JAKATA – Retired Indonesian army general Suryo Prabowo was stopped and interviewed by checkpoint officers at Singapore’s Changi Airport on Wednesday (Aug 17), as part of “screening procedures”, said the Republic’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

The ICA, in a statement on Saturday (Aug 20), explained that Mr Suryo was interviewed by its officers for about 30 minutes from 5.35am, and then allowed to continue on his journey.

“He was informed by ICA officers that the interview was part of the screening procedures for border security,” said the agency. “As part of the immigration clearance process, travellers to Singapore may be subjected to additional interview and/or screening. These procedures are conducted at all of Singapore’s checkpoints.”

The Singapore authority was responding to earlier media reports that said Mr Suryo was denied entry to Singapore because he was “blacklisted”.

Mr Suryo had also complained on social media that he was detained and subjected to questioning by the officers when he arrived at Changi for transit on Wednesday morning.

According to a report in Antara News on Friday, Mr Suryo was denied entry to Singapore when he was in transit at Changi en route to Fiji. The former three-star general also claimed in a Facebook post that he was “blacklisted for reasons that are not clear”.

He added in the same post that if Singapore was “not friendly towards the people of Indonesia, perhaps the Indonesian government needs to review the policy of co-operation in counter-terrorism as well as other bilateral co-operation with Singapore”.

According to the Antara report, Indonesian armed forces (TNI) chief General Gatot Nurmantyo had lodged a protest note with the Singapore defence attache in Jakarta over the incident.

“As TNI chief, I’m not pleased with how the Singapore Government has treated a former TNI soldier… We have also written to the Foreign Ministry to lodge a note of protest with Singapore,” said the general on Friday.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, however, told Tempo news that Mr Suryo was not blacklisted or banned from entering Singapore, adding that he was “only delayed” at the airport.

This latest incident comes just a week before the Indonesia-Singapore leaders’ retreat, which will be held next Wednesday in Semarang, Central Java.

The annual meeting this year between Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesia President Joko Widodo will focus on economic collaborations.

Both leaders are also scheduled to unveil the new Kendal Industrial Park, a joint venture between Indonesia’s Jababeka and Singapore’s Sembcorp. The two countries will also sign a new pact to promote tourism.

This article was first published on Aug 20 , 2016.
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The New Paper features two up-and-coming swimmers who aspire to be like Joseph Schooling

sayheng@sph.com.sg

That’s the spirit of Glen, 14, who holds three U-14 national marks 

On that historic morning, National Training Centre swimmer Glen Lim was a bundle of nerves before Joseph Schooling’s Olympic men’s 100m butterfly final in Rio.

Watching the race with his teammates at the OCBC Aquatic Centre last Saturday, the 14-year-old Raffles Institution student watched intently as the likes of Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh took their places at the starting blocks alongside Schooling.

“It was very intense because Joseph was swimming against the other legends,” Glen recalled after his training session at the Sports Hub pool yesterday.

Exactly 50.39 seconds later, tension turned to pride for Glen as the 21-year-old Schooling made history by winning the Republic’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.

While the achievement is personal, the landmark victory has also sent out a message to junior swimmers like Glen in Singapore.

That a Singaporean can do well at the highest level, but you must believe in yourself that you belong there.

“His win proved that Singaporean swimmers have the potential to win medals at the Olympics,” Glen said.

“If Joseph can do it, then so can I, and everyone else.”

Glen is among a clutch of talented swimmers coming through the Singapore Swimming Association’s (SSA) developmental pipeline, along with the likes of Jonathan Tan, Zachary Ian Tan, and Maximillian Ang.

Glen has had a stellar year so far – he rewrote Under-14 national records in the boys’ 400m, 800, and 1,500m free events earlier this year.

Along with older teammates such as Dylan Koo, Francis Fong, Hoong En Qi, Quah Jing Wen, these youngsters represent the next wave of swimmers which the SSA is developing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and beyond.

