While there might be differences of views on some issues, bilateral co-operation between Singapore and China is progressing on many fronts, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong .

Both countries, being different, will naturally have different perspectives on some issues, Mr Lee said yesterday in response to a question on perceived tensions over the Republic’s role as country-coordinator for ASEAN-China relations.

He added the key is to manage and accept the different perspectives and not allow them to affect the overall relationship, which he said was in “working shape”.

“We accept that sometimes there will be issues and things may take time. This is normal between any two countries, particularly two with a very close relationship,” Mr Lee told Singapore media at the end of a four-day working visit that included meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chongqing party boss Sun Zhengcai.

He pointed out that Mr Xi, in their meeting in Hangzhou last Friday, had urged both sides to respect each other’s perspectives and to work towards greater understanding when they disagree.

Mr Lee, in turn, told Mr Xi that Singapore hoped to act as an honest broker in bringing people closer together through its three-year stint as ASEAN-China relations coordinator, which began in August last year.

Last month, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman urged Singapore to respect China’s position on the South China Sea issue and to advance ASEAN-China relations on the condition of not interfering in the maritime dispute between Beijing and several ASEAN nations.

The remarks, coming after China rejected an arbitral tribunal ruling on July 12 against its maritime claims in the South China Sea, were seen as a veiled criticism of Sing- apore’s friendship with the United States and support of the US’ continued presence in the region.

In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 21, Mr Lee outlined Singa- pore’s foreign policy principle of acting independently and in its own national interests, such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Yesterday, Mr Lee said Singapore and China are cooperating in many areas that are win-win in nature and it “would be a pity” for both sides if these were to slow down.

He cited how the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) – the third government-led project between both sides – has made progress in its priority sectors in finance, telecommunications, aviation and logistics.

For instance, Mr Lee said both sides are exploring a new logistical route southwards of Chongqing into the Beibu Bay through Guangxi’s Qinzhou port city, in anticipation of transportation capacity on the Yangtze River reaching saturation.

Also, both sides are looking at using the CCI, which aims to promote connectivity within China and with other states, to test bed new policies or new emphasis in its development strategies, he added.

Promising ideas can be put up at the upcoming meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, a high-level mechanism overseeing bilateral ties, said Mr Lee, who visited Chongqing last Saturday.

World leaders arrive for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Reuters, MCI

KEY G-20 OUTCOMES

• A G-20 blueprint on innovative growth to harness new drivers for the global economy.
• A pledge to use multiple policy tools – fiscal, monetary and structural reforms – to tackle short-term risks while exploring longer-term growth.
• A commitment to help the Paris Agreement on cutting global warming emissions go into force early.
• An action plan to facilitate implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Combat global tax evasion and build up taxation mechanisms in less developed economies. Global taxation research centre to be set up in China.
• Boost anti-graft efforts, including setting up a research centre on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery.

This article was first published on September 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

While there might be differences of views on some issues, bilateral co-operation between Singapore and China is progressing on many fronts, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong .

Both countries, being different, will naturally have different perspectives on some issues, Mr Lee said yesterday in response to a question on perceived tensions over the Republic’s role as country-coordinator for ASEAN-China relations.

He added the key is to manage and accept the different perspectives and not allow them to affect the overall relationship, which he said was in “working shape”.

“We accept that sometimes there will be issues and things may take time. This is normal between any two countries, particularly two with a very close relationship,” Mr Lee told Singapore media at the end of a four-day working visit that included meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chongqing party boss Sun Zhengcai.

He pointed out that Mr Xi, in their meeting in Hangzhou last Friday, had urged both sides to respect each other’s perspectives and to work towards greater understanding when they disagree.

Mr Lee, in turn, told Mr Xi that Singapore hoped to act as an honest broker in bringing people closer together through its three-year stint as ASEAN-China relations coordinator, which began in August last year.

Last month, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman urged Singapore to respect China’s position on the South China Sea issue and to advance ASEAN-China relations on the condition of not interfering in the maritime dispute between Beijing and several ASEAN nations.

The remarks, coming after China rejected an arbitral tribunal ruling on July 12 against its maritime claims in the South China Sea, were seen as a veiled criticism of Sing- apore’s friendship with the United States and support of the US’ continued presence in the region.

In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 21, Mr Lee outlined Singa- pore’s foreign policy principle of acting independently and in its own national interests, such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Yesterday, Mr Lee said Singapore and China are cooperating in many areas that are win-win in nature and it “would be a pity” for both sides if these were to slow down.

He cited how the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) – the third government-led project between both sides – has made progress in its priority sectors in finance, telecommunications, aviation and logistics.

For instance, Mr Lee said both sides are exploring a new logistical route southwards of Chongqing into the Beibu Bay through Guangxi’s Qinzhou port city, in anticipation of transportation capacity on the Yangtze River reaching saturation.

