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Former Navy Chief Ng Chee Peng Named As New CEO Of CPF

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) board has explained that they have appointed the former Navy Chief, Ng Chee Peng, as their new CEO.

Mr Ng will take over from the current CEO, Mr Yee Ping who has headed the CPF board since 2011.

Mr Yee will then move on to another leadership position in the Civil Service.

The new CEO, Mr Ng, was the Chief of Navy before serving as the Deputy Secretary (Special Projects) at the Ministry of Manpower.

He also worked as the director of police at MINDEF, as well as the Chief of Staff-Naval Staff and Chief of Staff-Joint Staff in the SAF.

While Mr Ng clearly has a long list of leadership positions, none of them appear to be related to managing funds which he will probably have to deal with in the CPF.

In Singapore, paper generals are constantly brought out of the military and parachuted into top civil service leadership positions even if they don’t have any relevant experience.

Do you think that a former Navy Chief will know how to manage your CPF?

Source: www.therealsingapore.com

January 30, 2015
Singapore Is World’s Most Expensive City To Live In

Singapore has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) list of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, according to the 2014 list released yesterday (this morning, March 4, Singapore time).

Singapore jumped five places from No 6 last year to top this year’s list after rising in the list in recent years. The city was ranked No 18 a decade ago in the EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

The Republic’s strong currency, which has appreciated about 40 per cent over the past decade, combined with soaring utility bills and the high cost of car ownership contributed to Singapore’s rise in the list, according to the EIU. Singapore is also the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes.

Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney also made the top five of the EIU list. Tokyo, the most expensive city to live in for 2013, fell to joint sixth place alongside Caracas, Geneva and Melbourne. At No 10 is Copenhagen.

“Improving sentiment in structurally expensive European cities combined with the continued rise of Asian hubs means that these two regions continue to supply most of the world’s most expensive cities,” said Mr Jon Copestake, the editor of the EIU report.

“But Asian cities also continue to make up many of the world’s cheapest, especially in the Indian subcontinent.”

Predominantly higher costs of groceries has been singled out as a reason for most Asian cities figuring highly in this year’s list, with Tokyo still at the top of the list for everyday food items.

The EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, which is published twice a year, compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services including food, clothing, household supplies, home rentals, transport and utility prices. All cities are compared against New York City as a base.

According to the EIU statement, the survey is meant to let human resource line managers and expatriate executives compare the cost of living in 140 cities in 93 countries, which would allow hiring companies to calculate a fair remuneration package for relocating employees.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 30, 2015
MH370 Disappearance Declared An Accident By Malaysian Authorities

Malaysia has declared Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 an “accident”, meaning all 239 on board the ill-fated aircraft are presumed dead, but insisted the search for the plane last seen on March 8 last year “remains a priority”.

Nearly 11 months and up to S$130 million were spent on an unsuccessful search for the plane which mysteriously disappeared without a trace enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysia’s civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said that after 327 days “and based on all available data”, “survivability is highly unlikely” for those on the plane that is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia.

The area is far from any landing site and has “adverse sea conditions with known depths of more than 6,000 metres,” he said.

“It is therefore with heaviest heart and deepest sorrow, that on behalf of the government of Malaysia, we officially declare MH370 an accident in accordance with standards… and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives,” the Department of Civil Aviation director general said in a pre-recorded statement broadcast live on national television at 6pm.

Mr Azharuddin added that the search for the Boeing 777 remains a priority for the government but today’s announcement means the process of compensation “whether it is pursued through consultation or through litigation” can begin.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday also called on “the Malaysian side” to fully investigate and settle claims with passengers over a missing Malaysia Airlines jet, Reuters reported. Mr Li made the remarks to reporters, according to a statement on the government’s website.

Australia is leading the efforts to locate debris of MH370 in some of the remotest and deepest parts of the Indian Ocean in the world’s longest search for a jet in modern aviation era.

