Category: Singapuraku

Lee Kuan Yew DVD In High Demand

More than 10,000 DVDs on the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew have been sold over the week of April 6 to April 11.

The three-part documentary, Time Nor Tide, was part of a series of special programmes broadcast by MediaCorp to commemorate his life and legacy. The documentary can be watched online, but was made available on DVD due to public request.

Net proceeds of the first public sale will be donated to the Community Chest, said MediaCorp, adding that they will also be releasing other programmes on Mr Lee on DVD by end-April.

These include In His Own Words: A six-part series of his key speeches over the years, and Forging A Nation: A compilation of short stories capturing significant moments and issues in Singapore’s history.

The DVDs have been flying off the shelves since they hit the stores on Monday (April 6) and by the evening of the first day of its release, there were more than 1,000 people on a waiting list across Poh Kim stores.

Video CD store Poh Kim says its customers usually ask for more than one copy with some reserving as many as 10 to 40 copies. Bookstore Popular set a limit of 2 copies per customer due to overwhelming demand.

One lady at Poh Kim told Channel NewsAsia on Monday that she had bought 10 DVDs on the late Mr Lee – both for herself and her friends who live overseas.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “I understand that it is being launched today, but 15 minutes into store opening, I called up several stores — at least five or six of them — everyone told me they were out of stock.”

Another lady at Popular said: “I had already put my name on the waiting list. So I quickly rushed here because I was scared the second batch might be snatched away by the people.”

“I can view at my own leisure and I don’t have to worry about it being taken down anytime soon,” said a man at Popular after he bought the DVD.

One lady at the bookstore said it was expected that there was such high demand for the documentary.

“He is our founding father,” she said. “And everyone will want to keep a copy of that for memory’s sake.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 13, 2015
Family Will Respect Lee Kuan Yew’s Wish For Oxley Rise House To Be Demolished

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew had specified in his will that the house he shared his late wife on Oxley Road be demolished after his death, and this wish will be “administered strictly”, said his children Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang.

In a statement issued yesterday (April 12), Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, who are the executors and trustees of the late Mr Lee’s will, said their father had given them clear instructions directly and in his will — dated Dec 17 2013 — to demolish the house immediately after his death. If Dr Lee continued to live in the house, then the house should be demolished immediately after she moved out.

The late Mr Lee, who passed away on March 23, had been aware of the calls to preserve his home, but his wish expressed to his children and publicly was “unwavering” — that the house to be torn down upon his passing, said Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang.

“He was concerned an order might be issued against his wishes. He therefore added in his Lee Kuan Yew Will that ‘If our children are unable to demolish the House as a result of any changes in the law, rules or regulations binding them, it is my wish that the House never be opened to others except my children, their families and descendants’,” they said.

They added: “Our father has given his life in service to the people of Singapore. We hope that the people of Singapore will honour and respect his stated wish in his last will and testament.”

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the late Mr Lee’s eldest child, will address the issue of his father’s home in Parliament today (April 13).

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 13, 2015
Police Report Lodged Against Unle Who Jumped On Car’s Bonnet

Pilot Adrian Choo was driving home along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 on Wednesday afternoon when he noticed an elderly man waving at him.

“I thought he was most probably a jaywalker,” said Mr Choo, 44, who slowed his car to a stop for the man.

But instead of crossing the road, the man ran towards Mr Choo’s car and jumped on his bonnet.

Fearing it might be a ruse to cheat unsuspecting drivers out of money, Mr Choo submitted video footage of the bizarre incident, captured on his dashboard camera, to citizen journalism website Stomp.

In the 20-second video, the old man, dressed in a loose white T-shirt and shorts, is seen hurling himself at the stationary vehicle. He is then seen removing his spectacles, rolling off the car, and walking away.

Mr Choo said he did not get out to confront the man partly because he did not wish to hold up traffic. “I also wasn’t sure if he was mentally unstable,” said Mr Choo, who was in the car with his 11-year-old daughter.

He added that he believes the man left because he spotted the dashboard camera.

“It was quite shocking. What if I didn’t have a camera? It would just be my word against his,” said Mr Choo, adding that he made a police report on the matter yesterday.

“I hope other drivers will be aware of him. Judging from his demeanour, it seems like he’s practised.”

Yesterday, residents in the vicinity identified the man as an 80-year-old resident of Ang Mo Kio.

“He cycles around the area. He’s quite strong,” Mr Jack Tan, 54, told The Straits Times.

Mr Lim Kay Chuan, 52, who is unemployed, said: “He usually sits at the void deck of Block 203, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. Sometimes he plays mahjong there.”

When contacted, a police spokesman confirmed that a report had been lodged, and said they were looking into the matter.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

April 10, 2015
One Of Two Accused In Sheng Shiong Kidnap Case Face Reduced Charge

One of the two accused in the Sheng Siong kidnapping case now faces a reduced charge, sparing him the possibility of life imprisonment or the gallows.

Heng Chen Boon, 51, was previously charged under the Kidnapping Act, which is punishable by life imprisonment or death. His charge was reduced on Thursday (Apr 9) to abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine Madam Ng Lye Poh, 79, who is the mother of Sheng Siong CEO Lim Hock Chee. This charge carries a maximum jail term of 10 years, with fine or caning.

Heng, a former credit card promoter, had allegedly driven a car used to confine Mdm Ng to the Sembawang Park area, where he kept watch over her between 8.30pm and 11.30pm on Jan 8 last year.

Heng is accused of being an accomplice to Lee Sze Yong, 41, who allegedly kidnapped Mdm Ng that morning with the intent to hold her for ransom. The two men let her go after Mr Lim dropped off the S$2 million ransom they had asked for, at the park. Heng and Lee were both arrested at about 1am the next day, while the ransom money has been recovered in full.

Lee still faces the charge under the Kidnapping Act.

The State Court will fix a date for Heng’s case to be heard again next Wednesday (Apr 15).

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

April 10, 2015
Michel Sablon: Youth Development In Singapore Needs To Be Addressed

Michel Sablon, who was officially unveiled as the new technical director of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Thursday (Apr 9), has said youth development in Singapore is an area that must be addressed.

The 67-year-old Belgian, who has been appointed by the FAS on a two-year contract, said this during his official presentation at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday.

“First of all, I need to analyse. We first need to look out for the positive things and elaborate from there,” said Sablon. “Let me give you an example, we have academies which are in clubs and the FAS to develop youths and the way we do things here could be changed or improved.”

He added: “It’s a plan which is first of all based on the different age categories. We start from under-7, under-8, till under-18. That will be the basic thing, what we can learn from each level. Each level has its specific learning points. A child of nine years is not the same as the child at 12 years old.”

Part of Sablon’s plan is to improve the quality of coaches, through workshops and conferences – and he is confident that the efforts will lead to better results.

“I cannot imagine when you do all these for two years, that we don’t see the difference. I think you can see the difference after one year, from the way of playing. I saw some games from the national youth teams and so on, I think it can be improved,” he said.

“We have to give the coaches the opportunity to learn more and to be better coaches. When they improve themselves, they improve the players. And when the players are better, the teams are better.”

Sablon is best known for his stint as technical director at the Royal Belgian Football Association, where he drew up their long-term strategic blueprint that transformed Belgium’s footballing fortunes which had dipped in the nineties.

The system has since produced the likes of Premier League stars Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini and Thibaut Courtois – all part of Belgium’s golden generation that reached the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup in Brazil, where they lost 1-0 to eventual finalists Argentina.

Sablon was also assistant to then-Belgium national coach Guy Thys at the 1986 World Cup, where they finished fourth, and was part of his country’s coaching staff at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

April 10, 2015