SINGAPORE – The head of a chicken rice business who was filmed mocking a taxi driver has apologised to the cabby and, as a gesture of goodwill, has promised to give 200 packets of chicken rice to other cabbies.

Last week, a two-minute online video of Mr Gary Lim, the boss of The Yang’s Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice, went viral and raised the ire of netizens.

In the clip, Mr Lim, 37, appears drunk, blocks the way of the cabby and says in Mandarin : “Look, I have so much money, I can’t control myself.” He begins counting cash – including $1,000 notes – in front of the taxi driver, known only as Mr Sun, 33.

He then lunges at Mr Sun, trying to grab his phone. Mr Sun told Shin Min Daily News that the incident happened early last Thursday morning.

But Mr Lim has since apologised to the taxi driver, Shin Min reported yesterday.

To demonstrate his remorse, Mr Lim’s outlets at 8 Braddell Road and 562 Serangoon Road will prepare 200 packets of chicken rice – 100 per outlet – for taxi drivers on Tuesday from 3pm to 5pm.

Due to space constraints and so as to let more people enjoy the food, each taxi driver will get one packet, on a takeaway basis.

Mr Lim apologised to Mr Sun last Saturday evening during a phone conversation, which ended with the cabby wishing Mr Lim well, adding that he hoped they could move on from the incident.

Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Lim said: “I want to apologise. I drank too much and said some senseless things. But I had no intention of hurting you. Frankly, I was quite rash, I said things I shouldn’t have said, and hope you can accept my apology.”

To this, Mr Sun replied: “I feel this apology isn’t an issue. In fact, I didn’t take (the incident) to heart. I’m already at peace. But, before I formally accept your apology, I want to let you know that no matter what problems a person faces in life, he should not vent his anger on others.

“You are a grown man, not a child. So I hope you’ll treat this as a lesson, keep moving forward, become more amicable and not look down on other people’s jobs. Whether you are a cleaner, or a big boss, I feel this is an issue of basic respect towards others.”

Mr Lim had approached Shin Min earlier, as he hoped to apologise to Mr Sun in person. However, as the latter was busy with work last Saturday evening, the newspaper facilitated a phone conversation between them.

This is not the only video of a man flaunting his wealth to have gone viral.

A man refused to pay his $15 taxi fare when he arrived at his destination in Jalan Chermat early last Thursday morning, saying that he ran a “million-dollar business” and “had plenty of money”, Shin Min reported yesterday.

The man, who looked like he was in his 40s, agreed to pay his fare only after the police were notified.

This article was first published on May 1, 2017.
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Not many people may remember this, but a biomechanist contributed to Joseph Schooling’s Olympic win last year.

Although Schooling often finished poorly, compared with his US idol Michael Phelps, Mr Ryan Hodierne, a biomechanist at Singapore Sports Institute, drew out the best in the Singaporean swimmer by using science to improve Schooling’s technique.

From next year, students at selected schools will have a chance to learn about biomechanics and its role when the current physical education (PE) O-level subject is replaced.

A new exercise and sports science subject will take its place offering a deeper insight into how the body works during exercise.

The new subject will look at various aspects of sports science, including sports psychology, the Ministry of Education told The Straits Times.

Students will also learn the concepts behind movement and motor skills to perform physical activities and how to find ways to improve performance.

Students at selected schools, entering Secondary 3 next year, can opt for the subject.

The ministry said the move is to offer students “more options that can engage their interests and strengths”.

Currently, 18 schools, including Sengkang Secondary and Catholic High School, offer PE as an O-level subject.

Every year, about 300 students take it at the O levels.

They can use their PE grade to apply for entry into post-secondary education institutions, like any other O-level subject.

Over 30,000 students sat for the O-level exams last year.

The current PE subject comprises 60 per cent sports coursework and 40 per cent theory.

CONSISTENCY

It is not easy to snag an A grade. Consistency is key, said North Vista Secondary student Serena Sim, who has PE as one of her O-level subjects.

“Besides revising theory concepts, we have to go out and practise for the practical aspect,” noted the 15-year-old, who is in the school netball team and will be sitting the O levels this year.