Also, both sides are looking at using the CCI, which aims to promote connectivity within China and with other states, to test bed new policies or new emphasis in its development strategies, he added.

Promising ideas can be put up at the upcoming meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, a high-level mechanism overseeing bilateral ties, said Mr Lee, who visited Chongqing last Saturday.

World leaders arrive for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Reuters, MCI

KEY G-20 OUTCOMES

• A G-20 blueprint on innovative growth to harness new drivers for the global economy.
• A pledge to use multiple policy tools – fiscal, monetary and structural reforms – to tackle short-term risks while exploring longer-term growth.
• A commitment to help the Paris Agreement on cutting global warming emissions go into force early.
• An action plan to facilitate implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Combat global tax evasion and build up taxation mechanisms in less developed economies. Global taxation research centre to be set up in China.
• Boost anti-graft efforts, including setting up a research centre on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery.

This article was first published on September 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Anti-mosquito operations are being extended around Singapore’s biggest Zika cluster.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday it is taking these measures in Circuit Road, Geylang East Central and Geylang East Avenue 1.

These areas are located on the periphery of the Aljunied Crescent, Sims Drive, Paya Lebar Way and Kallang Way cluster, which accounts for more than 200 of the current 258 Zika cases islandwide. The NEA had been conducting vector control operations in these areas, and will continue to do so.

It said that as of Sunday, 63 breeding habitats had been detected and destroyed. Thirty-seven of these were in homes, while the other 26 were in common areas and other premises.

The NEA is also continuing with vector control operations and outreach efforts in Bedok North Avenue, another cluster, together with mosquito control measures. As of Sunday, 52 breeding habitats had been detected and destroyed, with 42 of them in homes and 10 in common areas and other premises.

The same efforts took place in Joo Seng Road, where no breeding habitats have been detected so far.

Meanwhile, in the Sims Drive and Aljunied Crescent cluster where it all began, shops said business has suffered. An owner of a mobile- phone shop at Block 47, Sims Place, who wanted to be known only as Miss Kristina, 23, said the area has been a “ghost town” since the news of the virus broke two weeks ago.

Barber Ahmad Ali, 56, said he has also seen fewer customers. “People avoid this place now. The market is also very empty. But what to do? I still have to run my business, life has to go on,” he said.

For drinks stall owner Tan See Foo, 62, this is “one of the worst periods” he has been through since opening the stall at the market and food centre at Block 49, Sims Place in 1976.

“Business has fallen by about 30 per cent. Every night, fewer people come here to drink. Now is the school holiday period, but there is no one here,” he said. “The mosquitos have really sabotaged us. Right now, my business is all right, but if this goes on for a month or two longer, it will get tough.”

This article was first published on September 06, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Two Singapore universities have kept their top 20 positions in the latest World University Rankings, making the Republic the only Asian nation represented among the best of the world’s top universities for the second year in a row.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) kept their 12th and 13th positions respectively in this year’s Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

The two universities had shot up in the rankings last year, partly due to a change in how research citation was evaluated, with NUS moving up from 22nd to 12th place and NTU moving up from 39th to 13th.

Singapore Management University made its debut in the rankings this year in the 431-440 band. It scored most highly for its international faculty ratio.

London-based education consultancy QS said NTU stood out in research, ranking 64th in the world for citations per faculty while NUS was placed 9th and 11th globally, for employer and academic reputation respectively, having received perfect scores in both metrics.

“In featuring two universities in the global top 20, Singapore remains the only Asian nation to place among the very highest echelons of the QS World University Rankings,” said the consultancy.

The third best-ranked Asian university was China’s Tsinghua University, which rose one place to 24th this year.

QS head of research Ben Sowter said: “Singapore’s continued strong performance stems from excellence across our spectrum of measures. In most aspects, there are institutions elsewhere that can lay claim to a more spectacular indicator performance but very few that can compete across the board.”

NUS president Tan Chorh Chuan said the university has continued to focus on preparing future-ready graduates who can thrive and contribute in a much more volatile environment.

“We are happy that these efforts have been recognised by our ranking among the world’s top universities, and Asia’s best,” Professor Tan said.

NTU president Bertil Anderson said: “Last year, we surprised ourselves a little when we jumped 26 places to the 13th position. But we have been working very hard in the last few years for this ‘surprise’. This year, we are happy that this high standing has been reaffirmed by QS.”

Professor Anderson added: “Of course, now that we are competing in the global top tier, the competition is much more intense, compared to the type of quantum leaps that we have been making since 2011.”

The QS rankings use six indicators – academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty student ratio, citations per faculty, international students and international faculty.

Mr Sowter said the rankings “imply” that investments in higher education affect rankings.

“Institutions in countries that provide high levels of targeted funding, whether from endowments or from the public purse, are rising.

