FRIDAY JULY 15, 2016 SINCE 1845

116 PAGES IN SIX PARTS$1.10To subscribe: 6388-3838sphsubscription.com.sg

ASingaporePressHoldingspublication

MCI (P)041/02/2016★★

Wong Wei Han

Unanswered questions swirled lastnight around the longest tradingdisruption at the Singapore Ex-change (SGX).

Trading was halted just beforenoon yesterday and the boursestayed shut for the rest of the day.

At press time, it was unclear if theSGX would reopen this morning.

Yesterday’s downtime of fivehours 20 minutes – and counting –was the first major disruptionsince two outages that outraged in-vestors in late 2014.

It raised fresh worries over the re-silience of SGX trading systems.

Trading in the securities marketwas halted at 11.38am, the boursesaid in a statement. Derivativestrading was not affected.

The halt was to reconcile “dupli-cate trade confirmation messages”and trading would resume at 2pm,the SGX said later, adding that “noduplicate trades were executedand the market remained orderly”.

But the SGX pushed back thetime of resumption to 4pm, beforesaying at 4.01pm that the marketwould not reopen yesterday. TheSGX gave no information on whatcaused the glitch. The disruptionwas far longer than the one on Dec3, 2014, when the market openingwas pushed back to 12.30pm due toa software glitch.

The Monetary Authority of Singa-pore (MAS) said it was monitoringthe situation closely.

Frustration and disappointmentgripped the trading floor, as remis-iers took calls from anxious clients.

“I have had at least eight clientscontacting me since 11.30am... I

wouldn’t be surprised if many peo-ple lost money,” said remisier SohWee Boon.

Before the disruption, the StraitsTimes Index had pared 0.13 percent to 2,906.92 points.

“I had quite a few clients who hadopen short positions initiated inthe morning when the market wasdown, and of course they couldn’tclose them and they may lose mon-ey. The SGX should at least resumetrading for, say, 15 minutes for peo-ple to get out,” said a broker, re-questing anonymity.

Society of Remisiers presidentJimmy Ho said: “This is unaccepta-ble. After all the money they spenton tech, I don’t know why thereisn’t any contingency plan or atleast the ability to recover the sys-tems quickly.”

The SGX said in June last yearthat it would invest $20 million toboost tech infrastructure.

The MAS reprimanded the SGXfor the 2014 incidents and put amoratorium on bourse fee hikes.

The incidents marred the tenureof then chief executive MagnusBocker. Mr Loh Boon Chye, whotook up the post exactly one yearago on July 14, had not faced majortechnical issues until yesterday.

Securities Investors AssociationSingapore chief executive DavidGerald said: “As I understand, du-plicate trades are not problemsunique to SGX... The trading halt isnecessary in the interest of inves-tors and to allow brokers to recon-cile the positions.”

whwong@sph.com.sg

SEE TOP OF THE NEWS A9& BUSINESS C1&14

Four hawker stalls from Amoy Street Food Centre were given the Bib Gourmand rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide for Singapore, to be launched nextThursday. The rating rewards establishments offering high-quality meals for less than $45. The proud hawkers behind the honoured Amoy Street stalls are(from left) Famous Crispy Curry Puff owner Lee Meng Li, 47; A Noodle Story co-owner Ben Tham, 34; Hoo Kee Rice Dumpling owner Ryk Chew, 41; and Hong KeeBeef Noodle owner Tony Tan Tan Tong, 58. ST PHOTO: MARCUS TAN SEE TOP OF THE NEWS A3 & LIFE D10

Chia Yan MinEconomics Correspondent

It has been slow going forSingapore’s economy and the sec-ond quarter was not much better.

The economy grew 2.2 per centfrom April to June, according to Min-

istry of Trade and Industry data outyesterday, in line with economists’expectations. The estimates reflectonly April and May. The final datawill be released next month.

But economists were unwillingto pop the champagne yet, citingbroad weakness across various sec-tors of the economy.

Manufacturing, making up a fifthof the economy, was once again thebiggest drag on growth. Factory out-put ticked up just 0.8 per cent.

While this was the sector’s firstpositive year-on-year growth in atleast five quarters, DBS economistIrvin Seah said momentum hasslowed dramatically.

Other sectors fared only slightly

better. Construction grew 2.7 percent, down from 4.5 per cent, due toweaker private sector activity. Theservice industry rose 1.7 per cent,the same as in the previous quarter.

There were some bright spots,with first-quarter economicgrowth raised to 2.1 per cent from1.8 per cent, owing to an upward re-vision in services output.

Mr Seah pointed out, however,that “this is still weak growth” andthe outlook is not optimistic.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise,given the difficult economic condi-tions and challenging global envi-ronment,” he added, citing China’sslowing growth and Europe’s un-certainty after the Brexit vote.

Citi economist Kit Wei Zhengsaid the data paints a “downbeat pic-ture of broad-based economic stag-nation” in the first half of the year.

Mr Allen Ang, group managing di-rector of Aldon Technologies, ex-pects sales to pick up in this half ofthe year.

“Generally speaking, it’s stillgloomy,” said Mr Ang, whose firmrefurbishes parts for flat panel andsemiconductor producers.

But, he said, his customers havebeen receiving more orders sinceApril and are ramping up produc-tion. “So more orders are flowing into us now,” he said.

chiaym@sph.com.sg

Bourse stays shut after halt just before noon;no information given on cause of glitch

SGX’s longesttrading haltraisesconcern

2.2% growth in Q2 but cautious outlook prevails

EXCELLENCE IN REDESIGN: SOCIETY OF NEWS DESIGN BEST IN NEWSPAPER DESIGN, BEST NEWS WEBSITE: WAN-IFRA

Top of the NewsWho’s who in May’s CabinetA4

HomeUS duo claimto be 2011 train vandals B1

Top of the News 5 lift firms in anti-competition probe A4 • World Mahathir forming party to challenge Najib A10

Life Runs pack in fun factor D2&3

HomeGraphic novelist bags S’pore Literature PrizeB2

A4

Hawkers get thumbs up from Michelin

Leaders in S’pore for business forumGovernment officials and business leaders –including the heads of trade associations andchambers – from Singapore, Japan and otherAsian economies are expected to attend theSingapore-Japan Business Forum today.

The forum is also a key business platformthat is part of the 50th Anniversary ofSingapore-Japan Diplomatic Relations, or SJ50,projects in Singapore.

Trump announcingrunning mateUnited States Republican presidentialcandidate Donald Trump has said he willannounce his running mate today, withIndiana Governor Mike Pence and formerHouse speaker Newt Gingrich appearing as thefront runners. Sources familiar with campaignoperations cautioned that while Mr Pence andMr Gingrich are finalists, Mr Trump couldalways have a last-minute change of heart andchoose someone else from his shortlist.

HOMEJailed for sex assault on nieceA man sexually assaulted his10-year-old niece, who was close tohis wife, her mother’s sister. He wasyesterday sentenced to 8 1/2 years injail and eight strokes of the cane.The girl stayed with the couple oftenand would sleep in their room. B12

WORLDRace to be Tokyo governorCandidates vying to be the nextgovernor in Tokyo started theircampaigns yesterday, following theJune resignation of Mr YoichiMasuzoe. He was the secondgovernor to quit after Tokyo wonthe hosting rights of the 2020Summer Olympics in 2013. Theelection will be held on July 31. A12

Punggolmega childcare centre opensOne of the five mega childcare centres built byanchor operators will officially open today inPunggol. E-Bridge Pre-School, run byEtonHouse International, is five times largerthan the average childcare centre in aHousing Board block. Anchor operators getgovernment grants and priority in securingsites in HDB estates, but are tied to conditionssuch as not charging more than $720 a monthfor full-day childcare.

LIFEEx-beau slams Swift over hitDJ and producer Calvin Harriscriticised his former girlfriend, popstar Taylor Swift (above), onWednesday for making him lookbad after People magazine revealedthat she had written his latest hitsong, This Is What You Came For,under a pseudonym. D12

TOPOF THE NEWS‘Respect S. China Sea ruling’The Philippines yesterday called onChina to respect an internationaltribunal’s rejection of its claims inthe South China Sea, in thestrongest response so far fromManila to the verdict. Meanwhile,Philippine President RodrigoDuterte is reportedly preparing tohold talks with China. A6

BUSINESSNoble rights tradingextendedThe Singapore Exchange’s tradingglitch may well have hit on theworst possible day for Noble Groupfounder Richard Elman, who hasbeen selling his excess Noblenil-paid rights. Yesterday was thelast trading day for the rights. ButNoble said last night that tradingwould be extended till today. C1

OPINIONCan US mend race relations?Race is once again tearing apartAmerica’s social fabric after recentviolent deaths. The country is sobroken that it seems unlikely anypolitical leader can put it togetheragain, writes US bureau chiefJeremy Au Yong. A26

Good urban master-planning is crucial to creatinggreat places that people love to live, work and playin. This process guides land use, identifies the waypeople and traffic move, and integrates newneighbourhoods with existing communities.

A visionary masterplan can ignite the social,physical and economic rejuvenation of backwaters.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority has soughtmasterplan proposals for Jurong Lake District, nowearmarked as the second Central Business District(CBD). Anchored by the future high-speed railterminus, the 360ha district is set to be eco-friendlyand well connected, with offices, waterfront homes,hotels, greenery and recreational facilities.

Still, questions have emerged over whether thepush to create a second CBD could thwart thedistrict’s success. Does Singapore – at just over 719 sqkm – need a second CBD? Cities with a second CBDare much larger: Incheon is 1,029 sq km, London is1,572 sq km and Shanghai, 7,037 sq km.

For the next few years at least, firms would seem tohave plenty of alternative locations. Announcedcommercial clusters include Woodlands RegionalCentre, Punggol Creative Cluster, Paya Lebar Centraland Kallang Riverside. Closer to the Raffles PlaceCBD, the Beach Road/Ophir-Rochor Corridor andTanjong Pagar have also been touted as growth areas.

Firms will be spoilt for choice and so the newdistrict must be exceptional to attract them. Thosereliant on Raffles Place services – such as legal andaccounting – may snub a move to the outskirts.

In recent years, CapitaLand opted not to move toJurong and the National Development Ministry puton hold plans to move its headquarters there.

For the district to take off, it probably needs morebig firms and government agencies to move there.

The call for masterplan ideas begins a long processof shaping Jurong Lake District. And as people makea place thrive, their needs must be central too. Avibrant district does not just happen – getting thegroundwork right is critical.

wongsy@sph.com.sg

WORLDMahathir plans new partyFormer prime minister MahathirMohamad (above) yesterdayannounced plans to launch a newpolitical party that would form acoalition with the federal oppositionalliance ahead of the next generalelection. The new group will look tooust the ruling Barisan Nasionalcoalition led by Prime MinisterNajib Razak, he told reporters. A10

TOPOF THE NEWSLongest trading disruptionFrustration and unansweredquestions swirled last night aroundthe longest trading disruption atthe Singapore Exchange. Tradingwas halted just before noonyesterday, and the bourse stayedshut for the rest of the day after twofailed bids to reopen the market. A1

LIFEEvent freelancers form groupA group of veterans from the eventand entertainment sector here hasformed Singapore Talent, Artistesand Resources, an association torepresent the interests of freelanceworkers such as performers,masters of ceremony, deejays,audio and visual engineers, andevent producers. D9

SPORTGolf’s fate in OlympicsThe absence of the world’s topgolfers at the Rio Olympics will be akey factor in whether the sport is tobe axed in the 2020 TokyoOlympics. International OlympicCommittee president Thomas Bachsaid a post-Rio evaluation wouldconsider “the discussion in the golfcommunity” and the opinion of theInternational Golf Federation. C19

HOMENLB’sRare Gallery opens to the publicThe National Library Board (NLB) has opened its Rare Gallery to thepublic for the first time, with 38 items for viewing. Monthly tours will beheld until December, and those interested must register. Among the itemson display are letters written by Sir Stamford Raffles. B2

Wong Siew Ying

Senior Correspondent

Wha

t’sN

ext

Wha

t’sN

ews

PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

PHOTO: REUTERS

WhyItMatters

Plan it rightfor second CBD

The 38 items on display are part of the John Bastin Collection and can beviewed on the 13th floor of the NLB building. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

A2 BRIEFING | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Tan Hsueh YunFood Editor

The text messages came rapidly yes-terday morning to the mobilephone of Mr Arif Salahuddin, 55,owner of Bismillah Biryani in Dun-lop Street and one-north.

They were from customers con-gratulating him.

He did not know what they weregoing on about until The StraitsTimes called him: He had beenawarded a Bib Gourmand rating inthe inaugural Michelin Guide for Sin-gapore, to be launched on July 21.

In all, 34 eateries were given therating, half of them hawker stalls.Most of those on the list knew whatthe Michelin Guide was but werenot familiar with the Bib Gourmandaward. It is for eateries that offergood value meals, which byMichelin’s calculations is $45 here.

The list was released yesterday,ahead of the announcement nextweek of which restaurants here willreceive Michelin’s coveted one-,two- and three-star ratings.

Four hawker stalls in Amoy StreetFood Centre – A Noodle Story, Fa-mous Crispy Curry Puff, Hong KeeBeef Noodle and Hoo Kee RiceDumpling – received the Bib Gour-mand rating. Zi char stalwarts JB AhMeng Kitchen and Sin Huat EatingHouse in Geylang did too.

Peranakan restaurant True Blue

in Armenian Street and Indian res-taurant Zaffron Kitchen in EastCoast Road made the cut, as didTurkish and Mediterranean restau-rant Alaturka in Bussorah Streetand Peony Jade, a Cantonese restau-rant at Keppel Club.

As soon as the list was revealed,foodies were congratulating their fa-vourite hawkers but there were justas many knives out on social media.

Ambassador-at-large TommyKoh, who has been a judge for TheStraits Times and Lianhe ZaobaoSingapore Hawker Masters awards,told The Straits Times: “As a champi-on of our hawker food, I am pleasedthat the inaugural Michelin GuideSingapore 2016 contains so many ofour favourite hawker dishes.

“I am pleased that two of the win-ners of the Singapore Hawker Mas-ters competition, namely, Tian TianHainanese Chicken Rice and Hoo-ver Rojak, are on the list.”

However, others said that Singa-pore did not need foreigners tojudge its street food and criticisedthe list for not being comprehen-sive enough.

Civil servant Wong Lok Oon, 62,said: “This list is not a good repre-sentation of our hawker culture. Idon’t see any Malay food stalls, andthey have missed out good hawkercentres such as Old Airport Road

Food Centre, which has great lormee and zi char, and Adam RoadFood Centre for its prawn mee andnasi lemak.”

But it was all sweet for Mr Ariffrom Bismillah, who started hisbusiness 15 years ago.

He said of the text messages: “Ithought it was all a joke. After all,we make only briyani; we are not afull-service restaurant. I’m notsomeone who puts out advertise-ments or does promotions, so I’mglad for the recognition.”

Hawker Douglas Ng, 25, who start-ed The Fishball Story in 2014 at Gold-en Mile Food Centre and moved it toTimbre+ in Ayer Rajah Crescentthis year, said he was surprised.

He said: “I hope this shows peo-ple that the hawker trade is not a dy-ing one, and encourages moreyoung people to make it a career.

“I think what made my stall standout is the traditional way ofhand-making our fishballs with yel-lowtail fish meat, using mygrandmother’s recipe.

“I think tourists will be visitingmy stall, with the mention in theguide.”

hsueh@sph.com.sgwww.facebook.com/tanhsuehyun

SEE LIFE D10

Mr Arif, owner of Bismillah Biryani in Dunlop Street and one-north, thought it was a joke when hereceived messages from customers congratulating him on his Bib Gourmandrating. ST PHOTO: MARCUS TAN

They make up half of 34 eateriesrecognised for good value mealsin inaugural local Michelin GuideWEB SPECIAL

PSLE Q&AStill confused about therevised Primary SchoolLeaving Examination (PSLE)grading system? Here areanswers to 10 questions onthe PSLE scoring and schoolposting changes.http://str.sg/psle

Most-read stories onstraitstimes.com1. Hit by technicalmalfunction, SGX firstsuspends then shuts tradingfor the day2. Discussions under way tolet Singapore visitors toMongolia stay for 30 dayswithout visa3. 17 hawker stalls given BibGourmand award in inauguralSingapore Michelin Guide4. Asean will not makestatement on South ChinaSea ruling: Diplomat5. Incident of young boyknocked down by car inJurong West sparks debateon pedestrian safety

Straits TimesDigital

SINGAPORE SLIDERRaffles by the riverA statueofSirStamfordRafflesstandsonthesitewherehefirst landed inSingapore in1819.SeehowtheareaaroundtheSingaporeRiverhaschanged inourThenandNowseriesofphotographsathttp://str.sg/raffles

REACHUSATWebsite:www.straitstimes.com

Facebook:www.fb.com/thestraitstimesTwitter:@STcomInstagram:@Straits_Times

RESTAURANTS• Alaturka, 16 Bussorah Street• Hjh Maimunah, 11 Jalan Pisang• Ka Soh, 2 College Road• Kok Sen, 30 Keong Saik Road• Lagnaa, 6 Upper Dickson Road• New Ubin Seafood

Block 27, Sin Ming Road• Peony Jade at Keppel Club

10 Bukit Chermin Road• Shish Mahal, 180 Albert Street• Song Fa, six outlets, including

17 New Bridge Road• 328 Katong Laksa

53 East Coast Road• True Blue Cuisine

49 Armenian Street• Whole Earth, 76 Peck Seah Street• Yhingthai Palace, 36 Purvis Street• Zaffron Kitchen

Two outlets, including135/137 East Coast Road

FOOD CENTRESAlexandraVillage Food Centre• Zhen Shan Mei Claypot LaksaAmoy Street Food Centre• A Noodle Story• Famous Crispy Curry Puff• Hong Kee Beef Noodle• Hoo Kee Rice DumplingTimbre+• The Fishball StoryHongLim Market & FoodCentre• Famous Sungei Road

Trishaw LaksaBukitMerah View Market&Food Centre• Na Na Homemade CurryToa Payoh West Market &FoodCentre• Chey Sua Carrot CakeMaxwell Food Centre• Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken

RiceMei Ling Market & FoodCentre• Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun SpecialtyNewton Food Centre• Alliance SeafoodTiong Bahru Market• Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless

Chicken Rice• Hong Heng Fried Sotong

Prawn MeeWhampoa Makan Place• Balestier Road Hoover Rojak• Liang Zhao Ji Duck Rice

OTHERS• Wedang, Block 117, Aljunied Ave 2• Bismillah Biryani

50 Dunlop Street• JB Ah Meng Kitchen

2 Lorong 23 Geylang• Sin Huat Eating House

659/661 Lorong 35 Geylang

Hawkersgalore onMichelin’sBib list

The 34 on the list

For morestoriesonSingapore’sMichelinGuide,go tostr.sg/4wqA

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | TOPOFTHENEWS A3

Jonathan Eyal

Europe CorrespondentIn London

British Prime Minister Theresa Mayhas stunned political observers bynominating Mr Boris Johnson, oneof the country’s most controversialand least diplomatic politicians, asForeign Secretary in her newCabinet, a post that puts him incharge of Britain’s global diplomaticnetwork.

But the appointment, greetedwith a mixture of amusement anddisbelief in other European capitals,may turn out to be a shrewd politicalmove. For Prime Minister May’schief objective in putting togetherher first Cabinet since assumingoffice on Wednesday is not to pleaseforeign governments but, rather, toembrace all warring factions withinher ruling Conservative Party andredirect the government’s attentionto an ambitious agenda of social andeconomic change.

As a former mayor of London andmaster of political stunts, MrJohnson has always been popularwith voters but far less popular withfellow politicians who dismiss himas a lightweight and unreliablecolleague. Of half-Turkish andquarter-French parentage, themultilingual Mr Johnson, who wasborn in the United States, is the mostinternational of all Britishpoliticians. Yet he has chosen toportray himself as a Britishnationalist, and played a leading rolein persuading voters to rejectBritain’s continued membership inthe European Union in areferendum held last month.

Technically, Mrs May could havesimply ignored Mr Johnson, who hasno government experience. But shedecided to make him ForeignSecretary largely to ensure that hewill not be able to foment anotherrebellion in the Conservative Party.

Mr Johnson is neither a goodmanager nor an original thinker, adifficult proposition for a diplomaticservice that values both qualities. Healso finds himself in charge of MI6,the external intelligence service, anunlikely position for a man who isfamously indiscreet.

