Istana open house (free admission) with various performances tomorrow, Sunday 29 Jan
Free admission to Istana during their Open House on 29 Jan 2017
The Istana grounds will be open to the public on Sunday, 29 January 2017, from 8.30am to 6.00pm, in celebration of the Chinese New Year.
MELBOURNE – Serena Williams rewrote history Saturday to surpass Steffi Graf and capture a record 23rd Grand Slam title as well as the world number one ranking by beating her sister Venus in the Australian Open final.
The dominant American swept past her greatest rival 6-4, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena for her seventh Melbourne Park crown to finally clinch the record for Open-era major titles, nearly 18 years after winning her first.
The 35-year-old, who equalled Graf’s mark of 22 at Wimbledon last year, now stands just one behind the all-time 24 won by Margaret Court, who was in the president’s box to witness Williams’ feat.
Her astonishing achievement also means she again becomes the world’s top-ranked player, ending the brief stay of Angelique Kerber who knocked Williams off the top after three-and-half years in September last year.
Fittingly, her sister and closest confidante Venus was on the other side of the net to share the moment, another chapter written in their long rivalry.
It was Venus – still a teenager with beads in her hair – who knocked Serena out in round two on her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne 19 years ago, and they have since played nine major finals together, living each other’s highs and lows.
At 36 and seeded 13, Venus had turned back the clock to make her first Grand Slam title match since Wimbledon in 2009, but adding to her seven major successes was not to be.
Showing the single-mindedness that has propelled her to greatness, a focused Serena, seeded two, overcame a scratchy and nervous start in which all four opening games were breaks and when she smashed a racquet in frustration.
But she soon settled to get a decisive break to go 4-3 in front with an unstoppable backhand, and served out the set with an ace.
Serena was fired up and after the first two games of the second set went to serve, she worked three break points in the third only for her sister to negotiate her way out of trouble with some big forehand winners.
The tense battle went with serve to 3-3 before Serena cranked up the pressure to break with a scintillating crosscourt backhand and take a 4-3 lead.
With history beckoning, she wasn’t about to throw it away and she served out the match, falling to the floor in celebration before a long embrace with Venus to share the biggest moment of her career.
Ivan Ho, director of new local movie Take 2, was among aspiring film-makers in the 1980s who started by learning to make karaoke MVs – music videos with lyrics crawling across scenes of umbrella- wielding women walking in flower gardens.
Fresh out of national service, he took one of Channel 8 host Jack Neo’s karaoke MV courses in 1989.
He never completed the course and eventually left show business altogether for two decades, during which he became a businessman, dealing in everything from laundry to art.
Now he has come full circle, helming his first feature film, the Chinese New Year comedy Take 2. It is about ex-convicts trying to make an honest living.
The movie was executive-produced by Neo, one of Singapore’s most bankable film-makers.
Speaking to The Straits Times at a press conference recently, Ho, 50, says that his early interest in films led to a stint in producing at national broadcaster Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, now called Mediacorp.
He was quickly disillusioned.
“The salary was terrible and I worked so many nights, I had no social life,” says Ho, who is not married.
That was when he decided to go into commerce.
In 2012, he came home for a break from his art business in China.
The film-making bug bit again, so he took up another course in film production, run by Neo’s J Team Academy.
There, he was talent- spotted by Neo and rose up the J Team ladder.
Having Neo recognise him as one of his students from the 1980s helped and his previous television production experience also gave him an edge.
That led to writing jobs on Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen (2015), Neo’s segment in the 7 Letters (2015) anthology and the two-part period drama Long Long Time Ago (2016) and, finally, the helming of Take 2.
During the production of Take 2, Neo sometimes offered creative input, but Ho says he was free to ignore the advice.
In the end, he adds, the film bears more evidence of his own style, which draws greatly from comic books.
A co-writer on Take 2, which stars Wang Lei, Ryan Lian, Maxi Lim and Gadrick Chin, he interviewed real-life former prisoners.
One story stuck with him.
“Some turn over a new leaf, but others go back to jail. One of them told me that the thing that made him change was when the police broke into his house to arrest him. The police told his mother and wife to squat in a corner,” he says.
The humiliation they suffered for an act that he committed made that man vow to never re-offend, says Ho.
He is aware that the topic of former prisoners trying to re-integrate can be serious, but he is confident he has put enough humour into the film to balance the tone.
“This is a Chinese New Year movie, we don’t want to make it heavy.”
johnlui@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
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The Spinks boxing brothers and the Polgar chess sisters.
The Charlton football brothers and Maleeva tennis sisters. Mothers and sons at the same Olympics.
Twins in the same boat.
Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball while his brother Mack won silver behind Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics.
Families in sport fascinate us but when it comes to dazzling DNA nothing compares with them.
Nothing so athletic, so game-changing, so constant, so enduring. Nothing like The Williams Sisters.
What happened to you since 1997?
Maybe you moved to a new city, forgot Pete Sampras, fell in love, had a child, turned grey, fought illness, but every time you put on the TV, there they were.
Venus, Serena, the sisters.
Playing, grunting, trying. Tough, resilient, proud.
Changing the look, colour, style of tennis with bags, beads and bewitching tennis.
Fighting rivals, racism and sexism. Impressing us, annoying us, changing us.
From one century to the next.
Together they are 71 years old, which is three years more than Karolina Pliskova, 24, Madison Keys, 21, and Garbine Muguruza, 23, put together.
Together they – No. 2 and No. 17 – have 120 singles titles which is 37 more than the rest of the top 10 combined.
Together they’ve been to 44 Grand Slam singles finals which is two more than Justine Henin (12), Martina Hingis (12), Kim Clijsters (8), Lindsay Davenport (7) and Amelie Mauresmo (3) added up.
They’re two people, of course, not joined at the hip.
Couldn’t happen anyway.
Venus is 10cm taller.
One slender, one young; one elegant, one fierce; one initially better, one finally superior.
In their first Grand Slam meeting, Venus wins and says: “After the match, I told her, ‘Serena, I’m sorry I took you out. I didn’t want to, but I had to do it’.”
Their father is called an unconventional teacher.
Another phrase for genius.
“I planned their career before they were born,” he told CBC Radio once.
What planning, what careers: 30 Grand Slam singles titles as of today, nine Olympic medals, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.
Sisters are ready-made training partners.
Think of it as sporting home schooling.
It is learning about defeat and having dinner with the victor.
They are champions and also architects: Venus makes Serena, Serena makes Venus.
As Greg Chappell, 68, the great cricketing younger brother of the great Ian Chappell, 73, says: “You learn how to hang onto a match. You learn you’re not going to win if you give up. We played some real matches out there in our driveway where we were making decisions in real time. And the best players are decision makers.”
The Chappells played in a team as did the Nevilles.
Playing together is a joy, confronting each other in a one-on-one sport is a test.
Especially when the world is gazing, writing, stoking. Wondering if you fix matches, go easy, rotate wins.
It’s downright disrespectful stuff to determined, dogged dames.
But we’re intrigued, we want to know what it feels like, because we’ve fought our brothers downstairs for the football but this is scrapping with a sister for the grandest trophies.
How do you retain friendship?
How do you return to being silly and normal after sport divides you in public into victor and vanquished?
How do you manage it before finals?
By just not talking?
“No, we definitely talk,” said Serena.
“I think now more so than anything. Nothing can break our family. If anything, this will definitely bring us closer together, knowing that I want to see her do the best that she can possibly do. I know that she definitely wants to see me do the best that I can do.”
We can rewind all the tapes and flick through 20 years of interviews, but did you ever hear anything even faintly ugly in their voices about each other?
Ever hear a tone of envy, ever hear complaint or sense friction, ever hear anything less than support, ever hear anything but love?
No. Never.
Applaud Venus for this. Hail her for being the first Williams to emerge and face all the intense, mad scrutiny.
Laud her for casting a shadow so wide in which Serena could unobtrusively develop.
Praise her for the grace she displayed when overtaken by Serena, sitting forever in the players’ box and cheering her on.
To this duel she brought dignity.
Their matches have rarely had the raw tension and stylistic contrast and lefty-righty difference of Rafa-Roger, but effort has never been in doubt.
Competitiveness swims in their capillaries.
Vanity in their veins.
Of course they want to win.
“When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing, like, the best competitor in the game,” says Venus.
“I don’t think I’m chump change either, you know. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.
“So it’s like two players who really, really can compete, then also they can play tennis. Then, OK, won’t be an easy match. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome. It’s wonderful.”
Today they return to the past. Today they meet again in a city where they first collided in 1998 in the second round.
Today it will not be The Serena Show as tennis has become but The Williams Sisters as it was.
Today, Serena will be the practical favourite and Venus the sentimental one.
One will win and the other will find a smile.
They will talk and then fly home.
Two women whose sisterhood is their enduring triumph.
rohitb@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
A pre-Chinese New Year dinner turned dramatic for a family of otters in Kallang Basin on Thursday.
When an otter pup was separated from its parents while frolicking in the waters, a group of otter watchers including Mr N. Sivasothi, a biological science lecturer at the National University of Singapore, grew concerned.
