The state investment firm is the biggest shareholder of the transport operator, owning 54.2 per cent stake in the company.
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Temasek mulling SMRT buyout: Report
Spike in number of phone scam calls impersonating OCBC over past few weeks
If customers or members of the public are in doubt, they are advised to terminate the call and contact OCBC at 1800 363 3333 (+65 6363 3333 if overseas) to verify, says the bank.
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Keanu Reeves' side project: Building $105,000 motorcycles
Action star Keanu Reeves is known for immersing himself in every detail of his roles, and now he’s doing the same with his new business venture – making motorcycles.
With his partner Gard Hollinger, Reeves has redefined the American-made motorcycle with Arch Motorcycle Company, which the duo co-founded in 2011.
Starting at US$78,000 (S$105,000), the company’s bikes are handcrafted dream machines that have become cult favorites for their combination of elegant design and workmanship, and monster power and handling.
While the company’s unmarked brick factory in an industrial park near Los Angeles International Airport seems a world away from Reeves’ Hollywood career, the 51-year-old star of “The Matrix,” “Speed” and “Point Break” says motorcycles have long been one of his chief passions.
“For me, riding is a kind of freedom. Just the sound, the feeling of it. The connection to the road, to riding, to the environment, to the journey.”
Reeves has been riding motorcycles since he was 22, and almost always takes two wheels to his movie sets. But he never planned on going into the motorcycle business.
In 2006, he brought one of his Harley-Davidson’s to Hollinger, an L.A. chopper guru, to customise the seat. Hollinger refused to fix the seat, and instead wound up designing Reeves an entirely custom-made motorcycle.
“Four years, later we had a motorcycle,” Reeves said. “And we looked at that bike and [I] was like, ‘That’s an amazing machine. It rides amazing. Do you wanna start a motorcycle company?'”
At first Hollinger demurred, recalling other fleeting vanity projects by Hollywood celebrities. But Reeves insisted they could build something big – and lasting.
“I said, ‘Listen, man, we’re gonna die. You know? We’re gonna die,'” Reeves recalled. “‘Let’s build something. This machine is incredible. What you’ve done is amazing. Let’s try.'”
Arch produces just one model, the KRGT-1. Yet the duo anticipates creating more models in the future.
As Reeves explained, their motorcycles are more like works of art than modes of transportation – from the hand-stitched leather seats to the gleaming, in-house engine parts that look more like pieces of jewelry.
The swooping gas tank, carved from 534 pounds of billet aluminium and welded together with intricate precision, takes 66 hours to make and could easily pass for a multimillion-dollar Jeff Koons sculpture.
“The bike is exceptionally made,” Reeves said. “And it offers something very unique for motorcycling. … It’s like nothing else.”
It’s also a beast on the road. Its V-Twin, 2032 cc engine, made with S&S Cycle, can deliver 122 horsepower to push the 538-pound bike to more than 130 miles per hour.
Motorcycle reviewers describe it as the best of both biking worlds: the power and performance of a sport bike, but the comfort of a touring bike.
Reeves and Hollinger declined to give exact production numbers or financials. But they plan to keep production small, in the dozens rather than hundreds of bikes a year.
Their chief mission is not to make money, they said, but to make a motorcycle that buyers ride and collect for decades. That includes giving the rider a deeper connection with the bike and road.
“Not scary, but visceral,” Hollinger said. “We didn’t want too much of a barrier between you and the experience.”
While Hollinger focuses on engineering and producing the bikes, Reeves is closely involved in their design and testing. He refers to himself as the “chief dreamer,” asking the “what if” questions when designing or conceiving of a new bike.
Reeves draws from his experience owning dozens of bikes – from Harleys and Nortons to Moto Guzzis and Kawasakis – as well as the hours he rides every week.
“Keanu is the perfect tester, because he breaks things nobody else can break,” Hollinger joked.
While Reeves keeps his acting career separate from his cycles, riding and acting have many things in common, he said.
“When you come to that moment when you’re on the bike and you’re riding, or when you come to a moment and the director says, ‘Action,’ it’s almost like everything that you are, everything that you feel or think, is alive after that,” he said. “You’re completely present and you disappear. And yet you’re fully there. Which is a wonderful sensation. I guess they call that being alive.”
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SG Book Deals: Books Warehouse Sale – $50 Fill-All-You-Can Boxes from 5 – 14 Aug 2016
BOOKS Warehouse Sale: For $50, fit ALL the books you can into the box (404 x 246 x 242mm), make sure it seals flat & you get to keep it!