The soft-spoken teenager is part of a 27-strong Junior Pan Pacific Championships team that left for the United States this morning.

The meet, to take place in Hawaii from Aug 24-28, is the youth version of the senior international competition that is well participated by swimming powerhouse countries such as the US, Japan and Australia.

The 2016 edition of the Junior Pan Pacs will feature top juniors such as Australia’s Minna Atherton and American Reece Whitley.

Glen will compete in the 400m and 1,500m free, and the 400m individual medley. He is also in line for the relays.

The Schooling effect: More kids enrolling for competitive swimming lessons

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The New Paper

WORRIES

He said: “I am actually feeling a little scared because other people are faster than me, but I will try my best.

“My coaches have told me to swim my own race… I must believe in myself and not be afraid of other people.

“They (the top swimmers) are like us; they have been through the same thing as I will, where they swam against faster people.”

Beyond the Junior Pan Pacs, Glen aims to break into the South-east Asia Games team for Kuala Lumpur next year, and is gunning for Teo Zhen Ren’s national 1,500m free mark.

His personal best in the event now, the national U-14 mark, stands at 16min 36.38sec, while Teo’s record stands at 15:43.08.

“I am thinking if I could break it next year or when I am 16. It would be good for me because I know I have been swimming hard,” he said.

Qualifying for, and doing well at, the highest level will be his ultimate dream.

Glen said: “I would like to make it to the Olympics and qualify for the final of the 1,500m free.”

Crowds gather to catch glimpse of Joseph Schooling on victory parade

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AsiaOne

She’s got spirit

Despite early setbacks, Ching Hwee, 13, is on track for next year’s SEA Games

msazali@sph.com.sg

She turned 13 just last month.

But even before she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, swimmer Gan Ching Hwee had already achieved a milestone in the pool.

At the National Swimming Championships in June, the Methodist Girls’ School student clocked 5min 01.06sec in the 400m individual medley.

The time is just one and a half seconds off the bronze-medal winning mark (4:59.52) at last year’s South-east Asia Games.

Little wonder then, that Ching Hwee, who stands at 1.62m and weighs 48kg, is being tipped for big things.

Said her coach at the Chinese Swimming Club (CSC), Eugene Chia: “She’s small-sized but feisty… Like a chilli padi. She has a strong spirit.

“Right now, she has an injured shoulder so in training, I tell her to tell me if she can’t take it… But she still keeps pushing herself.”

What is even more remarkable is that the 400m IM is not Ching Hwee’s pet event.

She prefers swimming long-distance freestyle – 400m or 800m – and swept a 200m and 400m freestyle double in the ‘C’ Division at the National Inter-School Swimming Championships in April.

That performance earned her a ticket to Thailand last month, to represent Singapore at the ASEAN School Games.

Despite competing against swimmers who were up to four years her senior, Ching Hwee managed to win a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle event. She also bagged another two bronzes in two relay events

But the teenager herself will tell you it is not all natural talent.

She started swimming at the CSC at four years old, but did not win any competitive race until she was 12.

She even considered stopping swimming because of her failures early on, but Chia encouraged her to keep the faith.

“Now as she slowly comes of age in secondary school, where there are longer distance events she is better in, she can see she’s able to push through,” said the former national assistant coach.

Ching Hwee’s days revolve around swimming.

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DAILY ROUTINE

Twice a week, she wakes up at 5am to train in the morning, then goes to school a little later than her peers – she has permission to.

When school ends, she heads straight back home in Marine Parade, does some homework and then heads to the CSC for her daily evening training sessions.

After that, it’s back home for dinner, more revision, and then sleep.

It is a testing daily routine, but one that Ching Hwee loves.

“If I didnt pick up swimming, I have no idea what else I’d do,” she said, with a toothy grin.

“Swimming has allowed me to learn a few life lessons, such as success doesn’t come without hard work, and you have to put in effort to see results.