He will struggle to be takenseriously abroad, given his record ofgaffes. He once compared USpresidential candidate HillaryClinton to a “sadistic nurse in amental hospital” and accused USPresident Barack Obama of an“ancestral dislike of the Britishempire”, supposedly due to his“part-Kenyan” origins. He alsopublished an obscene poem about

Turkish President Recep TayyipErdogan. Still, Mrs May is probablyright in assuming that, although aslightly comical figure abroad, MrJohnson will not be able to causemischief at home.

Meanwhile, she made sure thatnegotiations with Europe will behandled not by the ForeignSecretary but by Mr David Davis, aseasoned politician and formerdiplomat who now acquires theunusual title of Secretary of State forExiting the European Union. Thefact that Mr Davis is a sceptic onEurope helps; whatever EU deal hegets is more likely to be accepted byMPs in London.

And for similar reasons, Mrs Maybrought back into the Cabinetformer defence secretary Liam Fox,another Europe critic. He will nowbe responsible for internationaltrade, and will therefore be asked toprove with deeds his previousclaims that Britain’s economy canthrive outside the EU.

Yesterday, Mrs May made severalmore Cabinet changes. Notably,Justice Secretary Michael Gove,another Brexit leader, was replacedby Environment Minister Liz Truss.

But Mrs May’s chief target is theoverhaul of Britain’s domestic policyby becoming the champion ofworking-class Brits. “That meansfighting against the burninginjustice that, if you’re born poor,you will die on average nine yearsearlier than others,” she said beforepledging that “the government Ilead will be driven not by theinterests of the privileged few” butby the needs of ordinary citizens.

The new government’s economicpriorities will not be fully knownuntil October when a new Budget isintroduced. Still, the fact that MrGeorge Osborne, who had been incharge of Britain’s finances since2010 and championed a policy ofausterity, is now out of thegovernment altogether and that hisreplacement is Mr Philip Hammond,the former foreign secretary who isknown as a loyal and safe pair ofhands, serve as early indicationsthat Mrs May wants to put her stampon a new economic policy.

It is also noticeable that she didnot even once refer in her initialpolicy speeches to balancingBritain’s finances; the goal ofreaching a Budget surplus by 2020 –one of the key objectives of outgoingprime minister David Cameron –has been quietly ditched by hissuccessor, who will probablyallocate more cash to socialspending.

Mrs May’s general approachseems to put the entire question ofBritain’s departure from the EU inthe hands of eurosceptics, whilekeeping domestic and economicpolicies in the hands of her trustedsupporters. It is a shrewd tactic, butone that will be sorely tested by thepressures that lie ahead for Britain’snew prime minister.

Jonathan.eyal@gmail.com

Felicia Choo

Five companies supplying spare liftparts to Housing Board blocks arebeing probed by the CompetitionCommission of Singapore (CCS) foranti-competitive practices.

They are suspected of refusing tosupply vital parts such as mother-boards to third-party lift mainte-nance contractors here.

This may have prevented the con-tractors from competing for con-tracts to maintain and service liftsof particular brands installed inHDB estates.

The CCS can take action against adominant or sole supplier who refus-

es to supply certain essential prod-ucts or services that cannot other-wise be obtained.

There are more than 20,000 liftsinstalled in HDB estates across Sin-gapore and most are maintained bytheir original installers rather thanthird-party contractors.

Town councils are required tocarry out regular maintenance oflifts installed in HDB estates andcan either appoint the original in-stallers of the respective brands, orcall a tender inviting companies, in-cluding third-party contractors, toprovide maintenance services.

According to the CCS, it may becheaper to use third parties. Firmsthat wish to tender for lift mainte-

nance projects that include multi-ple lift brands would require brand-specific lift spare parts.

The investigation follows anoth-er probe into lift supplier and main-tenance contractor EM Services.

Two years ago, a complaint wasmade to the CCS about the compa-ny, a joint venture between theHDB and Keppel Land, sparking aninvestigation.

EM Services was found guilty ofrefusing to supply spare parts tothird-party contractors.

But two months ago, the compa-ny finally agreed to sell the brandedspare parts to third-party lift main-tenance contractors. In view of thiscommitment, the CCS decided not

to take action against it.CCS chief executive Toh Han Li

said: “This will provide more op-tions for HDB lift maintenance, astown councils can choose to call fora single tender for lift maintenanceacross various lift brands, in lieu ofcontracting with multiple parties.

“The CCS will continue its otherinvestigations to ensure access toessential lift spare parts for third-party lift maintenance contractors,and (ensure that they can) effective-ly compete for lift maintenance ofthese other brands of lifts.”

The competition watchdog alsoencourages all businesses to put inplace competition compliance pro-grammes to ensure their business

conduct complies fully with theCompetition Act.

A string of incidents involvingHDB lifts have made the news re-cently.

In May, a 77-year-old man died inhospital after his mobility scootertoppled as he was backing out of alift in Pasir Ris Street 21. The lift wasnot level with the lobby floor whenit stopped.

Last October, an 86-year-old resi-dent in Tah Ching Road lost her low-er left arm after it was severed in afreak lift accident.

National Development MinisterLawrence Wong announced in Par-liament on Monday that all towncouncils will need to set aside a high-er proportion of their monthly ser-vice and conservancy charges intheir sinking funds specifically forlift replacements.

feliciac@sph.com.sg

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loonghas sent a congratulatory messageto his new British counterpart, say-ing he was confident that Mrs There-sa May would provide the strongleadership her country would needto navigate the challenges ahead,and steer it towards continued pros-perity.

Mr Lee noted that Singapore wasa longstanding partner and friendof the United Kingdom, sharingdeep historical ties and common in-terests in many areas, including se-curity cooperation, defence, busi-ness, and science and innovation.

He said: “All these relationshipsare underpinned by the strong

people-to-people ties and the histor-ical and cultural links we share.”

Mr Lee expressed confidence thatthese longstanding links would con-tinue to flourish under Mrs May’sleadership. He also said he lookedforward to meeting her soon to dis-cuss how to further strengthen rela-tions between the two countries.

New British PM puts eurosceptics in charge of EU exit butkeeps domestic policies in hands of trusted supporters

News analysis

May’s shock pickof Johnsonpart ofBrexit gambit

New-look CabinetKey Cabinet appointments in the government of new British Prime Minister Theresa May

PHILIP HAMMONDChancellor of the Exchequer• Mr Hammond, the former foreign secretary, replaces Mr George Osborne, who was dropped by Mrs May. • Educated in a state school in Essex, Mr Hammond, 60, studied at Oxford. He held multiple jobs before entering politics, including as director of a healthcare and nursing company and acting as a consultant for the government of Malawi. He built a multimillion-pound fortune, according to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper. He has been an MP since 1997.

BORIS JOHNSONForeign Secretary• Mr Johnson, 52, is a former mayor of London and a leading figure in the campaign for Britain to leave the EU. • Educated at Eton and Oxford, he once worked as a reporter in Brussels for the Daily Telegraph newspaper and for The Times of London. He was allegedly fired from The Times for deception.• Noted for his unkempt hair and taste for showmanship, he has angered foreign governments for his undiplomatic comments, including insulting Turkey’s president in a poem. Mr Johnson is half-Turkish.

DAVID DAVISBrexit Secretary• Mr Davis, 67, is a eurosceptic. According to The Telegraph, he went to university at Warwick where he studied computer science. He later studied at the London Business School and at Harvard. He served as a Minister of State for Europe and Conservative Party chairman, and was Shadow Home Secretary from 2003 to 2008. Once seen as a future leader, he lost out to Mr David Cameron in the race for the top job in 2005.

AMBER RUDDHome Secretary• Mrs Rudd, 52, is a relative newcomer to politics. She was elected MP for Hastings and Rye in 2010 and was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2015 in Mr Cameron’s government. • Before entering politics, she worked as a financial journalist, venture capitalist and recruitment agent. She also worked in New York and London for JP Morgan & Co. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and studied history at Edinburgh University.• She was an extra for the 1994 British hit movie Four Weddings And A Funeral, starring Hugh Grant.

LIAM FOXSecretary of State for International Trade• Mr Fox, 54, voted to leave the EU. • An MP since 1992, he has been a controversial figure over his professional and personal life. From 2010 to 2011, he was Defence Secretary and was dropped from the Cabinet amid controversy about a close friend who he took on as an unofficial and undeclared adviser, according to media reports. Mr Fox studied medicine at the University of Glasgow Medical School and is a former general practitioner and civilian army medical officer.

MICHAEL FALLONDefence Secretary• Mr Fallon, 64, retains his role as Defence Secretary held in the Cameron administration. • A veteran MP, he was educated at Epsom College and then the University of St Andrews, according to The Telegraph. Mr Fallon, from Perth in Scotland, was a director of a fitness firm before entering Parliament, and holds directorships of other businesses including nursing homes and nurseries.

Anti-Brexit Pro-Brexit

PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,

EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY, REUTERS

STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS

Five suppliers of spare parts for HDB lifts under probe

The CompetitionCommission ofSingapore can takeaction against adominant or solesupplier who refusestosupply certainessential productsor services thatcannototherwisebe obtained.

PM Lee congratulates new British PM

A4 TOPOFTHENEWS ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A5

TOKYO • After the Arbitral Tribu-nal at The Hague ruled that none ofthe China-claimed Spratly Islandsis an island, Japan finds itself in asimilar fix.

The Japanese government isthus poring over the details ofTuesday’s ruling to determine itsimpact on Okinotorishima, whichmeans “distant bird island”.

Okinotorishima is a 7.8 sq kmatoll located about 1,740km southof Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean. Athigh tide, two parts of the atoll jutout of the water.

Under international law, an is-land, which should be “abovewater at high tide”, is entitled to a200-nautical mile exclusive eco-nomic zone (EEZ).

Tokyo claims an EEZ of 400,000sq km – slightly larger than thecountry’s total land area – aroundOkinotorishima. It has also tried tobolster its claim by pouring in mil-lions of dollars to protect the coralreefs and build concrete embank-ments.

Within the EEZ, Japan has firstpriority to exercise fishing rightsand the rights to develop resources

believed to be worth trillions ofyen, including rare earth minerals,on the ocean floor.

But China, despite its own is-land-building efforts in the Sprat-lys, has long disputed Japan’s EEZclaim, insisting that the islets mak-ing up the atoll are actually rocks.

Though Tuesday’s ruling is legal-ly binding on only the Philippinesand China, a source in the Japanesegovernment said: “The conse-quences can be serious, becausethere is a possibility that Japan willbe sued by other countries in thecourt of arbitration in the future.”

Japan is concerned that Chinamay use the ruling to present newarguments about the status of Oki-notorishima under the United Na-tions Convention on the Law ofthe Sea.

While experts do not expect thisto happen, some say that Tokyomight just lose any case over Okino-torishima. This is because of theprecedent set by the ArbitralTribunal’s ruling on Manila’s casechallenging Beijing’s South ChinaSea claims.YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Raul DancelPhilippines CorrespondentIn Manila

Philippine President Rodrigo Du-terte has asked former president Fi-del Ramos to help start bilateral talkswith China as a special envoy, twodays after a United Nations-backedtribunal rejected Chinese claims tomost of the South China Sea.

In a late dinner forum yesterdayat his former university, Mr Dutertesaid he would ask Mr Ramos to “goto China to start the talks”.

But Mr Ramos, who was in the au-dience, said that at 88 years old, hemight be too old to take on the task.

Hours earlier, Manila had urgedChina to respect the arbitral tribu-nal finding on Tuesday that China’sclaim of historic rights over two-

thirds of the South China Sea “hasno legal basis”.

The Philippine Foreign Ministrysaid in a statement that Foreign Min-ister Perfecto Yasay will discuss –during the two-day Asia-EuropeMeeting (Asem) summit starting inMongolia today – “the need for par-ties to respect the recent decision”.

“Secretary Yasay will discuss,within the context of Asem’s agen-da, the Philippines’ peaceful andrules-based approach on the SouthChina Sea and the need for partiesto respect the recent decision,” saidthe ministry.

The Asem summit brings togeth-er nations from Asia and Europe, in-cluding states with competing terri-torial claims in the South China Sea,namely, China, the Philippines, Viet-nam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Yesterday’s statement was the

strongest response so far from Ma-nila to the verdict.

In his first comments on Tuesday,Mr Yasay had said only that Manilawelcomed the decision and calledfor “all those concerned to exerciserestraint and sobriety”.

Mr Duterte is said to be preparingto hold bilateral talks with China,with expectations that the rulinghas given the Philippines an edge.

“What he (Mr Duterte) said was,we’ll start the bilateral talks, andnow we’re starting from a better po-sition,” Budget Minister BenjaminDiokno told reporters yesterday.

Mr Duterte faces calls at home fora strong reaction to the sweepingverdict, but also pressure from theUnited States to not capitalise on theruling, as well as the need to keepthe goodwill of China, his country’ssecond-largest trading partner.

He said before the ruling cameout that he did not want to “taunt”China or “flaunt” the ruling.

Manila said earlier it was craftinga measured response that will leave

the door open to talks with Beijing,without setting aside the ruling.

China has said it is willing to opentalks with the Philippines if thetribunal’s ruling is set aside.

The US, which has conducted free-dom of navigation operations nearChinese-controlled reefs to chal-lenge what it sees as China’s exces-sive maritime claims, is using quietdiplomacy to persuade the Philip-pines, Indonesia, Vietnam and oth-er Asian states not to move aggres-sively to capitalise on the ruling, USofficials said on Wednesday.

“What we want is to quiet thingsdown so these issues can be ad-dressed rationally instead of emo-tionally,” an official told Reuters oncondition of anonymity, referringto private diplomatic messages.

Some of these messages weresent through US embassies abroadand foreign missions in Washing-ton, while others were conveyed di-rectly to top officials by US DefenceSecretary Ash Carter, US Secretaryof State John Kerry and other senior

officials, sources said.“This is a blanket call for quiet,

not some attempt to rally the regionagainst China, which would playinto a false narrative that the US isleading a coalition to contain Chi-na,” the official said.

Asean, of which the Philippines isa member, is not expected to issue ajoint statement on the ruling, ac-cording to diplomats interviewedby Agence France-Presse.

“Asean officials had prepared adraft text, but there was no agree-ment to release a joint statement,”said one diplomat, adding that Chi-na was believed to have leaned onits Asean allies Laos and Cambodiato prevent the grouping from issu-ing a joint statement.

“Some Asean countries are defi-nitely not happy. Beijing’s action canbe seen as interference in Asean’scentrality,” said the diplomat.

rdancel@sph.com.sg

SEE OPINION A28&29

Kor Kian Beng

China Bureau ChiefIn Beijing

Two days after a UN-backedarbitration tribunal dented China’sterritorial claims in the South ChinaSea, none of the worst-casereactions has come to pass.

These included Beijing declaringan air defence zone over the SouthChina Sea, seizing control of a shoalin the disputed Paracel islands, andwithdrawing from the UnitedNations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea.

In what is clearly an exercise ofstrategic restraint, China’s responsehas comprised largely pledges by itsleaders and officials to defend itssovereignty, and denouncements ofthe tribunal and its ruling. The

Foreign Ministry has hit out atcountries such as the United Statesurging China to respect the ruling.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang saidChina has formally protestedagainst the “wrong remarks” madeby Australian Foreign Minister JulieBishop, who said Canberra willcontinue to exercise its right tofreedom of navigation andoverflight in the South China Sea.

“Honestly speaking, I’m a bitshocked at Bishop’s comments,” hesaid at a routine briefing yesterday.

So far, the only actions China isknown to have taken include therelease of a White Paper onWednesday to press its territorialclaims and stress its preferred wayof handling territorial disputesthrough bilateral talks.

It has also carried out civilian testflights at two new airports, onMischief Reef and Subi Reef, in thedisputed Spratly islands.

While mainland experts continueto raise some of theabovementioned scenarios asoptions at the government’sdisposal, there is also a sizeablecamp urging Beijing to stay calmand not over-react.

The Chinese government appears

to be heeding this call.Instead of holding military drills

or patrols, it conducted civilianflights – a subtle way of defying theruling and staking its claims withoutcausing undue alarm.

There are several possible reasonsfor this public restraint.

First, the government has to abideby its pledge to ignore the ruling likea “useless piece of paper”. Over-reaction could be seen as a U-turnand trigger a domestic backlash.

Second, restraint reflects China’sconfidence – that the heat arisingfrom ignoring the ruling will subsideover time. Nearly 70 countriessupport its stance, according to theChina Daily, and the number furtherbolsters this confidence.

Third, China appears optimisticthat the Philippines – as itsPresident Rodrigo Duterte haspledged – will not flaunt the rulingand may even agree to set it asideand resume bilateral talks.

Fourth, China may think it hassufficiently staged a show of forcethrough its largest live-firing drillyet in the South China Sea – anexercise that ended on Monday, aday before the tribunal issued itsruling.

Lastly, while safeguarding itsnational sovereignty is paramount,China knows that it is in its owninterests to maintain stability in itsbackyard amid a sluggish economyand before it can match the UnitedStates in military prowess.

For now, one can expect asustained Chinese public relationscampaign on why no countryshould respect the ruling or use it asa basis for positions or actions, asstated by Chinese President XiJinping.

Indeed, Professor Fu Kuncheng,director of Xiamen University’sSouth China Sea Institute, saidChina should just keep talking. “Allit needs to do is to keep laying out itsarguments and the ruling will beshown up eventually,” he told TheStraits Times.

To be sure, it is early days yet.Beijing may just be waiting for

others to make a move. Any actdeemed to threaten its nationalsecurity or territorial integrity couldspark a fierce reaction from China.The waters have remained calm inthe South China Sea, but for howmuch longer?

kianbeng@sph.com.sg

Japan studying rulingfor its impact on atoll

Chinese ships on a search and rescue exercise in the South China Sea yesterday. Mr Duterte is said to be preparing to hold bilateral talks with China, with expectations that the arbitral tribunal’s ruling has given the Philippines an edge. PHOTO: REUTERS

Goh Sui NoiEast Asia Editor

The Arbitral Tribunal ruling on thePhilippines’ case against China’s ex-pansive claims in the South ChinaSea has narrowed the scope of oth-er disputes in the contested watersand could incentivise states with ri-

val claims to work towards joint de-velopment, legal analysts have said.

“On the South China Sea issue,the award has clarified the variousaspects of the disputes and, as a re-sult, the scope of the disputes hasbeen narrowed down and the over-lapping areas are now limited to on-ly 12 nautical miles from the disput-ed rocks,” an international legal ex-

pert said yesterday at a forum onTuesday’s ruling, organised by theCentre for International Law at theNational University of Singapore.

“It will affect their negotiationstrategy and direction. There willbe more incentives for them to en-gage in negotiation on joint develop-ment cooperation or managementin the newly defined overlapping ar-

eas,” the expert said, adding thatthere was also a better chance forthe states to work towards bettermanagement of the disputes.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam,Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan haveoverlapping claims in the South Chi-na Sea. The tribunal found that allfeatures in the Spratly archipelagocould not sustain human habitation

and economic life, and so are not en-titled to a 200-nautical mile exclu-sive economic zone within whichresources can be used.

Also on the subject of how the rul-ing affected other states, ProfessorRobert Beckman, who heads theOcean Law and Policy Programmeat the centre, said: “Other states else-where need to bring their claims in

line with the Convention as inter-preted by the tribunal, especially ifthey want to criticise China.” Hewas referring to the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Seaon which the ruling was based.

As for China’s discreditednine-dash line claim to nearly all ofthe South China Sea, Prof Beckmansaid it will not and does not have towithdraw it. “It’s still relevant be-cause it illustrates islands it claimssovereignty over,” he said.

suinoi@sph.com.sg

Duterte taps ex-president for China talks

News analysis

Beijing’s response restrained so far

He asks Fidel Ramos to help start bilateral talks as specialenvoy; Manila urges Beijing to respect S. China Sea ruling

South China Sea ruling

Ruling ‘may spur claimant states to go for joint development’

A6 TOPOFTHENEWS | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A7

Walter SimJapan CorrespondentIn Tokyo

Japan’s Imperial Household Agen-cy has rubbished reports that Em-peror Akihito wishes to step downfrom his throne, with the denialadding intrigue to what would bean unprecedented move.

But both national broadcasterNHK and Kyodo news agency,which broke the story on Wednes-day, have stood by their reports cit-ing palace sources as saying the Em-peror has expressed that wish.

The tango between the typicallytight-lipped and traditional-mind-ed agency and two of Japan’s topnews networks played out in pub-lic yesterday, over the purporteddesire of the 82-year-old monarchto step down if he cannot fully per-form his duties.