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SG Book Deals: Books Warehouse Sale – $50 Fill-All-You-Can Boxes from 5 – 14 Aug 2016
The sale that everyone has been waiting is finally back! From 5 to 14 Aug, SG Book Deals will be holding their major Books Warehouse Sale featuring the popular $50 all-you-can-fit boxes
SGX to establish subsidiary for regulatory functions
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will establish a separate subsidiary to perform its front-line regulatory functions to make the segregation of its regulatory functions from its commercial and operating activities more explicit.
The regulatory…
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Temasek said to weigh buyout of SMRT: Report
SINGAPORE – Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings is considering a buyout offer for SMRT Corp, the city-state’s biggest subway operator, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Temasek is weighing an offer to buy all the shares it doesn’t…
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Blogger criticises Malaysian photographer for his Fukushima exclusion zone photos
An open letter which addressed a Malaysian photographer’s never-before-seen pictures of Fukushima’s exclusion zone has called his actions a “publicity stunt” and a “last ditch effort to get your 10 seconds of Internet fame”.
Last week, the Bangkok-based photographer Mr Keow Wee Loong took to Facebook to post photographs that he had personally taken after he and two others sneaked into the prohibited exclusion zone, which was implemented after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster..
The open letter which was penned on a blog site called “Desu Awaits Us All”, the writer who is only known as Pierce addresses all that he deems wrong about what Mr Keow did. The open letter is the first and only post on the site.
He began his scathing letter by first identifying himself as the “random nobody” who had commented about Mr Keow’s “reckless and irresponsible actions” but was banned from the Facebook photo album eventually.
The blogger also claimed that Keow had deleted his posts on Facebook because of the truth that Mr Keow “could not bear to come to terms with”.
He went on to express his unhappiness at how Mr Keow published the Fukushima pictures as a publicity stunt and merely wanted the attention.
He said: “Indeed, the worst part of all this is the blatant spreading of misinformation and lies for the sake of creating sensationalist drama instead of attempting to create a narrative through photos. That is art. You, Mr Loong, are not an artist.”
Mr Keow’s photos caught the attention of both netizens and media agencies around the world.
Read also: Photographer releases haunting images of Fukushima’s exclusion zone
Malaysian photographer posts haunting images of Fukushima exclusion zone
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Keow Wee Loong’s Facebook
Three days after posting his Fukushima photos, Mr Keow shared an interview he did with British tabloid news site Daily Mail. That same day, he shared another interview he did with Time. He even added the hashtag #MalaysiaBoleh along with that post.
The last interview he shared on Facebook was one he did with CNN on July 14.
When the photographer first released his album, he added a note that he wanted fellow Facebook users to share the album “to spread awareness of the dangers in using nuclear energy”.
Although he did repeat this intention to Time, the photographer also told the publication that he took those pictures because he likes to “photograph places where people don’t go” as well as how he “wanted to be the one to document it”.
Unfortunately, not everyone would be able to see that he had somewhat good intentions.
Pierce quoted a Fukushima resident who had said:
“Not only is what he did illegal, but extremely disrespectful to victims of the disaster who had no choice but to leave their homes … Please help us promote the positives of our beautiful prefecture, rather than damaging its image further for posterity and internet fame.”
On Sunday morning, Mr Keow uploaded a Twitter screengrab of himself in which he is seen using a Nikon DSLR camera to take a picture of himself sitting on a building rooftop.
And as luck would have it, Nikon Malaysia replied to his post and asked him if he would be “keen” on displaying his “body of works from Fukushima at the Nikon centre”.
It looks like Mr Keow’s 10 seconds of fame might just be extended.
ssandrea@sph.com.sg
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Chow Yun-fat takes a break to focus on health
HONG KONG – His latest movie Cold War 2 is a hit in Hong Kong, but actor Chow Yun-fat said he is laying off movies, for now.
The movie icon had returned to a dramatic role in Cold War 2 after a run of comedies, with the thriller breaking opening-day box-office records in Hong Kong and China earlier this month.
Although producers are reportedly now eyeing him for Cold War 3, Chow, 61, told Oriental Daily News he wants to stop work temporarily to focus on his health.
Chow Yun Fat continues to charm S’pore
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Instagram, Internet screengrabs, Shin Min Daily News
In an interview seen on Oriental’s website, however, he ruled out retirement.
“I haven’t received scripts,” he said. “If I see any script that I like and if producers want me, I could ask for filming to be done next year.”
“This year, I have a goal to achieve. I hope to be fitter,” the trekking buff continued, saying he hoped to train in the summer before trekking up Hong Kong’s mountains in the winter.
He went on to praise the autumn colours of Hong Kong, which may be enjoyed without having to fly to any destination, he said. He also said Hong Kong’s country parks are easily accessible, adding: “That’s why I cherish every autumn and winter in Hong Kong. I have no desire to go anywhere else and would only remain here.”