At her school, the number of students taking PE at O levels has jumped from 20 in the pioneer batch in 2009 to 80 Secondary 4 students this year.

Mr Yon See Kian, head of department for PE and CCA at North Vista, said: “Sports skills take time to grasp. They have to keep pushing themselves.”

Coaches here said the subject gives students keen in sports careers a head start.

Fencing coach Henry Koh said it can help produce a larger pool of individuals with expertise in sports.

Students are tested in various areas.

For the practical component, for instance, their sports skills are assessed via the use of videos. One relevant skill they will pick up – analysing ways to boost physical performance. Like what Mr Hodierne did for Schooling.

calyang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 02, 2017.
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After 14 days of not being able to catch an aggressive monkey around Segar Road, the authorities have turned to installing surveillance cameras to monitor its movements.

A spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) told The New Paper last Friday that five cameras were deployed last week at the Housing Board estate in Bukit Panjang and nearby Zhenghua Park.

The spokesman said the cameras will give the AVA a better understanding of the monkey’s movements, allowing for more targeted operations.

“Depending on the situation and the behaviour of the monkey, we will modify our operations accordingly.”

For the last few months, residents in Segar Road have been attacked by a monkey. The AVA had said it received about 160 reports of monkey attacks and nuisance in the area since last October. It caught one monkey in November, but the attacks since then have been caused by another monkey.

Read also: 5 reported monkey attacks this week in Segar area, says AVA

A joint team made up of personnel from the AVA, Animal Concerns Research and Education Society and Wildlife Reserves Singapore have been on the ground daily since April 17, trying to nab the monkey by deploying traps and using tranquiliser darts.

MP for the area, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, told TNP last Friday: “I have been speaking with AVA and going down to the blocks around Segar Road almost every day. Darting the monkey is a challenge as AVA personnel have to take care not to injure passers-by.”

At around 7.30am last Friday, TNP saw the monkey climbing along the walkways near Block 465, Segar Road. AVA personnel were present, but none of them were carrying tranquiliser guns.

They warned residents to stay quiet and move away from the area while they called for more AVA personnel.

By 7.55am, the monkey had run back into Zhenghua Nature Park, before more AVA personnel could arrive.

The attacks are believed to be by a single monkey.

Read also: Monkey bit elderly man on the leg

A resident, Mr Partha Biswas, 35, whose son was bitten by the monkey which entered their flat two weeks ago, told TNP: “We don’t know when the monkey will be caught. We are concerned and are still taking precautions, like keeping our windows closed most of the time and not leaving our son alone.”

The AVA has received reports of two monkey sightings in Beacon Primary School, which borders Zhenghua Nature Park. The monkeys did not attack anyone.

Shree, a Primary 3 pupil in the school, told TNP: “The monkey entered a Primary 2 classroom, took my friend’s lunch box and ran out.”

A Primary 2 pupil said after the incident, the pupils left the classroom and the doors were locked.

A school spokesman said: “Monkeys do visit the school occasionally, especially when students are not around. The safety of our students remains a priority.

“We will continue to work closely with the AVA and share its public advisories with our students… including safety tips and precautionary measures, such as not feeding the animals.”

This article was first published on May 02, 2017.
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Jobs must be a key focus for Singapore to stay relevant and thrive in a more challenging global economy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at yesterday’s May Day Rally.

He outlined three key strategies: Creating new jobs, finding alternative jobs for displaced workers, and training workers to grow in their jobs to prepare for the future.

Leading the charge to implement plans to ensure key industries can transform and create jobs is the next generation of ministers.

Mr Lee announced that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will chair a Future Economy Council.

On it are Ministers S. Iswaran, Chan Chun Sing, Ong Ye Kung, Lawrence Wong and a number of younger ministers.

Their task is to implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Future Economy, (CFE) which in February released its report on how Singapore can prepare for the long term, including through industry transformation maps.

Mr Lee said the council’s work will take time, beyond the current Government’s term.

It is also a chance for younger ministers to work as a team, as their generation will be leading Singapore forward.

He noted that while Labour Day was being celebrated amid a better mood than last year’s, risks, such as a global trade war, remained.