This was the top story last nighton NHK, which devoted plenty ofair time to the need for the Imperi-al Household Law to be revised toallow him to step down.

The Emperor and his wife, Em-press Michiko, returned to the Im-perial Palace yesterday after spend-ing a few days at the Hayama Impe-rial Villa in Kanagawa prefecture,and news pictures showed him wav-ing and smiling at well-wishers.

“Arrangements are being madefor an occasion where the Emperorcan communicate his feelings wide-ly,” the report said, citing sources.

Kyodo’s report yesterday after-noon was headlined: “Emperor ex-pressed wish to fulfil duties or abdi-cate: government source.”

It came after Vice-Grand Stew-ard Shinichiro Yamamoto insistedlate on Wednesday that the initialreports were “absolutely untrue”.

Speaking to reporters yesterday,

Grand Steward Noriyuki Kazaoka,who also denied the reports, said it“is possible the Emperor has hadvarious thoughts as he engages inhis public duties”.

Any abdication by Japan’s mon-arch will be the first since 1817. TheEmperor now serves a ceremonialrole as the “symbol of the state andof the unity of the people”.

The Imperial Household Agency,which administers royal affairs, isknown for maintaining an iron gripon the imperial family.

In 2004, Crown Prince Naruhitowent public with his displeasurewith the agency for stopping himand his wife from travelling over-seas. It was later revealed that theagency had felt Crown PrincessMasako’s first duty was to producean heir to the throne. The couplehave a daughter, now 14, but onlymales are allowed to ascend theChrysanthemum Throne by law.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-frained from commenting on the is-sue yesterday, given its nature.

Top government spokesmanYoshihide Suga told reporters thatchanges to the law are beingdrafted to “deal with the decliningnumber of imperial family mem-bers”, but they have “nothing to dowith” abdication.

waltsim@sph.com.sg

Ng Huiwen

Wear plain clothes, take a taxi andbehave normally.

Singapore bank robbery suspectDavid James Roach, 27, had scrib-bled these three “points to note af-ter carrying out a robbery” in anotebook that was recovered afterhis arrest in Bangkok, it was re-vealed yesterday.

On a separate page, he had alsowritten in brackets “make money”next to a list of three cities – Singa-pore, Chiang Mai and Dubai – thatformed his escape route, Major-General Apichart Suriboonya toldShin Min Daily News.

However, Maj-Gen Apichart,who heads Thailand’s Interpolunit, added that Roach did not spec-ify in his notebook plans to rob theStandard Chartered Bank branchin Holland Village last Thursday.

Roach, a Canadian, allegedly en-tered the bank at around 11.30am,passed the teller a slip of paper andfled to Bangkok on the same daywith about $30,000 in cash.

On Sunday, he was nabbed atBoxpackers Hostel in Bangkok’sRatchathewi district, after Singa-pore issued an arrest warrant tothe Thai authorities.

The Thai police were able totrace his whereabouts in 54 hours,deploying more than 100 officersto check 400 closed-circuit televi-sion cameras in the vicinity of Cen-tral World mall.

The first lead came from footagecaptured at the airport, whichshowed Roach boarding a whitetaxi, said Maj-Gen Apichart.

During a three-hour interroga-tion, he reportedly told an officer:“Please send me back to Canada, Idon’t want to return to Singapore.”

Roach’s profile on the Couchsurf-

ing website, seen by The StraitsTimes, reveals that he is well trav-elled, having previously back-packed across Turkey and Iran.

A Couchsurfing user who hostedhim in Turkey said: “He was with awoman companion... He was a back-packer and he really likes to travel.”

His profile stated that he wasplanning a trip that would includestopovers in Norway and London,and possibly India or Sri Lanka.

Roach studied engineering inCalgary, and is from Cape BretonIsland, Nova Scotia, in eastern Can-ada. Besides travelling, his inter-ests include sports, reading andplaying the piano.

On Wednesday, Thai immigra-tion police chief NathathornProusoontorn said that it would bepossible for him to be extradited toSingapore, even though the twocountries do not have an extradi-tion treaty.

He clarified that Roach was de-tained because his right to stay inthe country was cancelled after Sin-gapore issued an arrest warrant.

Singapore has no extraditiontreaty with Thailand or Canada. Inthe event that Roach is deportedto Canada, Singapore will have topursue the case with the Canadianauthorities.

nghuiwen@sph.com.sg

Tham Yuen-CAssistant Political EditorIn Ulaanbaatar

Singaporeans visiting Mongolia willsoon be able to stay for up to 30days without a visa. Currently, theycan do so for only 14 days.

The visa waiver for a longer peri-

od was among the issues of coop-eration discussed by Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong and his Mongoliancounterpart Jargaltulga Erdenebatyesterday, during a meeting at theState Palace in Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolian visitors to Singaporecan stay up to 30 days without avisa.

People-to-people ties underpinthe relationship between the twocountries, said Mr Lee.

The meeting between the twoleaders is the first since Mr Erde-nebat was appointed prime minis-ter last week, following his party’svictory in parliamentary elections.

Mr Lee, who is on an official visit,was hosted to lunch by Mr Erde-nebat, during which they affirmedthe warm and friendly ties betweenthe two countries.

Before lunch, Mr Lee met Mongo-lian President Tsakhia Elbegdorjand newly elected Speaker of Parlia-ment Miyeegombo Enkhbold.

Singapore and Mongolia com-memorated 45 years of diplomaticrelations last year. CongratulatingMr Erdenebat on his party’s victo-ry, Mr Lee said: “One of my goals incoming here is to explore whatmore we can do together and deep-en our bilateral cooperation.”

Mr Erdenebat, who had rolled outthe red carpet for Mr Lee in a wel-come ceremony earlier, spoke ofpotential areas of cooperation suchas mining, construction and urbandevelopment.

He said he was familiar withSingapore, where he attended aleadership course in 2010, underthe Singapore Cooperation Pro-gramme.

Describing the programme as animportant pillar of bilateral cooper-ation, Mr Lee said: “I am pleased tonote that Prime Minister Erdene-bat himself had attended one of ourleadership courses back in 2010.Once a ‘Friend of Singapore’, al-ways a friend!”

Since 1992, more than 1,200 Mon-golian officials have attended theprogramme’s courses.

Mr Lee said there has also beencooperation between businesses,but “there is much more that wecan do together”.

Earlier, both men witnessed thesigning of a memorandum of un-derstanding between the Singa-pore Cooperation Enterprise and

the Mongolian Energy Develop-ment Centre for Singapore to shareits experience in energy manage-ment, such as using clean technolo-gy to produce energy.

Mongolia’s winter can plunge toan average of 40 deg C below zero,and coal is used by many to staywarm.

Under the pact, both sides willwork on projects to improve the de-livery of energy to homes and busi-nesses in Mongolia.

Mr Lee later visited Misheel MegaMall, a joint venture between busi-nessmen of both countries.

Singaporean Billy Lim, 56, one ofthe investors, said the mall, whichprovides all housing-related ser-vices, aims to capitalise on Mong-olia’s rapid urbanisation, which hasmoved almost half of its three mil-lion people from nomadic to citylife in Ulaanbaatar.

Today, Mr Lee will attend thestart of the two-day Asia-EuropeMeeting summit in the Mongoliancapital.

yuenc@sph.com.sg

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia and Sin-gapore will sign a memorandum ofunderstanding on Tuesday as theytake a step forward to build ahigh-speed rail (HSR) linking KualaLumpur and Singapore, the NewStraits Times (NST) newspaper re-ported yesterday.

The signing ceremony will be

held at Malaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak’s official residence inPutrajaya and will be witnessed byhis Singapore counterpart, Mr LeeHsien Loong.

The proposed 350km-long HSRline will have one terminus in a newtownship called Bandar Malaysia atthe edge of Kuala Lumpur, with the

other in Jurong East.The fast-speed train link will cut

travelling time between Singaporeand Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes,compared with more than fourhours by car.

The HSR line will have doubletracks, the report said.

NST said the HSR will have five

transit stations in Seremban (Neg-eri Sembilan state), Ayer Keroh(Malacca), and Muar, Batu Pahatand Iskandar Puteri in Johor.

Iskandar Puteri is the new namefor Nusajaya.

The memorandum will pave theway for detailed negotiations onthe main bilateral agreement,

which is expected to be signed bythe end of this year, the paper said.

The signing will be “a major mile-stone in terms of getting all the ba-sic ground rules that will set the fu-ture direction of the HSR project”,NST quoted a source as saying.

It previously reported that theproject has been estimated to cost

between RM60 billion (S$21 bil-lion) and RM65 billion, based on aUS$10 million (S$13 million) perkilometre estimate for the systemsand tracks.

The civil infrastructure work is ex-pected to cost three times morethan that, the report said.

A spokesman for Singapore’s Min-istry of Transport told The StraitsTimes: “We are working towardssigning the MOU on July 19. We arestill in the process of confirmingthe details.”

Reports of Akihitostepping down‘absolutely untrue’

Robbery suspect’snote to self: Taketaxi and act normal

Prime MinisterLee meetingMongolianPresidentTsakhiaElbegdorj at theState Palace inMongoliayesterday. MrLee was alsohosted to lunchby his MongoliancounterpartJargaltulgaErdenebat,during whichthey affirmedthe warm andfriendly tiesbetween the twocountries.ST PHOTO:ONG WEE JIN

S’pore, Malaysia to sign MOU on high-speed rail project

Longer visa waiver period amongissues of cooperation discussedduring PM Lee’s official visit

30-day visa-free stay inMongolia for S’poreans

A8 TOPOFTHENEWS ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Aaron LowDeputy Business Editor

Retail investor Enzo Lee waswatching his stock portfolioyesterday morning when he no-ticed that the tickers stopped mov-ing.

He thought his screen had fro-zen up but when he called hisstockbroker, he found out thattrading on the whole SingaporeExchange (SGX) had been sus-pended.

“Luckily I had not opened anypositions yet, otherwise I wouldbe fuming mad now,” said Mr Lee,who occasionally does intra-daytrading.

At 11.38am yesterday, the SGXsaid it had suspended trading be-cause of “duplicate trade confir-mation messages being generat-ed”.

Trading did not resume for therest of the day – a disruption thatlasted nearly 51/2 hours. This up-set traders, investors and remis-iers alike.

One remisier, who wanted to beknown only as H.L. Teo, saidmany of his clients called up de-manding to know why they couldnot trade. “Some even had posi-tions open on short trades andthey could not cover their posi-tions in time. They may have evenlost money. How is the SGX goingto fix this?”

What makes the problem worseis that this is the third incident inless than two years, said Ms Melin-da Sam, chief executive of the Se-curities Association of Singapore,which represents the major stock-broking firms here.

The SGX last suffered majortrading disruptions in 2014. OnNov 5 that year, multiple powersupply issues led to a three-hourtrading crash that affected the de-rivatives trading system as well.On Dec 3 the same year, the mar-ket opening was pushed back to12.30pm because of a softwareglitch.

“My members are disappointedbecause we thought the majorproblems had been fixed. We justhope this will be rectified and trad-ing can resume the next day,” saidMs Sam.

It is not uncommon for stock ex-changes to go down, but most ofthe disruptions get fixed quickly,said CMC Markets Singapore mar-ket analyst Margaret Yang.

She said her firm also receivedseveral calls from clients askingwhy trading had stopped and whyit did not resume.

She added: “I think this will hitthe exchange’s reputation. It’s go-ing to give some pause to big firmsthat may have been looking to listhere.

“But hopefully, the pressurefrom brokers and traders will pres-sure the SGX to fix the system assoon as possible.”

But Mr Andrew Hartley, manag-ing director of broker firm CLSASingapore, was less critical.

“It’s very difficult for the marketto function – even for 15 minutes– if traders cannot reconcile theirorders with what is actually exe-cuted. So I think it’s the right deci-sion to keep the market closed un-til the issue is solved,” he said.

“Obviously it’s disappointing,but technical issues can happen toany exchange in the world. Weshould not be overly emotionalabout this.”

For fund manager Brian Tan,who manages $30 million at Pil-grim Partners Asia, the only con-solation is that the trading halt didnot come on a day when therewere big market moves.

“Markets were muted today.Fortunately it was not Brexit, oth-erwise there would really be cha-os,” he said.

aaronl@sph.com.sg

The SGX yesterday said it had suspended trading because of “duplicate trade confirmation messages being generated”.Trading did not resume for the rest of the day – a disruption that lasted nearly 51/2 hours. ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

It is third incident in less thantwo years; SGX’s reputationmay take a hit, says analyst

How incident unfolded

4.01pmSGX announces market will not reopen for the day

11.51amSingapore Exchange announces stock trading ceased as of 11.38am

12.39pmSGX says stock market was halted to reconcile duplicate trade con�rmation messages, trading to resume at 2pm

1.53pmSGX says trading will not resume at 2pm

3.21pmSGX says order and trade executions are accurate, trading to resume at 4pm

STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS

Tradinghaltupsetsinvestors,remisiers

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | TOPOFTHENEWS A9

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A11

TOKYO • Campaigning ahead of anelection for Tokyo governor kickedoff yesterday, with candidates vy-ing to save the city’s reputation ashost of the 2020 Summer Olympicsafter the previous two governorsquit due to money scandals.

Last month’s resignation of MrYoichi Masuzoe, the second gover-nor to resign after Tokyo won host-ing rights in 2013, came just as theJapanese capital ramped up prepa-rations to host the Games with bare-ly four years left.

His sudden exit spelt trouble forthe 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as thetiming meant another gubernato-rial election would need to be heldjust before the Games’ kickoff, as gu-bernatorial terms last four years.

The Tokyo Olympics run from Ju-ly 24 through Aug 9, 2020, and anew governor would take up thepost smack in the middle of theevent, reported Japan Times.

The upcoming July 31 electionpits Japan’s first female defenceminister against a competent butcolourless ex-bureaucrat backed byPrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s rulingparty and a well-known liberal jour-nalist supported by four oppositionparties, along with a slate of less-er-known candidates.

Though the sprawling city ofsome 13.5 million must deal with anageing society and preparations fora possible earthquake many say isoverdue, a major topic at a newsconference on Tuesday was theOlympics, which Japan hopes to useas a driver for its sluggish economy.

One of the first duties of the newgovernor will be to accept the Olym-pic flag in Rio de Janeiro.

“Politics and money, a very oldproblem, arose again, leaving To-

kyo leaderless at a time when it fac-es many issues,” said candidate Hi-roya Masuda, a former Cabinet min-ister backed by Mr Abe’s ruling Lib-eral Democratic Party.

“The first growth strategy I wishto promote is the Tokyo 2020 Olym-pics. We have stumbled at the startand need to speed up our prepara-tions.”

Ms Yuriko Koike, a former de-fence and environment minister al-so running for governor, said the bal-looning financial burden of theGames and the issue of who willbear it must be clarified. “The Olym-pics are right in front of us. I want touse them as a chance to build a newTokyo for beyond 2020,” she added.

Ms Koike shot to stardom in 2007when she became the country’s firstfemale defence minister, a post sheheld for slightly more than a month.

Political commentator Atsuo Itosaid the poll may also be one of thefirst indications of how voters feel af-ter Sunday’s Upper House election,

which gave Mr Abe’s coalition and al-lies the two-thirds majority neededto revise the nation’s pacifist Consti-tution, a controversial move.

“It’s not quite like the UK (Brexit)

referendum, but I think a lot of peo-ple are annoyed with the result –and this is the first chance to mea-sure their feelings,” he said.REUTERS

The candidates for the upcoming July 31 election include (from left) lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, formerdefence and environment minister Yuriko Koike, journalist Shuntaro Torigoe and former internalaffairs and communications minister Hiroya Masuda. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Candidates vie to save the city’sreputation after 2 past governorsquit over money scandals

Olympics a hot issue inTokyo governor race

A12 ASIA | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Kor Kian BengChina Bureau ChiefIn Beijing

Mr Lu Hengjiu, 35, used to spendhours playing online games, accu-mulating 10,000 yuan (S$2,016)worth of virtual assets at onepoint.

But the Inner Mongolianjournalist stopped playing aboutfour years ago as his job got moredemanding and online scams andhacking became more rampant.

Now, he is itching to pick up on-line gaming again after learning thatChina is set to make legislativechanges that would accord morelegal protection to virtual assets.

“Stronger protection for virtualassets would give gamers a greatersense of security and also motiva-tion,” he told The Straits Times.

Under the country’s first-evercivil code drafted, virtual assetssuch as online gaming equipmentwill be considered part of one’sproperty.

Other measures expected includeincreasing the time limit for filing alawsuit from two years to threeyears and mandating those foundto have damaged the environmentto carry out restorative work.

The National People’s Congress(NPC), China’s national Parlia-ment, completed the first readingof the civil code on June 28, in whatis the country’s fifth attempt in sixdecades to compile the code.

Previous efforts undertakensince the Communist Party tookpower in 1949 had failed for variousreasons, such as political turmoilduring the Cultural Revolution and,most recently in 2002, disagree-ments among legislators.

The code, which is expected to beapproved early next year and fullyadopted by 2020, will lay down aset of principles for some 200current civil and commercial laws.

It has again stirred debate amonglegislators, scholars and the public.

One key area of contention is theproposed move to lower the mini-mum age threshold for limited civilliability from 10 years old to sixyears old.

If passed, it means children abovesix years old would be deemed tohave civil capacity of conduct,making them potentially liable forcivil legal actions.

Those who push for this say themove is necessary as the psychologi-cal and physical development ofminors has risen over the years as aresult of economic developmentand higher education levels.

“Lowering the age level will allowus to better respect and protect thelegal rights and interests of theminors,” Mr Li Shishi, who headsthe NPC’s legislative affairs commit-tee, was quoted as saying in a reportin the Workers’ Daily on July 2.

But opponents, such as NPCstanding committee member XuWeigang, said the six-year-oldthreshold would be too low andurged the legislature to stick to 10years old.

“They (six-year-olds) are prone tobe influenced by adults and environ-ments, so I suggest the age remainsunchanged at 10 years old,” he toldXinhua news agency recently.

University lecturer Liu Jingping,36, also disagreed with the move tolower the age threshold. His three-year-old son would be affected bythe move as he would be seven in2020.

“There are some six-year-oldswhose mind and thinking are at thelevel of 10-year-olds but there arealso those who are only at the levelof three-year-olds,” Mr Liu told TheStraits Times.

“Many of my students may be intheir teens, but they are quite imma-ture and do not know the full conse-quences of their actions. Ifteenagers are immature, whatmore a six-year-old?”

Despite the differences, somelegal scholars are optimistic thatChina will succeed in its latestattempt to pass the civil code.

Wuhan University law professorQin Qianhong said formulating the

civil code has been part ofPresident Xi Jinping’s pledge since2014 to build a law-based society.

“If the Communist Party hasindicated its political will to dosomething, it usually will come topass,” he told The Straits Times.

kianbeng@sph.com.sg

• Additional reporting by Lina Miao

MANILA • The Philippine govern-ment yesterday hailed its war ondrugs a “success”, as police con-firmed killing nearly 200 people ina two-month blitz that has out-raged rights groups.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s of-fice released a statement calling forthe authorities to “seize the momen-tum” of the anti-drug campaign,which has also led to a spate of vigi-

lante killings that one media groupclaims to have taken some 200more lives.

“Anti-drug campaign a success,”said the title of the statement, re-leased by presidential spokesmanMartin Andanar. “While the cam-paign against drugs is far from per-fect, a generation of Filipinos havebeen saved from this scourge of so-ciety and destroyer of lives.”

The statement was issued as po-lice released figures showing thatofficers had killed at least 192 peo-ple they said were involved in drugsfrom May 10 to July 10.

Mr Duterte won the May 9 elec-tions in a landslide after promisingin his campaign to eradicate crimewithin six months by unleashing se-curity forces with shoot-to-kill or-ders. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Alleged drugdealers fromHong Kong beingescorted toinquestproceedings inManila onWednesday. Themen werearrested duringa raid at aseaport inOlongapo City,ZambalesProvince.Methampheta-mines andequipment usedto make illegaldrugs werefound insidea ship.PHOTO: EUROPEANPRESSPHOTOAGENCY

Draft sparks debate, but code for 200 civil,commercial laws should be adopted by 2020

Duterte’swar ondrugs a‘success’

China triesagain to passfirst-evercivil code

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | ASIA A13

South Korean soldiers executing plies under the watchful eye of a ballerina during a practice session at a military base near the Demilitarised Zone. PHOTO: REUTERS

PAJU (South Korea) • The 15 ballet students groaned asthey strained to do splits and laughed with relief afterthe teacher counted to five and let them relax.

