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  • Team Singapore Scores Distinction For SEA Games Showing

    Team Singapore Scores Distinction For SEA Games Showing

    It had initially begun as a quest for 50 gold medals to celebrate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee this year, but Team Singapore’s 749-member contingent at the 28th SEA Games had emphatically blasted the ball out of the park, ending the 19-day multi-sports event with a record haul of 84 gold, 73 silver and 102 bronze medals across 36 sports.

    It is the Republic’s best showing at the SEA Games since its previous record of 50 gold at the 1993 Games, and it earned them second spot on the medal tally, just behind Thailand.

    Scoring Team Singapore’s report card with an “eight or nine” out of 10, Singapore’s chefs de mission Tan Eng Liang and Nicholas Fang attributed the unprecedented haul — a huge 170 per cent jump from the 34 gold won at the last edition in Myanmar in 2013 — to several factors.

    The main one, said Mr Tan, was the careful selection of sports and events. It was a sentiment echoed by Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) secretary general Chris Chan, who added: “We zeroed in on the three categories (compulsory sports, Olympic and Asian Games sports, other sports) that suited our needs. If you spend S$300 plus million (S$324.5 million), you want to do pretty well.”

    Other factors Mr Tan highlighted included the commitment of Singaporean athletes, support from their family members and government agencies, as well as the Final Push — a one-year support scheme that was introduced to disburse some S$4 million to athletes training full-time for the Games.

    “We also can’t overstate the importance of financial funding, the work that the sports institute has done,” said Mr Fang, referring to the Singapore Sports Institute.

    “In the past if you think about this kind of high level support (sports science, biomechanics etc) maybe it was restricted to your key sports, but now SSI is trying to make this available to all the sports that are trying to raise their game.”

    A total of 36 sports were contested in the 28th SEA Games, with Team Singapore medalling in 33 sports. The top six performers were: Aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo) with 26 gold, sailing (10), canoeing (7), table tennis (6), wushu (6) and shooting (5) — producing 60 gold, or about 70 per cent of the total gold medal haul. At the last Games in Naypyidaw, these six sports won just 25 gold medals, with aquatics leading the pack with 12 gold.

    Three sports — football, tennis and petanque — did not win any medals at these Games, with the Under-23 footballers drawing the most criticism from fans after failing to advance beyond the group stage. Coach Aide Iskandar resigned immediately after their last match against Indonesia.

    In contrast, the national men’s football team stole a point from their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Japan last night, holding the Asian giants to a goalless draw in Saitama. Said Mr Tan: “I’m disappointed but you can’t take away the fact that they (athletes in sports that did not medal) really played their guts out. I expect them to do detailed analysis and implement something if they want to improve.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Countering The Narrative Of Terrorism

    Countering The Narrative Of Terrorism

    The recent arrest of one Singaporean teenager and the detention of another for being involved in terrorism-related activities is a matter of serious concern for all Singaporeans, for several reasons.

    Firstly, they are some of the youngest would-be “jihadis” encountered here thus far. Post-secondary student M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i is 19 years old, while the other unnamed individual is only 17.

    Secondly, not only had Arifil desired to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), he also planned to carry out attacks on public places and prominent leaders in Singapore, and attempted to recruit others.

    Thirdly, Arifil attempted to link up with ISIS by befriending people online who he thought could help him join the terrorist group.

    LONG-LASTING THREAT

    The threat posed by such young recruits to militancy is potentially long-lasting. Should they succeed in going to the Middle East and joining ISIS, they will become battle hardened, and if they survive, become the nucleus of a group of South-east Asians in the ISIS ranks. Upon their likely return to Singapore, they will engage in terrorist acts, thereby extending the reach of ISIS to South-east Asia.

    However, the issue of very young people getting involved and taking an interest in terrorism, especially in ISIS, is not exclusive to Singapore. It is a trend evident in many countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, with some teenagers as young as 14 years old attempting to travel to join ISIS. Many are drawn to the ISIS propaganda on the Internet and social media.

    To prevent terrorist groups from taking root in Singapore and radicalisation permeating into the community, the security authorities need the support of all segments of society. Family, friends, school, religious leaders and the community all have a role to play in countering radicalisation. The case of Arifil is illustrative: He was reported to the authorities by a member of the community who knew him and noticed the changes in his behaviour, enabling further investigation to be conducted.

    Friends and family members who are aware of similar behavioural changes in their circles can do likewise. They should realise that reporting their friends’ suspicious behaviour is not “putting them in trouble” but helping them from causing greater harm or damage to the community.

    On a broader level, there needs to be more community engagement programmes in schools, for the community to raise awareness of the dangers of radicalisation and the distorted and extremist ideology of ISIS and such groups. With early intervention, religious teachers can come forward to help vulnerable individuals from becoming even more radicalised.

    In Singapore, the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) has provided counselling to citizens who have been influenced by radical ideology, since 2003. From its inception, the RRG has provided religious counselling to members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), self-radicalised individuals, and their family members.

    In its efforts to counter ISIS narrative and engage the community, the RRG has published two public educational pamphlets, The Syrian Conflict and The Fallacies of ISIS Islamic Caliphate, which are accessible on the RRG’s Facebook page.

    Singapore has also adopted a system of recognition of Islamic teachers and scholars called “Asatizah Recognition Scheme”. They are accredited to teach Islam to the public so the latter are not religiously misled or become self-radicalised by materials found on the Internet and extremist websites.

    COUNTERING INTERNET-SAVVY ISLAMIC STATE

    Countering radical ideological narratives has to be done both online and offline. ISIS has exploited the Internet, especially social media, to disseminate its ideology and propaganda.