PRESSURE

Singapore’s unemployment rate may rise further as the country faces pressures similar to those of other developed countries – industries restructuring, the workforce ageing, and older workers who lose jobs taking longer to find new ones.

“We have got to understand this trend, but at the same time we have to work hard to resist it, to keep our workers in jobs,” he said.

The first strategy of creating new jobs entails bringing in new businesses and investments and upgrading existing companies.

This has been Singapore’s winning formula for 50 years, for without a business-friendly climate, there will be no new jobs, Mr Lee said.

He cited several recent projects, like Google’s new campus and its work to help train small and medium-sized enterprises to go digital.

Second, workers who lose their jobs, especially professionals, managers, executives and technicians, must be helped to find alternative jobs.

Various schemes have been expanded to match workers to jobs and help them switch, but workers should be open-minded and flexible, he said.

Employers have to be open to hiring mature workers too.

Third, workers must get support to upgrade their skills and knowledge, as fellow workers elsewhere are catching up fast.

Mr Lee cited how union leaders on a visit to Chengdu, China, were struck by how driven workers there were.

“Unless we are as hungry as them and as determined as them to upgrade ourselves, and willing to put in as great an effort, our cheese will be stolen,” he said.

joseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 02, 2017.
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US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (April 30) evening for their second conversation since Mr Trump won the presidency, and invited him to the White House to “further strengthen ties”.

During his May Day Rally speech, PM Lee said he has accepted the invitation and hopes to make the trip some time this year.

“I’ve just had a good phone call with President Trump last night and he invited me to go to Washington,” he said during the speech to Labour Movement leaders on Monday (May 1). “I’ve agreed and I hope to do it some time this year.”

PM Lee and President Trump “affirmed the deep and longstanding relationship between Singapore and the United States”, a statement from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after the Sunday call.

The brief statement added: “They expressed satisfaction that ministers from both sides are already working with each other and looked forward to meeting each other soon.”

The White House later issued a statement saying Mr Trump had invited Mr Lee to the White House “to further strengthen ties”, noting that the partnership between Singapore and the US “is marked by thriving trade and investment, robust security co-operation, and close collaboration on regional and global challenges”.

The two leaders’ first call was on Dec 2 last year.

Mr Trump also called Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the White House said in a separate statement, underscoring “their commitment to the longstanding alliance between the US and Thailand, which actively contributes to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region”.

“President Trump affirmed the commitment of the US to playing an active and leading role in Asia, in close co-operation with partners and allies like Thailand, and invited Prime Minister Prayut to the White House,” said the statement.

The calls to regional leaders aimed to get “everyone in line backing up a plan of action” if the situation in North Korea deteriorated, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told ABC News.

“We need co-operation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure that we have our ducks in a row,” he noted.

The intention was to get “everyone in line backing up a plan of action” if the situation in North Korea deteriorated, he said.

He added that Mr Trump was in regular contact with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and had become “very close” to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than what is happening in North Korea” Mr Priebus said, adding that the conversations were prompted by the “potential for nuclear and massive destruction in Asia” and eventually in the US.

Earlier on Saturday on CBS’s Face the Nation programme, President Trump appeared to downplay the threat while keeping the world guessing on his strategy. Asked if he would consider military action in response to another nuclear test, he responded: “I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see.”

And when asked the same question during a factory tour before his rally in Harrisburg to mark his 100th day in office, he told reporters: “You’ll soon find out.”

The missile launched on Saturday blew up over land in North Korean territory. But Mr Trump tweeted “North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!”

The calls also came ahead of a May 4 meeting of foreign ministers from ASEAN in Washington DC with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – this US administration’s first high-level meeting with the 10-member group.

While not once travelling abroad, President Trump has had 16 bilateral meetings with other world leaders, including Mr Abe and Mr Xi. He has spoken subsequently with the Japanese and Chinese leaders on the phone over the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

A new, less ideological and more transactional foreign policy has emerged from the calls and meetings, analysts say.

President Duterte for instance, openly insulted former US President Barack Obama when the latter criticised his crackdown on drugs; with President Trump that dissonance has vanished. Their phone conversation on Saturday – the second since Mr Trump won the election – was “very friendly”, the White House said.

This article was first published on April 30, 2017.
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