They scanned the area, increasingly worried.
Mr Sivasothi said the pup would not be able to fish for itself and, at an estimated 21/2 months old, would be vulnerable to predators such as large fish, herons and snakes.
One of the watchers, Mr Nick Soo, located the pup circling in the water and alerted the otter-watching community.
The 15 otter watchers rushed over with torchlights, a laundry basket and a blanket.
The pup could not, well, otter its own rescue.
Using the laundry basket and the blanket, the rescuers took the pup back to its holt by 9.30pm.
The drama was too much for the little one and it went to sleep immediately.
The incident highlights what can happen when parents are distracted around bodies of water.
The 13 members of the koi-gorging Bishan otter family had made their way to Kallang Basin for their reunion meal and were busy munching the obligatory fish when two pups, each about 21/2 months old, wandered off.
Although one made its way back, the other went missing.
Mr Sivasothi said: “It was an unusual situation where the family was spread out quite far apart.”
The otter watchers checked on the animals early yesterday morning and saw that the pup was reunited with its parents.
Last May, otter watchers saved a six-week-old smooth-coated otter pup named Toby that had fallen off a ledge into a canal near Fort Road.
Toby was sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore for treatment and reunited with its family 10 days later.
Mr Sivasothi said: “It’s nice to see how the otters have brought the kampung spirit back.”
The smooth-coated otter, formerly thought to be extinct in Singapore, returned in 1998 as the island’s waterways became cleaner.
There are estimated to be 50 such otters in Singapore now.
They are distinct from the oriental small- clawed otters that can be found on Pulau Ubin.
chuimin@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
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Al-Istighfar Mosque in Pasir Ris has built a temporary prayer facility to accommodate its growing congregation.
The mosque in Pasir Ris has a capacity of 3,500 but worshippers fill up almost every inch of space there, with many standing on the pavement when attending weekly Friday prayers and during the Hari Raya periods.
The temporary prayer facility, which can house 500 people, is a sheltered structure with large fans hanging from its ceiling.
It is about 15m across the road from the mosque.
Even with the opening of the temporary facility yesterday, blue sheets were laid out for worshippers, who could not fit into the facility, to kneel on.
Before building the facility, the Office of the Mufti realised that constructing the prayer facility separate from the mosque building might violate the Islamic principle of saf.
Saf is a religious requirement where congregants must be connected in continuous rows.
Breaking this connection may render the congregational prayer invalid.
Islamic scholars of the Office of the Mufti, which is part of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, discussed it with reference to religious texts and eventually concluded that the new facility would not break the saf rule.
The congregation in the smaller facility, they said, could still follow the Imam directing the prayers through loudspeakers in the facility, and was no more than 150m apart.
The Office of the Mufti, however, added that congregational prayers should be held in the temporary prayer facility only when the main mosque is completely filled.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, who was at the opening of the facility yesterday, said the extension will provide an interim increase in prayer space at the mosque.
This, along with the upgrading of Masjid Darul Ghufran in Tampines and the construction of a new mosque in Tampines North, will help to alleviate the prayer space crunch in the eastern neighbourhoods of Singapore, he said.
josehong@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
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More people are turning to mediation to settle spats, with Singapore’s pioneering mediation centre reporting its highest number of cases filed in its 20-year history.
The Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) handled 499 cases here involving a record $775 million last year.
The number of cases was a 72 per cent jump from 2015.
The majority of the disputes were commercial in nature, with about a quarter involving construction, company and shareholder disputes, the SMC said yesterday.
The spike comes as mediation is given a boost through new judicial initiatives and a new legislative framework.
Since last October, for instance, straightforward divorces and contested estate cases involving at least $3 million in assets may be ordered for mediation at the SMC, instead of being heard at the Family Justice Courts.
A change to the Supreme Court practice directions last year also requires lawyers to advise clients that mediation is a viable option.
At a Beijing conference of the Asian Mediation Association last October, Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang underscored the significant role the Singapore judiciary played in cementing mediation as one of the prime ways to settle disputes.
He pointed out how mediation is made an attractive option through judicial policies and practices, and how it is also cheaper than a court trial, for instance.
He highlighted that more than 90 per cent of the cases settled were done within 24 hours at the SMC.
Judge of Appeal Phang cited the SMC’s track record in handling large sums in dispute, having mediated more than $3.5 billion worth of disputes in total, including a $209 million claim – the highest so far.
Rajah & Tann partner Jonathan Yuen, who has been a certified mediator for more than a decade, attributes the increase in mediation to greater awareness of its benefits.
“There is also a mindset change, unlike before, when agreeing to mediation was seen by a lot of people as a sign of weakness,” he added.
