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AYE Accident Victim Was Media Personality Who Was Cast In Commercials And TV Shows

The 37-year-old man who died in the accident along the Ayer Rajar Expressway on Monday morning (Dec 19) has been identified as Liong Kuo Hwa, a media personality who has appeared in several local films, television programmes and commercials.

Liong — also known as Jackie — was driving along the AYE before Tuas West Road in a Toyota Vios at around 8am, when a silver Mercedes car allegedly driving against the traffic flow collided into it. He was pronounced dead at the scene and had to be extricated from the driver’s seat by personnel from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

His wife, who was traveling with him, were among the four injured admitted to the National University Hospital. Speaking to TODAY over the phone, his wife confirmed that she was the other passenger in the car and is currently hospitalised at the National University Hospital.

“I am in hospital. I think I am not in the position to talk so much … I am being attended to for my injuries,” said Mrs Liong.

Mr Liong identified himself as an actor, singer, producer and host on his personal website. According to the site, he has been cast in various English, Chinese and Malay dramas and short films, such as Code Of Law (2012), Point Of Entry (2011) and Sayang Sayang (2008).

In recent years, Mr Liong appeared more in TV commercials, the most recent of which includes the “DBS: What Is Your Big Plan” commercial this year, and KFC’s advertisement to commemorate Singapore’s 49th birthday, in 2014.His online portfolio also includes theatre productions and emcee gigs for various events.

Source: Today Online

December 20, 2016
Skeletal Remains Of Larger-Than-Usual Man Found In Malacca Cave

A recent discovery might provide the proof that early settlers in Malacca, including the Malay Sultanate era, were large in structure.

Historian Mohd Fuad Khusari M Said, appointed by the Malacca government to search for new historical sites, claimed to have discovered skeletal remains of what is believed to be a larger-than-usual man in a cave in Pulau Upeh, an island off Malacca. He had discovered the bones partially exposed above ground.

And about 1.2km outside the cave, he found two graves unusually large in dimension – measuring about 5m by 0.5m. The graves were about 15m apart.

“I have reported the findings to the authorities because we have no right to excavate the site without permission,” said the historian who has 10 years experience in archaeological studies.

Based on the size of the skull and the length of the bones found in the cave, Mr Fuad believes the remains could measure between 3m and 5m long. The length of the skeletal remains match the tomb of Sultan Al Ariffin Syeikh Ismail and the graves of the seven warrior brothers in Pulau Besar.

Other findings of “gigantic graves” in Pulau Besar included those believed to belong to religious leaders from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, India and Java, who had gone to Malacca to spread Islam during the early days of the Malacca Sultanate.

“There was no excavation work at any of these grave sites, so the tales of giant settlers remain a myth,” he said. “But the research on this latest find could prove or disprove claims that giant-sized men roamed Malacca a long time ago.”

Looking at the modern man, heights reaching 3m or 5m may seem unthinkable. But Mr Fuad said there are records of giant races dating back to the Mayans. There was also a newspaper report in 1871 on the finding of some 200 giant skeletons in Ontario, Canada.

“So it’s not strange to have sightings of giants in this part of the world,” he said.

However, the size of the graves do not necessarily reflect the size of the human remains.

Institute of Historical and Patriotism Studies of Malaysia’s chairman Mohd Jamil Mukmin said the graves could have been dug larger than usual as an honour to the dead.

Javanese religious leaders travelling to the Port of Malacca to teach Islam to the locals and traders in the 15th century would use Pulau Upeh as a base.

Chief minister Idris Harun, who confirmed that he had been informed of the latest finding on the island, said: “We have commissioned the historian to provide facts about undiscovered historical sites and research on the latest discovery of giant-sized remains is ongoing.”

He added that villagers from the mainland had placed tombstones on the graves a few years ago.

Malacca’s Barisan Nasional social service centre’s director Amir Hamzah Aziz said the story of a mysterious giant’s remains on Pulau Upeh has been circulating since the 1990s. “Many claimed to have sighted the remains there. If it’s true, we must preserve it for the future generation.”

Source: The Straits Times

December 19, 2016
350 Orang Berjaya Dipindahkan Dari Aleppo; Sedang PBB Bersiap Sedia Hantar Pasukan Pemerhati

Sekitar 350 orang masih berjaya meninggalkan bandar Aleppo pada Ahad (18 Dis), kata seorang pegawai perubatan.

Ini meskipun pemindahan para penduduk dan pemberontak di bandar itu ditangguhkan secara rasmi.

Berpuluh-puluh bas sudah memasuki Aleppo semalam bagi menyambung semula pemindahan, tetapi rancangan berkenaan dibatalkan pada saat-saat akhir selepas kenderaan-kenderaan yang digunakan bagi dua buah kampung lain diserang.

