SINGAPORE – The Malaysian ringgit sank to a one-year low against the Singapore dollar on Tuesday (Nov 22), with S$1 worth RM3.1206 around noon, according to Bloomberg data.

Against the US dollar, the ringgit fell to 4.4327, its weakest since January.

Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, has been hit by a rout as investors dumped assets in emerging markets after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

The ringgit has weakened more than 5 per cent against the US dollar since the election on Nov 8, while the local benchmark stock index has shed more than 2 per cent.

Malaysia’s central bank has ordered foreign banks to stop offshore speculation in the ringgit, warning of “prompt supervisory intervention” against those trading the ringgit in the non-deliverable forwards market.

Foreign banks have also been told to provide a detailed plan to the central bank if they need to make ringgit transactions onshore and to seek help from Malaysian financial institutions for any foreign exchange transaction needs.

Analysts said earlier this year that the ringgit could be hamstrung by political risks, external investigations into the country’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, as well as global oil prices.

While Singapore’s Auditor-General has kept a low profile for decades, the special audit findings involving Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council last year have thrust the office into the limelight.

A research paper on his role as watchman, watchdog and warden notes his duties are relatively different from his counterparts worldwide and suggests updating laws to extend his reach to privatised government-linked companies.

“The Singapore Auditor-General has been an important constitutional office since 1991, but remains a severely under-examined institution in local scholarship,” said National University of Singapore law and accountancy graduate Preston Wong in the paper published in the current Singapore Academy of Law Journal.

The author argued the AuditorGeneral, currently Mr Willie Tan, assisted by a deputy and team of assistants, plays a largely independent and effective role in constitutional government through promoting public finance accountability.

He is “starkly different from his foreign counterparts” and “is highly unique in terms of his legal position and roles”.

He is a watchman over the nation’s reserves and tackles compliance with complex financial procedures.

“Notably he is independent of all three branches of Government and acts as a check on all three,” he said, calling it “an intricately balanced position unseen anywhere else”.

The author noted that at an election rally last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commended the Auditor-General’s Office as a key institution keeping the Government “straight” and accountable.

The author suggested that while the Auditor-General is an effective cap on financial power, there is still room for improvement by international standards.

Among other things, he called for the Audit Act to be reviewed to capture the developments of the past 50 years.

He pointed out that the privatisation of many public bodies and statutory authorities has spawned government-owned and government-linked companies.

“The Act should therefore be revamped to provide the Auditor-General with a mandate to audit these entities (even though not prescribed under any law), alongside removing the unnecessary requirements for an entity’s request and approval from the minister.”

Mr Wong said New Zealand and Australian legal arrangements subject state-owned enterprises to audit and allows broad-based discretion.

He suggested that, alternatively, the Auditor-General should have the discretion to step in if the public interest required it, unlike the present position where the discretion lies with the minister.

He added that the nature of audits under the Act is also “outdated” as it dwells “mainly on traditional financial and administrative regularity”.

“The Act should incorporate performance audits against excess, extravagance and inefficiency amounting to waste as part of the scope of audit in this new age of accountability beyond regularity.”

He noted that such performance audits are enshrined in the laws of several countries abroad for the Auditor-General to examine the 3Es – effectiveness, efficiency and economy – of public entities.

“Canada has a fourth E (environment). It also evaluates effects on sustainable development.”

Given that the 2015 General Election further entrenched the People’s Action Party as the party to govern Singapore, the Auditor-General’s mission to “enhance public accountability” will be ever more crucial, Mr Wong said.

“One PAP minister had even gone to the extent of characterising the Auditor-General’s Office as the ‘real check’ in Government, juxtaposing it against the opposition which had claimed to be ‘a robust check and balance.’ “

This article was first published on November 22, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The 2017 Fina World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, is just eight months away, and Olympic champion Joseph Schooling has earmarked the men’s 100m butterfly as his main priority for the meet.

The 21-year-old won Singapore’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Rio in August 2016 when he beat American legend Michael Phelps, South Africa’s Chad le Clos and Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh in a new Olympic record time of 50.39sec in the event.

While Schooling previously spoke of his desire to expand his repertoire of events leading up to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, he told The New Paper that he is keen to maintain his status as top dog in the 100m butterfly in Budapest, instead of experimenting with other events.

“I am still going to focus on my 100m fly… obviously I want to stay at the top,” he told TNP, during his current visit.

“That should be my fall back, my comfort zone but my training enables me to do well in both the 100m and 200m fly, and that shouldn’t change.

“I think I can do a good 200m fly, too.”

He added that butterfly would be his main focus moving forward, although the freestyle events would be “fun”, and will “add a little flavour” to his career.

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Dressing up Olympic champ Joseph Schooling

Source:

AsiaOne

Alvin Toh/ The Schooling Effect

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The desire to be an Olympic champion has been the main driving force in his swimming career so far and, after achieving that goal, Schooling acknowledged that he’d spent some time away from the pool as he worked to reinvigorate himself psychologically and focus on what he wants to achieve next in the sport.

