Qantas frequent flyers who reside in Singapore who are on parental leave can now look forward to keeping their membership benefits.

Previously, silver, gold and platinum frequent flyers would see their status drop when they took time out to raise a child as they were not flying as much as they used to.

The Status Hold initiative for frequent flyers residing in Singapore lets eligible male and female silver, gold and platinum frequent flyers keep their status for up to 12 months, even if they are not earning the number of Status Credits usually required to retain that tier.

These members will also continue to enjoy their existing tier benefits, which may include lounge access, bonus points offers and preferred seating options.

The Status Hold initiative for Singaporean parents also includes those welcoming a foster or adopted child.

Qantas has also increased its family transfer points limit and removed the restriction on the number of transfers for frequent flyers.

Members can now make an unlimited number of transfers to eligible family members up to 600,000 Qantas Points each year, compared to 400,000 previously.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Lesley Grant said the changes have been prompted by feedback from members wanting more flexibility from their Qantas Frequent Flyer membership, especially when they take parental leave and are more ‘grounded’ than normal.

“The Qantas Frequent Flyer programme is about rewarding loyalty and someone’s silver, gold or platinum status is a symbol of the loyalty they’ve shown Qantas over the years so we really want to recognise that,” said Ms Grant.

“Singaporeans are avid travellers, both for business and leisure. Status Hold is designed to ensure our Singaporean members who are taking a break from their careers to start a family are looked after during this important stage of their lives.

“A new addition to a family is an exciting time, so this initiative means new parents don’t have to worry about losing their hard earned membership benefits for up to 12 months,” added Ms Grant.

Members looking to continue expanding their family can apply for Status Hold twice during a five year period.

Full details on eligibility and how to apply can be found here.

spanaech@sph.com.sg

The person who had the most impact on lawyer Muralidharan Pillai was a labourer.

This same person was also a unionist who got jailed in the 1960s.

That man was his father.

Mr Murali, 48, is the son of unionist P.K. Pillai, who was detained during Operation Coldstore, a major crackdown on communists and leftists in 1963. After his release, he worked as a labourer and a security guard, said Mr Murali.

“My late father was a tough disciplinarian. He was very frugal. Even though his shirts were torn, he would just stitch them up.

“He also instilled in me values such as to respect everyone irrespective of their background, the importance of education and to take our responsibilities seriously.

“At one point, he was working as a security guard, as well as a labourer, breaking rocks on the road. He was doing both to support the family,” said Mr Murali.

All these made a deep impression on Mr Murali and have shaped his values – the same values he hopes to pass on to his children.

Mr Murali has twin sons in secondary school and two daughters in primary school.

“The best way to pass on values is by example and how you conduct your life. I hope they will be positively influenced,” he said.

His youngest daughter, who is in Primary One this year, will be affected by the new changes to the PSLE scoring system.

Mr Murali said he welcomes the change because it ensures that each child be given equal opportunity to excel.

“The PSLE and O levels are just tests and exams to discover and find out what your child is really motivated and passionate about. That must be the main focus.

“It is not about getting the best grades to go to the best schools. If that’s going to be the situation, they will always be under a lot of pressure.”

Mr Murali said there are now many routes for children,”…like Sota (School of the Arts) and the Singapore Sports School”.

“Now this thing about having (wider scoring) bands will hopefully send a signal to parents to not stress the children to be exam smart,” said Mr Murali.

ROLE OF PARENT

He said: “Every one of our children has a special talent and ability.

“As parents, we need to find out what that ability is and be realistic and give them the opportunity to develop the ability and take the focus away from specific exams.”

When asked if he was stressed when his sons took the PSLE, he said he practised what he preached and let them develop their own interests.

His children were, and still are, in neighbourhood schools, he said.

Mr Murali was the branch secretary at the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Bukit Batok branch from 2007 to 2011.

He was appointed chairman of the party’s Paya Lebar branch on May 1, 2012.

He is no stranger to Bukit Batok, having served there as a party activist for many years, including serving under the late Dr Ong Chit Chung.

Fluent in Mandarin, he is a well-known face and is even called “Ah-Mu” by the elderly Chinese residents in that area.

Singaporeans vote in Bukit Batok by-election

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, AsiaOne

1. He has been a vegetarian since 2007.

2. He studied at Monk’s Hill Secondary and Hwa Chong Junior College.

3. His wife, Dr N. Gowrie, is a junior college teacher and is trained in the Indian classical dance, bharathanatyam.

4. He played hockey in school and for the Singapore Police Force when he was an Assistant Superintendant. He also represented the Singapore Cricket Club.

5. He loves reading biographies.

6. Though his mother tongue is Malayalam, he studied Malay in school and is fluent in Mandarin.

7. He won 61.21 per cent of the votes in the Bukit Batok by-election on Saturday, beating the SDP’s Dr Chee Soon Juan, who got 38.79 per cent.

This article was first published on May 9, 2016.
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Making more people aware of Aware’s work is among the priorities of former media veteran Teh Hooi Ling, who now helms the gender equality group.

Ms Teh, 48, who was a journalist at The Business Times for 22 years, was appointed president of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) last month, replacing Ms Winifred Loh.

“I’d like to see more of Aware’s work being recognised in the public, and for more people to not associate us with the 2009 saga,” she told The Straits Times in her first media interview as its president.

“We’ve done so much work. I hope people will recognise us for the good work that we’re doing today and will continue to do.”

