Other amendments to the rules governing Parliament include procedures on how to override the elected President.
Singapore Parliament in session (File photo: TODAY)
SINGAPORE: Parliamentary Standing Orders – rules governing Parliament’s proceedings and conduct – were amended on Monday (May 8) for the first time since 2010. The changes were suggested last month by a 10-member committee chaired by Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob.
One amendment sees the minimum interval between proposed legislation or introduction of a Bill (First Reading) and the resulting debate (Second Reading) increased from seven to 10 working days.
The notice period given to Members of Parliament (MPs) to make amendments will also be doubled from two to four days.
“In effect, this means at least two weeks must pass between the First and Second reading of a Bill,” said Leader of the House Grace Fu. “The increased interval will avoid situations where a Bill comes up for Second Reading too quickly, because the House is sitting for an extended period – for example during Budget debates.”
Another change involved the procedure for Parliament to override the President. Should the President go against the advice of the majority of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) and exercise his veto power, both the President’s grounds and the CPA’s recommendations must be made available to Parliament at least two days before a motion is moved to overrule the President.
Other miscellaneous amendments include allowing political office-holders to circulate a written statement in the House to correct any factual error they make in a Parliamentary speech.
Additionally, MPs may now choose to record their abstention from a vote – previously, they were allowed to record only dissent. And MPs whose questions have not been answered by the end of Question Time are now required to indicate within an hour whether they want to postpone their questions.
“In amending the Standing Orders, we are refining a system which has worked well for Parliament and has been amended and adjusted over time to keep its relevance and effectiveness,” said Ms Fu. “Accounting to Parliament is something this Government takes seriously.”
“On policy and politics we may well disagree sharpy… But as Members of Parliament we also share a common duty to maintain the standing of Parliament as an effective and efficient institution.”
All formula fulfills minimum nutritional requirements, said Senior Minister of State of Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon in Parliament.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon said that the Government will work to facilitate more formula milk options.
(Updated: )
SINGAPORE: The Government is working to make more formula milk options available, said Senior Minister of State of Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Monday (May 8).
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore is reviewing formula milk import regulations and, if there are any changes, they could be finalised by the end of the year, he said. The Government will simplify and streamline import requirements and remove unnecessary barriers to entry in order to provide more options, he added.
He also said the Government will take steps to increase consumer awareness, encourage good practices in hospitals and further tighten restrictions on labeling and advertising. In addition, the Ministry of Health will work with industry players to make available more infant formula options in hospitals, he said.
He said the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) recently completed a market study, examining the milk formula industry, and the nature of competition at each level of the supply chain. The results of the study will be published this week, he said.
Should there be any evidence of companies working together to increase prices, CCS will not hesitate to investigate, he added.
He was responding to questions from Macpherson SMC Tin Pei Ling on why formula milk is more expensive here than in other comparable countries, and whether the Government will consider control measures to exert more pressure to keep prices fair. The MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol Sun Xueling asked how quickly import regulations will be changed.
Dr Koh said education is needed to allay parents’ anxiety that they are shortchanging their children if they buy cheaper formula.
“We need to educate our consumers as well, that despite whatever pricing strategy they may have on the generic formula, or despite whatever claims there may be, all formula fulfill minimum nutritional requirements, and are in fact are just as equally adequate,” he said.
He said that for a 900g tin, some milk powder is sold at around S$20 to S$30, while others brands can be priced at up to S$60.
There should be no guilt on parents’ part about getting a cheaper brand of milk, as long as their child can get used to the milk. “There’s no real reason to pay up more for something that is just as good and much cheaper,” he added.
He said that some products may cost more due to research and development expenditure, and some of these kinds of milk are for a restricted group, who may have allergies or medical conditions.
“What we can do is to make sure we increase the choices that are available, the options that are available and where necessary, put in the necessary financial support,” he said.
Parenting portal Babyment.com has revealed prices of infant milk formula in Singapore increased by an average of about 27 per cent from December 2012 to March 2017.