“I’ve had some setbacks and failures in the past, like not meeting goals I had set for myself.

“But I take it as motivation to allow me to learn from my mistakes and swim faster the next time round.”

Her mother, Lee Chui Leng, told TNP: “She’s very disciplined. We’re fortunate she takes charge of her own schoolwork and swimming.

“For example, she sets her own alarm to go to training, gets up, gets breakfast, does schoolwork… All without us having to push her. She’s a very self-motivated child.”

If Ching Hwee needs extra motivation in the pool, she got it last weekend.

She was among 70 young swimmers and their parents who congregated at CSC to watch Joseph Schooling power to an historic first Olympic gold medal for Singapore, in the 100m butterfly final in Rio.

Her eyes lit up when she recalled watching Schooling’s feat.

“Yah, he was leading almost all the way!” she exclaimed.

“Everyone was cheering and when he touched the wall, we all just screamed… I was so proud of him and what he achieved.

“It has definitely motivated me to keep pursuing my dreams as a swimming athlete. Now, everyone in Singapore is talking about swimming.”

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The Straits Times, Reuters, AFP

PROGRESS

Chia said that the club’s original target for Ching Hwee was to make the cut for the 2019 SEA Games but, after she clocked promising times recently, the next biennial in Kuala Lumpur in a year’s time is a possibility.

Said the coach: “For her right now, it’s just a matter of progressing, from the SEA Games, to Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games.

“She has told me she wants to go to the Olympics.

“Definitely, with what she’s displaying at this age, if guided properly, she stands a good chance of making Olympic cuts in the future.”

SSA to unveil ‘systemic’ changes

The local swimming scene is due for “systemic” changes in the next five years to ensure that Singapore can produce world-class swimmers.

These changes will address “gaps” in both the development of swimmers and coaches here, Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) vice-president (swimming) Joscelin Yeo told The New Paper earlier this week.

“We have seen gaps in terms of our long-term athlete development plan, as well as our long-term coaching plan, and they need to be addressed,” said the 37-year-old former national swimmer.

“If they are not addressed, then we will lose a lot of swimmers somewhere in the middle, between learn-to-swim programmes and the high performance component; we lose a big chunk of them.

“Not everyone has the privilege of going overseas so there has to be a local solution, and I think that’s something that we are hoping to provide.”

NEW SET-UP

The association is set to unveil its plans soon, and also to announce the replacement for national swim coach Sergio Lopez, with his current assistant Gary Tan highly tipped for the job.

Hundreds give Joseph Schooling triumphant homecoming at Changi Airport

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The Straits Times, AFP, Reuters, The New Paper, Hannah Alkaff, Lianhe Zaobao, AsiaOne

PLANS

Earlier this year, the SSA announced that it has five-year plans for each of its five disciplines – swimming, water polo, diving, synchronised swimming and open water swimming – to become world class.

The association is also working with the National Youth Sports Institute in grooming talented young swimmers, with former Swimfast Aquatic Club coach Leonard Tan appointed the youth institute’s head swim coach.

Former national swimming captain Tan said: “I am feeling excited about the pipeline of talent coming through in swimming, but we have to make sure that they progress systematically and their training is carefully monitored.

TIES

“But, while plans are important, we must also not forget to build and maintain good coach-swimmer relationships,and help them develop as people as well.”

Many people and businesses have been enthusiastic about Schooling’s historic feat, with full-page advertisements taken in newspapers to congratulate him, and fast food set meals named after him or his Olympic timing.

Hordes of people have also turned up over the past week in the swimmer’s public performances, in an unprecedented celebration of a individual athlete in this nation.

Yeo, a four-time Olympian, hopes all these will translate into more support for the association’s programmes in the coming years.

She said: “I just hope it inspires people to believe that we can have a local sportsman who can really be at the top and win.

