hotlines, including considering the “feasibility of telco diversity for our emergency hotlines”.
Ms Sun added there was no public feedback about the SCDF or the police failing to respond to any urgent or life-threatening incident as a result of the disruption.

In a supplementary question, Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa asked how many people used the alternative SMS numbers to contact the emergency services, and about the public’s awareness of these alternatives.
During the outage, the SCDF and police had urged members of the public to use SMS – 70995 for SCDF and 70999 for the police – to contact them instead.
Ms Sun said she did not have the specific numbers, noting that the SMS numbers “are not new”. But following the outage, the ministry will be “even more enthusiastic” about putting out the numbers, she said.

 

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Ah neh has $93 million worth of DBS shares while the Sinkies suffer from ATM and internet banking outages because of his mismanagement.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta sells $12.6 million worth of shares as DBS hits all-time high​

The transactions reduced DBS CEO Piyush Gupta's current holdings to 1.9 million shares from 2.2 million shares before. PHOTO: ST FILE
Benjamin Cher

Nov 11, 2024


SINGAPORE - Outgoing DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta sold lots of his DBS shares on Nov 7 and 8, amid a bank rally that sent DBS shares past the $40 mark.
In a bourse filing on Nov 11, the bank disclosed that he sold 300,000 shares over those two days – 100,000 shares at $41.7513 a share on Nov 7, and 200,000 shares at $42.2023 a share the following day.
The two transactions netted Gupta $12.6 million, and reduced his current holdings to 1.9 million DBS shares from 2.2 million shares before.
His transactions come as Singapore banking stocks rallied after consensus-beating performances for the third quarter of 2024. DBS, UOB and OCBC shares continued to rally on Nov 11, hitting new all-time highs at the close of trading.
DBS closed up 0.8 per cent or $0.35 to $42.75, OCBC closed up 1.6 per cent or $0.26 to $16.32, while UOB was the top gainer on the Straits Times Index, up 2.7 per cent or $0.96 to $36.65. THE BUSINESS TIMES

 

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Stupid policy by the Singapore Police Force:

- if they think that the key is to practise safe riding habits.
How many motorcyclists ride dangerous, split lines, weave in and out of traffic, and do not observe traffic rules?

- if they say defensive riding courses for motorcyclists are available.
Would foreign (Malaysian) motorcyclists sign up for the course?

- if they think talks and activities organised by the TP are effective.
- What percentage of the motorcyclist population attended the courses?
- Are there any foreign (Malaysian) motorcyclists who attended?

Forum: Road safety a shared responsibility​

Nov 11, 2024

We refer to the letter by Mr Ong Kim Bock, “Regulate lane splitting by motorcyclists” (Oct 30). We share his concern on road safety for motorcyclists, and note his suggestion to regulate lane splitting or lane filtering, as it is known in some jurisdictions.
However, making lane filtering an offence may not be a practical solution and would be challenging to enforce. Instead, we believe that key for the safety of motorcyclists is to practise safe riding habits, including defensive riding, and to avoid weaving in and out of traffic.
Defensive riding courses for motorcyclists are available at all driving centres in Singapore. The Traffic Police (TP) also incorporates defensive riding knowledge and tips in road safety advisories, as well as in our engagements with motorcyclists.
This year’s Singapore Ride Safe campaign is just one of our engagements with the motorcyclist community. TP organised a series of talks and activities for motorcyclists in collaboration with our partners. They covered important topics such as how to conduct proper pre-ride checks and the importance of wearing appropriate riding gear to prevent serious injuries.
In addition, all motorists should be fully aware of the road situation around them, check their blind spots, and signal their intent before changing lanes or turning.
Road safety is a shared responsibility, and all road users must abide by the traffic rules to keep our roads safe for everyone.