BEIJING – A stream little more than a metre wide separates them, but for at least three centuries a bitter rivalry pitted two eastern Chinese villages against one another — until love brought the adversaries together.
Wushan and Yuepu in Fujian province, which count between them some 7,500 inhabitants, used to observe an unusual tradition whereby people who lived on one side of the river were forbidden from marrying those from the other.
“Nobody can remember where this ban on marriages came from, we only know that we fought each other around 300 years ago for the right to use the water,” Wang Hongdong, Communist Party secretary for Wushan told AFP on Friday.
The confrontation led to a curse, which said that marriage with a person from the rival village would lead only to misfortune.
The rivalry was passed from generation to generation.
“They fought again about 40 years ago, over graves,” Wang said.
“Then relations started to settle, especially over the last 10 years. We started to build a shoe factory together and the young people were getting on well.”
But villagers remained forbidden from marrying their rivals until a young girl from Yuepu fell in love with a boy from Wushan, around three years ago.
“The families were dead against the marriage on account of the curse,” Wang said. “They really believed in it”.
The young couple married anyway but were forced to leave Fujian and move to another province, some 1,500 km (900 miles) from their home.
In 2015 they returned to the villages to celebrate their marriage in the young man’s house, but the parents of the bride refused to attend.
But when the woman later gave birth to two beautiful boys, the inhabitants of both villages stopped believing in the curse, Mr Wang said.
To mark the reconciliation and officially abolish the ban on marriages, the two villages this week organised a ceremony in the presence of local Buddhist and Communist authorities.
Taking up a full-time career in singing at the age of 13, after the death of his father in 1964, qawwal extraordinaire, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has never had to look back.
Under the musical aegis of his talented uncles, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, the Faisalabad-born Nusrat developed a unique and successful style within the qawwali genre, with the emphasis on haunting melody and hypnotic rhythm.
Describing himself as an ‘all-rounder’ in his field, Nusrat has also dabbled in singing ghazals, in which he has attained a fair amount of recognition.
A strong advocate for the revival of pure classical, singing, the qawwal maestro intends to establish a music academy and a recording studio in Lahore.
In this exclusive interview with the Herald, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan speaks about his recent European tour, of his collaboration with Peter Gabriel and other western recording artistes and of the evolution of the art of qawwali in which he has played an integral part …
Zaman Khan. You have recently returned from a six-week tour of Italy, Spain, France and Germany. What kind of public response did you receive there?
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It was very good. People liked our performances very much, particularly in Germany where our programmes were extremely successful. We were playing to full houses, people could not get tickets to our programmes, and went away disappointed. And surprisingly, the audiences had a predominantly European complexion.
Zaman. What do the Europeans like about your art, given that they do not understand your language?
Nusrat. They do not understand our language, but we present our art in such a way … we use rhythm and melody in such a way, that they need not understand our language. The Europeans say we do not care for words, we judge art.
Photo: White Star
Zaman. Have you tried to introduce Western music into your tunes?
Nusrat. No, but we are still experimenting with it. We have a number, mast, mast, which was recently released in the West. In that they have used Western music in the background with our voices. There is a famous musician, Peter Gabriel, who has used my voice in the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ. He used my song in the background.
Zaman. Who released your Western number?
Nusrat. A very large British company, Real World, which has a studio in Bath, England. They recorded it there.
Zaman. What was it like singing to Western music?
Nusrat. It was very good. There should be change – the West should understand our music and culture, and vice-versa. With such collaboration, artistes can come closer to each other and come to know each other.
Zaman. Who are your favourite artistes in the West?
Nusrat. I like instrumentals most of all, but there are many good singers too, such as Michael Jackson and Tina Turner. Tina Turner is particularly good. She has expressed the desire to sing with me.
The present time is the time of all-rounders. As in cricket, Imran Khan is respected for being an all-rounder. In my opinion being an all-rounder is good.
Zaman. What do you like about these singers?
