Tag: Singapore

Suspected Batam Launch Site Of Foiled Rocket Attack Was 18km Away From Marina Bay

Suspects involved in the foiled plot to fire a rocket at Marina Bay had planned to launch the strike from a hill in Batam, said Indonesia’s counter-terrorism chief Suhardi Alius.

The launch site in Taman Habibie, famous for a stairway locals call “the 1,000 steps”, is located about 17km from Singapore’s shoreline and just over 18km from the iconic Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

General Suhardi, who heads the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT), said members of the Batam-based militant group had been measuring elevation points and the distance from the hill to their target in Singapore.

“It’s true that they only did surveys and measured the angle of elevation from Habibie hill to Marina Bay, but Bahrun Naim had plans to send expert technicians to make the explosives and to prepare for the strike,” he said on Monday (Sep 26).

The BNPT chief was referring to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant believed to be in the Middle East fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). General Suhardi was speaking at a closed-door dialogue with local editors and senior journalists in Jakarta.

He added that Bahrun had coordinated the plot with the cell in Batam using social media, similar to how he is suspected to have communicated with other local militants in Indonesia.

Indonesian police have since arrested six members of the cell, including its leader Gigih Rahmat Dewa, who was allegedly Bahrun’s point man for the rocket attack on Marina Bay.

Bahrun is also believed to be linked to a 17-year-old who tried to blow himself up inside a Catholic church in Medan on Aug 28; and Nur Rohman, another suicide bomber who tried to attack a police station in the city of Solo in Central Java in July.

National police chief Tito Karnavian had said that the teenager had “directly contacted” Bahrun, while Nur Rohman was said to have learnt to build bombs from Bahrun over Telegram, a smart-phone messaging application.

General Suhardi said those were examples of how prevalent terrorist groups are making use of social media including Facebook, Youtube and Telegram.

“An example is Batam, where Katibah Gonggong Rebus received orders from Bahrun through social media,” he added, referring to the KGR, which literally translates to Boiled Snails Cell, led by Gigih.

The threat of terror continues to grow in South-east Asia and the rising danger of extremism was underlined as recently as last week when Malaysia said it had detained one of its citizens and deported three foreigners with links to militant groups.

The latest arrest in Malaysia follows another one last month of three ISIS operatives who plotted attacks on the eve of the country’s Independence Day.

Source: The Straits Times

September 27, 2016
Law Grads Hit The Barriers

The dream of becoming a lawyer helped her persevere through law school’s tough curriculum.

Miss Meryl (not her real name), with her eyes set on a future in the legal industry, has been applying to as many law firms as she could for the past year. She started doing so even before graduating.

But she might now have to shelve that dream.

The 24-year-old fresh graduate told The New Paper that all her applications were unsuccessful.

Miss Meryl, who graduated from the UK’s University of Bristol in June, said: “I can only keep searching and if I find a training contract, then it is an opportunity to train.

“But if I don’t, I will need to tread another path.”

She has been unemployed since graduation, but she is not alone.

Law school graduates are finding it hard to land a training contract these days, resulting in what some are calling an “oversupply” of new lawyers.

Like the other law graduates and students we spoke to for this story, Miss Meryl declined to be identified as she was afraid that speaking out about her situation might jeopardise her chances at landing a job.

Training contracts, which typically last for six months, are an entry requirement to the Bar.

Some law students are awarded these contracts when they apply for jobs at law firms after graduation, while others receive one during an internship.

Another recent law graduate, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said: “There just are not many jobs for us to go around. The number of law students keeps on increasing but the number of training contracts does not.”

In the last five years, the number of new lawyers who have been called to the Bar has almost doubled.

In 2011, 257 law graduates were called to the Bar. During this year’s Mass Call, which was held late last month, the number was 509.

At the event, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said this oversupply meant that of the 650 fresh law graduates here last year, around 100 did not receive training contracts.

Some firms retain only about one-third or half of their original intake of trainees, he added.

This challenge in securing training contracts – and consequentially, jobs in the legal industry – has prompted some law graduates to tweak their plans.

One such graduate is Mr Dennis, who declined to reveal his full name.

Mr Dennis, who graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a law degree last year, waited nearly 14 months before he was offered a job “with the right prospects and in the right company”.

He turned to yoga, which he has been practising for eight years, in the meantime.

He said: “I worked as a yoga teacher for about 11 months because I needed to survive.

APPLICATIONS

“Even then, I sent out a good 20 applications but none returned with a positive offer. The only one or two firms I heard from could not offer me a decent salary.”

Not everyone will be as lucky as Mr Dennis, and the fear of not securing training contracts has prompted many law students to take up multiple internships.

