KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has taken a step closer towards building the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) after Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak unveiled the architectural concept designs for seven stations.

“We are all excited to see the lift-off of this project that has been the talk around the world for sometime now,” the Prime Minister said at an unveiling ceremony at the Malaysia International Trade Exhibition Centre here on Tuesday.

Najib, who said that the project was close to his heart, said the unveiling of the station designs would allow Malaysians to get a better “look and feel” of the HSR.

“I have personally been involved in ensuring that every station design retains a strong reflection of Malaysia’s identity and heritage whilst remaining modern and futuristic,” he added.

The station in Putrajaya embraces Islamic architecture while the one in Seremban draws inspiration from the Sri Menanti palace.

The station in Melaka is inspired by the state’s history and is designed with an image of a merchant ship in mind.

The design of the Muar station is taken from the rehal (book rest) which is used to hold the Quran, while the Batu Pahat station is inspired by the kuda kepang (a traditional dance).

The Johor station will be the representation of a handshake.

Najib also announced that land acquisition process for the project had started, involving the freezing of development in pre-selected areas along the route.

He said that acquisition would be carried out once the areas concerned are finalised.

He added a three-month HSR public inspection period at key locations along the route will begin on Nov 1.

“This exercise serves as a channel for the public to share their feedback, suggestions or raise any concern regarding the project, and proposed alignment,” he added.

He said that the HSR project will help drive the nation’s National Transformation 2050 (TN50) aspirations, while revolutionising connectivity between two of South-East Asia’s major economic forces.

The KL-SG HSR will cover a 350km route connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with stations in Bandar Malaysia, Bangi-Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat, Iskandar Puteri and also Jurong East in Singapore.

The train will have a top speed of 350kmph and will take about 90mins to travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.

Two Singapore-based universities, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS), emerged at the top of the latest QS Asia University Rankings released today, reaffirming the country’s excellence in tertiary education.

The two Singapore-based universities were followed by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) [located in Hong Kong] which was ranked third, while Universiti Malaya (UM) [located in Malaysia], was ranked 24th, and the Singapore Management University [located in Singapore] came in at 71st place.

TOP 10 UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA

1. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) [location: Singapore]

2. National University of Singapore (NUS) [location: Singapore]

3. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) [location: Hong Kong]

4. KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [location: South Korea]

5. University of Hong Kong (HKU) [location: Hong Kong]

6. Tsinghua University [location: China]

7. Fudan University [location: China]

8. City University of Hong Kong [location: Hong Kong]

9. Peking University [location: China]

10. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) [location: Hong Kong]

Featuring 450 of the top universities in Asia, the ranking released by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is based on a methodology which considers 10 performance indicators, including factors considered particularly important in this part of the world, such as the number of staff with a PhD, and each university’s proportion of inbound and outbound exchange students.

Along with the rankings, QS also provided a deeper analysis of the top 10 universities, here are the top five.

1. NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (NTU)

Climbing two places and knocking the National University of Singapore out of the top spot this year, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is now the highest-ranked university both in Singapore and Asia. The tertiary institution received the highest score in the whole ranking for citations per faculty member (a measure of research impact).

A young university, NTU was established in 1991, and has consistently been ranked first in the QS Top 50 Under 50. NTU was also featured among the world’s best for 31 subjects, including top 10 positions for chemical and civil engineering.

The university has a student population of about 32,400 and has the largest university campus in Singapore, at 200 hectares.

2. NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS)

Despite dropping a place to rank second in Asia in 2018, National University of Singapore (NUS) has nonetheless received the highest score in the entire ranking for employer reputation, and is only one place behind NTU for citations per faculty member.

NUS was featured among the world’s best for 36 subjects, including positions in the top 10 for chemical and civil engineering, chemistry, materials science, architecture and statistics.

Founded in 1905 as the King Edward VII College of Medicine, today NUS has around 38,600 students, almost 10,000 of whom are studying at postgraduate level.

3. THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (HKUST)

Up one place this year, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is another one of the youngest top universities in Asia in this list, having been founded in 1991.

The university was also featured in the QS Top 50 Under 50, ranked in second place, just after NTU.

HKUST has around 14,200 students and boasts an attractive 60-hectare campus in an area of natural beauty on the Clear Water bay peninsula, a short drive from central Hong Kong.

4. KAIST – KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Climbing two places this year, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology was founded in 1971 as the first research-orientated science and engineering university in South Korea.

It’s located in Daejeon, a city known for its innovation in science and education, and also has a campus in capital city Seoul.

KAIST currently has around 10,600 students, with a larger proportion of postgraduates than undergraduates.

5. UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (HKU)

Despite dropping three places to rank fifth in Asia this year, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is nonetheless consistently one of the top universities in Asia.

HKU is Hong Kong’s oldest university, having been established in 1911, and has since gained international recognition for its achievements as a research-led comprehensive university.

HKU has an enrollment of 28,744 students, including 9,215 international students.

Human Resources is the smart HR professional’s blueprint for workforce strategy.

There comes a time in every parent’s life when they realise that the reason for their overpowering eyebags is no longer a night at the club or staying up to cram for an exam, but: kids.

Being a parent, especially in a dual-income family, is a constant struggle to try to get enough sleep, while ensuring everyone gets home from school in one piece and nobody fails the PSLE.