Nusrat. I like singers who freely use melody (leh). I like them because I am melodious too. There are also some very good African singers. I have a black singer friend, Yousaf Ali Farkha, who is from Zimbabwe.
Zaman. Did you start singing simply because you were born in a family of singers or did you have a natural talent?
Nusrat. It is not necessary that the scion of a singing family, even if he sings, can excel in it. In order to reach his peak he has to work very, very hard. If he is the son of a good artiste, he will have to work even harder because he has to compete with his own father. In the case of my own family, there are many who do not sing, do not even know how to sing. Only someone who has a natural talent can become an artiste.
Zaman. Who else sings in your family?
Nusrat. I have a younger brother, Farakh Fateh Ali Khan, who is a good singer. He has been singing with me since his childhood.
Zaman. How is it that there have been so many singers in your family?
Nusrat. My forefathers used to live in Ghazni in Afghanistan. During the era of Mehmud Ghaznavi, they migrated to India with a saint, Sheikh Darwesh. In India, they settled in Basti Sheikh in Jullundhar. My ancestors learnt music and singing there and adopted it as a profession.
Our gharana produced a number of great singers [such as] Sahibdad, Khaliqdad, Athardad, Jehangir, Mirdad, Kaloo Khan and others.
Then, in my parents’ generation there were Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. They were great classical singers of their time, as well as great qawwals. They worked so hard in their time that there was no match for them. They learnt every form of music.
They could play all kinds of instruments. They were great masters of classical music – Ustad Baray Ghulam Ali Khan, Salamat Ali Khan, Nazakat Ali Khan, Ustad Sadiq AliKhan, and many great singers were their pupils. They all learnt the art of singing from them. After them other scions of that family, by dint of hard work, attained a name in singing.
Zaman. Did your elders make a name for themselves in qawwali?
Nusrat. As qawwals they were known all over the world, they had no equals. Those who really have knowledge of music know what great singers they were. Basically they were trained in classical singing.
They moulded qawwali to a classical pattern. They would sing in two ways khayal and trubat – my father, Fateh Ali, would sing trubat and his brother, Mubarak, would sing khayal. So there were two shades within their qawwali.
Besides that, they would use gehra talafuz, gehra tazmin. Before them, nobody in Punjab used it. Nobody even knew of it in Punjab. My father used it for the first time. Their selection of lyrics was excellent. They introduced all this in Punjab because the Punjabis were ignorant of this in that period. So the credit goes to them.
Tassawar Khanum sits alongside Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Photo: White Star
Zaman. Where did you get your training in singing?
Nusrat. As a child I was trained to play the tabla. Melody played a dominant part in our singing. My father also used it. Melody plays a major part in our music. After that I learned singing raag vedia. I memorised it.
Zaman. Which is your favourite raga?
Nusrat. There are many ragas and I received training in classical music but I personally like Aiman Kolyoon, Gujjari, Desi Todi, Darbari, Lalit.
Zaman. How long do you do riaz and at what time of the day?
Nusrat. A good artiste always does riaz to reach the zenith of art. Riaz is a must. But we have reached the stage where we only do mental riaz.
In the past, we would do riaz for 10 hours a day. My uncle, Ustad Mubarik Ali Khan, used to reside in the lower portion of this building. There was a baithak there and we would lose track of time. There was no concept of dusk and dawn.
Sometimes we would start riaz in the morning and end at 10 in the night, or we would start at night and end at 10 in the morning. Whenever I get the time, even now, I do mental riaz.
Zaman. Did you begin your career by singing qawwali?
Nusrat. Yes I started with qawwall.
Zaman. Your qawwalis have become the hallmark of Pakistan in many parts of the world. Why did you switch to singing ghazals?
Nusrat. You know how I started singing ghazals? It was pure chance. I sang in the classical style from the very beginning. On the death anniversary of my father, I always sing classical. On TV, radio and in the sittings of artistes, big artistes in Lahore, I always sing classical. They have recognised my talents as a classical singer.
