Sixty-one schools will be getting a new principal next year as part of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) annual reshuffle exercise.

Of these schools, 13 will have principals who have been appointed for the first time. One of them is Northbrooks Secondary School, which will have Mr Chan Choon Loong as its new head. He is currently vice-principal of Bukit Panjang Government High School.

Principals for seven merged secondary schools starting next year were also named. These include Mr Ling Khoon Chow, Bendemeer Secondary’s principal, who will lead Beatty Secondary, and Fuhua Secondary principal Tan Siew Woon, who will head Northland Secondary.

MOE said yesterday that appointing and rotating principals allows schools to benefit from fresh perspectives and experienced principals to share their best practices.

Mr Chan, 38, said he is excited to lead a school. “I’ll spend the next few months getting to know the school, and I hope to continue the good work done by it.”

He said that he hopes to guide students in their post-secondary education choices, and help teachers improve their craft through professional development.

Several principals are retiring this year. The longest-serving among them is Mr Kwek Hiok Chuang, who has chalked up 38 years in the education service. The 61-year-old spent 26 years as a principal across four schools – North View Secondary, Anderson Secondary, Pioneer Junior College and, the latest, Nanyang Junior College.

He said the best part of being in education was getting the chance to shape young minds. “I counted the number of students I’ve met from my teaching days all the way until now – it’s about 22,000.”

ateng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 22, 2016.
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A district court has thrown out claims by a show promoter, Midas Promotions, that a rival company, LAMC Productions, breached an agreement to share the spoils of a show starring superstar comedian Russell Peters.

Midas claimed the firms had agreed to a joint venture whereby both would share the rights and revenue from the 2012 event on a 50:50 basis. This was meant to avoid a bidding war to bring in the show.

Canadian-born Peters, once ranked by Forbes as the third-highest-paid comedian in the world, raked in US$916,544 for the show in May 2012 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. A second night was added by popular demand.

His total pay cheque last year was US$19 million (S$26.5 million), from playing to packed venues like New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Key players in the dispute were Midas director Michael Hosking, husband-and-wife co-owners of LAMC Ross Knudson and Lauretta Alabons, and Ms Marlene Tsuchii, the agent representing Peters.

The two firms have brought some of the biggest names to the region. LAMC is due to bring Guns N Roses next February to Singapore, while Midas has lined up famed singer Bryan Adams for Kuala Lumpur next January.

Midas offered to negotiate a “flat fee” deal on behalf of itself and LAMC, but alleged that LAMC inked a deal with Ms Tsuchii on its own to pay Peters a percentage of the takings.Represented by lawyer Han Wah Teng, it claimed that it was excluded from the deal between LAMC and Ms Tsuchii to promote the event, resulting in damages and income loss.

LAMC, defended by lawyer Salem Ibrahim, denied any such agreement with Midas as alleged and argued it made no commercial sense to go halves on the percentage deal with Peters as the profit margin would have been too thin to share.

On that deal, for which Peters got 80 per cent of the proceeds, Midas and LAMC would each get only US$46,976 on a 50:50 basis. In a flat deal arrangement, where Peters was to be paid US$200,000, they would each get US$134,880.

District Judge Koh Juay Kherng found that there was an agreement between Midas and LAMC to share 50:50 if either was successful, but on the understanding that it applied only to the flat deal offer.

“There was no agreement to share any profit if either party were to secure a deal on a percentage basis,” he said in judgment grounds released yesterday. He added that LAMC had discharged its obligation to Midas when the latter was told Peters’ agent would not accept a flat deal bid. The court found that at the time of the agreement between Mr Hosking and Mr Knudson, Ms Alabons and Ms Tsuchii had already settled on an 80:20 deal.

“Having considered all the facts before me, I am convinced that Midas had no real chance of obtaining a deal from Marlene, whether on a flat deal or on a percentage basis, simply because Hosking wanted a deal on his terms and Marlene was not interested.

“Hosking could well have secured a 90:10 percentage deal, if he had accepted Marlene’s then counter-offer but greed got in the way, he wanted more…,” said the district judge.

Midas is appealing against the judgment.

vijayan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 22, 2016.
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A government survey has found that a majority of Singaporeans agree with the need for a minority president from time to time, but the level of support for a reserved election varies among the different races.

Law Minister K. Shanmugam cited these results at an Institute of Policy Studies forum on the elected presidency (EP) yesterday to show that while Singapore has come a long way in ensuring racial harmony, race is still a factor in elections.

The survey, which government feedback unit Reach conducted last month, showed that 60 per cent of 1,058 Singaporeans polled agreed or strongly agreed with the need to ensure that minorities are periodically elected to the highest office in the land.

But on a question about whether there should be a reserved election for minority candidates if a minority member has not been elected president for five terms, respondents of different races responded differently.