“I hope that we have more buy in from whoever it might be to help us push forward our next phase of development and creating a system where we can deliberately and purposefully identify talent.

“We don’t want to just leave it to chance.”

– LIM SAY HENG

This article was first published on Aug 21, 2016.
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Court notice issued, seeking to pull him into new trademark infringement lawsuit

Once, businessman Chris Au seemed part of the jet set.

The entrepreneur from Hong Kong ran trendy restaurants in prime locations here, including Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and by the Marina Bay waterfront.

He was a member of a supercar club and his restaurants were featured in high society magazines.

But in the last three years, Mr Au – a permanent resident here – and his companies have been besieged by lawsuits. His restaurants have also closed one after the other.

Records show that in the last three years, Mr Au has been sued twice by Standard Chartered Bank, and once each by UOB bank and family lawyer Wong Kai Yun.

And most recently, on Aug 12, Iconic Locations – a company where Mr Au was once director and chief executive – issued him a court notice, seeking to pull him into a trademark infringement lawsuit.

The company, now controlled by L Capital Asia – the investment arm of French luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton – runs the Ce La Vi nightclub atop MBS.

L Capital bought a majority stake in the nightclub in 2014, when it was still called Ku De Ta. A year later, the club changed its name to Ce La Vi after a Court of Appeal ruling.

Then, the court decided after a five-year legal battle that Nine Squares, the company that licensed the trademark and the use of the Ku De Ta name to Iconic Locations, did not own the trademark after all.

That belonged to a popular Bali beach club by the same name that started in 2000. The MBS club opened in 2010.

Now, Iconic Locations is being sued by the partners of Ku De Ta Bali for damages, and the profits it allegedly made from using the Ku De Ta name.

In its notice to Mr Au, Iconic Locations alleges that he had “solely or primarily caused the losses” claimed by the Bali partners.

In their third party notice served on him via Facebook and e-mail, it said Mr Au was then the company’s CEO and director, and “represented the sole directing mind and will”.

Mr Au had acted in breach of his duties and “solely or primarily caused the losses” alleged by the Bali partners, said the notice.

The company is seeking indemnity from Mr Au or otherwise wants him to contribute to the claims.

Iconic Locations is represented by Senior Counsel Alvin Yeo, Ms Koh Swee Yen and Ms Sim Mei Ling from WongPartnership.

In their statement of claim filed with the courts, the Bali partners also said Mr Au knew of their interest in the Ku De Ta trademark as early as 2009.

“Au schemed with (Daniel) Ellaway and another business partner, one Karl Patel, as to how to circumvent the Ku De Ta Partnership’s beneficial interest in the trademark,” said the statement.

Mr Ellaway was a friend of one of the founding partners of the Bali club.

Mr Au is also locked in another legal battle in Hong Kong with his former business partners over proceeds of $100 million from the sale of Ku De Ta to L Capital in 2014.

Mr Au did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

He is also tangled in a suit with Ms Wong, who is suing him for bankruptcy, after he issued her a $300,000 cheque in March which bounced.

Ms Wong claims the money was allegedly meant to reimburse her for import-related taxes she paid on Mr Au’s behalf to bring a Lamborghini Aventador into the country. Mr Au’s position is that Ms Wong paid that sum to co-own the car with him.

The case made headlines in June, and Mr Au has hit back at Ms Wong, claiming she has defamed him.

In his counterclaim, he points to an e-mail Ms Wong sent to members of her car club, in which she tells them about the bounced cheque and her intentions to sue, asking for information on his whereabouts.

“It is abundantly clear that the intent of the e-mail, with the disparaging comments and obvious lies, was a malicious act with clear malice to seriously injure the reputation of the defendant (Mr Au),” wrote Mr Au in his counterclaim.

He is also claiming for loss of use of the car, which was allegedly used by Ms Wong for at least six months in 2013.

