Category: Sosial

K Shanmugam: We Don’t Live In Fear Of Anyone Else

SINGAPORE — Singapore may be small, but it is respected and successful, and “we don’t live in fear of anyone else”, says Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, in response to ‘taunts’ by an Indonesian minister.

In a Facebook post on Saturday (July 23), Mr Shanmugam said he did not understand why “there is this constant attempt (by Indonesian ministers) to put us (Singapore) down and taunting us that we are small”.

He said that both countries benefit from good relations over the last 50 years and have cooperated on many matters. But he noted, “every now and then, someone in Indonesia will tell us that we should know our place, a little red dot.”

“Yes, we are a little red dot. We may be small. But we are respected and successful. And our people lead meaningful lives. And we don’t live in fear of anyone else,” Mr Shanmugam wrote.

His remarks came after Indonesia’s Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro was quoted in Indonesian media on Tuesday saying that he was “not afraid of Singapore which is just a small country like that”.

Mr Brodjonegoro and other Indonesian ministers this week have made several remarks about Singapore as their country attempts to recover millions stashed by Indonesian citizens overseas via a tax amnesty programme. Several Indonesian media reports have accused Singapore and its banks of coming up with a special scheme for Indonesians to leave their assets in Singapore instead of repatriating them home.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) refuted these claims on Saturday.

“Recent claims in the Indonesian media that Singapore is implementing policies to ‘thwart’ Indonesia’s tax amnesty programme are untrue. Singapore has not cut tax rates or changed any of our policies in response to Indonesia’s Tax Amnesty Programme,” said the MAS and MOF in a joint statement.

“We subscribe to internationally agreed standards for combating money laundering and for exchange of information. If there is any case of suspected cross-border tax evasion, concerned authorities can approach Singapore – we have assisted and will continue to assist in line with the international standards,” the two agencies added.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 24, 2016
Adi Putera: Apa Yang Berlaku Bukan Satu Dosa

Hampir seminggu selepas mendiamkan diri mengenai berita perkahwinan kedua dengan janda anak satu terbongkar, pelakon Adi Putra muncul juga akhirnya untuk menjelaskan apa dilakukannya itu bukan satu dosa, menurut laporan mstar.

Adi atau nama sebenarnya Mohamed Hadi Putera Halim yang berusia 35 tahun berkata beliau akan memberi penjelasan mengenai cerita berkenaan dalam masa terdekat, tambah laporan mstar.

“Kepada semua sahabat rakan media, saya akan maklumkan untuk sidang media untuk perkongsian dan bukan penjelasan sebab apa yang berlaku bukan satu dosa. Terima Kasih,” kata beliau dalam akaun Instagramnya hari ini (22 Julai).

Laporan mstar juga menyatakan Adi Putera meminta agar pihak yang mendedahkan berita pernikahannya itu tidak masuk campur dalam urusan rumah tangga beliau dan akan mengambil tindakan.

Gambar pernikahan beliau tersebar di internet sejak Sabtu (16 Julai).

Adi Putera tidak menjawab sebarang panggilan telefon ketika dihubungi pelbagai pihak media tetapi memuat naik gambar bersama isteri pertama beliau Aida Yusof berusia 41 tahun yang dipercayai diambil di luar negara.

Menurut mstar, rumah tangga mereka pernah berdepan dengan masalah apabila Adi memfailkan penceraian di Mahkamah Rendah Syariah Kuala Lumpur terhadap Aida pada 11 Mei 2012 namun kemudiannya membatalkan hasrat itu.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

July 23, 2016
Japan Optimistic Of Winning KL-Singapore High Speed Rail Project: Minister

Just two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Singapore and Malaysia on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR) project, Japanese authorities are stepping up on their pitch to both countries to run the highly-anticipated link.

On Thursday (July 21), Mr Keiichi Ishii, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, met top officials in Malaysia, including Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

On Friday morning, he met with Ms Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Transport, before speaking at the 2nd High Speed Rail Symposium, which Ms Teo also attended.

Speaking to reporters through an interpreter, Mr Ishii was optimistic that a Japan operator could win the bid. “I informed the Malaysia and Singapore governments that Japan will work together (with them) in order to support the project in terms of finance and in terms of human development, and in terms of development of the facilities surrounding the terminal stations,” he said.

During the symposium, Mr Yuji Fukasawa, executive vice president of East Japan Railway Company (JR East), one of the Shinkansen operators, said that commercial operations for the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur HSR could start in just seven years — in Japanese hands.

On Tuesday, Singapore and Malaysia signed a seven-point MOU, under which both countries agreed on a target start date of 2026 for HSR services, which will cut land travelling time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.

In the interim, both countries will have to appoint a company to provide and maintain the rail assets such as tracks and trains, and two train operators to run three types of rail services — an express service between Singapore and Kualu Lumpur, a shuttle service between Singapore and Iskandar Puteri, and a domestic service in Malaysia.

Mr Ishii touted several benefits of Japan’s bullet train system, the Shinkansen, when asked about their advantage over Chinese firms, which have also reportedly expressed interest in making a bid.

“There are several excellent points of the Shinkansen, there is safety, reliability, not only the low initial cost, but total life cycle cost is very low. The other point is that it is very excellent in project management, meaning that it could deliver the project within the designated time,” said Mr Ishii.