Among Chinese respondents, 28 per cent said they supported such a move. This number was 41 per cent for Malay respondents, and 40 per cent for Indian respondents.

“It’s interesting if you say race doesn’t matter. You look at the numbers and responses – the charts speak for themselves,” Mr Shanmugam told about 200 participants.

He added that the “sharp difference” could become even more apparent in a close race.

During the question-and-answer session, a participant questioned the need for a reserved election, saying that it could lead to tokenism.

She argued that minority candidates have beaten their Chinese opponents in parliamentary elections, citing the Bukit Batok by-election in May, which People’s Action Party candidate Murali Pillai had won running against the Singapore Democratic Party’s Dr Chee Soon Juan.

Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said it was a false comparison as parliamentary elections and presidential elections were different. He added that a candidate’s party was a significant factor in voters’ decisions during parliamentary elections.

“Don’t go away with the impression that I’m suggesting that race is the be all, end all. (But) do you think it doesn’t matter for 5 to 10 per cent of the population?” he said.

Ultimately, he said, the Government has to make a “judgment call” on how much racial issues swing votes and whether it will lead to minorities being shut out for long periods from the presidency.

He added that having a provision to ensure minorities are elected from time to time is “an area the Government believes is the right thing to do, (so) we have to convince people”.

A Constitutional Commission set up to review the elected presidency had suggested having reserved elections that kick in for particular racial groups, if people from the group have not been elected president for five terms, or 30 years. The Government accepted the suggestion in a White Paper issued last month.

This and other proposed changes to the elected presidency will be debated when Parliament sits on Nov 7.

The other proposed changes have to do with the eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, the Council of Presidential Advisers and framework of the president’s powers and provisions that entrench and safeguard the presidency.

The Reach survey also found that 64 per cent of respondents thought having elections was the best way to choose a president, compared with 14 per cent who wanted the president to be appointed by the Government, and a fifth who thought it did not matter.

The remainder said they were not sure.

A look at the presidents of Singapore

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Zawiyah Salleh, New Nation, Wee Kim Wee, The Business Times, The New Paper, The Ong family, Lianhe Zaobao

60 per cent: Out of 1,058 Singaporeans polled, this percentage agreed with the need to ensure that minorities are periodically elected to the presidency.

28 per cent: Chinese respondents who agreed there should be a reserved election for minority candidates if a minority member has not been elected president for five terms.

41 per cent: Percentage of Malay respondents who supported such a move.

40 per cent: Percentage of Indian respondents who backed the move

Read also: Elected Presidency changes: It’s not just about the politics

Read also: Elected Presidency: Better checks, better candidates?

rachelay@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 22, 2016.
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One minute, the woman in black was smiling and waving to the crowd at Paragon Shopping Mall. The next minute, she was a picture of concentration as she picked up a giant brush and got busy on stage.

Ms Shoko Kanazawa, 31, a calligrapher who has held exhibitions in her home country Japan and cities like New York and Paris, was in Singapore on her first visit.

The bubbly artist held the audience in rapt attention as she painted in bold two large Kanji characters – guang (light) and de (virtue).

“I want people to see that I’m very cheerful even though I have Down syndrome… I can do better than normal people,” said Ms Kanazawa, who was with her mother Yasuko, 73, a calligraphy teacher.

The performance yesterday was part of the SJ50 Event organised by the Ad Planet Group to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and Japan.

“I want to draw during the three days that I am in Singapore to deliver love, dreams and cheer – to encourage people to cheer up,” said Ms Kanazawa, who started taking calligraphy lessons from her mother at the age of five. Her father died of a heart attack when she was 14.

Another performer was Singaporean pianist Azariah Tan, who suffers from bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. “Music communicates where words cannot… and it’s fascinating how the notes come together to form beautiful chords, colours that evoke characters, atmospheres or modes of feelings,” said Mr Tan, who has won many music scholarships and competitions.

Mr Tan, 25, who has only 15 per cent of his hearing left and will eventually lose all his hearing, played Liszt’s Rigoletto Paraphrase. He said he is grateful for the support from his parents, teachers and medical staff who help him pursue his passion for music.

Mr Tan, who recently completed his doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan, now teaches and works as an assistant to his professor there. He said he wants to tell people with disabilities not to give up easily.

The performances inspired Pathlight School students at the event.

“Even though they have disabilities, they still have the resilience and compassion… to do something that they love to show to the world,” said Ms Ungku Noor Shafikah, 19, a Secondary 4 student at Pathlight, which takes in students with autism.

At the event, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said inclusiveness was crucial to “create a more understanding and more empathetic and compassionate environment”.

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Performers with disabilities shine at S’pore-Japan event

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feliciac@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 22, 2016.
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