Seven years ago, a group made up mostly of Christians seized control of the organisation, sweeping nine of 12 spots on the executive committee, after disapproving of what they perceived to be Aware’s pro-homosexuality position.

Despite the incident’s wide publicity, many people still do not know much about Aware’s work – from the helpline and free legal clinics it runs, to a centre for sexual- assault victims, and training workshops for companies to prevent workplace harassment.

In its 31-year history, it has also raised awareness on a wide range of issues like rape, sexual harassment, Aids among women and the welfare of foreign domestic workers.

Aware does so much work that Ms Teh considers her past two years as its secretary an “intensive crash course” on the issues it deals with. She first learnt of the group more than 20 years ago through former colleagues such as Aware’s co-founder Margaret Thomas and long-time member Schutz Lee.

She did not understand then why they were passionate about gender equality but, over time, she noticed more unfairness between the ways men and women were treated.

“My attitude then was – this is how the world is. I just have to accept it and work around it,” said Ms Teh, a Buddhist. Referring to the 2009 saga, she said: “I felt that it’s not right for any religious group to dominate and force their beliefs on others who may not subscribe to their value systems.”

She then joined as a member, voting to oust the leadership team that came in in 2009 at an extraordinary general meeting.

“It was the first time I felt I was part of something larger than myself. I felt the tremendous energy and exhilaration when a group unites behind a common cause.”

Later, she attended roundtable discussions, learning about feminism theories and starting to see how some social norms and policies are disadvantaged towards women.

For instance, “caring work” is valued less and paid less than other types of work, she said.

“If you look at pre-school teachers and nurses they are paid much less than, say, a bank officer who shuffles paper. How did we arrive at this? Well, we have a system that values competition much more than caregiving.”

In 2013, she took on Ms Lee’s suggestion to run for election as a board member, and became its secretary. That meant she had to take down the minutes of every monthly board meeting.

Aware’s executive director Corinna Lim said: “The discussions can be quite intense. There are also lots of Aware activities happening at any one time, so I think it was a steep learning curve for her.”

Ms Teh also took the effort to refer to past notes or reports when writing minutes. “When the board members talk, it’s like bits and pieces of everything and you don’t really have the full picture,” she said.

She may be more mild-mannered than some former Aware presidents – at least three are former Nominated Members of Parliament – but she is no less influential.

Ms Lim said: “Although she doesn’t say that much on the board, every time she speaks, we all listen because we know she… will come up with an interesting view.

“She has also made the most connections for us in the last two years, to funders and other partners.”

At The Business Times, she started her widely followed investment column, Show Me the Money, in 2002, and her columns have been published in seven books, with another to be launched in July.

Business Times associate editor Vikram Khanna said: “She built a significant following with her astute columns and commentaries on investment themes.”

Ms Teh believes her wide network of contacts, formed through her journalism career and her current job as a partner of a fund management firm, will help her raise awareness and funds for Aware.

She said 30 per cent of its funds come from four foundations and hopes to have new funding sources.

Although there is no particular women’s issue she plans to focus on in her new role, she remains influenced by Buddhist values such as compassion, generosity and the belief that there is good in everyone.

“A lot of these values are espoused by Aware too. My personal philosophy and Aware’s philosophy are pretty aligned.”

She promised Aware members last month that she would be a “strong advocate of Aware’s mission”, which is to remove all gender-based barriers and allow people to develop to their full potential.

She added: “If we don’t change mindsets, the same problems will keep cropping up. There is no denying the importance of providing support and care services. But there is a limit as to how many people can be helped, and this only addresses the symptoms.”

This article was first published on May 9, 2016.
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There have been 15 cases of online retailers and importers being prosecuted for evading Goods and Services Tax (GST) involving a total of more than $440,000 over the past two years.

Singapore Customs, which revealed the figures to The Straits Times, said there were seven such GST evasion cases in 2014, and eight last year. A spokesman said: “The offenders are usually Singaporeans who import branded goods such as handbags, wallets, shoes and apparel, and household goods such as robotic vacuum cleaners for sale locally.”

They attempted to evade GST by using fictitious invoices showing a lower value for the goods for their import declarations, and avoiding payment of GST upon returning from overseas trips by not declaring their hand-carried goods at the Customs’ Red Channel. So far this year, one seller has been prosecuted.

On April 27, branded handbag and wallet seller Yu Chung Tan, 47, was fined $190,000 for evading more than $50,000 in GST.

The partner of LovethatBag did so by instructing his suppliers from Europe, Hong Kong and the United States to indicate the value of the goods imported as below $400 in import documents submitted to Singapore Customs.

Goods imported by parcel post, except dutiable goods, are not subject to GST when their value is below $400.

Yu’s intention was to save on the cost of his goods so as to price them more competitively, Singapore Customs said.

“Singapore Customs closely monitors the compliance status of companies, and will take enforcement action against those who do not comply with Customs requirements,” the spokesman added.

The authority holds regular industry outreach programmes to remind companies of the need to comply with Customs regulatory requirements, including the payment of GST on hand-carried goods.

Criminal lawyer Amolat Singh said: ” These retailers have a misunderstanding that because they operate online, they can get away with it. But sooner or later, the law catches up with them.”

Under the Customs Act, anyone found guilty of intentional evasion of GST will be liable to a fine up to 20 times the amount of tax evaded and/or be jailed for up to two years.

Members of the public with information on smuggling activities, evasion of Customs duty or GST may e-mail Singapore Customs at customs_intelligence@customs.gov.sg.

This article was first published on May 9, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.