Once a week, a group of South Korean soldiers nearthe Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the Koreanpeninsula trade army boots for ballet shoes in a class in-tended to ease the stress of guarding the world’s mostheavily fortified border.

“There’s a lot of tension here since we live in the uniton the front line, which makes me feel insecure attimes,” said 23-year-old sergeant Kim Joo Hyeok, whois doing his mandatory military service. “But throughballet, I am able to stay calm and find balance as well asbuild friendships with my fellow soldiers.” Mr Kim is in-to his second year of ballet classes and plans to contin-ue after he is discharged from the army.

Wearing shorts, T-shirts and dance slippers, mem-bers of the army’s 25th Division are taught each weekby a ballerina from the Korean National Ballet under aprogramme that began last year and has already includ-ed a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

Most of the students at a recent session werefirst-timers. “Being in the army itself can be difficult, soI wasn’t sure what kind of help I could be here,” said MsLee Hyang-jo, a ballerina at the Korean National Balletwho visits the base once a week to train the soldiers.

“But as the soldiers learn ballet little by little, theylaugh more and have a great time and seeing thatmakes me think that coming here is worthwhile.”

As the suntanned, crew-cut dancers practised move-ments like the splay-kneed plie to classical music, out-side the studio, another group of soldiers played soc-cer. But ballet toughens you up too,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Heo Tae Sun.

“Ballet requires a great amount of physical strengthand is very good for strengthening muscle, increasingflexibility and correcting posture.” REUTERS

Joyce LimHong Kong Correspondent

Some 64,000 members and 700 em-ployees have been left in the lurchby the sudden closure of a gymchain once famously fronted byaction movie star Jackie Chan.

California Fitness shut all its out-lets in Hong Kong on Tuesday afterchalking up millions of dollars indebts.

JV Fitness, which operates thegiant chain, closed all 12 of its gyms,including two called mYoga andone facility known as Leap, pend-ing a winding-up petition againstthe company.

It is estimated that the firm –Hong Kong’s second-largest gymoperator – owes HK$130 million(S$22.6 million) in rent and otheroperating costs, said South ChinaMorning Post.

Its sole director Wong Lun, who isnot in Hong Kong, is wanted by theCustoms and Excise Department fol-lowing the arrest of two senior exec-utives on Monday.

A spokesman for the Labour De-partment told The Straits Times thatits officers raided some of the fitnesscentres after receiving complaintsfrom the firm’s employees aboutwages owing to them.

News of JV Fitness’ financialwoes first surfaced after the suddenclosure of one of its California Fit-ness outlets on July 4.

A High Court hearing on Wednes-day revealed that JV Fitness hadlost HK$117 million over the past2½ years and is now left with HK$16million in cash.

A check on California Fitness’website found no indication of thechain’s closure across the city.Members found out only when theyturned up at the gyms on Tuesday.

Mr Morten Soerensen, 42, hadtried to book a slot with a personaltrainer on Monday and was toldthat none was available. However,the counter staff had assured himthat the gym would continue oper-ating despite reports of the firm’smounting debts.

When Mr Soerensen returned tothe same branch in Wan Chai dis-

trict the following day, he wasshocked to find it closed. “If theyknew that they were in such a badsituation, it’s unethical of them toget people to sign up for athree-year package with the club,”Mr Soerensen, a sales manager fromDenmark, told The Straits Times.

He said he had recently paidHK$11,000 up front in membershipfees as he was convinced that thegym, which has branches in Singa-pore and China, is reputable.

Mr Soerensen said that he willlodge a complaint with the Consum-er Council, which has received morethan 100 complaints from gym mem-bers regarding termination of con-tracts in just the last week.

The consumer watchdog urgedmembers to contact their banks forpossible refunds and termination offurther auto-payments.

The Federation of Trade Unionsestimated that consumers could

lose up to HK$1 billion, while over-due wages have already exceededHK$10 million.

After his court appearance onWednesday, the gym’s former own-er Wong Ping Kuen told the mediahe was unaware of the firm’s mount-ing debts until he saw that the firm’saudit showed HK$335 million in netliabilities for 2014.

Mr Wong, who bought the busi-ness for HK$50 million last Decem-ber, later sold it to his brother, WongLun.

Mr Wong also revealed that thefirm, which has been slammed forits aggressive sales tactics, had seensome of its gym trainers earning asmuch as HK$100,000 per month,mainly from inflated commissions.

Customs officers arrested two ofits staff members in May over an al-legation that a customer was of-fered a free trial before beingcharged a HK$140,000 credit card

payment for private training class-es without her consent.

Hong Kong Democratic Partyvice-chairman Andrew Wan Siu Kin,who has been assisting hundreds ofgym members with their com-plaints, urged the government toprovide “some kind of protection”to consumers who may fall victim topressure-selling tactics by compa-nies desperate for business.

“Singapore has an insurance sys-tem in place for people who sign upfor prepaid spa packages,” he said.“We can have a similar system hereto ensure that consumers are ableto get their refunds when firms sud-denly shut down their businesses.”

The first California Fitness gymopened in Hong Kong in 1996 be-fore expanding to other parts of As-sia. At its peak, it had 16 clubs inHong Kong, China and Singapore.

joycel@sph.com.sg

S’porean jailed in Batamfor using fakedocumentsJAKARTA • A Singaporean man hasbeen sentenced to a year in jail andfined 10 million rupiah (S$1,029)in Batam for using forgeddocuments to get an Indonesianpassport.

Presiding judge Endi PutraNurindra told the Batam DistrictCourt yesterday that Teo BoonTiak, 69, had used fake documentsincluding a false birth certificateand identity card to obtain theIndonesian passport.

Judge Endi said Teo’s sentencewas lighter than the 18 monthsprosecutors had sought as he wasold, had confessed to his crimeand had no previous convictions.

Arlina Arshad

Biggest decline inJapanesepopulationTOKYO • The number of Japanesein Japan, the nation with one ofthe world’s fastest-ageingpopulations, fell the most on

record as the number of deathsovertook those born there.

The Japanese population in thecountry fell for a seventh straightyear, down by 271,834 to 125.9million people as of Jan 1,according to data released onWednesday.

The population of 40 of thenation’s 47 prefectures fell, withthe biggest drop coming on thenorthern island of Hokkaido. Theincreases were mainly in andaround Tokyo, indicating thatmany young families are movingto the capital. BLOOMBERG

India to continue huntfor militants in KashmirSRINAGAR • India will go onhunting militants in Kashmirdespite widespread protests overthe killing of a young separatistcommander, officials said, as thegovernment bets that forcecoupled with development willquell rebellion in the restive state.

At least 34 people were killed –almost all shot by Indian securityforces – and more than 1,500wounded in the worst violence inKashmir since 2010. REUTERS

California Fitness closes all its gyms in HK

JV Fitness closed all 12 of its gyms on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s consumerwatchdog has received more than 100 complaints from gym members regardingtermination of contracts in the last week. ST PHOTO: JOYCE LIM

Army boots forpatrolling, balletshoes for relaxing

A California Fitness spokes-man contacted by The StraitsTimes said that “California Fit-ness Hong Kong and Califor-nia Fitness Singapore operateseparately and independent-ly”, and declined further com-ment.

California Fitness Singaporecame under the spotlightearlier this year when it closedits Ngee Ann City outlet in Feb-ruary. Members could visit itsother outlets in Novena, Bugisand Raffles Place.

The Consumers Associationof Singapore said it has assist-ed in 11 complaints against Cali-fornia Fitness Singapore thisyear. Five of the complaints in-volved consumers asking for arefund of membership fees af-ter its Ngee Ann City outletclosed.

Joyce Lim

HK and S’pore gymsoperate separately

AsiaBriefs

Gym operator has chalked up millions ofdollars in debts; two senior execs arrested

A14 ASIA | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A15

A16 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A17

BEIJING • China said yesterday itwould “prepare for the worst andstrive for the best” after morethan 200 people died in floodsacross the country.

“Although the water levels inthe middle and lower reaches ofthe Yangtze River are slowlydropping, most are still abovewarning levels,” Mr ZhangJiatuan, a spokesman for the Of-fice of State Flood Control andDrought Relief Headquarters,told reporters.

He said the situation was “stillquite critical” as central and east-ern parts of the country expecteda fresh round of heavy rain overthe coming days.

More than 1,500 countiesacross 28 provinces have report-ed flooding, with 237 fatalitiesand 93 missing as of Wednesday.

Some 147,200 houses have beendestroyed, Mr Zhang said, addingthat over 5.46 million ha offarmland were inundated. Directeconomic losses, he said, wereestimated at 147 billion yuan(S$29 billion).

So far, the central andsouth-eastern parts of China havebeen the worst hit. As the rainyseason continues, “the possibilityof flooding in northern rivers can-not be ruled out”, Mr Zhang said.

Safeguarding dykes, especiallyold and poorly maintained ones,remained a “major yet difficult”task in the near future, he added.

Flooding is common during thesummer monsoon season, butrainfall has been particularlyheavy this year and theauthorities are continuing toclosely monitor potentialtyphoons and address hazards.

Typhoon Nepartak, the first tohit China this year, made landfallin Fujian Province on July 9, claim-ing the lives of 21 and leaving 13others missing, the local authori-ties said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry ofFinance said additional fundinghas been made available to helpregions respond to the largenumber of “extreme weatherevents” this year, including heavyflooding in the south and centralregions as well as drought in thenorth-west.

China currently uses weathermodification technology –including cloud seeding – to in-duce rain during droughts, to re-duce hail, and to clear the skiesahead of prestigious internationalevents, such as the BeijingOlympics in 2008.

The Finance Ministry said it hasallocated 199 million yuan to fundChina’s weather modificationprogramme. XINHUA, REUTERS

Situation ‘still quite critical’, with moreheavy rains expected in the coming days

Houses areflooded as adyke is breachedthis week inHuarong County,in HunanProvince, on thesouthern bank ofthe YangtzeRiver. Waterlevels in themiddle and lowerreaches of greatriver are falling,but most remainabove warninglevels.PHOTO: REUTERS

Floods leaveover 200dead in China

Subscribeto ST andwin your

dreamholiday

W E ’ V E G O TS I N G A P O R E C O V E R E D

Subscribe nowat stsub.sg/win

or call6388 3838

Terms and conditions apply, please visit stsub.sg/win for more details.

Visuals are for illustrative purposes only.

A18 ASIA | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

YANGON • Myanmar’s minister forreligion has warned ultra-national-ist monks to avoid hate speech, in agovernment rebuke to Buddhisthardliners behind anti-Muslimrhetoric.

The warning came after a fire-brand monk from the Ma Ba Thamovement on Wednesday decriedMyanmar’s de facto leader AungSan Suu Kyi as a “dictator” intenton bringing down the Buddhistgroup.

Anti-Muslim tirades by themonk-led group are blamed for asurge in sectarian hatred acrossthe country, which has seen repeat-ed bouts of religious violence.

The group’s rise to power underthe former military-backed govern-ment went virtually unchecked,with its leaders organising mass ral-lies and social media vilification ofMuslims. But their star has wanedrecently. Myanmar’s ruling councilof monks has formally distanced it-self from the group for the firsttime, raising speculation that thenetwork could be disbanded.

New religion minister Aung Koyesterday added a warning against“people spreading hate speech”.Ma Ba Tha’s “future may be uncer-tain if they spread hate speech tocreate conflicts between reli-gions... and among races,” he said,adding that “the government is try-ing to create stability”.

It was the first time a top minis-ter from Ms Suu Kyi’s administra-tion publicly tackled the group,whose influence was credited withswaying the Nobel laureate againstfielding any Muslim candidates inNovember’s polls.

Ms Suu Kyi had disappointedrights groups during her first fewmonths in power for failing tostrongly condemn religious intoler-ance, including the destruction of

two mosques by Buddhist mobs.She has also faced criticism for notthrowing her moral weight behindthe Rohingya – a Muslim minoritydenied citizenship and targeted bywaves of violence in 2012.

Ma Ba Tha has, in recent weeks,revived its campaign against thepersecuted group, who it insistsare illegal migrants from neigh-bouring Bangladesh.

Last month, Ms Suu Kyi sought toplacate hardline Buddhists by or-dering officials to avoid the termRohingya and to refer to the groupas “Muslims of Rakhine State” in-stead. But Ma Ba Tha rejected thatphrase and organised protests de-manding that the group be re-ferred to as “Bengalis”.

Myanmar is set to release censusdata next week and analysts areconcerned that Buddhist hardlin-ers may whip up discontent if thefigures show the country’s Muslimminority is larger than expected.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

GEORGE TOWN • Several recent in-cidents of idols in Hindu templesbeing desecrated in Penang are be-lieved to be the doing of a 45-year-old Indian drug addict, policesaid.

Penang police chief Abdul GhafarRajab was quoted by Bernama newsagency as saying the incidents hadnothing to do with racial issues ormilitants linked to the Islamic Statein Iraq and Syria.

He said the man was arrested inSungai Dua district in Penang onWednesday and he admitted todamaging three idols at the Sri Mu-

neiswaran Temple on July 10. “Hewas high on drugs at the time of hisarrest,” Bernama quoted the policeofficer as telling a news confer-ence.

On Tuesday, Mr Abdul Ghafarshowed a picture of the man andclosed-circuit television footagefrom one temple showing the sus-pect moving one of the Hindu idols.

The vandalism at six Hindu tem-ples in Penang, Perak and Kedah inthe last two months had raised wor-ries among Hindus. Police thisweek formed a special task force tolook into the cases.

Mr Abdul Ghafar said the suspecthad 13 criminal records: Sevenwere related to crime and six werefor drug offences.

Asked what led the Indian manto damage the idols, he said: “Webelieve he could be angry oversomething or intended to steal thejewellery at the temples.”

In the latest two cases, two tem-ples 4km apart had their statuesbroken and the jewellery kept be-neath the statues stolen, The Starnewspaper reported.

Mr Abdul Ghafar said police re-covered jewellery from the sus-pect, including gold rings, chainsand lockets, as well as a sickle andtwo mobile phones, Bernama re-ported. Police are probing whetherthe same man was involved in dam-aging idols at three other templesin Penang and whether he operat-ed alone or had accomplices.

Visiting Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani at a wreath-laying ceremony at India Gate, a war memorial, in NewDelhi yesterday. In a short joint statement, India and Japan touched on the South China Sea. They expressed concernabout recent developments and reaffirmed the importance of respecting international law as reflected in the UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Japan’s Defence Minister visits India

Minister rebukes Ma Ba Thagroup for anti-Muslim tiradesand for calling Suu Kyi a dictator

The warning from Myanmar's new religion ministerAung Ko (above) is the first time a top minister fromMs Suu Kyi’s administration has publicly tackled the MaBa Tha movement. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Myanmar warnsradical monks toavoid hate speech

Police arrest suspect intemple vandalism case

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | ASIA A19

WASHINGTON • US PresidentBarack Obama said the profoundtensions between the police and Af-rican-American communities werelikely to worsen “for quite sometime” after the series of wrenchingshooting deaths this month.

At a lengthy and at times tenseWhite House gathering, he urgedlaw enforcement officials and civilrights activists to keep pressing tobridge their differences.

“Not only are there very real prob-lems but (also) there are still deep di-visions about how to solve theseproblems,” he said at the White

House, after meeting all afternoonand into the evening with the group.

“There is no doubt that police de-partments still feel embattled andunjustly accused, and there is nodoubt that minority communities,communities of colour, still feellike it just takes too long to dowhat’s right,” he added.

“We have to, as a country, sitdown and just grind it out – solvethese problems.”

During a session that lasted formore than four hours and which in-cluded administration officials andcommunity activists from the

Black Lives Matter movementamong the 40 or so in attendance,Mr Obama led what he later calledan “excellent” and “encouraging”session about building trust be-tween law enforcement and com-munities of colour.

“We are not even close to beingthere yet,” the President said, add-ing that it will take time to achievesuch trust. “Sadly, because this is ahuge country that is very diverse,and we have a lot of police depart-ments, I think it is fair to say thatwe will see more tension betweenpolice and communities this

month, next month, next year, forquite some time.”

The hastily arranged meetingcame a day after Mr Obama trav-elled to Dallas to attend a memorialservice for five police officers killedlast week by an African-Americanman who said he wanted to killwhite people.

The deaths have opened the lat-est chapter in what has become anincreasingly passionate debate inAmerica over racial justice, discrim-ination and violence.

Mr Obama has conceded in re-cent days that he has felt powerlessto shift the conversation or the real-ities driving it, whether by legisla-tion or by persuasion, a cruel conun-drum for the first African-Ameri-can President, who campaigned forthe White House arguing that therewas no such thing as “black Ameri-ca” and “white America”.NEW YORK TIMES

NEW YORK • Stranded in Indianapo-lis after an aircraft malfunction, MrDonald Trump did what any giftedshowman with a national campaignto run would do: He brought thepresidential circus to him.

Mr Trump, who is approaching aself-imposed deadline for selectinga running mate, met throughout theday on Wednesday with three final-ists for the position – including two,Mr Newt Gingrich and Senator JeffSessions of Alabama, flown in sole-ly for that purpose.

A third candidate, Governor MikePence of Indiana, huddled at hishome on Wednesday morning withMr Trump and his children DonaldJr, Eric and Ivanka, and son-in-lawJared Kushner.

In a scene more reminiscent of tel-evision entertainment than a stand-ard presidential campaign, a crushof reporters monitored Mr Trump’sdeparture from Mr Pence’s home,and the comings and goings ofvice-presidential prospects from MrTrump’s hotel throughout the day.

In some respects, the display re-

sembled a late-season episode of atelevision dating show, in which var-ious suitors meet the family of theirprospective spouse in a taxing finaltest of compatibility and commit-ment.

At least one vice-presidentialcontender approached the mo-ment with a degree of light-heart-edness. Mr Gingrich, when askedwhy he was in Indiana, acknow-ledged he was going to meet MrTrump’s children.

Mr Trump’s sudden series ofback-to-back conversations withvice-presidential finalists gave atleast the impression of indecision,with little time left on the clock tomake his choice.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump post-ed on Twitter that he would an-nounce his running mate at 11pm to-night Singapore time, just ahead ofthe Republican convention in Cleve-land, which begins on Monday.

In addition to the three candi-dates, Mr Trump also spoke byphone with Governor Chris Christieof New Jersey, the leader of Mr

Trump’s transition team, who has al-so been vetted as a potential run-ning mate.

Among Mr Trump’s advisers, MrPence is seen as the lowest-risk op-tion: A stolid if unspectacular choice,helpful for locking up conservativevotes and perhaps boosting MrTrump’s appeal across the Midwest.

Even as Mr Trump’s political ad-visers have largely rallied aroundMr Pence, there remains considera-ble affection for Mr Gingrich withinthe Trump family, particularly fromMs Ivanka Trump and her husband,Mr Kushner.

Mr Trump may be merely review-ing his list of options one last timebefore making up his mind. But tosome Republicans who have ob-served him up close in recent days,Mr Trump has also appeared genu-inely uncertain of the best courseforward, and perhaps even of hisown preferences.

Meanwhile, the authorities inCleveland have announced the citywould be fully secure for nextweek’s Republican National Con-vention after they tweaked securityoperations following the murder offive Dallas police officers.

However, Mayor Frank Jacksonand Police Chief Calvin Williams

said they would abide by Ohio’sopen-carry laws that would allowgun-toting members of the publicinto areas near the convention sitewhere Mr Trump is set to be official-ly nominated to become the Repub-lican candidate.

The potentially heated scenariocomes as dozens of groups, manywith opposing views of Mr Trump,have signalled they will descend ondowntown Cleveland and, in somecases, may even share park space,blocks from the convention.

The city has banned a long list ofother items from a wide zonearound the convention centre, in-cluding knives, aerosol cans andeven tennis balls.

“Dallas was a wake-up call for alot of people,” Mr Williams said.NEW YORK TIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

WASHINGTON • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)director John Brennan said he would resign if thenext president ordered his agency to resume water-boarding for suspected militants, an apparent refer-ence to comments by Republican presidential candi-date Donald Trump embracing the banned interro-gation method.

“I can say that as long as I’m director of CIA, irre-spective of what the president says, I’m not going tobe the director of CIA that gives that order. They’llhave to find another director,” said Mr Brennan, whodid not mention Mr Trump by name.

Mr Brennan, who has been director since 2013,made the comment while responding to a questionon drone strike policy after speaking at the BrookingsInstitution, a Washington policy institute.

He previously said he will refuse to resume the prac-tice, which simulates drowning and was used by theCIA on three suspected militants when Mr George W.Bush was president. But his pledge to quit was hismost emphatic affirmation of his position to date.