The aircraft’s disappearance on March 8, 2014, on a routine flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur has puzzled authorities as no distress signal came from the Boeing 777-200 plane before it went off radar screens.

Malaysia’s government and the ailing national flag carrier – which also saw a flight on its way home from Amsterdam being shot down over Ukraine on July 17, 2014 – were widely criticised for a disorganised and secretive response to MH370’s disappearance, especially from Chinese citizens, whose countrymen made up the bulk of those onboard.

A press conference was scheduled earlier in the evening but relatives of those lost had turned up unannounced, forcing authorities to cancel the event as “it was not appropriate to continue”, the department said in a statement, adding that separate arrangements had been made to brief the next-of-kin.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

January 30, 2015
Meet The Rich Kids Of Malaysia

Just last week, we opened up your eyes to the lavish world of Tehran’s finest youths, who claim to be ‘The Rich Kids Of Tehran.’ (Read Here)

A day after, a spin-off Instagram account called, ‘The Rich Kids Of Malaysia’ was set up and has now amassed a total of over a thousand followers.

The account that has recently garnered attention currently allows nominations and has posted pictures of those who are deemed to be the ‘elite.’

After failing to contact the account owner to clarify, a source told us how he stumbled upon the account and saw his friends’ pictures being posted up on the account without their permission.

“I don’t mind someone starting an account like that, I can understand the poor souls’ need for such a thing. But at least do it right, you know?

“Worse was when I saw my friends’ pictures, (whether rich or not, doesn’t matter) in the posts and clearly they had no idea that this was happening.”

After going somewhat viral on social media yesterday, the account owner that purportedly created it out of ‘fun and leisure’ relayed a statement through an Instagram post, “To the owners of the pictures, kindly DM, Tweet or email me if you want me to remove your pictures. I will respect your concern.”

The account clearly received mixed reactions from users, even those whose pictures have been posted without their knowledge:

Despite the negative comments received by viewers, the account owner remains positive and bites back to ‘haters’ stating, “I also received DMs thanking me coz uploading their pic. As I mention(sic) in my profile, this is a leisure page for fun people. Luckily I also received positive feedback even from the owner of the pics.. on top of that, I respect every request to delete any pics by the owner.. #keepitpositive, I agree..”

Source: www.malaysiandigest.com

January 30, 2015
Yaacob Ibrahim: Zakat Was Not Used To Fund MUIS’ Operating Expenditure

Zakat, a tithe contributed by Muslims, is not used to fund the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore’s (MUIS) operating expenditure, said Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim in Parliament on Thursday (Jan 29).

MUIS is funded by its General Endowment Fund, which has a number of income sources, including property, inheritance and investment income, and fees for services such as Halal certification, said Dr Yaacob. Zakat funds are not part of the General Endowment Fund and are separately accounted for, added the minister.

Dr Yaacob said this in response to a question by Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Zainal Sapari, who asked if any zakat was used to fund MUIS’ operating expenditure. Mr Zainal also asked what the total amount of zakat collected by MUIS was, and the breakdown of allocation of zakat to the beneficiaries.

HOW ZAKAT WAS USED

Dr Yaacob said the amount of zakat collected in 2013 was S$28.4 million, while the total for 2014 has not yet been confirmed through audit.

Of the S$28.4 million in 2013, about S$11 million, or 40 per cent, was disbursed to the needy through direct financial assistance and empowerment programmes, said Dr Yaacob, and 5,263 families were helped through direct financial assistance in 2013.

Another 40 per cent was used to support mosques and madrasahs through grants, programmes, and funds for the training of teachers, mosque religious officers, volunteers and youth development officers, he added.

The remaining zakat was used for dakwah, or the propagation of Islamic knowledge, and public education, the development of Islamic education, and the funding of expenses incurred in the administration of Zakat, as well as assistance for Muslim converts, said Dr Yaacob.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

January 30, 2015