Patrick Pang
Deputy Superintendent of Police
Covering Assistant Director (Media Relations Division)
Public Affairs Department, Singapore Police Force

 

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CapitaLand warns of China losses as Singapore property investor cuts exposure​

CapitaLand's current exposure to China is 27 per cent of its $113 billion in funds. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Nov 22, 2024

SINGAPORE – CapitaLand Investment, one of Asia’s largest property investment managers, warned of potential losses as it seeks to extricate itself from China’s real estate crisis.

The Singapore-listed firm wants to reduce its exposure in the world’s second-largest economy to 10-20 per cent of its expected $200 billion in funds under management by 2028, it said in an investor day presentation on Nov 22.

In doing so, the company may incur “potential fair value or divestment losses” that impact near-medium term non-operating earnings, it added.

Its current exposure to China is 27 per cent of its $113 billion in funds.

The listed investment arm of CapitaLand Group, which is owned by Singapore state investor Temasek, has long been a major investor in China, but a years-long property downturn there has made these bets, spanning from office space to malls, turn sour.

These struggles have hit the company’s stock, which is down almost 12 per cent in 2024 compared with a 16 per cent gain in the Straits Times Index.

Selling its property in China has been difficult, with the bulk of the $4.6 billion divestments in 2024 up to early November coming from Singapore and other countries like Japan.

CapitaLand Investment is seeking to more than double its operating earnings to more than $1 billion by 2028-2030, and could do new real estate investment trust listings in Australia, China and India, it said in the presentation.

So far, it has sought to increase its exposure elsewhere, including most recently announcing it will buy out SC Capital Partners Group, a Japan-focused property investor.

CapitaLand Investment’s management said in an analyst call earlier in November that it hopes to divest about $1 billion in China in 2024, according to a Citigroup Nov 6 note, which added that it estimates the company has just sold about $300 million so far.

Citigroup also said that the Singapore firm is aiming to divest about $3.5 billion Chinese assets on its balance sheet over three years, although it will stop giving divestment targets in 2025. BLOOMBERG

 

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Forum: SGH can improve response time for online bookings​

Nov 18, 2024

In the interest of useful feedback, I would like to share a recent personal experience of making an appointment at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) with a specific doctor in mind.

I decided to go for an online booking by e-mail with SGH, as this was possible on its website.

After providing all the necessary information and receiving an e-mail confirmation of my request, I waited for a response.

After four days, I decided to telephone the SGH hotline for appointments. A polite woman at the other end attended to me and within a few minutes, I got a verbal confirmation of a date and time of appointment with my desired doctor.

I find it unacceptable that SGH has a dedicated digital link for making appointments but it is unable to respond speedily within a reasonable timeframe.

I consider a maximum of two working days or 48 hours to be reasonable to reply to a patient. SGH should review its standard operating procedures to remedy this shortcoming. Otherwise, more people like me will only call the SGH hotline.

Raymond Koh Bock Swi

 

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Forum: Fixed rent system for hawker stalls would remove focus on bid prices​

Nov 22, 2024

I appreciate the latest efforts by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to deter high bids for hawker stalls by introducing safeguards against aggressive bidding practices (New measure by NEA to deter high bids for hawker stalls, Nov 4).

While this policy change is a step in the right direction, it feels more like placing a plaster on a wound rather than addressing the root cause of the problem.

The issue with the current bidding system lies in its focus on monetary bids, which prioritises financial capability over the true purpose of hawker centres: serving affordable, high-quality food to the community.


Even with safeguards, potential hawkers who offer unique, quality dishes but lack the financial means to place competitive bids may still be excluded from the system.

Take, for example, Dunman Food Centre, where it was recently reported that a rental bid for a hawker stall was nearly $7,000. This is an extraordinary figure compared with the median hawker rent in Singapore, which is $1,250.

Such exorbitant rents are unsustainable for many hawkers and often translate to higher food prices for consumers. While NEA’s new measures aim to prevent outliers like this, the underlying flaws in the system remain.