The present time is the time of all-rounders. As in cricket, Imran Khan is respected for being an all-rounder. In my opinion being an all-rounder is good. It is not right that I should be content with qawwali and ignore other forms, since I am basically trained in classical singing. We should be masters of all forms of singing.
For a man who has technical knowledge and who has a command over art, who has a melodious voice, who has a taste for poetry and knowledge of all literature – the singing of ghazals poses no problems for him.
Zaman. Do you feel that singers switch ghazals because there is only a restricted audience for classical music?
Nusrat. To my understanding, people run away from the name of classical songs. We are responsible for this. We should present classical music in such a way that people enjoy listening to it. And the artiste who has a command over his art should not find this difficult to do. He should make his art accessible to the common man. The problem today is that when there is a classical song on the radio or TV, people switch off. We should adopt a popular style in classical music, so that the people enjoy it.
Or people are morally confused about music. Those who want to learn or have learned are always confused and have guilt feelings. But to tell you the truth, classical music, sur or leh is not against Islam.
In qawwali, I have adopted such a popular style that I have set the standard. Anything with a strong melody can be enjoyed, even by those who may not understand classical music. Because it’s in our nature, in the beat of the heart. There is a system to everything in the world. Melody is very close to human nature.
Zaman. Which classical singers do you like in India and Pakistan?
Nusrat. In India, Ustad Baray Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Hussain Khan Sahib, Ustad Allah Rakha Khan. In Pakistan, Ustad Shaukat Ali Khan.
Zaman. In India there are female classical singers like Kishori Amonkar and others. What do you think about them?
Nusrat. They are not of such a high calibre. But I like Parveen Sultana.
Zaman. Does India have anyone of the calibre of Roshan Ara Begum?
Nusrat. Artistes like Roshan Ara Begum are only born once in a century. The present batch of artistes does not work that hard and does not put in much effort. But there are very good singers, both male and female, on the other side of the border.
Zaman. Do you think classical music has a future in Pakistan?
Nusrat. We are not realists. In Pakistan, people have an indifferent attitude towards music. There are no institutions to teach music and singing.
Or people are morally confused about music. Those who want to learn or have learned are always confused and feel guilt. But to tell you the truth, classical music, sur or leh is not against Islam. It is not haram. After listening to sur, a man does not go astray. I do not think it is bad. Our people are still confused about halal and haram. Besides, our government does not patronise art.
In contrast, the Indian government has opened academies, institutions. People formally learn art there. Here, people learn it through their own efforts, on their own initiative, but there is no patronage by the government.
Zaman. Which Pakistani ghazal singer do you like?
Nusrat. I like Fareeda Khanum, Ghulam Ali and Noor Jehan. They are good singers. In classical, I like Ustad Salamat Ali.
Zaman. We have had three wars with India. Relations have always been bad. You have performed in India. How did people react to your shows?
Nusrat. Artistes do not have enmities with anyone. Artistes do not like war. War is not good for any country. We should have an intellectual competition with Indian artistes, like we have cricket matches. We may not have cultural exchange programmes, but the fact remains that we should still continue competing with Indian artistes. That is the only country besides Pakistan where songs are sung in a classical style. We have the same culture and the same civilisation. So we have a mental competition with Indian artistes. Our good artistes, singers, musicians may not be popular, but artistes across the border do know each other.
In 1980, we went to India on the invitation of Raj Kapoor. We were given an enthusiastic reception. We have received many invitations but have not been able to visit India again. But we have now become a household name in India because of our cassettes.
Zaman. You have released almost 150 cassettes. Are you paid royalty for your releases?
Nusrat. They do give us money in the beginning, the artistes have to make do with less money to earn a reputation. Radio and TV do not give enough money to artistes. We have 12 to 13 members in our group and we spend many times more on travel and lodging than we get from working on TV.
Zaman. You say there are no institutions in the country. What do you intend to do for the promotion of music in this country? How do you intend to transmit your art to the next generation?
