In 1997, when KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) was set up at its current premises, Lee Eng Hin was sought out to start the orthopaedic department.

The paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, now 69, had also started and was developing paediatric orthopaedics as a sub-speciality in the National University Hospital.

Prof Lee, who helped develop Singapore as the centre for paediatric orthopaedics, is one of a select group of people who have contributed to Singapore’s development.

They call themselves Old Frees, and are alumni of Malaysia’s Penang Free School (PFS), said to be the first English-language school in South-east Asia.

Those who have made significant contributions to the Republic’s development include: Yeoh Ghim Seng, Singapore’s first Speaker of Parliament, former Chief Justice Tan Ah Tah and Lim Chong Keat, who was the architect behind notable buildings such as the Singapore Conference Hall and Jurong Town Hall, which are national monuments.

PFS, whose founder Reverend Robert Sparke Hutchings had a role in the founding of what was later to be Raffles Institution, turns 200 on Oct 21.

In a commemorative book – Live Free, In The Spirit Of Serving – released by alumni group The Old Frees’ Association, Singapore, Prof Lee attributes “much of his success to (his) early formative years in PFS”.

The book, which is being sold among Old Frees, will be distributed for free to libraries and other organisations here after its launch on Sept 21.

Prof Lee told My Paper that he was proud to be “a product of a school which is 200 years old this year and which has consistently produced leaders not only in Penang and Malaysia but also in Singapore and many other countries”.

Prof Lee, who also started multidisciplinary clinics for disabled children in both NUH and KKH, said PFS provided a “very nurturing environment” where “extremely dedicated teachers” focused not only on academic excellence but also on “cultivating EQ and building character”.

The senior consultant to the Ministry of Health added that he was also “taught to be civic-minded and to contribute to society”.

Prof Lee, who is still practising as a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at both NUH and KKH, said Penang and Singapore have much to learn from each other.

“Penang can learn a lot from Singapore in terms of how to go from third world to first in a short period of time through good governance, strategic planning, hard work, technological development and efficiency,” he said.

“Singapore can benefit from Penang in terms of developing more soft skills and people skills. Penangites are a gentle and friendly people who speak Hokkien in a lilting sing-song manner. Quite different from Singapore Hokkien.”

Prof Lee, who said he settled in Singapore quickly as his bosses and colleagues were “extremely supportive”, is now a Singaporean.

However, he added that he does miss Penang hawker food.

“Singapore has treated me well even when I was a PR in terms of employment and promotion prospects. It is a true meritocracy,” he said.

lydialam@sph.com.sg

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Singapore got its first taste of the global Ultra music festival phenomenon at the weekend, and producers Alex Chew, 31, and Raj Datwani, 34, believe they’ve only just started to tap local interest in electronic dance music (EDM).

A 45,000-strong crowd turned up for Ultra Music Festival Singapore, held at Bayfront Avenue on Saturday and Sunday, to hear DJs including Kygo, DJ Snake, Alesso, Axwell and Ingrosso, and Zhu.

Chew and Datwani, who cut their teeth with a smaller, one-day festival called Road to Ultra during Singapore’s Grand Prix Season last year, told CNBC they had seen a growing appetite in the city-state for a full Ultra event.

“We thought the market here was ready for Ultra, with the production quality, the type of talent Ultra attracts,” Chew, Ultra Music Singapore’s co-founder and executive producer, said. “We thought this was just the right time to bring the festival here.”

The event is an offshoot of the Ultra Miami Electronic Music Festival, which was first held by US concert promoter Russell Faibisch in Miami Beach in 1999. EDM – an umbrella term for house, techno” and electronic music amongst other sub-genres – has steadily gained global traction since Faibisch threw his first party.

Now, there are Ultra festivals held annually in 20 countries across five continents, and the International Music Summit (IMS) estimates the EDM industry was worth almost $7.1 billion in 2015 – a 60 per cent increase on 2012’s value.

Sunita Kaur, managing director for Asia at music streaming service Spotify, told CNBC that she saw EDM as one of the fastest-growing musical genres, both in Asia and more broadly.

“In Asia we see EDM as one of the top most-streamed genre amongst Spotify users,” Kaur said. “Globally, EDM is one of the top ten most-streamed genres on Spotify.”

Datwani, the co-founder and executive producer of Ultra Music Singapore, is already thinking about how to capitalise on this interest going forward.

“We’re already starting to think about next year,” he said. “We have a lot of plans for years to come to grow significantly larger.”