Mr Trump has said he would re-authorise water-boarding immediately if elected, as “torture works”.At an April 20 rally in Indianapolis, he recalled beingasked about waterboarding during a previous debate.

“They asked me, ‘What do you think about water-boarding, Mr Trump?’ I said I love it. I love it, I thinkit’s great. And I said the only thing is, we should makeit much tougher than waterboarding,” he said.

President Barack Obama signed an executive or-der after taking office in January 2009 that bannedthe practice and other “enhanced interrogationtechniques”. Such executive orders can be rescind-ed by a president’s successors. REUTERS

Clockwise from above: Maori soldiers, Australian troops andAlphajet aircraft from French elite acrobatic flying teamPatrouille de France taking part in the annual Bastille Daymilitary parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris yesterday.Troops from Australia and New Zealand were guests ofhonour at this year’s parade in recognition of theirsacrifice in the Battle of Somme, one of World War I'sbloodiest battles 100 years ago. The Australian and NewZealand Army Corps suffered more than 30,000 casualtiesin the battle, and their sacrifice remains deeply etchedin the collective memory of the two countries.With France still on high alert for terror attacks, theparade took place under tight security, both on theground and in the air.PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Republican presidential hopeful set toannounce choice of running mate tonight

Indiana GovernorMike Pence isseen as thelowest-risk optionamongMr Trump’svice-presidentialprospects.

CIA chief ‘willquit if nextpresident orderswaterboarding’

US Elections 2016

Trump’s V-P finalists meetthe family for final vetting

Tensions between police andblacks likely to worsen: Obama

Troops from Down Under at Bastille Day

A20 WORLD | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

PARIS • Being overweight shavesabout a year off one’s life expectan-cy, a price that soars to about 10years for the severely obese, a large-scale study reported yesterday.

It refuted earlier findings that car-rying a few extra kilos poses no pe-rils. It pointed to evidence that therisk of dying before your 70th birth-day grows “steadily and steeply”,along with an expanding waistline.

“This study definitely shows beingoverweight or obese is associatedwith a risk of premature death,” saidlead author Emanuele Di Angelanto-nio at the University of Cambridge.

There is increased risk of coronaryheart disease, stroke, respiratory di-sease and cancer, he said.

Using data from almost four mil-lion adults on four continents, thestudy published in The Lancet medi-cal journal found that overweightpeople lost about a year of life ex-pectancy on average, and the mo-derately obese, about three years.

The severely obese lose about 10years of life expectancy, said Dr DiAngelantonio. That gives a one-in-two chance of dying before 70.

An international team of research-ers sifted through data garneredfrom over 10.6 million people in 239large studies run between 1970 andlast year in 32 countries in NorthAmerica, Europe, Australia, NewZealand, and East and South Asia.

The collating effort was de-scribed as the largest-ever pooleddata set on being overweight andmortality. To rule out the impact ofother mortality risks, the team ex-cluded current or former smokers,those who had chronic disease atthe start of the study and those whodied within the first five years.They were left with a sample groupof 3.9 million adults.

These were categorised based onbody mass index (BMI), a ratio ofweight-to-height squared, and thenumber and causes of death in eachgroup compared.

Under the World Health Organisa-tion (WHO) standard, a BMI of18.5-24.9 is deemed normal, 25-29.9overweight, 30-34.9 moderatelyobese, 35-39.9 severely obese and40 and over morbidly obese.

The researchers found that therisk of dying before 70 rose from 19per cent for normal-weight men to29.5 per cent for those in the mode-rately obese group, and from 11 percent to 14.6 per cent for women.

“This corresponds to an absoluteincrease of 10.5 per cent for menand 3.6 per cent for women – three

times as big,” said a statement fromThe Lancet.

The study also found that the ex-cess mortality risk was three timesgreater in men than in women.

If all overweight and obese peoplehad normal BMI levels, this wouldeliminate one in five prematuredeaths in North America, one in sixin Australia and New Zealand, one inseven in Europe and one in 20 inEast Asia, concluded the study.

It warned that with corpulencespreading worldwide, the high mor-tality rate in North America “mightbecome typical elsewhere”.

The findings contradicted earlierresearch suggesting that being over-weight might not be a mortality riskand might even hold a survival ad-vantage for some groups of people,such as the elderly.

In 2014, according to WHO, morethan 1.9 billion adults around theworld were overweight. Of those,more than 600 million were obese.

The study also founded an eleva-ted risk of premature mortalityamong people who were under-weight. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

The risk of premature death rises from 19 per cent for normal-weight men to29.5 per cent for those who are moderately obese. For women, the figure goesup from 11 per cent to 14.6 per cent. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

US jailsChinese manfor military hackingLOS ANGELES • A Chinesebusinessman who pleadedguilty in March toconspiring to hack into thecomputer networks ofBoeing and other major USdefence contractors wassentenced on Wednesdayto nearly four years inprison, prosecutors said.

Su Bin, 51, was chargedwith taking part in ascheme by Chinesemilitary officers to obtainsensitive militaryinformation. In addition tothe 46-month prison term,a judge in the US DistrictCourt in Los Angelesordered Su to pay aUS$10,000 (S$13,400)fine.

In an August 2014indictment, prosecutorssaid Su travelled to theUnited States at least 10times between 2008 and2014 and worked withtwo unidentifiedco-conspirators in China tosteal the data. REUTERS

MH17tragedy:Legalbattles loomTHE HAGUE • The familiesof the 298 people who diedwhen Flight MH17 wasdowned over Ukraine aresteeling themselves for aslew of bitter legal battles,on the eve of the tragedy’ssecond anniversary.

Sunday marks thedeadline for relatives tolaunch action againstMalaysia Airlines, whichoperated the passenger jetthat was shot down with asurface-to-air missile onJuly 17, 2014.

Dozens of Dutchrelatives are close to filing alawsuit if negotiations failto secure compensation for“psychological trauma”,news reports said.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Fat peopleface higherrisk of dyingbefore 70Study finds that the severely obeselose about 10 years of life expectancy

WorldBriefs

PREMATUREDEATH

This study definitelyshowsbeingoverweight or obese isassociated with a riskof premature death.

’’LEADAUTHOR EMANUELE DIANGELANTONIO, who addsthat there is anincreased riskof coronary heartdisease,stroke, respiratory disease and cancer inoverweight people.

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | WORLD A21

A22 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A23

BAGHDAD • Abu Omar Al-Shishani,whom the Pentagon described as“minister of war” for terroristgroup Islamic State in Iraq and Syr-ia (ISIS), was killed in combat in theIraqi city of Shirqat, south of Mosul,a news agency that supports the mil-itant group said yesterday.

The Pentagon said in March thatShishani had likely been killed in aUS air strike in Syria, but this wasthe first time the group appeared toconfirm his death. Reuters couldnot independently verify the state-ment from Amaq news agency,which ISIS regularly uses to issue re-ports and which denied Shishani’sdeath after the Pentagon’s com-ments in March.

ISIS supporters exchanged notesof praise and condolence on socialmedia, including pictures of theginger-bearded fighter, andpledged to launch a fresh offensivein his honour.

Officials at the Pentagon said theywere aware of yesterday’s report butcould not confirm or deny it.

Mr Hisham Al-Hashimi, a Bagh-dad-based security expert who ad-vises the Iraqi government, said asource in Shirqat had confirmedthat Shishani had been killed therealong with several other militants.

Iraqi forces are advancing to-wards Mosul, the largest city still un-der the control of ISIS. They havemostly surrounded Shirqat, 250kmnorth of Baghdad, and last week re-took a major airbase from the mili-tants to use in the main push on Mo-sul, 60km further north.

But Mr Rami Abdelrahman, headof the British-based Syrian Observa-tory for Human Rights, said Shisha-ni had been wounded in March anddied soon after in the countrysideeast of Raqqa.

“I confirmed with the doctor whowent to see him,” said Mr Abdelrah-man, who tracks the war in Syriathrough a network of contacts. Hetold Reuters that ISIS likely delayedannouncing his death to allow timeto line up a successor.

Shishani, also known as Omarthe Chechen, ranked amongAmerica’s most-wanted militantsunder a US programme that of-fered up to US$5 million (S$6.7 mil-lion) for information to help re-move him from the battlefield.

Born in 1986 in Georgia, Shishanihad a reputation as a close militaryadviser to ISIS leader Abu BakrAl-Baghdadi, who relied heavily onhim, according to followers.

Shishani once fought in militaryoperations as a rebel in Chechnya.He joined Georgia’s military in2006 and fought against Russiantroops before being discharged twoyears later for medical reasons, ac-cording to US officials.

He was arrested in 2010 for wea-pons possession and spent morethan a year in jail before leavingGeorgia in 2012 for Istanbul andlater Syria.

He joined ISIS the following yearand pledged his allegiance to Bagh-dadi. The US State Department saidShishani was identified as ISIS’ mili-tary commander in a video distrib-uted by the group in 2014. REUTERS

ISIS finally admits its‘war minister’ is dead

BUENOS AIRES • Researchers an-nounced yesterday that they havediscovered a ferocious meat-eatingdinosaur in Argentina, notable forhaving short arms like the T-rex,but hailing from a different branchof the family tree.

The Gualicho shinyae – nick-named Gualicho – is a theropod, atwo-legged, bird-like dinosaur. Itstretched an imposing 6m fromhead to toe, and weighed an estimat-ed 450kg.

It roughly resembles the Tyranno-saurus rex but Gualicho, found inthe north of Argentina’s Patagoniaregion, was not a close relative ofthe king of dinosaurs. Its stubby

limbs evolved independently andnot from a shared, short-armed an-cestor – a clue that may help re-searchers better understand howthe extinct animals evolved.

“This is a completely different lin-eage. We just froze up when we real-ised it,” researcher Sebastian Apes-teguia at Argentina’s National Scien-tific and Technical Research Coun-cil told a briefing in Buenos Aires.

The research on Gualicho in thescientific journal Plos One was ledby Dr Apesteguia and expert Ru-ben Juarez Valieri, a specialist incarnivorous dinosaurs in Argen-tina’s Rio Negro province.

The new dinosaur’s name “Guali-

cho” is in honour of a local indige-nous deity with power over animalsand the wind.

And “shinyae” is in honour of MsAkiko Shinya, chief fossil preparatorat Chicago’s Field Museum, whofound the incomplete skeletonwhile working on the dig.

She said: “We found Gualicho atthe very end of the expedition. Petejoked, ‘It’s the last day, you’d betterfind something good!’ And then I al-most immediately was like, ‘Pete, Ifound something.’ I could tell rightaway that it was good.”

She was referring to Dr Peter Mak-ovicky, the Field Museum’s curatorof dinosaurs. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BRUSSELS • The European Union(EU) authorities, seeking to balancethe scale of the migration crisis withthe reluctance of some countries totake in refugees, put up a series ofproposals yesterday that would givemember states more latitude whileoffering them €10,000 (S$15,000)for each refugee they accept.

Europe has struggled to come upwith a cohesive plan to deal with themore than one million migrants whohave reached Europe in the past two

years, and the proposals from the Eu-ropean Commission, the bloc’s exec-utive arm, reflect a renewed effort toimpose clearer rules for both coun-tries and migrants.

The commission proposed a com-mon procedure for resettling refu-gees from camps in countries out-side the bloc, like Turkey, thatwould give member states the op-tion of joining together to decidethe overall number of people totake in and how to spread out the

refugees among those nations.That represents a form of solidari-

ty among the willing, though it is un-likely to include countries like Hun-gary and Slovakia that have resistedtaking in more migrants, and it fallsshort of a mandatory system thatwould be applied across the EU.

A separate mandatory pro-gramme to relocate asylum seekerswho have used clandestine routesto enter the bloc has fallen far shortof expectations. Member states

were unwilling to share the burdenof the huge migrant influx, and just3,000 migrants out of an intended160,000 have been relocated.

Under the terms of the new pro-posal, which formalises some exist-ing temporary measures, the volun-tary system would be supported bya cash incentive to resettlemigrants from camps outside theEU. The rules need approval fromEU governments and the EuropeanParliament before becoming law.

The figure of €10,000 was pre-viously available to member statesthat accepted refugees from out-side the bloc under a temporarytwo-year system for 22,000 peo-ple set up last year. About 8,000refugees have benefited from thatprogramme.

The bloc has been overhauling itsasylum and migration rules in thewake of a major crisis last year,when huge numbers of migrants ar-rived from Africa and the Middle

East. Many travelled through Tur-key and crossed the Aegean Sea toGreece before settling in Germany.

The proposals were directed atboth member states and migrants,with measures intended to deterthose registered as asylum seekersin one state from leaving for anoth-er, said Mr Dimitris Avramopou-los, the European commissionerfor migration.

The European Union requires mi-grants to register for asylum in thefirst country they reach in the bloc.Many have been forced to registerin Greece – the most popular land-ing point – even though they wouldrather go elsewhere.NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON • A year after theState Department opened a datacentre in the Middle East aimed atcountering online messaging byterrorist group Islamic State inIraq and Syria (ISIS), the US plansto inaugurate a similar outpost inMalaysia in the coming months.

Like its counterpart in the Unit-ed Arab Emirates, the new centrewill seek to undermine the terror-ist group’s digital recruitment andpropaganda efforts, Under-secre-tary for Public Diplomacy and Pub-lic Affairs Richard Stengel told theHouse Foreign Affairs Committeein Washington on Wednesday. Thecentre fills a gap in the media land-scape by countering the “viralspread of disinformation by stateand non-state actors”, he said.

Because public statements fromUS government officials condemn-ing the group “can easily be usedby the enemy as a recruitmenttool”, Mr Stengel said US efforts“focus on amplifying credible voic-es and lifting up those voices in acoordinated way”.

The centre in Kuala Lumpur,which will be followed by similaroutposts in Jordan and Nigeria, willgo into operation as ISIS recruitersare increasingly moving awayfrom unprotected networks ontoencrypted platforms.

While that makes it harder to

track some online conversations,Mr Stengel said success can alsobe gauged by measuring declinesin the flow of foreign fighters toconflict areas and decreasedmedia and social media activity.

Companies such as Twitter andFacebook have assisted the StateDepartment’s efforts by beingmore proactive in removingpro-ISIS accounts and propagan-da, Mr Stengel said. He said Twit-ter had taken down 125,000pro-ISIS accounts, a statistic thatpresidential envoy Brett McGurkgave the Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee last month.

Yet the proliferation of the an-ti-ISIS centres shows the group’s in-creasingly global reach, even as itfaces setbacks on the battlefield instrongholds such as Syria and Iraq.

This year the group has man-aged to carry out or inspire mass-casualty events in places includ-ing Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Ara-bia and Orlando, Florida.

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Min-ister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hassaid that the US will help withtraining, equipment and opera-tions at the centre.

Malaysian police said this weekthat 186 Malaysians and 27 for-eigners had been detained to facili-tate investigations into terrorgroups. BLOOMBERG

An illustration oftwo predatorydinosaurs namedGualicho shinyaehunting smallerbipedalherbivorousdinosaurs innorthernPatagonia90 million yearsago. PHOTO:REUTERS

Ginger-beardedShishani, 30, wasalso known asOmar theChechen. He wasa close militaryadviser to ISISleader Abu BakrAl-Baghdadi.

An installation made of barbed wire and life jackets of Middle Eastern migrants at Johanneskirche in Germany yesterday. Europe is struggling to deal with an overwhelming migrant influx in the past two years. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Militants had denied in Marchthat Shishani died in US air strike

EU proposes migrant plan for willing members

US to open anti-ISISdata centre in Malaysia

New meat-eating dinosaur discovered

A24 WORLD | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A25

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A27

Angela Pohand Collin Koh

For The Straits Times

The much anticipated award on theSouth China Sea(SCS) case filed bythe Philippines against China wasissued by the Arbitral Tribunal atThe Hague on Tuesday. While mostobservers had expected Manila toprevail, the tribunal’s rebuke ofChina still came as a surprise.

In particular, the ruling nullifiesChina’s claims to the waters in theSCS based on historical rights anddemarcated by its controversialnine-dash line. It also threw downthe gauntlet on Beijing’s behaviourin the SCS, including itsisland-building programme and thedamage caused to the marineenvironment.

Passionate advocates ofinternational law may hail theaward as a significant step forwardon the SCS disputes. However,reality will soon seep in after theinitial euphoria dies down.

Beijing has repeatedly declaredits intent to ignore the ruling,which it has characterised as“waste paper”. A possible positiveoutcome will be if the ruling

propels subsequent bilateral talks.But regional peace and stability canslide down the path of greateruncertainty if an angry Chinadecides to adopt an even moreassertive stance in the SCS, such ascontinuing or even enhancing itsfortification and militarisationworks on occupied features.

Beyond the near-term rhetoricand actions that the respectiveparties might undertake, the rulingcould also have other far-rangingramifications. This arbitration casewould have prompted Beijing toreconsider its longer-term strategicposition, especially as it strivestowards what it considers as its“rightful place” in the world.

Manila’s move back in January2013 to launch arbitral proceedingsas provided for under the UnitedNations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (Unclos) put China on thedefensive. Plausibly, nobody withinChina’s circles of policy elite hadexpected a much smaller andweaker neighbour to take it tocourt. The passive-reactive Chinesestance towards the Philippines’legal action was reflected not just inBeijing’s absolute refusal to partakein the proceedings, but also in itsmedia overdrive to denounce thelegitimacy of the arbitration as thedate of the final award neared.

As the arbitration case proceeded,

Beijing has in parallel graduallyshifted its discourse and position onmilitary activities in the exclusiveeconomic zones (EEZs) of othercountries. Under Unclos,a country’s EEZ stretches200 nautical miles from the coastand gives that country the sole rightto exploit resources within the zone.

Beijing vehemently opposesAmerican military activities in itsEEZs. Yet, it has invoked legalinterpretations of Unclos –including the rights of innocent andtransit passages – when its ownnaval intelligence-gathering vesselsprowled waters close to Japan’sshores and sailed through theMiyako Strait leading to and fromthe distant Western Pacific waters.Despite China’s interpretation ofUnclos to serve its own strategic andoperational purposes in the EastChina Sea, China seems to havefound its legal expertise sorelylacking when it came to the SCS.That weakness has been magnifiedby the arbitration case.

For decades, the predominantfocus of China’s attempt to groomitself into a great power has beendouble-pronged, premised onaccumulating economic andmilitary power. This formula is astep ahead of the arms racebetween the Soviet Union and theUS during the Cold War. The Soviet

Union’s failure to keep pace withthe US in economic terms arguablyled to its eventual collapse.

Beijing has shown determinationnot to follow in the Soviet Union’sfootsteps. However, havingsucceeded in building economicand military power, the Chineseelite now find themselves facing anenormous normative hurdle thatthey need to leap over to makeprogress in the great power game.

The United States, on its part, isdetermined to stay ahead. At lastmonth’s Shangri-La Dialogue, USDefence Secretary Ashton Carterspoke for the first time of a“principled security network”, anew phrase he used to describe theUS-led security network in theAsia-Pacific. The US, he said,“welcomes the emergence of apeaceful, stable and prosperousChina that plays a responsible rolein the region’s principled securitynetwork”. Beijing is not thrilled bythis new rhetoric, seeing it as thelatest attempt by the US toentrench its alliance structure inthe region and diplomaticallyisolate China.

In the coming weeks, the US isalso likely to step up its rhetoric byurging Beijing to abide by thetribunal’s ruling.

From here on, the strategicrivalry between China and the US

could plausibly take on a newcharacter. After the first phase ofmilitary competition thatdominated the Cold War scene andthe second, post-Cold War phase ofeconomic competition, we mightnow see the US and China enteringa third phase of normative rivalry.

There are already signs of that,one of which was theannouncement in March by China’sSupreme Court that it was settingup its own international maritimejudicial centre to handle territorialdisputes. That was likely promptedby the SCS arbitral proceedings. Itreveals China’s realisation of theneed to more actively shape globalrules and norms.

On a more strategic level, China’srecent “Asian Security Concept”,which puts forth the argument thatAsia’s security issues should beresolved by Asians, also representsa stark contrast to the US vision ofwhat should be the long-termsecurity architecture in this region.

In the last few decades, decisionmakers and analysts worldwidehave celebrated efforts to socialiseChina into the existinginternational norms andstructures. It is becoming apparent,however, that Beijing is no longercontent with being socialised.China may soon embark on anormative race with the US, and

there will be significant policyimplications should this occur.