Nusrat. We intend to establish an academy in the name of my father, Fateh Ali Khan, and my uncle, Ustad Mubarik Ali Khan, in Faisalabad. For the last 26 years, we have also organised a programme every year on the death anniversary of my father. Our programme is so popular that all the leading artistes participate in this function every year. We spend our own money on this function, to keep the flame burning. We do it because ultimately we intend to establish an academy bearing our elders’ names.
We give training to our children in classical music, but it is good if someone learns modern music. We appreciate every form of music.
Zaman. Are all the members of your singing group your relatives?
Nusrat. Yes, they are cousins and relatives.
Zaman. Recently, Noor Jehan’s show was banned in Faisalabad. What are your views on that?
Nusrat. If Noor Jehan’s show could be held at Lahore, then why could it not be held in Faisalabad?
Zaman. These days youngsters like Adnan Sami Khan and others are playing modern instruments. How do you feel about this trend?
Nusrat. It is a very good thing. Every form of music is welcome. I think we are coming nearer to the masses. Adnan Sami is young and he inspires other youngsters.
Zaman. Do you educate your children in modern music?
Nusrat. We give training to our children in classical music, but it is good if someone learns modern music. We appreciate every form of music.
Zaman. From what age did you begin training your children?
Nusrat. From the age of 12. I was seven when my father started giving me training, but I formally started singing at the age of 13.
Zaman. Do you give musical training to other children?
Nusrat.No. We have to see who has a natural talent for it.
Zaman. What is the future of classical music?
Nusrat. It is not bright – in my opinion – in Pakistan. Individually, artistes do impart training to their children in classical music. But the future appears bleak.
Classical singers have now started giving training to their children in light music, because classical music has no future. Sham Churasi gharana and other classical gharanas are training their children in light music.
This is slightly lower than the 137 licenses suspended the year before, but still more than twice the number in 2013.
Kim San Leng Food Centre in Bishan, a popular coffee shop, was suspended for a day in January over a rat infestation. (Photo: Justin Ong)
(Updated: )
SINGAPORE: The licences of 132 food outlets were suspended last year for poor hygiene, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said in Parliament on Monday (May 8).
This is lower than the 137 food outlet licenses suspended in 2015 but still more than twice the 62 licenses suspended in 2013.
In response to questions by Members of Parliament Tan Wu Meng and Melvin Yong, Dr Khor said the National Environment Agency (NEA) licenses more than 37,000 food establishments including restaurants, food kiosks, caterers and food stalls within hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts to ensure that the food sold is prepared hygienically and safe for consumption.
The authority conducted more than 148,000 inspections of food premises and there were more than 3,200 instances where it took enforcement action against errant operators last year, she said.
About one-third of these were against stalls in food courts, coffee shops and canteens, according to the Senior Minister of State.
Common infringements included failing to register food handlers, selling food that is unclean and failing to keep the premises clean or free of pest infestations, she added.
In comparison, the agency conducted 136,000 inspections on food premises and took enforcement action 2,700 times in 2015.
Despite in the rise in the number of food licenses suspended due to poor hygiene in the past few years, Dr Khor said the food poisoning incidence has remained low with 0.32 per cent of food retail establishments or fewer being implicated in food poisoning outbreaks each year since 2013.
“This suggests that the systems put in place were effective deterrents against poor food hygiene practices,” she said. “Nonetheless, we cannot be complacent and must continue to maintain our strict stance on food safety.”
Food outlets convicted of hygiene lapses face a fine of up to S$2,000 and their licences may be suspended or cancelled.
JAKARTA – From a restaurant serving burgers and pizzas made with local noodles to a social media star giving street food a touch of haute cuisine, a new wave of innovative chefs are putting a modern twist on Indonesia’s traditional fare.
New eateries have sprung up rapidly in recent years in the capital Jakarta offering a wide array of foreign foods to cater to a growing consumer class which has emerged after a long economic boom.
