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SINGAPORE – The grey skies and gloomy weather on Thursday morning (July 9) reflected the sombre mood of many in the local football fraternity, who learnt of the passing of “one of the nicest guys” in the local game.

Former national player Hafiz Rahim died after he was involved in a traffic accident in Tampines. He was 36 and had been on his motorbike at the time of the tragedy.

National goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, who played alongside Hafiz in the national Under-18 team and at S-League (now known as the Singapore Premier League) clubs Geylang United and Warriors FC, said his former teammate always had a sunny disposition and “was always bubbly”.

“He was like a brother to me,” said Hassan, who now plays for the Lion City Sailors.

“When we were young, we used to have sleepovers at my place and my mum would cook up a feast… So when I received the news, I broke down immediately.

“I saw him just last week at (futsal facility) Rainforest when I trained but because of the safety protocols (due to Covid-19), we did not get to talk to talk to each other, but we managed to wave at one another.”

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SINGAPORE – Almost seven times as many Housing Board resale flats were sold in June compared with May, according to flash data released by real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday (July 9).

Estimates showed that about 2,450 HDB resale flats were sold in June, up from 364 the month before.

The surge in sales was likely due to the end of Singapore’s circuit breaker period, said industry analysts.

ERA Realty’s head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said: “Pent-up demand accumulated in the eight-week circuit breaker had driven HDB resale transaction volume in June 2020 to be 6.7 times over the volume in the preceding month.

“During the circuit breaker period, potential home buyers and property agents were not allowed to visit and view any properties offered for sale. When buyers were allowed to view properties in June, the result was a sharp increase in transactions of HDB resale flats.”

He added that the resale volume in June was also the highest monthly volume since July 2018, when 2,553 units were transacted.

“It was as if the HDB resale market was on steroids in June,” said Mr Mak.

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SINGAPORE – Facebook has taken down the Critical Spectator page run by a Polish national in Singapore, Mr Michael Petraeus, ahead of the general election on Friday (July 10).

In response to queries, a Facebook spokesman said on Wednesday (July 8) that the company has recently taken action on several accounts and pages in Singapore for violating its policies.

“This is based on the violating behaviour of these accounts and pages and not based on the content they posted,” the spokesman added.

Facebook declined to provide details of these other accounts or pages it said had been taken down recently.

Last month, it took action against several accounts for misrepresentation as part of measures to protect the integrity of Singapore’s general election.

One of them is a Facebook page called Fabrications About the PAP (FAP) with more than 250,000 likes. It was taken down for violating Facebook’s policies.

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SINGAPORE – City Harvest Church has filed a police report after a doctored photo of its founder Kong Hee wearing a People’s Action Party (PAP) polo T-shirt was circulated online.

In a note to members on Wednesday (July 8), the church said it was aware of the doctored photograph being circulated on social media, which had the 55-year-old wearing a white shirt with the PAP logo digitally superimposed onto it.

The image “has been digitally altered”, the church’s management board clarified in the note, which was published on its website.

“Pastor Kong and City Harvest Church are not, and have never been, part of or in any way associated with any political party or institution.”

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I must have read these words by the PM a zillion times: “You have my word — together with my older colleagues like Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as the 4G ministers, I will see this through… I am determined to hand over Singapore intact and in good working order to the next team.”

What did Lee Hsien Loong mean when he uttered those words during his online rally?

At one level, it can be read as the PM telling his viewers that there is no need to worry. The government is putting all its resources, including the more experienced ministers, into helping the younger team take the country out of the Covid-19 crisis.

At another level, the message could be that the task is monumental and it is only proper to send in a group of super substitutes into the field.

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As political campaigning wound down before Cooling-Off Day, a picture went viral on social media — a photo taken near Sengkang MRT station that showed Workers’ Party (WP) candidates in Sengkang GRC squatting down to speak to an elderly man in a wheelchair. 

In the same image, People’s Action Party (PAP) representatives are spotted looking away, presumably ready to pass out party pamphlets to passers-by. 
PHOTO: Facebook/Ah OngPosted on the SG Opposition Facebook group, the uploader simply captioned the photo: “Picture has a thousand words [sic]”. Before it was taken down, the post had already garnered over 8,000 shares. 

Though the Facebook user might have implied that the WP team was exhibiting more empathy than their political opponents, other pictures taken of the same scene from different timings and angles painted a different story. 

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As the last People’s Action Party (PAP) member to speak in the final Constituency Political Broadcast (CPB) aired today (July 8), Grace Fu spared some time to rebut some common misconceptions about the ruling party.

PAP members may appear similar to each other because they are consistent and share the same values, affirmed Fu, who is also Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

“Some of you said that we look the same, sound the same. Indeed, we are consistent in that we are pragmatic, trustworthy.

“We do what we say, and we will only say what we will do.”

The party holds dear values such as integrity, fairness and service, she added.

“And because the PAP candidates share these values, we sometimes sound the same.”

Fu’s statements come after brickbats from the Opposition accusing the PAP of being full of “yes-men” as well as online chatter on their candidates “following the same script”.

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A 62-year-old Singaporean man is under police investigation for allegedly damaging an election poster along Jurong West Street 92, which is under the West Coast group representation constituency (GRC).

In a statement released on Wednesday (July 8), the police said they had received a report at about 12.30pm that a Progress Singapore Party (PSP) election poster had been damaged, and initiated investigations.

Officers from Jurong Police Division then established the identity of the man who is believed to have committed the act.

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Lee Hsien Yang has called on Singaporeans to vote “fearlessly” as they head to the polls on July 10, and deny the People’s Action Party a “blank cheque”, echoing the catchphrase coined by the Worker’s Party’s Jamus Lim.

Lee, who was unveiled as a Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member in June, appeared on the party’s final livestream for GE2020 tonight (July 8) to make an earnest plea to Singaporeans.

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After listening to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s speech on Nomination Day, Singaporeans have been really curious about the “East Coast plan.”

So much so that his quote has turned into a meme.

In an e-rally on Wednesday night (July 8), Heng, along with his East Coast GRC team members, shared their plans for the constituency with residents.

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