Drew & Napier Senior Counsel Hri Kumar Nair believes that cost plays a key part, with litigants having to consider the time, manpower and opportunity costs of a court trial, in addition to the legal fees, “not to mention the stress and the uncertainty of the result”.
“Another reason is the experience and competence of the mediators we have now,” he added.
Clients, Mr Nair said, are more agreeable to mediation as they cannot be forced to accept a deal they are not satisfied with.
Anything they say during the process is also confidential and cannot be used against them subsequently.
“This ‘openness’ (being able to talk freely behind closed doors) helps parties articulate their real grievances and concerns, and may allow them to reach a solution which the law may not be able to provide,” he added.
“I have been involved in a number of mediations, including one where the agreement was finally signed at 3am.
There was one particular case where the different parties were all victims of a fraudster, and the legal issue was who should bear the responsibility for the loss, which ran into the millions.
“Ultimately, the parties agreed to share the loss… This was not a solution which the law provides.”
SMC executive director Loong Seng Onn said the centre has, over the years, worked closely with businesses and professional bodies to promote mediation, and has also trained numerous lawyers and others in mediation skills.
“As mediation gains traction, the next phase of our work is to make mediation a viable full-time career. We are working to create specialist panels to meet the needs of users.”
vijayan@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
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Setting aside 14 per cent of a town council’s income for a dedicated Lift Replacement Fund is a move that is overdue, given the number of lift accidents over the past two years (“Town councils to set aside 14% of income for lift fund“; Jan 24).
But the big question is: Are there enough skilled technicians to perform quality maintenance and repair work on the lifts?
Lift replacement and lift maintenance are labour-intensive jobs.
If the industry is suffering from a dearth of workers with the relevant skill set, then it would hardly be surprising if the schedule for lift replacement cannot be completed on time.
Equally important is whether tenders awarded for lift replacement are based on the proven track record of companies or if a heavy weightage is placed on price.
Too much emphasis on costs could result in projects being awarded to companies which are eager to clinch the tender but are short on experience or, worse, compromise on the quality of materials or the technical competency of their workers.
Singapore has been suffering from a shortage of workers with competency in mechanical and electrical repairs and maintenance of lifts (“Lift sector facing shortage of engineers, technicians“; Aug 1, 2016).
The Government should encourage more young Singaporeans to join the industry through incentivised training and an attractive compensation package.
More importantly, it should help to promote a change of attitude towards such jobs, which are usually deemed to be low-paying, dirty and unglamorous.
Gabriel Cheng Kian Tion
This article was first published on Jan 28, 2017.
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LONDON – Oscar-nominated British actor John Hurt, known for his roles in “Elephant Man” and “Harry Potter”, has died aged 77 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, reports said Saturday citing his agent.
The versatile actor, who played Mr Ollivander in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and in two other films in the series, also starred in the movie adaptation of George Orwell’s novel “1984”.
He also played the role of Kane in “Alien”, who dies when the creature dramatically bursts from his chest.
He was twice nominated for an Oscar, in the best supporting actor category for his performance in the 1978 film “Midnight Express” as Max, a British man imprisoned in Turkey, and for his starring role in “Elephant Man” two years later.
He received a BAFTA award for “Midnight Express” as well as a Golden Globe in the best actor in a supporting role category.
His death was confirmed to the British press agency PA by his agent Charles McDonald.
Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood paid tribute to the actor, writing on Twitter: “Very sad to hear of John Hurt’s passing. It was such an honor to have watched you work, sir.” Among many tributes to flood in following news of his death, American actor Chris Evans described Hurt as “remarkable”.
“John Hurt was one of the most powerful, giving, and effortlessly real actors I’ve ever worked with Remarkable human being. U will be missed,” he wrote on Twitter.
Born on January 22, 1940 in Chesterfield, central England, Hurt first began his career as a teacher of drawing.
But he quickly moved to a life on camera and, after entering the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he began his career in British film in the 1960s.
But it was at the end of the 1970s when his career definitively took off following back-to-back roles in “Midnight Express” and “Alien”.
Hurt, who appeared in some 140 films, often playing supporting roles, also maintained a strong television presence, making appearances in cult British series Doctor Who among others.
The actor, who received a total of four BAFTAs, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.
His cancer was diagnosed the following year but he did not give up his profession.
For his final role, he played Father Richard McSorley in the biopic “Jackie”, the story of the former American First Lady, which was released in December in the US.
He was however forced to pull out of a play last July on the advice of his doctors.
“It is therefore with great sadness and disappointment that I must withdraw,” he said at the time.