Global EDM stars such as Zhu, the 27-year-old Chinese-American, Grammy Award nominee who was one of the headline acts at Singapore’s Ultra festival, also see a big future for EDM in Asia.

“I think Asia will be a great place for electronic music in the future, as long as people innovate,” he told CNBC. “It is the biggest concentration of population on this earth and if they all like something, it is an immense market.”

Meanwhile, DJs based in Southeast Asia are enjoying the mainstream attention.

DJ Myrne, a 21-year-old Singaporean who appeared at Ultra, said, “Five years ago you couldn’t walk into a clothing store and expect to listen to a dance-pop crossover hit, but in 2016, that’s the only thing on rotation right now.”

Growing commercial interest in EDM means that those who missed out on the Ultra festival will not need to wait long for another event. Cruise giant Royal Caribbean will host the third instalment of It’s the Ship – Asia’s largest festival cruise – on November 4, when it sets set from Singapore. The 4-day cruise, organised by the Livescape Group, will be hosted by actor David Hasselhoff and feature more than 60 music acts.

Muslim religious leaders and worshippers have to stand up strongly against extremist views that could undermine the peace of the country, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said as Muslims in Singapore celebrated Hari Raya Haji yesterday.

“Muslims in Singapore are a part of (the country), and anything that serves to undermine our integration is not welcome here,” he added.

He also emphasised the public’s role in alerting the authorities to any extremist idea or information.

He said: “At the end of the day, we need to build this as a community, as a nation and not individually.”

Occasions such as Hari Raya Haji can be a platform for non-Muslims to understand the religion better.

Dr Yaacob noted that the “Islam that we practise in Singapore is the Islam that is integrating with a wider community”.

On a separate note, he said Singapore’s request to the Saudi authorities to raise the haj quota this year has not been granted.

The number of Singaporeans allowed to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca remains at 680.

Dr Yaacob was speaking to reporters at En-Naeem Mosque in Hougang, where he attended morning prayers before observing the sacrificial ritual of korban.

Despite the death of 121 Irish lambs on a flight to Singapore on Sunday, proceedings went on smoothly yesterday.

A total of 1,867 Australian sheep and 1,583 Irish lambs were transported to the 26 mosques islandwide and two Malay/Muslim organisations – the Muhammadiyah Association and Jamiyah – for the ritual.

A total of 180 sheep were sacrificed at the En-Naeem Mosque, with 3kg of meat and a bag of groceries distributed to each needy resident in the neighbourhood.

In a sermon on the practice of Islam in Singapore at the mosque, the Mufti of Singapore, Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, told a 3,500-strong congregation that views which state that Muslims cannot live in harmony with non-Muslims cannot be applied in Singapore.

“Such antagonistic opinions can fan the flames of hatred and discomfort in engaging with people of other religions, and will give the wrong impression about Islam and Muslims,” he said.

nghuiwen@sph.com.sg

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A heritage tree in Outram fell and hit six apartment units early on Sunday morning, scattering glass and waking some residents up with a shock.

The incident occurred at Pearl Bank Apartments at about 5am, Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday.

The 30m-tall tree damaged at least six apartments from the fourth to eighth floors but no one was hurt.

Fixtures damaged reportedly include windows, window grilles and air-conditioning compressors.

According to the National Parks Board (NParks) website, the Purple Millettia tree was more than 60 years old when assessed in 2008.

A resident who gave his name as Mr Yang, 56, told Shin Min that he was woken up by a loud noise.

“I saw shattered glass on the floor, and when I opened the curtains, I saw branches poking into the house.

“It wasn’t just the glass that was broken, even the grilles were twisted,” he said.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News

An eighth-floor resident who gave her name as Madam Yang, a 48-year-old accountant, told Lianhe Wanbao in a report yesterday that she had been roused from sleep by a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking.

“I woke up to check and got a shock.

“The windows in the master bedroom, living room and my son’s bedroom had been smashed, with branches protruding through the broken glass,” she said.

The affected areas have been sealed off and NParks officers were still clearing the scene at 11am yesterday, Wanbao reported.

The management at Pearl Bank Apartments distributed fliers to residents, advising them to take pictures of the damage done to their homes to facilitate insurance claims.

Wanbao understands that NParks will help coordinate these claims.

Some residents told Wanbao that there are more than 10 other large trees in the area. They hope that the authorities will inspect them to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

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Felled trees turned into art

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

NParks

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times