    There are 46,000 Twitter accounts supporting ISIS globally, and at least 1,000 Facebook accounts of the same nature in South-east Asia. To counter ISIS online, the community needs to work with social media. For example, Facebook and Twitter have taken down accounts of ISIS members and supporters that post ISIS narratives.

    Shutting down such accounts is necessary even though some analysts might protest that such a measure would cut off access to a trove of information about extremist groups. Removing online support for ISIS ideology is one of the ways of carrying out the uphill task of countering online extremism and radicalisation.

    There is also a need for a model to counter extremism and terrorism online. Such efforts should complement successful real-world engagements that are already taking place today. Participants should be moved to be the counter-force and spread the message of peace. Not only would this create an effective dissemination of counter-messages, it would also provide continuity in community engagement efforts on the ground.

    On a positive note, the announcement of the arrest of one teenager and the detention of another by the Ministry of Home Affairs came with the news that three former JI members who were under Detention Order had been released under Restriction Order (RO), and five individuals under the RO had their RO lifted. They had been receptive and cooperative to rehabilitation.

    While the fight against radicalism is not over, it is not a lost cause. The two detained teenagers can change, and there is still a chance for them to become responsible Singaporeans with proper engagement, religious counselling and family support.

    ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

    Nur Irfani and Nur Azlin are Associate Research Fellows of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Ms Irfani is also a volunteer with the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG). This commentary first appeared in RSIS Commentaries.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Bukit Batok Coffee Shop Sold For $31 Million

    Bukit Batok Coffee Shop Sold For $31 Million

    A new record has been set for the transacted price of a coffee shop in Singapore.

    The Yong Xing Coffee Shop in Block 155, Bukit Batok Street 11 was sold for a staggering $31 million, making it the most expensive coffee shop to be sold in an HDB estate.

    The previous record was held by Coffee Express 2000, a nondescript coffee shop in Block 682, Hougang Avenue 4, that was sold for $23.88 million in 2013.

    Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that the Bukit Batok transaction was finalised last month.

    4,521 SQ FT

    The 4,521 sq ft coffee shop, which is about the size of three executive HDB flats, was sold to a new company, EH 155.

    Yong Xing’s previous owner had reportedly bought the place for about $3.38 million nearly 20 years ago.

    According to the newspaper, the selling price is also significant as it indicates the sum of the block number and the new company’s name, 155+155, with a few more zeros thrown in.

    And in Cantonese 3,100 – the same figure without four of those zeros -sounds like “business (comes) continuously”.

    One of the reasons the coffee shop could have been so attractive, property experts told Wanbao, is that there is no hawker centre in the area.

    Some tenants said the rent has been doubled since the handover, to $6,500 a month.

    Some of the stallholders have increased the price of their food, while some have been staying open for an extra two hours each day.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • KTMB To Launch Shuttle Train Services Between Woodlands And Johor Bahru

    KTMB To Launch Shuttle Train Services Between Woodlands And Johor Bahru

    Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) has announced on its website that its subsidiary, KTM Intercity, will begin shuttle train services from Johor Bahru Sentral to Woodlands in Singapore from Jul 1.

    The Shuttle Tebrau service will help reduce congestion at the Johor Causeway, reported Bernama.

    KTMB said the service will run seven times daily, from JB Sentral to Woodlands Station and back. The train services run as early as 5.30am, till 11pm.

    The fares are RM 5 from JB Sentral and S$5 from Woodlands, for one-way trips.

    KTMB said with the commencement of the Tebrau Shuttle, other southbound KTM Intercity services such as (Butterworth-Woodlands) as well as Tren Sinaran Selatan (KL Sentral-Woodlands) and Tren Sutera (KL Sentral-Woodlands) and the shuttle from Gemas-Woodlands will now end at JB Sentral.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Import And Sale Of Emerging Tobacco Products Will Begin Dec 15

    Import And Sale Of Emerging Tobacco Products Will Begin Dec 15

    The import and sale of tobacco products such as smokeless cigarettes will be banned from Dec 15 this year, and the ban will be extended to cover more products such as oral snuff from August next year.

    Announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday, the move, which will be carried out in two phases, comes on the back of a ban on shisha last year, as part of efforts to clamp down on “emerging” tobacco products.

    The ban is a “pre-emptive measure to protect public health against the known and potential harms of such products”, said the MOH in a media release. It is also “aimed at ensuring that the targeted emerging tobacco products do not gain a foothold or become entrenched in the Singapore market”.

    The first phase of the ban targets emerging tobacco products currently not available in Singapore. They include smokeless cigars, smokeless cigarillos or smokeless cigarettes, dissolvable tobacco or nicotine.

    Any product containing nicotine or tobacco that may be used topically for application, by implant or injected into any parts of the body will also be banned, while any solution or substance where tobacco or nicotine is a constituent, that is intended to be used with an electronic nicotine delivery system or a vaporiser, commonly referred to as e-cigarettes, will also be banned. Tobacco-containing products, tobacco derivatives, or medicinal products registered under the Medicines Act are excluded from the ban.

    From Aug 1 next year, the ban will extend to emerging tobacco products already in the local market. “This is to allow for businesses to adjust their operating models and deplete their existing stocks of such products,” the MOH said. The affected products include nasal snuff, oral snuff, and gutkha, khaini and zarda, which are chewable tobacco products.

    The ban will be implemented via Section 15 of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act. The Act was amended in 2010 to empower the Minister for Health to prohibit the import and sale of such emerging tobacco products. Since then, the authorities had been studying the implementation of the ban. This included ensuring the ban complies with Singapore’s international trade obligations, the MOH said.

    An undergraduate who declined to give his name said he tried khaini in Malaysia last year. “The ban doesn’t really affect me, if I really want to consume khaini, I’ll just cross the border to Malaysia and have it there,” said the 23-year-old, who has been smoking since he was 19.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

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