A year ago, I wrote to the Forum urging the authorities to rethink the bidding system. My suggestion then, which remains relevant today, was to replace the current system with a fixed rent system that considers food quality and the centre’s overall food mix.


This approach would ensure a balanced variety of offerings and maintain the cultural and culinary vibrancy of hawker centres, while keeping stalls accessible to promising hawkers with limited financial resources.

The bidding system, even with adjustments, may still inadvertently foster a climate of high rents and unsustainable business models. A fixed rent system, coupled with assessments based on food quality and diversity, would align better with the original intent of hawker centres and give the community affordable and diverse food options.


It is time for a comprehensive review of the hawker stall allocation system. By moving away from a financially driven model, we can better preserve the unique cultural and social role of hawker centres in Singapore.

Martin Lee Ming Han

 

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Govt doing its best to help with cost of living, while opposition tries to exploit issue: PM Wong​

Though inflation has moderated in recent months, price levels remain higher than before, impacting people’s sense of well-being, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Nov 24.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Goh Yan Han
Nov 25, 2024

SINGAPORE - The PAP Government is doing its best to shield citizens from the worst effects of global inflation, even as opposition parties in Singapore have tried to exploit cost-of-living concerns to turn sentiments against the ruling party, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

While he acknowledged Singaporeans’ worries about the cost of living, he noted that it is not an issue unique to Singapore, as countries everywhere are facing similar pressures due to the recent spike in global inflation.

Though inflation in most places, including Singapore, has moderated in recent months, price levels remain higher than before, impacting people’s sense of well-being, he said in his speech at the PAP’s biennial party conference on Nov 24.


About 3,000 party cadres, activists and guests – including from the labour movement – were gathered at the Singapore Expo, where cadre members had voted in the morning for the party’s next core group of leaders.

PM Wong, who is currently PAP’s deputy secretary-general, noted how frustration with the rising cost of living overshadowed other matters and contributed to strong anti-incumbency feelings in countries that held elections in 2024. Every governing party in a developed country that held elections in 2024 lost vote share, and a number lost the mandate to govern altogether, he noted.

“We feel the pressure in Singapore too. Opposition parties have tried to exploit this issue to turn sentiments against the PAP, even though they themselves do not have good solutions,” he said.


“We hope Singaporeans understand that these are global inflation trends. They impact all countries.”


The Government has rolled out major packages over the last few years, with more help on the way in the coming months, such as another tranche of CDC vouchers in January 2025, said PM Wong.


The Assurance Package that was first announced in Budget 2020 was enhanced by PM Wong at subsequent Budgets, with a total of over $10 billion earmarked so far to cushion the impact of cost-of-living increases.


“I am now preparing for Budget 2025, because I’m still the Finance Minister, remember. I will see how we can continue to provide additional support in the Budget,” he added.

On top of the national measures, the party branches in the constituencies have also rolled out their local schemes and programmes.

“As a government and a party, we are doing all we can… to help Singaporeans cope with the higher cost of living,” said PM Wong.

Other domestic challenges that Singapore has faced included the Covid-19 pandemic that was a baptism of fire for him and his team, he added.

“We are tackling the next challenge of our generation – to renew our social compact, refresh our Singapore Dream, and to give every Singaporean the assurance and hope that tomorrow will be better than today,” he said.

PM Wong said the PAP has stood for a fair and just society for all from its beginning, and built a system in Singapore that is clean and honest and that operates on the basis of merit.

The system also works because of the strong tripartite partnership among unions, employers and the Government forged over many decades, he added, citing the symbiotic ties between the PAP and NTUC.

“The PAP-NTUC link is strong and vital. We share your conviction that every worker matters, and we will continue to advance the well-being of all workers in Singapore,” said PM Wong.

While the core values and fundamentals will never change, Singapore has to adapt to new circumstances, and the evolving needs of society – which is why the 4G team embarked on the Forward Singapore exercise, he added.