At the regional level, it will beincreasingly challenging forcountries to manoeuvre betweenthe US and China. Asean countriesalready have existing differences intheir interpretations of key Unclosprovisions. These disagreementscould play into the hands of the USand China, which could furtherthreaten Asean’s unity.

There is also a possibility that theUS and China will increasinglymanipulate global norms and rulesfor their own agendas, especially intheir respective attempts tooutperform each other. That wouldseverely undermine the core idea ofglobal norms and rules beingdesigned for the greater commongood of the internationalcommunity, instead of theparochial interests of great powers.The creeping of the US-Chinarivalry into this aspect couldthreaten international security, tono one’s benefit.

Given that preservinginternational rule of law is pivotalfor the survival and well-being ofsmaller states such as Singapore,this is an emerging phenomenonthat we will have to monitor,instead of being fixated on thesensational cacophonysurrounding the arbitration ruling.

stopinion@sph.com.sg

• Angela Poh is a PhD candidateat the S. Rajaratnam School ofInternational Studies (RSIS), NanyangTechnological University. Collin Koh isa Research Fellow at the MaritimeSecurity Programme, RSIS.

Teo Cheng Wee

China Correspondent

BEIJING • In his address at the 95thanniversary of the ChineseCommunist Party (CCP) thismonth, President Xi Jinpingdevoted an unusually lengthy partof his speech to foreign policy.

Speaking just days before a rulingby the Arbitral Tribunal atThe Hague on China’s claims in theSouth China Sea, mostinternational media focused on himsaying that China will nevercompromise on its sovereignty.The Chinese media, however,picked out certain phrases tohighlight his vision for the countryon the global stage.

One of them is “ren lei ming yungong tong ti”, or a “community ofcommon destiny for mankind”, aterm Mr Xi has used at least 60times since 2013.

Building this community is the“Chinese solution” for aninternational world order thatemphasises mutual benefits, andwill allow China to fulfil itsresponsibilities as a major country,said party mouthpiece People’sDaily in a commentary on Monday.

Another Chinese media analysissaid China has come up with the“Chinese solution”, or “zhong guofan gan”, because it no longer wantsto follow Western rules now that ithas “a major country’s capabilitiesand self-confidence”.

Taken together, these pointssummarise China’s reimagining ofits role as a “major country/greatpower” or “da guo” in recent years.

Although it became the world’sNo. 2 economy in 2010, the Chinesehave always debated whether theircountry is truly a great power.There is, however, little doubt inthe mind of Mr Xi, who has moreactively sought to answer thequestion: “So what should a greatpower do?”

Plenty, it seems. In recent years,standing up more forcefully on the

world stage has become a corner-stone of the country’s diplomacy.

Last September, the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) carried out arare and massive display of its latesthardware through TiananmenSquare in a show of militaryprowess that unnerved neighboursin the region and countries furtherafield. That came amid a PLArestructuring and personnelreshuffle meant to improve itscombat capabilities, as well asweapons deployment and landreclamation in the South China Sea.

Then last month, at a specialmeeting in Kunming betweenAsean and China’s foreignministers, a planned joint pressconference failed to take place afterthe Chinese applied pressure on afew Asean member states andcaused the 10-member bloc tosplinter over a proposed joint

statement on the South China Sea.Experts such as Nankai

University analyst Liu Feng havepointed out that “China has beenmore inclined in recent years to useits coercive power to persuadeneighbouring countries or toensure that they indeed treat itwith respect”. That is consistentwith the observation that China hasmodified its foreign policy strategyto become more pro-active,shifting from the decades-oldmantra of “tao guang yang hui”(keeping a low profile) to “fen fayou wei” (striving forachievement), a term Mr Xi used ata high-level diplomatic workconference in 2013.

Yet, what a great power can doand what it should do are differentthings – and both China’s leadersand its people seem increasinglyinterested only in the former while

“striving for achievement”. Thatattitude extends to the Chinesepublic, as can be seen in theresponse of a fisherman fromHainan province who said in aninterview in May: “Just attackthem..., what are we afraid of?”

He was referring to thePhilippines, which the tribunalruled in favour of this week in theformer’s disputes with China in theSouth China Sea. Many of thesefishermen had clashed with thecoast guard and fishermen from thePhilippines during theirexpeditions to the Spratlys, whichthe Chinese governmentencourages as a way ofsafeguarding sovereignty.

It is not uncommon to seenetizens comment on territorialdisputes online with a single word“da” (attack), born from the angst ofseeing “great power” China

supposedly being pushed around bysmaller countries. They feel thatChina’s might is not limited to themilitary either, often questioningwhat would happen if China decidesto cut off trade ties or investmentwith another belligerent country. Inshort, now that we are strong, whydo we need to play nice?

Yet, when it suits its cause, China(or its public) is quick to highlightthat it is also a “rising power” – adeveloping country – hencerelieving it of the internationalresponsibilities that most expect agreat power to shoulder.

Indeed, when Mr Xi committedUS$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) lastSeptember to a development fundfor poor countries and said Chinawould aim to increase investmentin least-developed countries toUS$12 billion by 2030, that effort tochange China’s image as an

international “free rider” swiftlycame under fire. Why is China nothelping its own poor, many Chineseasked. China is just a big country,not a rich country, others said.

None of that helps China’sstanding on the global stage. In itsrush to demand respect befitting ofa great power, China has merelyreaped acquiescence.

Just looking at Asean, forinstance, closer economiccooperation with Beijing has failedto translate into mutual trust. Ifanything, it has been the opposite,with concerns growing aboutChina’s readiness to wield itseconomic clout for geopoliticalbenefits. As one Western scholarobserved, “China is a great power,but it doesn’t realise that being agreat power doesn’t mean you needto ensure you win all the time”.

This is where China can perhapsheed a lesson it learnt from theremarkable feat it pulled off earlythis year, in opening the AsianInfrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB), which People’s Daily alsosees as part of the “Chinesesolution”. Few would have given it achance when Mr Xi first mooted itin 2013, especially given the intensepressure that the United States hadput on other countries not to jointhe bank. But the benefits of thisnew institution were apparent tothe 57 that eventually signed up, inwhat became a major publicrelations coup for China.

No coercive action was neededwhen the countries could assess forthemselves the AIIB’s merits, whilebeing keenly aware of thelimitations and associated biases incurrent international financialinstitutions.Two weeks on from MrXi’s address, the tribunal has ruledagainst China’s claims in the SouthChina Sea and all eyes are on howforcefully it reacts. It should keep inmind that in recent years, assertiveaction has only served to pushChina’s neighbours further awayfrom it. It is still questionable, onbalance, how much “striving forachievement” and not following“Western rules” has gained forChina, and if that is still a pathworth going down.

China deserves to have a greatersay in the world order and, as it haspointed out, there should be noobjection to its attempts to build anew world order that emphasises“mutual benefits and a non-zerosum game model”. In such a world,however, the great power shouldnot be the only big winner.

chengwee@sph.com.sg

• The writer ends his China postingon July 20.

Chinese soldiers marking the Communist Party’s 95th anniversary in Heilongjiang province last month. In President Xi’s address, he said China will nevercompromise on its sovereignty. Standing up forcefully on the world stage has become a cornerstone of the country’s diplomacy. PHOTO: AGENCE-FRANCE PRESSE

In its rush to assertitself on the globalstage, it has simplyreaped acquiescence

South China Sea ruling

New great power contest over global norms

China does not need toalways win to be great

A28 OPINION | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Nothing buta farceZhang JunsheResearch fellow at theChinaNavalResearch Institute,Global Times

From China’s perspective, thearbitration is nothing but a farce,engineered and supported by theUS for the purpose of containingChina. The arbitration, thoughself-claiming to focus on a disputeover maritime rights, cannot avoidterritorial ownership andsovereignty issues, which are notincluded in the jurisdiction of anyinternational arbitral tribunal.

Besides, the proceeding of thearbitration without China’sattendance has resulted in a forcedand unilateral award. China is beingdeprived by the US and thePhilippines of the right to chooseits own way of dealing withinternational disputes...

The US should understand thatChina will by no means acceptunjust and unequal treaties forcedupon it. This is a red line set up byits bitter history.

It is ironic that the biggest roguedisregarding international law ispretending to be a flag-bearer inthis term. Washington has ablemished record of contempt ofthe International Court of Justice(ICJ) and its decision in the 1986Nicaragua v US case. The ICJ ruledthat the US had violatedinternational law by supportingrebels in Nicaragua and miningNicaragua’s harbours. The USrefused to participate in the caseand blocked the enforcement of thejudgment by the United NationsSecurity Council. Despite theveneer of international law, the USactually believes in nothing but“might makes right”.

As a non-signatory of the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea(Unclos), the US groundlesslydemands China comply with theConvention. Although vowing toprotect freedom of navigation fromChina, the US cannot find oneexample of China blockinginternational waterways in theSouth China Sea.

As a pawn and puppet in thisfarce, the Philippines needs torealise that it might be the biggestvictim of the Sino-US power game.The country’s new PresidentRodrigo Duterte has the intentionto draw back, stating that thePhilippines is willing to negotiatewith China even if the award is in itsfavour.

It is a good sign that Manila isre-calibrating its former dangerousapproach. But it should understandthat China won’t engage in anytalks with the Philippines on thebasis of the award.

Why the lawcan’t solveSouth ChinaSea conflictPaulGewirtzProfessor ofconstitutional lawanddirector of thePaul TsaiChina Centre at Yale LawSchool,Wall Street Journal

Tuesday’s decision underscores thelimits of law in resolving thesedisputes in practice, as well as theurgent need to move ahead withnegotiations, supported by prudentpower politics...

The Obama administration mustguard against escalation and reachout to other countries for quietdiplomatic discussions of ouroptions. We cannot yet predictChina’s range of responses to thetribunal. The possibility exists thata rebuked China will launch newprovocations, leading to a crisisthat serves no one’s interests – andthe United States and its allies mustbe ready if China seeks to use forceto get its way. Additionally, a legallyempowered Philippines might askthe United States to use its militaryto enforce what the tribunal cannotenforce, which would itself createmajor risks.

Instead, the United States should

encourage our Filipino allies – withtheir legal victory in hand – topursue direct negotiations withChina as the best next step inlooking for real-world, peacefulsolutions. China has longdemanded negotiations, so this isthe testing hour for China’s goodfaith.

Neither country should insist onpreconditions to such talks. Chinashould not insist that thePhilippines renounce thearbitration award, and thePhilippines should not insist thatChina accept the legal rightsawarded by the tribunal. Suchdemands would doom negotiationsbefore they start.

The path of negotiations will be

uncertain and difficult. But thePhilippines’ position will besignificantly strengthened by thetribunal’s award. Negotiationsshould begin with a focus onlowering tensions, looking fortrade-offs and pursuing commondevelopment projects, even ifultimate questions of sovereigntyare temporarily set aside...

Since the United States has notratified the Law of the Seaconvention, it is in an awkwardposition in demanding Chinesecompliance. The US Senate shouldadvance ratification as an urgentnational security priority. For now,we should try to speak and actjointly with countries that haveratified the convention.

Pro-China supporters holding a demonstration outside the US Consulate in Hong Kong yesterday, in protest against aninternational court ruling that denied Beijing's claims to the South China Sea. PHOTO: REUTERS

This week’s award by an arbitral tribunal in favour of the Philippinesin its case against China drew a range of views from analysts.

South China Sea ruling

Views fromChina and the US

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | OPINION A29

A30 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

In the report on the jail sentencegiven to a motorised bicycle riderwho knocked down an elderlywoman on a pavement(“Jail for motorised bike riderwho hit pedestrian”; Tuesday),the comment made by the districtjudge that “a power-assistedbicycle poses a greater dangerthan cars as anyone is free toride wherever he wants” isworth noting.

There are more and more ofsuch motorised bicycles beingused on the roads as well as inhousing estates.

In such accidents, especiallythose involving the elderly andchildren who are knocked downand left unattended, how can wetrack the riders?

Vehicles on the road are licensedand easily identified by theirnumber plates, but these motorisedbikes are not.

It is time for these motorisedbikes to be licensed and issued withnumber plates for easyidentification and tracking.

The authorities should alsoenhance checks and enforcementagainst riders of such bikes.Anthony Dass

As a student who has been throughthe arduous process of preparingfor the Primary School LeavingExamination, I agree that thechange in the scoring system isindeed a move in the right direction(“New PSLE scoring system to have8 grade bands”; yesterday).

However, there are still issueswithin this system that need to beaddressed.

Even with the eight AchievementLevels (ALs) put in place, pupils willstill be extremely concerned overevery mark. This is because a meredifference of one mark can result ina pupil scoring a different AL.

Thus, every single mark willstill be of huge importance to thepupils, and this will not relieve thepressure they are facing.

The whole purpose of movingaway from an overemphasis onacademic results may hencenot be met.

In order to truly benefit thepupils, perhaps there should beother alternative assessmentmethods as well.

Pupils can take tests or haveinterviews that quiz them on awide range of knowledge or skills.

This way, the secondary schoolscan select students that will suittheir school environment andcurriculum, making it a win-winsituation for both the students andthe schools.Jazlin Tan Kaiqian

The extent of the fraudulent claimsmade by some dental and medicalclinics seeking to exploit theCommunity Health Assist Scheme(Chas) and Pioneer Generation(PG) subsidies illustratesfundamental deficiencies withinthe present system (“More clinicsunder probe for possible cheating”and “Health Ministry must do moreto deter fraud”; both published onJuly 4).

It is inherently unwise for thesubsidy to be applied by way of aclosed circuit between the stateand the claimant clinics.

This is not least because, asprofit-driven entities, clinics andtheir proprietors have a vestedinterest in minimising their losses,or even indulging in profiteering,by exploiting state mechanisms.

Part of the problem lies inunsatisfactory bookkeeping.

Despite multiple governmentadvisories cautioning against thepractice, many clinics still do notprovide itemised invoices topatients. This leaves the door openfor exaggerated subsidy claims.

Moreover, patients, the intendedbeneficiaries of the subsidies, areeffectively disconnected from thesystem and, as a result, are unableto take full ownership of their ownhealthcare purchasing decisions.

At worst, they might experiencea sense of alienation, given that thesubsidy framework appears to bean opaque concept.

Thus, keeping the patient in theloop as to where subsidies havebeen applied naturally acts as anadditional layer of checks andbalances.

The Health Ministry shouldpublish allowable claim detailsunder both schemes in booklets

and on a website. This will alsoenable individuals to play a moreproactive role in managing theirown healthcare.

Another pressing question isthe seeming lack of enforcementby the Health Ministry regardingChas and PG subsidisedtransactions. Indeed, the clinics’transgressions were not discovereduntil well after the fact.

The additional level of scrutinythat is afforded by engagingpatients in the process provides forimproved detection ofinconsistencies and anomalies.

Chas and the PG package play acrucial role in ensuring that noSingaporean is denied access tohigh-quality healthcare. We mustdo our utmost to ensure that thesesystems operate as efficiently andeffectively as possible.Paul Chan Poh Hoi

It seems that the experts thinkSingaporeans are not payingenough to own and use a car (“Wantto go car-lite? ‘Slam brakes oncheap, easy parking’”; Tuesday).

With the certificate ofentitlement (COE) system, carprices are raised several times,causing Singaporeans to drive themost expensive cars in the world.

We also pay one of the highestpetrol prices in the world, not tomention having to pay numerousElectronic Road Pricing tolls andparking fees.

The number of cars allowed onthe road has been effectivelycontrolled with COEs. Hence, I findit hard to understand why there is aneed to control parking availabilityand make it more costly to park too.

My family has one car, which isusually used by my wife, and I

commute on public transport.I understand why people still

gravitate to cars: the publictransport system is not veryefficient. Commuters often have toswitch back and forth between LRT,MRT and buses. It is also verytime-consuming, as a journey bypublic transport can take almostthree times as long as one by car.

I suggest that the Governmentput more resources into studyingand planning transport routes tominimise travel time. Thecompletion of the MRT/LRT linesshould also be hastened.

The supply side has to be suchthat no average Singaporean couldrefuse the option. This should bethe way to go to make Singaporenot only car-lite, but also a moreliveable and lovable place for all.Liew Yeng Chee

The study by a team from theSingapore Centre for ChineseLanguage (SCCL) – which foundthat more than half of ChineseSingaporean pre-schoolers arestill bilingual, although they useEnglish more often with theirpeers and siblings – is usefulprogress in the assessment oflanguage education andbilingualism in Singapore (“S’porekids ‘using more English but strongin Chinese’ ”; Monday).

In particular, the researchers alsotested 380 five- and six-year-oldpre-schoolers on their proficiencyin character recognition and oralChinese, and if such tests areconducted longitudinally orextended to more students, therecould be a better understanding ofthe status quo.

While it is encouraging thatyoung Chinese Singaporeans andtheir parents seem to have notcompletely neglected Chinese,according to the SCCL study, what

is this “strength” benchmarkedagainst?

Besides the intuitive findingthat those with more exposure tothe Chinese language performedbetter in the oral and writtentests, what about other factors:the socio-economic backgroundof the families, the race andethnicity of parents, and whetherthe pre-schoolers may havebenefited from remedial lessons inschool or even tuition?

After all, patterns of languageuse can help educators craftappropriate strategies in theclassroom.

There are therefore manyadvantages in continuing similarstudies over the long term.

First, as the pre-schoolersgo on to different schools withperhaps dissimilar pedagogies,the efficacy of these pedagogiescan be tested.

Second, in the classrooms,teaching-learning initiatives can

be evaluated through randomisedassignments, within and betweenschools.

Third, within the households,parents might have a better ideaof how to communicate withtheir children or to foster interest ina language from a young age.

In the even longer term, ifChinese-language use isexpected to go down – and it isexpected “that the youngergeneration will eventually speakmore English… as they grow upwith siblings and peers together”– would it be expedient to alsorethink how bilingualism isoperationalised in Singapore?

And if Mandarin-speakinghouseholds or environments arenecessary for students to speak andread better in Chinese, whathappens to those who do notenjoy such advantages?

Should a deeper examination ofthe second language then follow?Kwan Jin Yao

Does it pay to do good? It suredoes, judging by some suggestionsto nudge us to return our traysafter eating (“Finished eating?Here’s coffee if you clear your owntray”; July 7).

There is no lack of ideas – be theyfinancial penalties or rewards – butall share the same thread: Theremust be something in it for us to doright, never because it is the rightthing to do.

We have become a utilitarian lot.Carrots and sticks need to be dishedout to bring about a desirable socialoutcome. We act out of incentive orfear. We have become mercenary injust about every aspect of our lives.To give up something for nothinginvites suspicion, if not scorn. Wehave thus become less kind andconsiderate.

Fifty years have passed but

Singaporeans may be regressing inour civic-mindedness as a people.Why is there no evolution of ashared value system that guides ourbehaviour towards a kind andconsiderate society?

Why do we need legislation andthe attendant enforcement, whichmay be costly, to keep us in line?Will it be another 50 years beforewe change for the better?

We have become dependent,believing that someone will pickup after us.

We feel entitled because of ourwealth, never mind that menialworkers, some foreign, slog hard tokeep things in good order so thatwe, or our young, do not have to dothe work. Someone will take care ofit, but never us.

Perhaps, some of us, through ourimpertinence, harbour the thought

that we are doing a great socialservice by creating employment forthe less fortunate .

But do we all not have a part inshaping the Singaporean imagery?Beyond the world-class airport andpunctuated skylines, do we nothave more to show for in terms ofcivility as a people?

Cities become indistinguishableif not for their inhabitants. Would itnot be better if visitors to this land,tourists and migrants alike, saygood things of our kind andconsiderate ways?

But first, we must show them. Weshould not be embarrassed bygiving or receiving kind acts.Courtesy begets courtesy. Theantisocial should be dissuaded bysocial norms.

Consequently, we will rely lesson the law to administer our socialbehaviour. We aspire to do goodbecause we want to, not becausewe have to.Lee Teck Chuan

Time to considerlicensingmotorised bikes

As Singaporeans enjoy greateraffluence, one group of people hasbeen left in the dust – formeroffenders.

Despite the Yellow RibbonProject’s annual roadshows toraise public awareness, societyremains unforgiving of formeroffenders.

It is long overdue for us to look atreintegrating them.

A 2005 survey by theSingapore Corporation ofRehabilitative Enterprises foundthat while 34 per cent ofcompanies were willing to hireformer convicts, only 4 per centactually did.

Former offenders’ applicationsare often filtered out, andemployers are unwilling to hirethem, believing that “a leopard cannever change its spots”.

High unemployment is linked toan increase in the rate ofrecidivism.

When former convicts are unableto secure a job, they are unable toafford basic necessities and cannot

move up the social ladder. Notsurprisingly, many return to theirold ways.