A second-year NUS law student, who declined to be named, said: “I will be applying to as many firms as I can during the holidays.”

But he added that there is a limit to how many internships one can go through. “It is only feasible to do two or three internships as it usually lasts four weeks.”

In a bid to solve the problem, it was announced at the Mass Call that a new committee will be set up to review the system by which new lawyers start their careers.

The committee will examine how law firms offer training contracts to fresh law graduates, make decisions to retain them, and later nurture them.

But it might be too late for Miss Meryl, who said she is getting increasingly discouraged by her failure to land a training contract.

“If I fail to do so, then I will have to choose an alternative path.”

Law graduates should be more flexible: Experts

The issue of law graduates being unable to find jobs is a multifaceted one, according to experts.

Some believe that it might boil down to the graduates being “selective”.

Mr Rajan Supramaniam, managing director at Hilborne Law LLC, told The New Paper: “It is not that there are no jobs available, it is just that some of them preferably want an area of their interest.”

Mr Rajan, who has been in the law industry for more than 16 years, says there are always jobs available for graduates, but only if they manage their expectations.

“In some cases, graduates have their own criteria,” says Mr Rajan.

“Generally – if they are free and easy, if they are not selective – they should be able to find a place.”

Head lawyer at Gloria James-Civetta, Miss Gloria James, urges new lawyers to “exercise patience”.

The legal industry specialist, who has more than 20 years of experience, says: “Show that you are willing to learn even if it means taking a pay cut.”

In 2014, Law Minister K. Shanmugam highlighted the possibility of an excess of lawyers as more students pursued a law degree both here and overseas. Last year, the Ministry of Law cut the number of recognised British law schools to 11, from 19.

Some saw this as a step to help ease the oversupply.

OPPORTUNITIES

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said that while overseas schools have been a “contributing factor” to the increase in the number of lawyers, the issue is more than about where a degree comes from.

He said: “It is no more about earning a law degree in hard times, but more about showing what one has learnt from the opportunities of pursuing a law degree.”

When asked about the overseas schools, Miss James said: “It is all fair in love and war, so this should not be a stumbling block or an excuse.”

A slower economic growth is also seen as a cause for the oversupply of lawyers.

“People are careful on costings – they are watching their purse,” said Miss James.

“It is only natural for such reactions when the market is bad.”

But Prof Tan said that “it is not all doom and gloom.”

He told TNP: “There will be upturns as well. Even with the economy slowing down and work for law firms declining, it is also about gritting one’s teeth and making sure that one is ready to ride the upturn when it arrives.”

Mr Rajan said: “At this point of time, the economy is bad. Business environment is bad and graduates needs to be a bit more practical in their job hunting.”

To him, the way forward is to continually put in effort to land a job and gain experience first.

“There are always options. Do attachments, internships, look at temporary jobs. Learn first, even if the offer is not attractive,” he advised.

“Even if they do not get a job immediately, do not get disheartened.

“They can all secure a place – it is just a matter of time.”

Source: The New Paper

September 27, 2016
18-Year-Old Uber Passenger Dies After Accident On Seletar Expressway

A teenage girl has died after the private-hire car she was riding in ran into a lorry on the Seletar Expressway (SLE).

Police said that the accident happened along the SLE towards the Bukit Timah Expressway, and involved a car, a lorry and a van.

They collided near the Woodlands Avenue 2 exit at about 3.40am on Sunday (Sept 25). None were trapped in the vehicles, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

The van driver and two car passengers were conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat hospital, police said.

The Straits Times understands that the van’s driver, a 22-year-old man, was conveyed unconscious.

One of the car passengers, Ms Goh Pei Ling, 18, has died of her injuries.

The other passenger was her sister-in-law, who just held her wedding with Ms Goh’s brother last Friday, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

They were returning to Chua Chu Kang from Pasir Ris in a Uber vehicle, the Chinese evening daily said.

Her sister-in-law, 20, has taken to social media to express her grief and guilt at not being able to help save Ms Goh.

Police investigation are ongoing.

Source: The Straits Times

September 27, 2016
SMRT Tubuhkan Panel Bagi Semak Rayuan 2 Pekerja Yang Dipecat Susuli Nahas

SMRT sudah menubuhkan sebuah panel untuk menyemak rayuan yang dibuat dua kakitangan SMRT yang diberhentikan kerja menyusuli nahas maut di stesen MRT Pasir Ris pada Mac lalu.

Kedua-dua kakitangan SMRT itu mendapat bantuan daripada Kesatuan Pekerja Pengangkutan Kebangsaan (NTWU) dalam membuat rayuan tersebut.