Japan and China had battled it out last year to build a rail line in Indonesia, with China Railway ultimately emerging with a deal to build the Jakarta-Bandung railway, which will be operational by 2019.

A spokesman for Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said Mr Ishii had stressed Japan’s track record in safety during his meetings with Singapore and Malaysia officials.

“The Singapore and Malaysia side didn’t clearly mention which point they are looking at in order to decide the winner of this project. But we just asked them to look (at) the safety and reliability and many points comprehensively,” he said.

During the symposium, Mr Fukasawa also gave projections and action plans on how JR East would roll out the Singapore-Malaysia project in seven years, if awarded.

For instance, in the first few years, training of personnel would commence, followed by construction of the test track and all sections, which would start in the third year and end by year six.

Commercial operations would start in year seven.

Source: TODAY Online

July 23, 2016
Singapore Bans ISIS-Linked Newspaper Al Fatihin

A newspaper linked to the Islamic State Group has been gazetted a prohibited publication under the Undesirable Publications Act.

Al Fatihin, which is published by Furat Media, an ISIS affiliated media agency, has been circulated across South-east Asia including in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, as well as southern Philippines, according to reports.

It will be an offence to distribute or possess the newspaper, or come into possession of the newspaper, but fail to deliver the copy to the Police. Those convicted of an offence may be liable to a fine, imprisonment or both.

“The Singapore Government has zero tolerance for terrorist propaganda and has therefore decided to prohibit Al Fatihin in Singapore,” said the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said on Friday (July 22).

“ISIS’ intention to use the newspaper, Al Fatihin, to spread extremist ideology in the region is deplorable. The contents of Al Fatihin and the fact that it is published in Bahasa Indonesia, which is used by many in this region, confirm the objectives behind the publication to influence the people in this region and to cause disharmony,” said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

“Extremism has no place in Singapore – it cannot and must not take root here,” said Dr Yaacob. “We take a very strong stance against terrorist propaganda and we will take decisive action as necessary. Hence, I have instructed for the publication to be prohibited in Singapore.”

Source: TODAY Online

July 23, 2016
Identity Theft By Own Elder Brother Lands Singaporean In Trouble

In the last five years, he has been wrongfully arrested while trying to leave Singapore, summoned to court to pay a $15,000 bail he did not put up, and had his identity fraudulently used to apply for jobs.

Mr Mohammad Rizal Mohd Sabri, 27, a delivery rider, has had to explain himself time and again to the authorities – because his older brother had been impersonating him.

While his sibling Muhammad Redzuan Mohd Sabri, 28, had been sentenced to jail last year for the impersonation offences, it did not spell the end of trouble for Mr Rizal.

On Wednesday, Redzuan pleaded guilty in court to three new charges, with three others taken into consideration. The charges include impersonating Mr Rizal to change his SingPass password, and applying for duplicate driving licences.

Redzuan, who was on the same day sentenced to eight months’ jail, was also found to have misappropriated $700 from a courier company he worked for – a crime which resulted in Mr Rizal being arrested at the Woodlands checkpoint in January. He was transferred to the Bedok Police Division and questioned before being let off.

Mr Naresh Kumar Maryapan, the director of the courier firm, Saiwah Enterprise, said he verified through police photographs that they had arrested the wrong person. He added: “The man who took the $700 had applied for a job using a photocopy of Mr Rizal’s NRIC and a driving licence made in Mr Rizal’s name.”

While Redzuan will go to jail again – he has already served a 17-month sentence and been fined $700 for various offences – the mix-ups over the years have caused Mr Rizal much grief.

Redzuan has impersonated his younger sibling on over a dozen occasions over four years.

“My reputation was tarnished,” said Mr Rizal.

Redzuan began impersonating his younger brother in 2011, lodging a police report to say that he lost a wallet, NRIC and driving licence. Redzuan used this report to identify himself as his brother, to further his “impersonation exploits”, court documents read. A year later, he took Mr Rizal’s driving licence. Mr Rizal told police that his military identity card and a photocopy of his NRIC also went missing.

Redzuan found employment in 2013 as a delivery driver in two different companies and registered a mobile phone line in Mr Rizal’s name – racking up a bill of over $1,300. In 2014, Redzuan used a photocopy of Mr Rizal’s NRIC to post a $15,000 bail for an accused person. Mr Rizal said he was shocked to be summoned to court when the accused person, whom he does not know, jumped bail. That year, Redzuan also made his brother take the rap after he was caught driving a lorry without a licence.

The incidents have soured their relationship. Mr Rizal said with a sigh: “We don’t talk any more. He has caused me a lot of trouble.”

He cannot change his identification number, but Mr Rizal plans to change his name in September to stop his identity from being misused.

Security experts said Mr Rizal’s case illustrates the need for individuals to safeguard their personal information, like NRIC numbers and identity cards, which can be misused if they fall into the wrong hands.

Mr T. Mogan, managing director of Dragnet Private Investigation and Security Consultants, said: “If you suspect that you are a victim of identity theft, immediately go to the police and let them know to whom and when you divulged your personal information .”

Mr David Ng, director of DP Quest Investigation Consultancy, said that as a driving licence bears the same identification number as an IC, many banks and authorities accept it as a valid form of identification. “Checks by service providers may not be stringent enough.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

July 22, 2016