But rather than focus entirely on cuisine from overseas, some chefs decided to fuse the new influences with age-old Indonesian foods.
A post shared by Indomie (@indomie) on Sep 6, 2016 at 7:24pm PDT
One eatery offering fusion food is “MamamMie”, whose name is a playful take on an Italian expression of shock combined with the local word for noodles, “mie”.
It uses the country’s favourite Indomie – instant noodles sold at almost every grocery store and supermarket – to make Western dishes.
Among the most popular are the “mizza”, a pizza whose base is made out of noodles, and a “merger”, a burger which has buns fashioned from Indomie. It also serves burrito, quesadillas and sushi dishes made with the noodles.
A post shared by MAMAMMIE (@mamammie.id) on Aug 5, 2016 at 4:48pm PDT
Cafe owner Muhammad Luqman Baehaqi said he was trying to appeal to young Indonesians who were keen to try Western foods but still enjoyed Indomie.
“There isn’t a single Indonesian person that doesn’t know Indomie,” the 39-year-old said. “It’s tasty and familiar to all of us.”
The small cafe can seat about 20 people on chairs designed to look like Indomie packing cases and has a distinctly hipster vibe, with young office workers enjoying dishes that cost the equivalent of about two to four dollars under an image of late Apple founder Steve Jobs.
A post shared by MAMAMMIE (@mamammie.id) on Aug 12, 2016 at 5:26pm PDT
GOURMET STREET FOOD
While the “MamamMie” cafe uses Indonesian ingredients to spice up Western dishes, Jakarta chef Dede Akbar is taking local dishes as his starting point, and seeking to make them more classy.
In his brightly decorated kitchen, the 34-year-old carefully placed two blocks of tempe – a traditional soybean patty – onto a plate. He blowtorched a hard-boiled egg, and added small flowers as a garnish before artistically dripping sauce across the dish.
Satisfied with his creation, he took out a camera and snapped pictures from various angles, before uploading them to Instagram. It was his popular Instagram account “Warteg Gourmet”, which currently has about 40,000 followers, that catapulted him to fame.
A post shared by MAMAMMIE (@mamammie.id) on Aug 10, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT
Wartegs are modest stalls or kiosks selling cheap food, often cramped spaces on street corners where blue-colour workers stop for a bite and to smoke a cigarette.
But rather than drab dishes for people earning low incomes, Akbar said he celebrates warteg food as it has “different textures and a wide range of colours that we can play with”.
Photo: AFP
Akbar was inspired to make haute-cuisine, warteg-style food after becoming annoyed at the careless presentation of dishes at the traditional streetside eateries.
What started off as a hobby became an obsession, and eventually Akbar found he was receiving so many invites to be a “food stylist” at events that he quit his day job as an advertising agency art director to become a full-time chef.
He hopes his efforts can help raise the profile of humble Indonesian street food, which is not as well-known as local cuisine from other parts of Asia, such as Thailand.
“I want to make Indonesian food more appreciated by Indonesians in general and recognised internationally,” he said.
The highly anticipated Singapore/Malaysia edition of The Voice has finally arrived on our shores. Online auditions for the international singing competition launched on Friday (May 6) and will run until the end of the month.
The catch? While they can be of any race or nationality, aspiring contestants must be “fluent in Mandarin, and are able to perform Mandarin songs”, according to the contest’s website.
The condition has drawn outrage from netizens, who questioned the language criteria, as songs chosen for the audition are permitted to be “of any language (except for Dialects such as Cantonese or Hokkien)”.
Twitter user @thelocalrebel posted screenshots of TODAY’s article about the auditions on Friday. The tweet has since been shared 430 times.
"Although participants can be of any race or nationality, “talents have to be fluent in Mandarin and able to perform songs in Mandarin”." pic.twitter.com/uAZpIJ3tae
The tweet sparked heated debate, with some users saying that the language restrictions were a manifestation of racial discrimination. While some non-Chinese Singaporeans might be able to speak Mandarin, it is only a small minority with “privilege” who are able to do so, pointed out Twitter user @wtfisnsx.