SMRT hari ini (26 Sep) menyatakan: “Sebagai respons kepada rayuan NTWU mengenai pemecatan dua kakitangan berhubung nahas maut kereta api pada 22 Mac, SMRT sudah menubuhkan satu panel rayuan terdiri daripada pengurusan kanan dari unit-unit perniagaan bukan dari Kumpulan Kereta Api. Panel itu akan menyemak rayuan ini, dan memastikan proses yang adil.”

SMRT menambah bahawa dapatan-dapatan panel itu tidak akan mempengaruhi siasatan yang sedang dijalankan oleh pelbagai pihak berkuasa.

Pengendali kereta api itu menambah: “SMRT mengongsi keprihatinan NTWU tentang kebajikan para pekerja dan keluarga mereka. SMRT akan bekerjasama dengan NTWU untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan bagi kedua-dua pekerja itu secepat mungkin sementara panel menyemak kes itu.”

SMRT menambah bahawa kedua-dua pihaknya dan NTWU “bersetuju akan perlunya memperkukuhkan proses-proses keselamatan dan budaya tenaga kerja di syarikat itu. NTWU akan menyokong usaha SMRT untuk menggalak sekitaran kerja lebih selamat untuk semua pekerjanya.”

Source: Berita MediaCorp

September 27, 2016
HDB Racking Up Ideas On Safer Ways To Dry Laundry

The familiar laundry drying racks that dot Singapore’s public housing landscape may look different in time to come, as the Housing Board is considering some new designs.

The Straits Times has learnt that the HDB is reviewing its external clothes drying rack system, which can be found outside the windows of most flats here.

It put up two tenders at the end of June this year, calling for 11 types of drying systems to be made and put through wind tests.

Of these, three are existing designs already used by households: pipe sockets into which laundry poles are slotted; galvanised steel racks with grooves that support both sides of the pole; and similar racks with an additional metal plate with holes.

Six of the new designs feature stainless steel drying racks with grooves of different shapes. The remaining two will be revealed only after the tender is awarded.

Responding to queries, a HDB spokesman said the tests are part of a regular review “to assess how we can further enhance the clothes drying rack system, taking into consideration factors such as weather conditions, and the type of laundry poles used”. She added that no other details are available as the review is still at a preliminary stage.

Clothes drying racks in HDB blocks have taken on many forms over the years. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, they came as pipe socket holders. Racks with two plates that support both ends of the laundry pole were introduced from 1995. Some of these racks were later fitted with an additional metal plate with holes to stop poles from dislodging.

From 2002, new flats come with fixed metal racks that did away with bamboo poles.

When shown the latest proposed designs, experts and residents said they prefer some of the new designs over the existing ones, citing factors such as safety and user-friendliness. Mr Fong Kim Choy, deputy president of the National Safety Council of Singapore, said design 3A, which comes with jagged-shaped pole slots instead of straight ones, would be “most effective” in preventing dislodgement.

“The addition of the third plate closest to the window would also help retain the pole in the event of strong winds,” said Mr Fong.

But Dr John Heng, senior lecturer at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, noted the designs with jagged slots (3 and 4) could “hinder the smooth removal” of poles. “The sharp protrusions will cause the scoring of the surface on the poles and damage the poles,” he added. “From an engineering perspective, the sharp points are also high stress points of weakness.”

He noted, however, that the use of stainless steel would make the new designs more weather resistant as opposed to galvanised steel, which can rust when the coating material is damaged.

Technician Supiah Surani, 38, who does laundry almost every day in her Bishan flat, chose design 2A as it “looks easier” to use with its simpler, slanted slots.

“The toughest part about laundry is taking the clothes back in – it can get quite heavy. It might be a struggle to remove the poles if the (rack) grooves are too complicated,” said the mother of two.

Toa Payoh resident and personal assistant Lily Chin, 70, agreed. She said: “For old people, it’s difficult. The pole might get caught. And if it’s dark at night, it might be hard to see when removing the pole.”

Proposing alternative solutions, Mr Fong suggested drilling a hole through the bamboo pole behind the third plate and inserting a tapered shim to prevent the pole from moving. “A metal sleeve can be fitted over the hole in the bamboo to reinforce it,” he said.

Dr Heng proposed using smoothly curved pole slots instead, which are easy to use, yet wind-tolerant. A front plate could also be added to the farther end of the pole to prevent it from flying forward, he said.

But noting that there is still a risk of users falling from leaning too far forward when using the racks, Associate Professor Chui Yoon Ping, head of the human factors in safety programme at UniSIM, said: “We really need to remove the use of poles altogether and think of a much safer way of drying our clothes.”

Source: The Straits Times

September 26, 2016