Phelps’ 100 butterfly world record of 49.82, achieved in 2009 in the now-banned performance-enhancing swimsuits, has given the Singaporean fresh impetus in the short-term, while branching out and doing well in other events is his long-term target.

“The 100m fly is my favourite event, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be good, or excel in other events,” he said.

“I am capable of doing the 100m and 200m fly, the 100m and 200m free, and the individual medleys.

“If I win more events and be more versatile, that’d be great.”

This article was first published on November 22, 2016.
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Retiree Lim Chwee Leong had just stepped onto an escalator at Bishan MRT station when he lost his footing, took a few steps back and fell.

The back of the 64-year-old’s head hit continually against a step of the escalator as it moved up, before a passer-by pressed the emergency stop button.

Mr Lim ended up at the top of the escalator.

These details of the incident, which left Mr Lim in a coma, have emerged from preliminary investigations by rail operator SMRT, Mr Lim’s son Lim Ka Hock, 46, told The Straits Times yesterday.

He was told the details by SMRT on Sunday, after it viewed CCTV footage of the incident which took place at about 11.30am on Nov 12, near the station’s Exit D.

The older Mr Lim remains in a coma in the intensive care unit of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was taken after the incident.

When Mr Lim, a freelance contractor, retrieved his father’s belongings from the hospital last week, he was shocked to find his father’s shirt drenched in blood.

“I didn’t know that it was so serious and he had lost so much blood,” he said.

The older Mr Lim, who has diabetes and high blood pressure, was unconscious when taken to the hospital.

He was operated on immediately to remove a blood clot in his brain, and was later put on a ventilator. It is not known if there were witnesses to the incident.

As his condition has since stabilised and improved, doctors and family members had initially considered taking him off the ventilator.

“The doctors tried to do that at first, but my father couldn’t breathe on his own.

Instead, he will be going through an operation soon to put a breathing tube in his windpipe,” said Mr Lim.

Doctors have told him it may be months before his father recovers.

For now, he hopes his father’s condition would progress well enough for him to be moved to a general ward.

The older Mr Lim lives in Bishan with his three children. It is not known why he was at Bishan MRT station.

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Josephine Teo visited him on Sunday, said the younger Mr Lim, who intends to meet her again today to discuss social and financial support for his father.

This article was first published on November 22, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

President-elect Donald Trump, who had campaigned on an anti-trade platform, may have stoked fears of protectionism in the United States, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong does not see a mood of despair descending on the world.

It is more a mood of watchfulness, as the world awaits the team he assembles and the policies his administration implements, Mr Lee said at a media conference with Singapore reporters.

He noted that past US presidents, including Mr Bill Clinton, Mr George W. Bush and current leader Barack Obama, have had to modify their campaign positions “in the light of the test of reality and experience”.

“So I fully expect that when the new administration comes in, they will have to review their positions,” Mr Lee said.

This time, however, the US campaign was a lot harsher than previous ones, in tone and in rhetoric, he added.

“So to make an adjustment is harder, but we have to wait and see.”

Mr Lee made the point when he was asked about the mood at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit that ended in Peru on Sunday.

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PM Lee in Peru for APEC summit

Source:

AFP

Reuters

The Straits Times

Facebook / Lee Hsien Loong

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“It is a mood of watchfulness, of waiting to see, and being cautious not to foreclose options prematurely, so that you find yourself at a dead end unnecessarily,” he said in the wrap-up session on his five-day trip to the annual event in which leaders of the 21 member economies meet to discuss economic integration and trade.

The US leadership transition will take place in January next year.

Mr Lee also felt it would be a big loss should the US turn inwards, as American engagement in the region is positive for security, economic and trade reasons.

“So if you do not have that, you lose something valuable. If in fact the US turns inwards and becomes protectionist and anti-free trade, then of course the loss is even greater,” he said.

“But whether that happens is speculation.”

As for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Mr Lee said it would be a big loss if the trade pact does not come into fruition, given its strategic and economic importance.

“It would make a lasting contribution to the stability and the prosperity of the region, so we lose that, well, life goes on.

But you have lost something precious and which would have been very worthwhile having,” he said.

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Donald Trump wins US presidency in stunning upset

Source:

AFP

Reuters

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Mr Lee said much work and compromise had gone into the 12 TPP member countries reaching an agreement, and it would not be easy to negotiate a new deal with different conditions.

The TPP can go into force only if it is approved by six countries that account for at least 85 per cent of the group’s economic output – which means ratification by both the US and Japan is essential.

But ratification by the US now seems unlikely, in view of Mr Trump’s opposition to it.

At a TPP leaders’ meeting on Saturday, Mr Obama had said he will continue to raise awareness of the agreement’s importance back home.