The recidivism rate in Singaporeis a significant 25 per cent. Thesolution? Improve employmentopportunities.

With tighter foreign labourcontrols by the Government,tapping this pool of humanresource can prove instrumental toany business.

However, even if formeroffenders are employed, there is noguarantee that they will be treatedequally.

They may find themselves in a“second prison” and face theinvisible walls formed by socialstigma, fear and distrust.

This is the crux of the problem.Society plays a significant role in

the reintegration of formeroffenders.

No matter what mistakes theymade, they are still a part of us.

Let us open our hearts and letthem in.Nicholas Matthew Goh

New PSLEsystem maynot easepressureon pupils

Entice S’poreans with moreefficient public transport

Lack of transparency may alienate PG cardholders

Assess Chinese-language proficiency more rigorously

Aspire to do good for goodness’ sake

Care and support tofulfil wife’s last wishAt 1am on June 2, my wife wasrushed to Tan Tock SengHospital (TTSH) because ofbreathing difficulties.

Two doctors told me thatshe had a severe lung infection(pneumonia) and was in thefinal stage of Alzheimer’sdisease. Her chances of survivalwere near zero.

They explained that she couldbe put on life support or receivepalliative care at a hospice.

I chose neither, preferring thatshe spend her last days at home.

She was transferred toWard 8C until she was able, withfewer complications, to go home.She was discharged on June 18and is under the Dover ParkHospice Home Care medicalteam led by Dr Pijush Sarker.

I am grateful to all thesupportive and caring staff –including TTSH’s in-housepalliative doctor, Dr Ang,medical social worker Wong HuiMei and occupational therapistDearbhaile Nunan – for helpingto bring my wife home andmaking her last wish a reality.LimFah Kiong

Helping hand forinjured neighbourI thank the group of Ngee AnnPolytechnic students as well as a

medical student who assisted myelderly neighbour when he fellfrom his bicycle on the eveningof July 8.

The incident happened at thevoid deck of Block 402, BedokNorth Avenue 3.

My neighbour had fallenseveral hundred metres awayand was giddy, out of breath andcould not move.

The students helped tosupport him and assisted in allpossible ways.

I did not have the chance tothank them personally but I amgrateful for their help. It is suchacts that make me feel thatSingapore is still a caring society.VictorLee Zhiqiang

Marine Cove agreat place for kidsKudos to the National ParksBoard and UrbanRedevelopment Authority forthe new Marine Coveplayground.

It is an excellent andwell-designed area with manyvarieties of play spaces.

Being there brought back fondmemories of my younger days.

Now, my children choose toput down their electronicgadgets and go outdoors moreoften. Indeed, hearing themlaugh and shout as they play ismusic to my ears.Su Kim Teck

Bouquets

Society must freeex-offenders from‘second prison’

WRITE IN: Letters should be meant for exclusive publication in The Straits Times. They should be no longer than 400words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone numbers. The Forum editor reserves the right to editthe letters. For women, please indicate Miss, Ms, Mrs or Madam. Please e-mail your letter to stforum@sph.com.sg

MORE LETTERS ONwww.straitstimes.com

THE STRAITS TIMESA Singapore Press HoldingspublicationNews Centre1000 Toa Payoh North,Singapore318994

CONTACT USGeneral line:6319-6319Home: 6319-5397stnewsdesk@sph.com.sgBusiness:6319-5030stbusiness@sph.com.sg

Life:6319-5416stlife@sph.com.sgArt:6319-5591start@sph.com.sgNewsline: 1800-828-2828World: 6319-5745stworld@sph.com.sg

Sport: 6319-5376stsports@sph.com.sgPictures:6319-5328stimage@sph.com.sgSTDigital: 6319-3232stdigital@sph.com.sg

FORUM ONLINE

1. MR JEFFREY LAW LEE BENG:Let people decide when theywant to retire.

2. MR T.N. SRINIVASAN:Replace retirement withre-engagement.

3. MR HENG CHO CHOON:Require motorised bike ridersto buy insurance cover.

4. MR JON VEEL:Outdated notice on bus.

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A31 ●

BIG PICTURE

Armed police showed up early inthe morning, and more than 1,600residents were hastily evacuated.

When it was safe, a dyke separat-ing the two lakes was blown up incentral China’s Hubei province yes-terday.

The 3.7km-long embankmentseparating Liangzi Lake and Niush-an Lake was destroyed to helpdisperse surging floodwater, effec-tively merging the two lakes intoone with a total surface area ofabout 370 sq km.

Among those who wereevacuated were 261 employees –and their family members – of theNiushan Lake aquatic farm, whichdisappeared after the operation.

Hubei has been among the re-gions worst hit by the recent deadlydownpours in China.

Due to persistent rain since lastmonth, the water level of Liangzi,the province’s second-largest lake,is more than a metre higher thanthat of Niushan, which is locatedon the other side of the dyke in thesouth-eastern suburbs of Wuhancity.

By 8am on Tuesday, Liangzi’s wa-ter level had risen to 21.48m, 12cmabove the safe level and 5cm higherthan the last record high.

Heavy rain is forecast in Hubei upto Monday, and it is expected toraise Liangzi’s water level to22.38m.

PHOTO: XINHUA

WEATHERThunderyshowers mainlyover southern, easternandwesternSingapore

in the latemorning andearlyafternoon.High 33degCLow 24degC

24-hr PSI as of 5pm yesterday: 51 to63 (Moderate)

FORUM FREE EX-OFFENDERS FROM ‘SECOND PRISON’ A30

1 lake +1 lake =1 big lake

A32 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Wang Tianjie

Stepping into the Rare Gallery onthe 13th floor of the National Li-brary Board (NLB) building is likeseeing a Singapore history text-book come to life.

Contained within the gallery aresigned letters, books and even abust of Singapore’s founder, Sir

Thomas Stamford Raffles.The Rare Gallery, part of the Lee

Kong Chian Reference Library,opened for public viewing yester-day – for the first time since it waslaunched two years ago.

Among the exhibits is a letter writ-ten by Sir Stamford to his cousin,the Rev Dr Thomas Raffles, inwhich he describes in ornate lan-guage how well Singapore was de-

veloping in 1823. “This is a mostpromising settlement and is fast re-alising my most sanguine viewsabout it,” wrote Sir Stamford.

In another letter, also to his cou-sin, Sir Stamford outlined his de-sire to establish an educational in-stitution for the purpose of “gene-rally educating the higher Class ofNatives”.

The school was founded in 1823and named the Singapore Institu-tion. Forty-five years later, it was re-named Raffles Institution – whichit is still known by today.

Other items in the collection in-

clude a photograph of John Craw-furd, the second Resident of Singa-pore, and the first map of Singa-pore, created by Captain JamesFranklin in 1822.

A spokesman for NLB said thetour – called Treasures Of The RareGallery and Lee Kong Chian Refer-ence Library – holds great histori-cal significance for Singaporeans,and offers an unprecedented lookat Singapore’s developmental yearsin the 19th century.

The 38 items on exhibit are partof the John Bastin Collection, whichamassed more than 5,000 pieces of

material over 50 years and was ac-quired by NLB late last year. Dr Bas-tin, a professor and writer, is widelyconsidered to be the world’s lead-ing authority on Raffles.

While keen to see the collection,some members of the public hopeaccess to it will be made easier.

Mr Justin Hou, 34, a programmerand regular visitor to NLB, plans tovisit the Rare Gallery, but hopesthe process of doing so can be sim-plified.

“It would be really interestingto drop by and look at these arte-facts from Singapore’s early days,”he said. “But I wish I could just goup (to the gallery on the 13th floor)instead of having to register for ac-cess.”

Some 25 members of the publicwho registered were taken on atour of the 38 curated items exhibit-ed at the Rare Gallery yesterday –the first of six monthly tours sche-duled until December. The nexttour slot is already full.

tianjie@sph.com.sg

• Registrations can be made ona first come, first served basis at:www.nlb.gov.sg/golibrary/programme/Tours.aspx

Lee Jian Xuan

Graphic novelist Sonny Liew hasclaimed yet another victory – thisyear’s Singapore Literature Prizefor English fiction – for his bestsell-ing work The Art Of Charlie ChanHock Chye, a vivid and satiricalre-telling of Singapore’s journey tonationhood through the eyes of itseponymous comic artist.

The win marks the first time thatthe prize has been awarded to agraphic novel.

His book trumped JeremyTiang’s It Never Rains On NationalDay; Mohamed Latiff Mohamed’sThe Widower translated by AlfianSa’at; Leonora Liow’s Moth: Sto-ries; and Audrey Chin’s Nine Cuts

for the prize.Published by Epigram Books, it

has sold about 9,000 copies here,and was released overseas thisyear. It has also garnered acclaimfrom international publicationssuch as Slate and The Economist.

Some 22 awards and $107,000 inprize money were presented at aceremony at the Regent Hotel lastnight, to honour the best in English,Chinese, Malay and Tamil fiction,non-fiction and poetry.

The prize is organised by the Na-tional Book Development Council,with support from the NationalArts Council.

The English prize for non-fictionwas a tie between two first-time au-thors: Former Straits Times journal-ist Peh Shing Huei for his book

When The Party Ends (StraitsTimes Press), which examinesChina’s ascension as a world super-power; and polytechnic lecturerDanielle Lim’s memoir, The SoundOf SCH: A Mental Breakdown, ALife Journey (Ethos Books), whichcaptures her family’s struggles incaring for an uncle battling mentalillness

The English poetry prize alsohad joint winners: Desmond Konand Cyril Wong, for their works IDidn’t Know Mani Was A Concep-tualist and The Lover’s Inventoryrespectively. Both were publishedby independent publisher Math Pa-per Press.

The winner of each category re-ceives a $10,000 cash award.

In the Malay fiction category, Pe-

ter Augustine Goh won for Air Matadi Arafah, and in the Tamil fictioncategory, the winner was SithurajPonraj for Maariligal.

There was no winner for the Chi-

nese fiction category, but two com-mendation awards were handedout to Chia Joo Ming for Exile OrPursuit and Zhang Hui for ShuangKou Ding Village – The Yesteryears.

Writer Yeng Pway Ngon re-ceived a merit award for his workOpera Costume.

jianxuan@sph.com.sg

Items displayed during a media preview of the Rare Gallery yesterday included a 1923 text by Dr JohnGimlette titled Malay Poisons And Charm Cures (above) and a bust of Raffles alongside letters hewrote to his cousin describing how well Singapore was developing. ST PHOTOS: DESMOND WEE

Graphic novelistSonny Liew’s TheArt Of CharlieChan Hock Chye,a vivid andsatiricalre-telling ofSingapore’sjourney tonationhood, hasalso garneredacclaim frominternationalpublicationssuch as Slateand TheEconomist.ST PHOTO:DESMOND WEE

Visitors will need to register first; collectionoffers unique look at Republic’s history

The 38 items on exhibit arepartof theJohn BastinCollection,which amassedmorethan 5,000 pieces ofmaterial over 50 years andwas acquired by NLB latelast year. DrBastin, aprofessorand writer, iswidelyconsidered to be theworld’s leading authorityon Sir StamfordRaffles.

NLB’s Rare Gallery now open to public

S’pore Literature prize goesto graphic novel for first time

‘Luckily I wore helmet, or I’ll be dead’

E-BIKER LOSES LEG AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR

B2 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Elena ChongCourt Correspondent

A bank teller who deliberately tar-geted inactive accounts to misap-propriate more than $300,000 wasjailed for three years and ninemonths yesterday.

Goh Kee Yong, 28, pleaded guiltyto criminal breach of trust at theOCBC Bank branch in Bedok NorthStreet 1 between July 12, 2014 andApril 17 last year.

He also admitted to six charges offalsifying cash withdrawal forms totake out various amounts of moneyfrom four customers’ accounts.Twelve other similar charges wereconsidered during his sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor TanZhongshan said that on 18 occa-sions in those nine months, Gohwithdrew a total of $336,850 incash from the accounts of fourOCBC Bank customers.

He claimed that he spent theentire sum on gambling at local

and overseas casinos.In the course of his job, Goh had

access to information about howfrequently customers used their ac-counts. To avoid detection, he delib-erately targeted accounts whichwere inactive.

On April 25 last year, a 65-year-old customer went to the bank to de-posit some cash when she discov-ered several unauthorised cashwithdrawals from her account.

She immediately notified a cus-tomer service manager, who then

questioned Goh, who had processedthe transactions. He admitted hehad made unauthorised cash with-drawals from the woman’s account.

Goh has returned $42,510 to thebank, which bore the losses of thefour customers.

He could have been jailed for up to15years and fined for criminal breachof trust as a servant. For falsifyingbank papers, he could have beenjailed forup to 10 years and fined.

elena@sph.com.sg

Amelia Teng

The calibre of students being admit-ted to top secondary schools shouldbe more even under the new PSLEgrading system, said experts, andthis could “level out” how theseschools are perceived.

But until this “levelling out” hap-pens, parents said they will face abigger dilemma in choosing whe-ther to risk aiming for a top second-ary school, or go with a safer bet bypicking a less popular one.

This has emerged as one of themain concerns among parents afterthe Education Ministry on Wednes-day announced changes to PSLEgrading that will kick in from 2021.

The move is part of a larger shiftaway from an overemphasis on aca-demic results.

The current T-score system willbe replaced by scoring bandsknown as Achievement Levels(AL). There will be eight bands, andthe PSLE score for the Secondary 1posting will be the sum of the ALs offour subjects. The highest score willbe 4, and the lowest, 32.

The expectation is that more pu-

pils will qualify for popular schools,and there could be more computerballoting to decide who gets a place.MOE estimates that only one in 10will have to ballot.

Also, a pupil who lists a school ashis top choice gets priority over an-other who places it lower – if theirscores are the same.

Some parents believe this meansputting a very popular school as theNo. 1 choice for the child carries abigger risk from 2021. The childcould lose out on the luck of thedraw and end up at a school third orfourth on his list.

A few parents are even asking forthe secondary school posting exer-cise to be broken down into “phas-es”, so they know how many placesare left in a school after, for exam-ple, the four-pointers are allocatedspots, before making their choices.

Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua,who heads the Government Parlia-mentary Committee for Education,said the changes were a step in theright direction but added that theremay be a need to fine-tune the sys-tem if more balloting is needed forpopular schools.

Sociologist Paulin Straughan said

it may take more than five years forthe “funnel effect” – where mostparents aim for a few specificschools – to end. This will be espe-cially true for schools with more es-tablished names.

Education policy expert JasonTan said the new system can bequite “confusing” for parents, asmore secondary schools will havesimilar qualifying scores.

“There’s a lot more pressure onthem to think deeper about schoolchoice,” he said.

MOE has said it wants parents topick schools that best serve theirchildren’s interests and strengths.

And this is a good thing.“Instead of prematurely ruling

out schools, it’s better for pupils tobe matched to schools that are actu-ally just as good, where they can al-

so grow just as much,” said Associ-ate Professor Tan, who is from theNational Institute of Education.

Sales manager Grace Yong, 35,who has a son in Primary 1, said thenew system will encourage her tolook beyond entry scores and at theprogrammes being offered byschools. “We will need more time tomake a thorough decision,” she said.

MOE said it will be providingmore information on what schoolsoffer at a later date.

Housewife Narayana Vanisri, 38,said she hopes to find a secondaryschool that will help her sev-en-year-old daughter Thaswika pur-sue her interest in dance and art.School, she said, is not just aboutgrades, but also personal growth.

ateng@sph.com.sg

Bank teller who swiped over $300,000 jailed

Housewife Narayana Vanisri says she hopes to find a secondary school that willhelp her daughter Thaswika, who is in Primary 1 this year, pursue her interest indance and art. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

One major concern is that children who aimfor top schools may be at risk of not getting in

Parents still anxious about PSLE changes

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | HOME B3

Seow Bei Yi

As threats evolve, Singapore’s crimi-nal justice system has to change aswell – which is why the authoritiesare reviewing how bail is granted.

Speaking at the opening of thethird Criminal Law Conferenceyesterday, Minister for Home Af-fairs and Law K. Shanmugam ex-plained that while the bail frame-work has worked well so far, theexperience of other countries hasraised concern.

He highlighted the example of aBriton, Siddhartha Dhar, who waslinked to a terror group, but wasgranted bail while being investigat-ed in Britain – despite having beenarrested six times for terrorism-re-lated offences.

In September 2014, shortly afterbeing released on bail, he disap-

peared. Weeks later, he turned upin Syria and announced his arrivalby posting online an image of him-self holding a rifle.

He has now been linked to tapedexecutions of hostages.

“We have not faced such situa-tions,” said Mr Shanmugam. “But inthe context of the evolving threats,we have decided that we need to re-look our laws, framework relatingto bail. When we are ready, we willannounce details.”

He also laid out the role the publicplays in combating terrorism.

“Learn what to do if you arecaught in a situation where there isa shooting going on. When do youalert the police, how do you lookout for suspicious activities, packag-es and so on. It is going to be a mas-sive effort. We intend to go to everyhousehold and bring the messageacross, as to what is to be done.”

During his speech at the SupremeCourt auditorium, he also expand-ed on other possible areas ofchange. A pilot scheme to vid-eo-record police interviews of sus-pects is likely to proceed, he said, af-ter some legislative changes.

With some of Singapore’s courtprocedures going back to the 19thcentury, it was also timely to reviewthem to see if they are still relevantand efficient.

Singapore’s recidivism rates arelower than many cities’, but MrShanmugam said: “I think we cando more. I have put in a lot of empha-sis in Home Affairs to focus on thepost-release phase: hand-holding,trying to find jobs for them, work-ing with employers, making surefor a period of two to three yearsthere is continuous contact, tryingto get the families together.”

He also said “the courts can begiven greater flexibility in thecommunity-based sentencing as-pect” as well.

byseow@sph.com.sg

Rahimah Rashith

In her 27 years working at the Pe-ninsula Excelsior Hotel, MadamHow Aye Choon has never taken asingle day’s holiday and had only ahandful of sick days.

Even at 68 years old, she is notafraid of rolling up her sleeves –even if it means cleaning up a sickguest’s vomit, which she once hadto do when a Japanese guest threwup in his room.

“If my hand or leg aches, I willstill try and work slowly,” said thehousekeeping supervisor.

Yesterday Madam How, whohas worked in the hotel industrysince 1981, was among 68 hotelstaff presented with “employee ofthe year” awards by Senior Minis-ter of State, Prime Minister’sOffice, Mr Heng Chee How.

The awards were given out at aproductivity seminar held at FourPoints by Sheraton Singapore,organised by the Singapore HotelAssociation, National TradesUnion Congress and the Food,Drinks and Allied Workers Union.

The annual awards, firstlaunched in 1985, encouragehotels to recognise deservingemployees. All the winners werenominated by their hotels.

The oldest award recipient was85-year-old technician Goh JeowHong, who has been working atNovotel Singapore Clarke Quay forthe past 15 years. “ I am old but I willnot retire any time soon,” he said.

The youngest was 19-year-oldSri Jivan Rajaratnam, who beganas a waiter at Copthorne King’s Ho-tel Singapore, but has risen to therank of captain in just two years.

Another winner, Mr KhamisAbu Hussain, works as a bellmanfor The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Sin-gapore. He joined the hotel 19years ago and is, today, a familiarface to regular guests.

On one occasion, when an Aus-tralian couple asked Mr Khamisfor recommendations on nearby is-lands worth visiting, the 63-year-old not only planned an itin-erary to Batam for them, but alsosurprised them by welcomingthem at the pier on the Indonesianisland so that he could show themaround as a tour guide.

Mr Khamis said: “I do it becauseI love my job.”

rahimahr@sph.com.sg

(Clockwisefrom left)

Mr Sri JivanRajaratnam,

Mr KhamisAbu Hussain,Mr Goh Jeow

Hong andMadam How

Aye Choonwere amongthe winners

of the“employee of

the year”awards.

PHOTO: AZIZHUSSIN FORTHE STRAITS

TIMES

Experience of other countries has raisedconcern, minister tells law conference

New threats ‘call forreview of bail system’

STILLGOING STRONG

I am old but I will not retireanytime soon.

’’MR GOH JEOW HONGwho, at 85, was theoldest recipient of the award.

Hotelshonourstaff whowere topsin service

B4 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B5

B6 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B7

Pow Sing Restaurant’s directorhad made it a point to eat a plate ofchicken rice from his eatery’skitchen every day after he learntabout the gastroenteritis caseslinked to it.

“I told all my staff to eat thechicken rice; I myself ate it, too,and until now, there have not beenany problems,” Mr Lee Chin Sootold The Straits Times yesterday.