Perkembangan ini dilaporkan sedang Majlis Keselamatan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) bersiap sedia untuk mengundi bagi menghantar para pemerhati ke Aleppo.

“Lima bas membawa para penduduk yang dipindahkan dari bahagian timur Aleppo,” kata Ahmad al-Dbis, yang menerajui pasukan doktor dan relawan yang menyelaras pemindahan ke Khan al-Assal. Dari situ, mereka yang dipindahkan boleh ke bahagian-bahagian lain Aleppo dan wilayah Idlib.

Badan pemerhati, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, menyatakan 350 orang itu dapat dipindahkan selepas Rusia dan Turki menggesa rejim Syria supaya membenarkan konvoi bas itu untuk meneruskan perjalanannya.

Pemindahan digantung pada Jumaat (16 Dis), sehari selepas konvoi-konvoi itu mula meninggalkan Aleppo di bawah satu perjanjian yang membenarkan rejim Syria mendapat kuasa penuh ke atas Aleppo.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 19, 2016
Accident On AYE Leaves Trail Of Destruction, With One Dead And Three Taken To Hospital

Wrecked vehicles lined the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) on Monday (Dec 19) morning after an accident left one dead and three injured.

According to a Facebook post by road safety interest group Beh Chia Lor, a Mercedes had allegedly gone against traffic, causing the massive accident along AYE towards Tuas, before the Tuas West Road exit.

A video posted on the page captured the dramatic trail of destruction left by the accident, with a silver car sitting on the left-most lane, facing the wrong direction. The front of the car is crumpled, and the wall of the expressway is severely damaged.

Further down the road, the video captured a stationary black car on the right lane, with a fallen scooter lying against it and a conscious woman is lying on the road about 3m in front of the vehicles.

The left-most lane also has a car flipped on its side as well as another black car, with a smashed bonnet and rear backed against two holes in the expressway wall.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the accident at about 8.05am. It dispatched a fire engine, a Red Rhino, two fire bikes, a support vehicle and four ambulances to the scene.

A Chinese male was found trapped in the driver’s seat of a car, and was extricated using hydraulic rescue tools. He was pronounced dead by paramedics.

Another two females and a male, all Chinese, were taken to National University Hospital (NUH), and the hospital was alerted to be on standby to receive them.

Source: The Straits Times

December 19, 2016
The Next President, Hopefully Female, Likely Malay, Will Be Served By An All-Men Council Of Advisers

In 1991, Parliament passed a Bill to amend the Constitution of Singapore to change Singapore’s presidency to an Elected Presidency.

The Elected President (EP) was given new discretionary powers to safeguard Singapore’s past reserves and to appoint key personnel in government organisations.

One of the less prominent aspects of turning the President’s office into an elected office in 1991 was the creation of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA).

What does the CPA do?

Currently comprising of six members and two alternate members, the CPA’s role is to advise EP, particularly regarding the use of his/her discretionary veto powers.

Following the recent legislation in November to amend the Constitution regarding the EP, there will be eight members of the CPA in future.

As the CPA is unelected, its powers to act is constrained. For instance, it does not have the power to block the EP.

The chairman of the CPA also plays an additional role as Acting President whenever the EP is unavailable.

When current President Tony Tan was away on a State Visit to Japan recently (Nov. 28 to Dec. 6), the current CPA chairman, J Y Pillay, stood in for Tan as Acting President.

As Acting President, Pillay hosted Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi when she came to Singapore on a three-day visit in late November.

In the event that the both the EP and CPA chairman are unavailable, the Speaker of Parliament stands in as Acting President.

How is the CPA formed?

The eight members of the CPA are appointed in the following ways:

– EP nominates three members.
– Prime Minister (PM) nominates three members.
– Chief Justice (CJ) nominates one member
– Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) nominates one member

CPA members are initially appointed on a six-year term, and are eligible to be re-appointed on subsequent six-year terms.

Under the Constitution, a CPA member must:
a) be a Singapore citizen who is at least 35 years old;
b) be resident in Singapore; and
c) not be subject to certain disqualifications.

Powers of CPA were recently strengthened

Besides the increase in the number of members in the CPA, the powers of the CPA have also been strengthened.

The next EP would be required to consult the CPA before exercising his/her discretion in respect of all fiscal matters touching on Singapore’s reserves and all public service appointments.

This is not the case at present.

The EP’s decision would be subject to Parliamentary override (by simple majority) where he acts against the CPA’s advice.

However, if the EP was to act with the support of an absolute majority of the CPA, Parliament should not be able to override the President’s decision.

Source: http://mothership.sg

December 19, 2016