But in her response filed by her lawyers from Chia Wong LLP on Aug 8 with the courts, Ms Wong denies damaging Mr Au’s reputation, on the basis that banks and other creditors have taken up lawsuits against him. She goes on to list a record of legal suits.

For instance, she notes that he was sued by Standard Chartered and UOB bank for close to $400,000.

She adds that Mr Au ran two of his restaurants “to the ground” as their director.

The Spanish restaurant Catalunya, where Mr Au was CEO, is being sued by its landlord Precious Quay for $1.068 million in outstanding rent. The $5 million restaurant closed in June after it opened four years ago to much fanfare at the Fullerton Pavilion.

Company records reveal that Mr Au pulled out as a director of the restaurant in May, just before it closed.

The restaurant’s suppliers and cleaning contractor have also taken up lawsuits against it. Law firm Rajah and Tann is also suing it for outstanding legal fees.

Another of Mr Au’s MBS restaurants, the bistro Au Chocolat, was also sued by its landlord and suppliers. It closed in 2014.

Asked about the spate of lawsuits he is facing, Mr Au again declined to comment.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Aug 21, 2016.
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Certification will give assurance to community that it is getting guidance from qualified religious teachers

Muslim leaders here have called for a scheme that endorses religious teachers to be made stricter, amid the spread of extremist ideology on the Internet that has led to the radicalisation of some Singaporeans.

They want all asatizah to be registered with the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS), started in 2005 to help Muslim Singaporeans assess and recognise qualified religious teachers.

About 20 community and religious leaders asked for the scheme to be made mandatory yesterday at a closed-door dialogue with Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim and Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli, where they discussed issues such as the economy and the threat of terrorism.

Their call comes a day after the Government announced the detention this month of two Singaporeans who planned to travel to Syria to fight with terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Since January last year, eight citizens have been detained under the Internal Security Act for terror activities, and five were placed on Restriction Orders.

Many of them had been radicalised through the extremist teachings of foreign preachers they came across online.

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) chief executive Abdul Razak Maricar told reporters after the dialogue: “It will be an important assurance to the community that the young get guidance on religious matters from those who are qualified to teach the religion, particularly in the context of a multi-religious Singapore.”

Agreeing, Madam Rahayu Mohamad, president of the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association, said parents will also be more confident about sending their children to madrasah, or Islamic religious schools if all religious teachers are certified.

Currently, 80 per cent of asatizah here are under the ARS, which has certified 1,700 religious teachers.

Muis is working with the Asatizah Recognition Board and the Singapore Islamic scholars and religious teachers association (Pergas), which oversee the scheme, to reach out to asatizah who are not certified, including older teachers who may not have had structured religious education, and informally trained younger teachers.

The recognition board’s chairman, Ustaz Ali Mohamed, said graduates of religious studies come from various schools, including overseas universities, and there was a need to ensure they have a vision of Islam that is compatible with Singapore as a secular state. “The ARS helps to ensure that our asatizah avoid being influenced by external influences that are extremist and exclusivist in nature,” he added.

The two men detained this month had listened to a Batam radio station that aired programmes preaching that Muslims should keep away from those who do not share their views.

Religious leaders here have emphasised the need for religious teachers to be aware of local sensitivities.

The Muslim community is looking at setting up an Islamic college here to produce home-grown religious leaders who are grounded in Singapore’s unique multiracial and multi-religious society.

The plan to expand the ARS was first announced earlier this month by Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for Communications and Information.

Ustaz Pasuni Maulan, a senior scholar with Pergas, said a small minority of religious teachers may be unreceptive due to a lack of awareness. But he added that they will see a need to come on board when they realise they can upgrade themselves through ARS programmes.

Association of Muslim Professionals chairman Abdul Hamid Abdullah said encouraging all asatizah to be certified will “clearly signal, not just to the Muslim community, but to the rest of the communities in Singapore, that we are concerned about getting the right, credible people to teach religious teachings”.

ziliang@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Aug 21, 2016.
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