Since then, big moves made in the past year include Age Well SG, the Majulah Package, enhancements to SkillsFuture and changes to the housing and education systems, he noted.

“We have a full agenda under Forward Singapore. The changes and transformations we seek are just beginning, and they will unfold over several years,” said PM Wong. “This is what I am most passionate about. Working together, hand in hand, we can chart a new course and build a better Singapore.”

 

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Misunderstanding of internal govt circular led to unmasking of NRIC numbers on Bizfile: Acra​

Acra rolled out its new Bizfile portal on Dec 9. It allowed the public to access full NRIC numbers via a search for free, sparking concerns about data privacy.PHOTO: ACRA

Lee Li Ying
Dec 19, 2024

SINGAPORE – A misunderstanding of an internal government circular and lack of coordination between government staff had led to the disclosure of full NRIC numbers on a new business portal, said the chief executive of Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra).

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) had in July issued a circular to government agencies telling them to stop using masked NRIC numbers in new business processes and services as part of a broader policy shift to gradually move away from using NRIC numbers as a method of authentication.

In a press conference on Dec 19, Acra chief executive Chia-Tern Huey Min said staff from her agency had “interpreted the requirements to cease the use of masked NRIC numbers as needing to unmask the numbers in our new Bizfile portal”.


“Acra sought to clarify with MDDI what were the scope and implementation timeline of this new requirement. But communications between the two agencies were not sufficiently clear, leading to Acra’s mistaken thinking,” said Mrs Chia-Tern.

Acra rolled out its new Bizfile portal on Dec 9. It allowed the public to access full NRIC numbers via a search for free, sparking concerns about data privacy.


Mrs Chia-Tern apologised for the lapse, which she said had caused anxiety and confusion among the public.

“As the owner of the Bizfile portal, Acra should have been more mindful that many Singaporeans have long treated their NRIC numbers as private and confidential information, and would not want to have their full NRIC numbers searchable on the new portal,” she said.

“We should also have taken more deliberate care to ensure that such information, deemed sensitive by many, is provided only when needed. Acra will learn from this lesson and tighten our systems and processes,” she added.

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said the miscommunication took place despite attempts to coordinate and seek clarification. “We are very sorry,” she added.

Acknowledging the confusion caused by the Government’s statement that it is moving away from masked NRIC numbers, she clarified multiple times during the two-hour press conference that this new approach does not mean automatically unmasking and using a person’s full NRIC number in all circumstances.

The Government is not asking for all NRIC numbers to suddenly be revealed, Mrs Teo said.

She noted that the Government uses full NRIC numbers to facilitate services such as disbursements of grants and subsidies to different individuals with the same name, for example.

The private sector will be consulted to get feedback on what scenarios may require the use of unmasked NRIC numbers, among other issues, Mrs Teo added.


Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said the Government is reviewing the incident to identify areas where communication and coordination between agencies can be improved.

“It is still premature at this stage to say if anything is going to happen to particular staff in question... This is an instance of a misunderstanding. One has to ascertain exactly how that came about, and have a look at the full facts before deciding on what, if anything needs to be done,” she said.

Mrs Chia-Tern also explained Acra’s role as the national business registry, which has to maintain transparency in Singapore’s business environment.

To do so, it has to establish and administer a repository of information relating to business entities and the people behind the entities, and provide access to this information.

The Bizfile portal allows the public to search for the name and unique entity number (UEN) of companies, as well as company directors and shareholders.

This information enables companies or individuals to carry out checks before they decide to do business with another party.

For example, a company considering appointing an individual as a board director can check the Bizfile portal for the individual’s associations with other companies.

“This helps the company in a few ways – it can reveal potential conflicts of interest, past bankruptcies involving the individual, the performance of companies the individual is associated with, and whether the individual is holding an excessive number of directorships. These insights are crucial for the company to obtain but may not be appropriate to inquire directly from the individual,” said Mrs Chia-Tern.