“On the other hand, Western European nations making or proposing cuts to public research spending are losing ground to their US and Asian counterparts.”

For example, Britain’s Cambridge University lost its third placing this year. This means American institutions hold all top three places for the first time since the ranking started in 2004.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology topped the list for the fifth consecutive year. Stanford was second and Harvard third.

This article was first published on September 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Mr Hassan Melan wanted to call his family to tell them they wouldn’t be able to reach him as his phone battery had run out.

The 57-year-old F&B worker looked in vain for a payphone at the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. In the end, he hopped on a train to where he knew he would find one.

“I felt bad asking a stranger to lend me his phone,” Mr Hassan told The Straits Times, as he finished his call from a payphone in Tekka Centre in Little India, about 1.2km from his original location.

Mr Hassan’s story would ring true with anyone who remembers how ubiquitous payphones used to be, when there were at least 20,000 all over the island. Today, with the mobile population penetration rate reaching 148.4 per cent as of December last year, their number has fallen just over 2,000.

They are run by 14 operators, including Singtel and StarHub, and can be found in places like HDB estates and tourist attractions, said the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).

The number of phones operated by Singtel has not changed in the past few years, and it has no plans to discontinue its payphone service. “Payphones serve to connect users without mobile phones and are useful in emergency situations,” said its spokesman.

Indeed, in five hours, The Straits Times counted about 25 people using the payphones in Tekka Centre.

Almost all owned mobile phones.

Some needed a payphone because the batteries in their own phones had run out, while others had forgotten to take them along that day.

Yet others, like Indian construction worker Panneerselvam Veeramani, 31, had run out of funds on his prepaid mobile card, and was waiting for his pay to arrive so he could top it up. He was telephoning an uncle in Singapore.

But there are also a few who choose to use payphones instead of a mobile phone.

Hostel security manager Chua Choon San, 63, uses payphones about eight times a month to save money.

Calls are charged at 10 cents for every two minutes on a Singtel phone and every three minutes on a StarHub phone – less than those made through his prepaid card, explained Mr Chua, who has two children, aged nine and 11. He earns about $4,000 a month.

“My wife doesn’t work very much, so I don’t want to spend money on unnecessary things,” he said.

This article was first published on September 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Singapore should have a Malay or other minority president from time to time to assure minorities they have a place here, and reduce the risk of some feeling marginalised, community leaders said yesterday.

“The president represents the nation, so having a head of state from a minority race from time to time gives a clear signal that we are multiracial and all-inclusive,” said Association of Muslim Professionals chairman Abdul Hamid Abdullah.

But Nominated MP Azmoon Ahmad feels the office need not be rotated rigidly among the main races.

“Whether the president is Chinese, Malay, Indian or none of these is a secondary concern. He must first and foremost speak for every Singaporean,” he said.

Read also: Reviewing elected presidency: ‘Restore former system’

Their comments reflect the mixed feelings of many Malays towards impending changes to the elected presidency to ensure it is representative of Singapore’s multiracial society.

On the one hand, they note the country has not had a Malay president since Mr Yusof Ishak, who held the post from 1965 to 1970. It has had two Indian presidents, Mr Devan Nair from 1981 to 1985, and Mr S R Nathan from 1999 to 2011.

But on the other hand, they do not want a situation that could lead to the election of a Malay president being seen as an act of tokenism.

In a TV interview with Mediacorp broadcast on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the changes are needed as in a close election, a Malay or Indian candidate would find it harder to get elected.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said in a roundtable interview with Berita Minggu on Sunday that the changes had to be made now, when society is united, to avoid problems in future.

Read also: Participants agree on need for minority president.

“If Muslims feel they are deliberately marginalised, have no stake in the country, and feel left out – these are things that could be exploited and if it gains momentum, it could be a big problem,” he said.

PM Lee had, in his interview, said there could be a provision to reserve an election for candidates from a minority race if there has been no president from that race for, say, four, five or six terms.

They must also meet qualifying criteria stated in the Constitution, no different than for other candidates.

Mr Lee noted the pool of qualified minority candidates is not as big as that of Chinese candidates, but said over time, it will grow.

Said former NMP Imram Mohamed: “We have people who would qualify, like Speaker Halimah Yacob and several CEOs. It’s a matter of whether they want to run.”

Former MP Inderjit Singh felt the Indian community would welcome the new rules too, given the difficulty of getting elected in an open election. Mr Nathan was unopposed in both the 1999 and 2005 elections.

Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations council member Thomas Pek said it was vital to take steps to ensure a minority president occasionally: “Between equally capable Malay and Chinese candidates, most Chinese will pick the Chinese.

“We should not deny minorities such a chance as it goes against our goal of being a multiracial society.”

This article was first published on September 06, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.