@thelocalrebel Isn't Singapore main language, English? I shouldnt feel this way, but, is it now MY fault not knowing mandarin?????? Since its a big deal???
Don't you put The Voice Singapore or Malaysia if the person who audition needs to speak perfect mandarin…What about the malay and Indians?
— Raihanna Rayyans 卌 (@Rxihxnnx_Mendes) May 7, 2017
Singapore Idol Top 5 finalist Joakim Gomez wrote in a Facebook post: “Singapore and Malaysia are both a melting pot of backgrounds, cultures, and languages. This show has almost alienated the few things our respective countries boast.”
Singaporeans echoed his sentiments, saying that the rule would only serve to further perpetuate the common misconception that Singapore is part of China.
@thelocalrebel this is why people picture a Chinese person as a "standard" Singaporean. Pls la guys don't be so ignorant it's unprofessional pic.twitter.com/M1BGdgii7U
The Voice first aired in the Netherlands in 2010, and is now produced in 65 countries worldwide. The Singapore/Malaysia edition is being co-produced by Singapore entertainment company mm2, which is behind the Ah Boys To Men franchise, and Malaysia’s Astro.
Candidates for the South Korean presidency are to blitz through key battleground regions Monday as the race enters its final hours before the crucial vote Tuesday.
While front-runner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea is trying to seal his lead at the polls, others are striving to turn the tables around. A conservative rival even claimed a “golden cross.”
Moon, who consistently topped polls with some 35-40 per cent in support, is scheduled to visit the southern city of Busan — Korea’s second-biggest and his stomping grounds — and then Daegu before reaching his final destination, Gwanghwamun Square in the centre of Seoul to wrap up his campaign there.
On Sunday, the 64-year-old candidate visited Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and liberal home turf Gwangju on a tour of major cities across the peninsula in just two days.
The liberal candidate pledged to designate Parents’ Day, celebrated May 8, as a national holiday and stressed his policies for seniors, including raising the monthly basic pension to 300,000 won ($264).
Moon’s camp also continued to deny accusations his son had received special treatment in the hiring process at the Korea Employment Information Service.
As the People’s Party claimed to have a recording of a friend’s testimony as proof, Moon’s party urged them to “stop using fake news to bring (Moon) down.”
Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the People’s Party, who was polling in second, and Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party also sought to make strong last impressions on voters.
Ahn was to finish his five-day outdoor canvassing campaign, “Walking With Citizens,” Monday.
On Sunday, he rode subway trains and walked around major districts in Seoul.
With an aim of getting closer to the voters, the candidate had travelled — often by foot — through some of the nation’s largest cities, including Busan and Gwangju.
Live and online videos of his walking tour were viewed 1.4 million times via YouTube and Facebook as of Saturday afternoon, his camp said.
Ahn’s last destination Monday was set for Daejeon, where major technological institutes are located, the camp revealed.
The region would well represent his pursuits for advanced technology and the nation’s balanced regional development, it said.
Conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party expressed his firm resolve to win the race by uniting conservative powers.
“Dear citizens, the new regime by the Liberty Korea Party is not going to be an extended version of (impeached) former President Park Geun-hye. It would govern for the people,” he wrote via Facebook on Sunday.
Citing a number of foreign media reports, he said he has the chance to turn the race tables and vowed to “establish a conservative administration on May 9,” in another post on the same day.
The hard-line conservative contender was to finish his campaign in Seoul Station on Monday, after touring Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and the Chungcheong provinces. He planned to canvas in front of Daehanmun of Deoksugung near City Hall in Seoul.
Two other major party-backed candidates, Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party and Yoo Seong-min of the conservative splinter Bareun Party, were also set to finish their campaigns in Seoul on Monday.
Singapore Parliament in session (File photo: TODAY)
Kim San Leng Food Centre in Bishan, a popular coffee shop, was suspended for a day in January over a rat infestation. (Photo: Justin Ong)