Stressing the importance of health, he said he has overtaxed his body and it was time to rebuild it.
Superstars Chow Yun-fat, Aaron Kwok and Eddie Peng in Singapore to promote Cold War 2
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AsiaOne, Encore Films
Chow, who went into show business when he was 18, said he exercises daily by walking for half an hour, running for another 30 minutes and working his muscles to avoid having to use crutches in future.
Last Thursday, the King of Selfies obliged fans asking for pictures when he and his wife Jasmine Tan turned up at a Hong Kong cinema to watch Cold War 2.
After the show, he took a wefie with the audience.
This article was first published on July 18, 2016.
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Where 10,000 maids learnt new skills
Indonesian maid Asih yesterday graduated from a six-month sewing course in which she learnt how to make dresses and scarves.
The 34-year-old, who goes by one name, was among 268 students to graduate from the Mujahidah Learning Centre, which celebrated its 10th anniversary since its first graduation year.
“I’ve wanted to learn this since I was young,” said Ms Asih. “But I didn’t get the opportunity because I never had the money to do so.”
The centre was set up by the Mujahidin Mosque in 2005 to train domestic workers from Indonesia. It has subsequently attracted maids from countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Starting with just 35 students, it has now trained more than 10,000. It runs five courses: English, sewing, cooking and baking, grooming and hairdressing, and computing. Students attend two-hour classes every Sunday for six months.
Adviser to the centre Sarimah Talip said some workers have since returned home to set up salons and spas in places such as Bali and Batam in Indonesia.
“It makes me shed tears when I hear of such examples,” said Madam Sarimah.
“It’s good for them to attend such courses because they are working here in Singapore and can contribute postively back to their society.”
Feedback from employers has also been positive. The English classes, for instance, have helped maids to better communicate with their employers.
In Ms Asih’s case, it was her employer, Professor Jane M. Jacobs, an urban studies professor at Yale- NUS College, who paid for her course and encouraged her to learn new skills. Ms Asih started working for the family last year.
Attending the classes also gives her the opportunity to socialise.
“I thought she could be a bit isolated because she’s the only Bahasa-speaking helper in our neighbourhood,” said Prof Jacobs. “This gave her the opportunity to be connected to the community.”
The centre also launched a commemorative magazine yesterday to showcase the centre’s progress.
The book features accounts from foreign maids who have attended the course.
This article was first published on July 18, 2016.
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Device gives the bear facts about your water usage
In a new device in some households, a polar bear’s ice melts as more water is used. And, if consumption continues unabated, the bear disappears.
Animation like this, coupled with real-time information on the amount of water used as a person showers, has helped such households to cut their water consumption by about 20 per cent.
This was among the findings of a study last year by national water agency PUB and the National University of Singapore (NUS). It involved 550 households in public housing estates islandwide.
Each household was given a device to be mounted on a handheld shower head. Apart from the polar bear animation, the device showed real-time information on the amount of water used as well as ratings from “very good” to “too much”.
Study participants used 20 litres of water per shower on average initially. But, by the end of the study, conducted from June to December last year, it was found that those who had the animation, real-time information and ratings on their device, saved 3.8 litres per shower, a 20 per cent savings.
The amount saved per person was about five litres of water each day.
There were spillover effects too. Apart from using less water in the shower, participants also cut down on water used for other activities, such as washing in the sink.
This means that each person could save about 40 cents each month, based on the total amount of water saved.
Associate Professor Sing Tien Foo, a deputy head of the NUS Department of Real Estate, was involved in the study.
He said a survey done before the device was installed showed that participants’ estimation of water use was very inaccurate.
“For those who had the real-time information, estimation of how much water is used actually improved over time, ” he said.
One resident who took part in the study is Mr Michael Zee, a 65- year-old retiree who lives in Queenstown. The device has helped him to cut down his water usage by almost half.
“The device is a very good indicator of how much water you use… I will try to use less water because, at the end of the day, I will have to pay more otherwise,” he said .
PUB said showering accounts for more than one-quarter of the water used in households.
While the amount of water each person uses daily fell from 165 to 151 litres from 2003 to 2015, the aim is to bring it down to 140 litres by 2030.
Mr Michael Toh, director of the Water Supply (Network) Department at PUB, said that he hopes the real-time information will encourage people to be mindful of how they use water.
“Water utilities around the world are trying to manage their water resources and, of course, water conservation is one of their main areas of focus,” he added.
While the device can be installed in a matter of minutes, it costs about $100, including retrofitting. The households that took part in the study did not have to pay for the device.
PUB said that it will look at the study results and see how it can work with equipment suppliers, developers and other stakeholders to find out how the device can be improved.
This article was first published on July 18, 2016.
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