The leaders of the other 11 TPP countries had also said they will push ahead with the deal.

“We will see how the Americans decide… and if in fact after two years they do not take it forward, we will examine our options again. We still have some time,” said Mr Lee.

This article was first published on November 22, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Up until the age of six, Javier Lim was a healthy preschooler whose idea of a fun day was an afternoon jaunt at the playground.

But all that changed when doctors found tumours in his brain, each about the size of a marble, three years ago.

Now nine, he has spent a third of his childhood battling multiple brain tumours. His skull has been cut open and stitched up about 10 times to remove the tumours or to fix post-surgery complications.

The Primary 3 pupil has a drainage tube, called a shunt, implanted permanently inside his body to relieve pressure on his brain.

Part of the device is visible under the skin on his back. This means he can no longer engage in physical activities – just going down a slide in the playground might be enough to damage the device.

According to Assistant Professor David Low, vice-president of the Brain Tumour Society Singapore, about 40 to 50 operations are carried out on children with brain tumours in restructured hospitals every year.

There are no statistics of the number of children in Singapore with brain tumours, which can be difficult to track as there are more than 120 types, says Prof Low, the head of neurosurgical service at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and consultant neurosurgeon at National Neuroscience Institute.

Javier’s parents found out about his brain tumour by chance, when they took him to see an eye doctor in 2013. His teachers had noticed that he would tilt his head to one side while doing school work.

His mother, Mrs Sharon Lim, 35, an assistant teacher, said: “Initially, we thought he had a ‘lazy eye’, but the doctors noticed that something wasn’t quite right. When the scans revealed not one, but two tumours in his brain, we were devastated.”

The diagnosis was the beginning of a “nightmare” for the Lims, who also have a daughter aged four.

Read also: Pilot, 35, struck down by brain tumour

Javier’s first major brain operation was hard on everyone, Mrs Lim added. Waiting out the eight-hour surgery was nerve-racking enough for his parents, but the aftermath was even worse when he woke up screaming his lungs out.

Although he was only six then, Javier vividly remembers the intense pain. “I was screaming like crazy because my head hurt so much. Having IV drips poking into my skin hurt a lot too,” he said.

His father, Ken, 39, a warehouse assistant, said: “That night, the doctors increased the dosage of the painkillers so that he could sleep.”

After surgery, Javier struggled to regain his ability to walk, and control his movements and speech. It took him about six weeks to get back to normal.

But life, as the Lims found out, would never be “normal” again. For every tumour the doctors removed, a new one would appear in the same area every subsequent year.

The worst is still not over. In September this year, scans revealed another new growth in Javier’s brain – his fifth tumour.

“We couldn’t believe it when the doctor told us another tumour had popped up in his brain,” Mrs Lim said. “I just sat there and cried my eyes out. What else could I do?”

Javier will undergo surgery again this month to remove the growth in his brain. No one can explain why he gets these tumours – which are said to be more common in older adults – at such a young age, said Mrs Lim.

His tumours are considered to be benign (non-cancerous). But any tumour in the brain, whether it is cancerous or not, can be dangerous and life-threatening, said Prof Low, who is treating Javier.

It is also possible for a benign tumour to recur, although the risk is much lower, compared to an aggressive cancerous tumour, he added. Treatment such as surgery also comes with certain risks.

Although Javier manages to bounce back after each operation, being away from school for long periods of time has affected his studies.

While on treatment, he skipped most of Primary 1 and about a third of Primary 2. There is a high chance that he will be retained in Primary 3 next year as he is unable to cope with his school work.

His long-drawn illness has also taken a toll on the family. Mrs Lim said she felt guilty about neglecting her daughter. “I know she some- times feels jealous because we are always focusing on Javier. I feel really bad about it.”

Read also: Brain tumour patients enjoy ride in supercars​

Mr Lim is worried about his job. “So far, I’ve taken about three months of unpaid leave to look after Javier after his operations.”

Still, the Lims count their blessings that most of Javier’s medical expenses, which added up to about $100,000, were covered by insu- rance. They are grateful for the help from kind-hearted people, including members of the Brain Tumour Society Singapore support group.

Mrs Lim said her boss and colleagues have been supportive. They once organised a fundraising pro- ject to help her family get through a particularly difficult month.

The Lims are bracing themselves for Javier’s upcoming surgery.

“The new tumour has affected the nerves on the right side of his face and his sense of pain. Because of this, he has been over-rubbing his eyes and causing damage to his cornea,” Mrs Lim said. “The doctor said that if he continues like this, he might lose his eyesight.”

Having gone through so much in the past few years, Javier’s parents said they do not have any expectations and wish only for their son to be happy.

Mrs Lim said: “We don’t make any plans or ask that he score As in school. We only hope that, one day, he will be tumour-free.”

This article was first published on Nov 22, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.