In other words, you need all the help you can get. So here are five things parents of school-going kids can use to save time, money and their sanity.

SCHOOLBER

Making sure your child makes it through the school gates in time every morning is more stressful for parents than it is for the kids.

Not only do you have to be up before everyone else, after you drop the kids off you have to make sure that you get to work before your boss starts complaining.

Unfortunately, for some parents, using the school bus service may not be practical, especially if the kid has lots of remedial lessons or CCAs, since the bus will still have to be paid for on days the kid doesn’t manage to take it.

That’s when Schoolber can save the day. It’s a car-sharing service that matches you up with other parents with kids who go to the same school as yours. Bus-pooling is also possible on the platform if there are enough interested parents.

Schoolber saves you from having to drop your child off at school every single day or, if you prefer, you can able to earn a bit of money sending other parents’ kids to and from school.

The app helps you choose between having more money and more time.

ONLINE TUTORING

So your kid isn’t doing too well in math or whatever, and you’ve decided that the time is right to join the ranks of parents with kids enrolled in tuition.

The problem is, tuition can get mighty expensive. If you want to save your kid from the hassle and time-wastage of travelling to a tuition centre, you’ll have to bear the extra cost of paying for a private tutor who comes to your home.

You might want to consider an online tutor instead. You’ll be paying tuition centre prices for one-on-one attention, while saving time that would otherwise be wasted ferrying your kid to and from tuition.

SLOW COOKER

It’s baffling how parents who work full-time still find the time to cook for their families at the end of a long and exhausting day.

Before your kids are old enough to start hanging out all night long at Starbucks outlets, you’ll have to make sure they get fed nutritious meals every day.

The answer to that is a slow cooker. All you have to do is cut up the ingredients, dump them into the machine and wait. There is no need to watch the slow cooker or worry about things burning, so you’re free to do other things

You can toss your ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning before you leave for work. Pick recipes according to how long you’ll be gone-there are some recipes that are still edible even if you return 10 hours later.

CAROUSELL

The amount Singaporean parents spend on kid-related stuff is mind-boggling, especially when children outgrow their toys, clothes, etc so quickly that before you know it, you’re already trying to get rid of the stuff.

Unless you’re planning on having enough kids to rival the brood in The Sound of Music, there are only so many times you can turn what you’ve bought into hand-me-downs.

So use Carousell to sell all your unwanted kid-related purchases. Even better, before you buy anything your kid will need, check to see if someone else is selling it on Carousell.

You can even find textbooks, assessment books and past year papers being sold on the platform.

SCHOOL PICKER

When it comes time for your kid to take the PSLE and fill up that form indicating his top choices of secondary school, many parents spend hours and hours poring over the various options.

The School Picker application helps parents and students pick primary and secondary schools and JCs based on their location and desired CCAs. You can also use the map to find all the schools in a certain area.

Of course, we all know many parents are just going to put RGS / RI and other top schools at the top of their forms. But the school picking app might be able to save you a few minutes/hours of your life when picking the last few schools on the list.

Do you have any other recommendations for parents of school-going children? Share them with us in the comments!

In a report by The Straits Times, SMRT has announced that its maintenance team “will have their bonuses cut” – according to SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming on Monday (16 October). This followed the team’s failure to properly maintain a flood-prevention system at Bishan MRT station.

In the report, Seah said that it was a maintenance lapse which had led to the flood in a tunnel between Bishan and Braddell MRT stations, rendering services along a stretch of the North-South Line inoperable for 20 hours.

On that note, SMRT has already removed and redeployed senior executive Ng Tek Poo, who was in charge of maintenance and systems as a result of the incident.

In a press conference to address the disruption on 7 and 8 October, SMRT group chief executive Desmond Kuek said that Ng was removed so that an investigation into the team’s entire workflow, processes and culture could be done in a more open and transparent way.

In fact, Kuek commented: “It may not end up as one person. There will be a whole process of disciplinary proceedings and investigations that we will have to allow to take its proper course.”

Apologising to commuters for the disruption, Kuek said that since the massive MRT breakdowns in December 2011, SMRT has “gone into overdrive” to address maintenance issues arising from age-related serviceability issues.

This included beefing up the SMRT Trains team by increasing staff strength from 3,500 to 5,300 currently. Additionally, Kuek highlighted that the number of engineers has tripled to nearly 500 now.

He added in the report that performance incentives were also tied to a basket of measures, of which safety and reliability was given the “greatest weight”.

Kuek said that there has been much criticism about the rail operator’s work culture. He commented: “Indeed, many of our major disruptions in the past have been attributed in some part, or all, to human error or failure. We regret that this is so.”

While much progress has been made to inculcate a positive work culture in SMRT, there remain some “deep-seated cultural issues” within the company that has needed more time than anticipated to root-out, he remarked. However, Kuek said that it would be wrong to paint everyone in SMRT with the “same brush”.

On that note, he said: “Nine in 10 of our people are incredibly committed, professional and commuter-focused.”

“They are Singaporeans too, with family members and friends who commute, and work hard under challenging conditions to deliver the best possible public transport service for all our commuters,” he continued.

Human Resources is the smart HR professional’s blueprint for workforce strategy.