Pow Sing’s licence was suspend-ed on Wednesday after the authori-ties became aware of at least 29gastroenteritis cases linked to thepopular Serangoon Gardens eat-ery, which sells zichar, or cookedfood, in addition to chicken rice.

The restaurant was told tothrow away all food and complete-ly sanitise the kitchen – includingutensils, equipment, work surfac-es and toilets. It was also told torectify lapses in food preparationprocesses identified during earli-er inspections.

“We’ve cleared everything in thekitchen; everything is empty,” MrLee said. “They took the chilli, cu-cumber, ginger, soya sauce, riceand chicken for sampling.”

Gastroenteritis – more common-ly known as stomach flu – can havea number of causes, said gastroen-terologist Desmond Wai of MountElizabeth Novena Hospital.

Bacteria and viruses are themost common culprits, and morerarely, toxins or parasites.

In a kitchen, Dr Wai said, foodcould become contaminated if it isalready cooked but left in the openfor too long.

“There could also be cross-con-tamination between raw andcooked food, which is why youshould always separate the rawfrom the cooked meat,” he said.

A third hypothesis is that a work-er could have gastroenteritis, andconsequently contaminated foodby not washing his hands.

Mr Lee said: “The authorities ad-vised me to send all my staff for hy-giene courses, and I did. I am coop-erating wherever I can.”

Irene ThamTech Editor

Streaming movies and shows overthe Internet has become a norm inSingapore, with the highest viewer-ship among millennials, namelythose aged 15 to 34.

This is according to an inauguralsurvey conducted by the Media De-velopment Authority (MDA) to

track the population’s viewing hab-its with the increasing availabilityof over-the-top (OTT) video ser-vices such as Netflix, Apple iTunesand YouTube.

The authority conductedface-to-face interviews with 2,585Singaporeans and permanent resi-dents up to age 65 late last year.

About 90 per cent of those aged15 to 34 used OTT video services, al-though the national average was

just over 50 per cent.Younger viewers spent a greater

proportion of their viewing time on-line than on traditional TV.

For instance, children up to age 14spent about two-thirds of their week-ly viewing time on OTT services,with the rest on traditional TV.

In comparison, OTT servicesdominated about 60 per cent ofmillennials’ weekly viewing time,and 48 per cent for those aged35 to 54.

Mr David McGregor, Ernst &Young partner for technology, me-dia and telecommunications, saidmillennials form an important audi-

ence for media companies wantingto underpin future revenue.

“They are the next generationwith high disposable income,”he said.

Marketing manager Aaron Koh,40, said his eight-year-old sonstreams from YouTube most ofthe time because his favouriteprogrammes – created by onlinegamers – are not available on tradi-tional TV.

These include parodies of popu-lar animated games and showssuch as Five Nights At Freddy’sand Star Wars.

“He aspires to be a YouTube host

one day,” said Mr Koh.MDA’s survey indicated that the

most popular OTT services wereYouTube and social networks suchas Facebook. About 20 per cent ofrespondents also said they ac-cessed content on piracy websites.

Geographically-blocked sitessuch as the United States version ofvideo streaming services Netflixand Hulu – which require technicalworkarounds to access from Singa-pore – accounted for only 1 per centof viewership.

Meanwhile, paid video serviceslike those from Apple iTunes andGoogle Play accounted for 4 per

cent and 7 per cent of viewershiphere, respectively.

Only 11 per cent of OTT viewerspaid for their content. Those whodid not pay cited the availabilityof free content online as the keyreason.

Asked if they would consider pay-ing for online videos, more thanthree-quarters said they would not.

But Mr McGregor believes that ifmedia companies provide uniquecontent via an easy-to-use inter-face at a fair price, user behaviourwill change.

itham@sph.com.sg

Nicole Weersand Malavika Menon

A pre-school teacher who put agirl’s hair clip on a six-year-oldboy in front of his classmates willcontinue to teach at Zoo-phonicsSchool’s Serangoon Centralbranch.

This follows an internal investi-gation into the matter that blewup after the boy’s father postedabout the incident publicly onFacebook, sparking a debate onways to discipline children.

In a five-page letter to parentsyesterday, the school said: “Themanagement believes that Teach-er Theresa is deemed fit to contin-ue teaching at Zoo-phonicsSchool (Serangoon).”

The boy’s mother, who wantedto be known only as Madam Sw-ee, 35, said she and her husbandare now deciding on whethertheir son should continue to at-tend classes at the centre.

The incident took place on Ju-ly 5 and the boy’s father, Mr EricCheong, 37, shared it on Face-book on July 9. The post has sincebeen shared more than 2,000times. Mr Cheong said his sonhad been humiliated.

Following the incident, Ms

Theresa was temporarily suspend-ed while investigations were car-ried out, according to Zoo-phon-ics director Vincent Teoh.

After viewing closed-circuit tel-evision footage, the school saidyesterday that the teacher hadsummoned the boy, borrowed ahair clip from a female pupil andput it on him. Turning him to facethe class, she then spoke abouthow much neater he looked.

The school said the child hadworn the clip for only 50 sec-onds, and that his parents hadblown the matter up.

After consulting other parents,it said it found that most wantedthe teacher to stay, with onlysome parents in the boy’s classseeking a change in teacher.

Zoo-phonics acknowledgedthat “some parents regarded herteaching methods as “old school”,and said the teacher had beencounselled.

However, Madam Swee re-mains upset.

“Humiliation for one second,two seconds or 50 seconds is still ahumiliation which caused every-one he knows and sees daily tolaugh at him,” she said.

nweers@sph.com.sgmmala@sph.com.sg

A cranecollapsed onto alorry at JurongPort yesterdayafternoon,injuring twopeople. TheSingapore CivilDefence Force(SCDF) said itwas alerted tothe incident at37, Jurong PortRoad at 3.20pm.It dispatchedtwo ambulancesto the scene.

A man in his30s was takenconscious to theNationalUniversityHospital, SCDFsaid. Anotherunidentifiedcasualty wassent to Ng TengFong GeneralHospital.PHOTO: STREADER

A back view ofthe six-year-oldinvolved in the

incident. Histeacher found

his hair too longand clipped it

with a girl’s hairclip. The

incident cameto light after

another teachernoticed his

“abnormal anddespondent”

behaviour, hisfather said in aFacebook post.

PHOTO:COURTESY OFMADAM SWEE

Younger viewers also spent more viewingtime online than on traditional TV: Survey

Pre-school teacherin hair clip saga toremain at centre

Pow Singboss ‘atethere everyday sinceincident’

Nine in 10 young viewers watch shows online

Crane collapses onto lorry

B8 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

K.C. VijayanSenior Law Correspondent

Lawyer M. Ravi was handed$7,000 in penalties by a discipli-nary tribunal after he admitted todenigrating activist blogger RoyNgerng in a video clip and failingto forward $29,000 from MrNgerng to a third party.

A disciplinary tribunal appointedby Chief Justice Sundaresh Menonand comprising Senior CounselChan Leng Sun and lawyer RonaldChoo accepted that Mr Ravi was af-

flicted with bipolar disorder then,noting there was “ some evidence”he had been on medication.

But it made clear that such miti-gating factors did not “completelyexonerate” him. “His conduct wasnot acceptable,” it said in decisiongrounds released yesterday.

Mr Ravi, 45, had then been actingfor Mr Ngerng in a defamation suitby Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,represented by Drew & Napier.

He acknowledged that Mr Ngernghad given him $29,000 in Januarylast year to be paid to Drew & Napi-er in compliance with court orders

made in the suit. He failed to do thisand, about 10 days later, returnedthe cash to Mr Ngerng, telling himto pay Drew & Napier himself.

Five days later, Mr Ravi in a videoclip spoke against Mr Ngerng, alleg-ing among other things that MrNgerng sought to leave the countrywith monies which belonged to thepublic in a “legal fund”.

His lawyers Eugene Thuraisin-gam and Suang Wijaya argued thathis bipolar disorder relapse shouldexcuse him, adding that there wasno dishonesty or deceit on his part.

Lawyers Sean La’Brooy andMichelle Chua prosecuted for theLaw Society and psychiatrist Tom-my Tan confirmed that Mr Ravi’s re-lapse mitigated his misconduct.

Mr Ravi, currently a non-practis-

ing lawyer, was ordered to pay$2,000 for the misconduct chargeand $5,000 as penalty for his im-proper utterances in the video clip.

Separately, three senior lawyersface disciplinary action before theCourt of Three Judges for profes-sional misconduct following twoseparate tribunal probes. The courtis the apex body to deal with profes-sional misconduct by lawyers.

Lawyers Sum Chong Mun andKay Swee Tuan were implicated ina case involving the issue of a certifi-cate for a lasting power of attorneyin which the former had not person-ally witnessed the signature of thedonor on the document.

Ms Kay, who retired last year,had asked Mr Sum to sign as wit-ness to the donor’s signature,which had already been pre-af-fixed.

Lawyer S. Udeh Kumar was re-ferred to the three-judge court by atribunal comprising Senior CounselKenneth Tan and lawyer Tan GeeTuan for being “a serial offender ofwasting expense and the Court’stime” and ordered to pay $25,000in relation to two other charges.

vijayan@sph.com.sg

Janice Tai

All eyes will be on 150 spe-cial-needs participants this Nation-al Day as they lead a crowd of275,000 at the National Stadium in

hand-signing to two popular songs.In this “song-signing”, the audi-

ence will be invited to follow signlanguage cues to Home and CountOn Me, Singapore.

It is the first time that the annualparade will feature song-signing,

and this will be the largest group ofspecial-needs participants in-volved in the national celebrations.

The 150 performers come fromseven voluntary welfare organisa-tions that span a wide spectrum ofspecial needs, including hearingand visual impairments and physi-cal and intellectual disabilities.

“These special-needs partici-pants will be given a very promi-nent role,” said President Tony TanKeng Yam, who visited Touch Com-munity Services in Ubi during itsweekly rehearsal yesterday.

“It represents our recognition thatthe parade is for everybody. Singa-pore is for everybody,” he noted.

“That is what we want to build forthe Singapore of tomorrow – not on-ly economic success, which is neces-sary, but also for people to look af-ter one another.”

Mr Danny Loke, a senior mana-ger at Touch, who is helping to pre-pare participants for the show,said they have gone throughtwo-hour sessions every week tolearn how to sign, as well as train-ing to get physically fit.

They are achieving this goalthrough aerobic dance, stretchingand other exercises to help thembuild up their stamina and honetheir coordination so they can per-form on stage.

“But the challenge is not in howto prepare them for the event, butrather in how to get the creativeteam and chaperones from thearmed forces to understand theneeds and limitations of the partici-pants, yet not belittle what each ofthem can do,” said Mr Loke.

Ms Ng Kai Chin, 27, who has hear-ing impairment and intellectual dis-ability, said: “The song-signing isquite easy, and I am happy to be in-volved as it is my first time at the pa-rade.”

Said another participant,40-year-old Shoban Ganaash Pillai,who has an intellectual disability: “Ilike to watch the National Day Pa-rade, and I hope this first parade atthe National Stadium will be betterthan the ones held at the Padang.”

jantai@sph.com.sg

Selina Lum

Residents of The Seaview condo-minium who brought a $32 millionlawsuit against four parties in-volved in the development over al-leged defects in the estate have set-tled the case out of court.

The management corporation(MC) of the Amber Road condohad sued developer Mer Vue Devel-opments, a subsidiary of WheelockProperties; main contractor TiongAik Construction; RSP ArchitectsPlanners & Engineers; and engi-neering firm Squire Mech.

The trial was originally scheduledto start in the High Court last Tues-day, but did not start after the MCsettled its case against Squire Mech.Separate settlements with Mer Vue,Tiong Aik and RSP were reached lat-er. The terms are confidential.

The settlements come in the

wake of a High Court ruling inMarch that the developer, maincontractor and architect can relyon the independent contractor de-fence.

The ruling effectively limited theamount of damages the home own-ers can get if they win the case.

The Seaview, which was complet-ed in 2008, comprises six blockswith a total of 546 units.

In 2011, the MC filed the suit on be-half of homeowners, alleging de-fects including foul odours, fallingconcrete blocks and popping swim-ming pool tiles. The amount of dam-ages sought at the time was $14 mil-lion, but later grew to $32 million.

Mr Melvin Chan, who acted forRSP, said yesterday: “Our clientsare happy that the case has beensettled and can find closure onthis chapter.”

selinal@sph.com.sg

President Tony Tan at a song-signing rehearsal organised by Touch Community Services yesterday. The participants willlead the audience at the National Stadium in hand-signing to Home and Count On Me, Singapore. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

M. Ravi admits failing to forward money thatactivist gave him, denigrating him in video

Performers with special needsshow parade is ‘for everyone’

Lawyer fined $7,000over blogger case

Share with us three original pictures that respectively depict Singapore’s past, present and future, and tell us in 51 words or less how they represent your wishes for the country.You may draw or use your own photos, and focus on any facet of Singapore – from fashion and food, to schools and playgrounds.Upload them on Instagram with the hashtag #myfuturesg by July 18.The best entries stand to win a pair of National Day Parade tickets, preview tickets or funpacks each.

In the past, cycling was a fringe subculture, a sport for spandexed racers. That changed as more rode bikes for errands and commutes. Cycling networks are being built in towns, so cyclists no longer have to jostle with pedestrians. In future, perhaps cyclists will have their own space on the roads.

Here is what ST journalist DANSON CHEONG would like to see:

#MYFUTURESG

WIN TICKETS TOCATCH NDP!

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

Suit over condo defectssettled out of court

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | HOME B9

B10 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B11

Amir Hussain

A man who sexually assaulted his10-year-old niece in 2013 wasyesterday sentenced to 81/2 years injail and eight strokes of the cane.

The man, now 46, pleaded guiltyto one charge of sexual assault bypenetration. One count of usingcriminal force to outrage the modes-ty of a young person was taken intoaccount in sentencing.

He cannot be named to protectthe girl’s identity.

A District Court heard that the girlwas very close to the man and hiswife, who is the girl’s maternal aunt.

She would often stay over at theirflat during her school holidays andover long weekends.

On Aug 15, 2013, the uncle pickedthe girl up from her Toa Payohhome at night. He left her alone towatch television in his flat at about10pm.

He returned around midnightreeking of alcohol.

About an hour later, he asked thegirl to go to sleep. She went to themaster bedroom, where she slept

whenever she stayed over.Shortly afterwards, he lay down

beside her. He was wearing boxersand she was in her pyjamas.

He began to cuddle her, thinkingshe was asleep. She did not suspectanything amiss and kept her eyesclosed.

However, the uncle then abusedher sexually with his finger. Hestopped when she cried in pain, thecourt heard.

“Confused and frightened, the vic-tim continued lying on the bed withher eyes closed,” Deputy Public Pros-ecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaztold the court. “She fell asleep onlyafter hearing the accused snoring.”

Over the next few days, the girlremained troubled over the inci-dent, but was afraid of telling herparents about it as she was veryclose to her aunt.

On Aug 23, she finally told hermother about the incident. Themother contacted her sister andthe women agreed that the girlwould no longer see her uncle.

The following month, the girl’s fa-ther found out and insisted that apolice report be made. He had reada series of text messages from thegirl’s phone in which she expresseddistress at not being able to see heraunt anymore.

A child psychiatrist who assessed

the girl on Oct 21, 2013, found thatshe treated her uncle and aunt likeher “real parents”.

The psychiatrist noted that thegirl reported feeling sad, betrayedand disappointed with her uncle.

She was also distressed becauseher aunt blamed her for whathappened.

It was also noted that she had re-current thoughts about the assaultand this affected her mood, sleep,appetite and desire to attend school.

The maximum punishment forsexual assault by penetration is 20years’ jail with a fine and caning.

amirh@sph.com.sg

Charged with making,using fake moneyA 52-year-old man was incourt yesterday over 10charges of forgery, using fakecurrency notes as genuine,possessing and producingfake $50 bills.

Uthya KumaranThangaiyan was chargedwith forging 24 $50 bills inMay this year.

He allegedly used the fakebills four times at Cheers andMcDonald’s on May 25.

He is also accused of having20 fake $50 bills the next dayand having instruments andmaterials at his home inHougang Avenue 8 formaking the fake bills.

He has an appointmentwith the Institute of MentalHealth next week and is dueback in court on Aug 10.

Freehepatitis Cscreeningand talksTan Tock Seng Hospital(TTSH) and the NationalUniversity Hospital (NUH)will hold free hepatitis C talksand screening in conjunctionwith World Hepatitis Day.

TTSH’s session is on July 23from 12.30pm to 5pm at theTheatrette on Level 1.

NUH’s is on July 30 from8am to noon at theauditorium on Level 1.

Register atwww.worldhepdayscreen-ing.com.sg. Call 6665-6980for more information. Talkswill be in English andMandarin.

Snack from ChinarecalledThe Agri-Food andVeterinary Authority ofSingapore received feedbackon Wednesday from amember of the public about asmall plastic chip found in abottle of “Pakary Haw Ball”.

The snack comes fromChina.

AVA said it has beenworking with the importer toinvestigate the matter.

While investigations areongoing, the importer isvoluntarily recalling theaffected batch as aprecautionary measure.

AVA has advised peoplewho have purchased theproduct not to eat it.

46-year-old’s act left girl feelingbetrayed and distressed

HomeBriefs

Jail, cane for sexual assault on niece, 10B12 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Elena ChongCourt Correspondent

A former flight attendant whoplayed a key role in providing a carin a conspiracy to defraud an insur-ance company was jailed for sevenmonths yesterday.

Siti Irnawaty Mala Adamy, 30,had pleaded guilty to abetment byconspiring to cheat AXA Insuranceof $20,870.

She duped the company into be-lieving that her former boyfriendwas driving the car when it was in-volved in a staged three-vehicle col-lision in West Coast Highway onFeb 11, 2012.

A second similar charge involvinga personal injury claim – for sup-posed neck and lower back pain –of $3,800 was considered duringsentencing.

The court heard last month thatSollihin Anhar, 42, whose case ispending, staged the accident withthe help of three other men.

They rammed a car registered un-der Siti Irnawaty’s name into aheavy vehicle

She was told to include her nameas a passenger while making an in-surance claim and to pretend tohave been injured.

Siti Irnawaty then authorised carworkshop Master Motors to lodge aproperty damage claim of $21,427against Hamadi Awang, who hadbeen driving the heavy vehicle.

Siti Irnawaty received $1,000 andhad her car repaired for free.

On April 10, 2013, AXA reportedto the police that fraudulent claimshad been made for the accident.

Principal District Judge Bala Red-dy said Siti Irnawaty played an ac-tive role and was an “integral part of

the scam”. She not only used her ve-hicle and lied that she was a passen-ger, but also complained of “neckand lower back pain’’ to a doctor tolend credence to her false claim forpersonal injury, said the judge.

He said: “If such conduct is left un-checked it would have a direct ef-fect on the general insurance premi-ums payable by all motorists in Sin-gapore, in addition to being hard todetect and economically unfeasibleto challenge.

“The wide social detrimentcaused by such fraudulent claimsmust be prevented by the imposi-tion of deterrent sentence on perpe-trators of such crime.”

Of the other three men involvedin the staged crash, one has beendealt with, one has still to be dealtwith and one is at large.

Siti Irnawaty, who is threemonths pregnant with her secondchild, has repaid the $1,000 she re-ceived. She could have been jailedfor up to 10 years and fined.

elena@sph.com.sg

Rachel Oh

Unemployed single mother IzamZamah used to struggle to makeends meet around the third weekof every month.

The 45-year-old stays at home totake care of her ailing mother, whosuffers from heart failure, and alsolooks after three out of five of herchildren with the help of govern-ment financial aid.

However, saving up becamemuch easier after the family at-tended a workshop on financialmanagement, organised by volun-teers from the Kebun Baru Grass-roots Organisations (GROs).

“We had a bit of help before, butit wasn’t easy for me to manage mymoney so that it lasts till the end ofthe month,” she recalls. “Now, Ican keep a bit of money even afterthe end of the month, and I knowwhat not to buy.”

Forty participants are currentlyundergoing the Kebun Baru Caresprogramme, which began in Maywith the aim of helping familiesbreak out of the poverty cycle.

The 10-month programme in-cludes workshops on social well-being, healthcare, parenting and fi-nancial management. Familieswho attend the bi-weekly sessionsget to take part in community ac-tivities to build a kampung spirit.

In addition, 321 food packs fromvegetarian eatery Mummy Yum-my are distributed by volunteersof the programme once a month toneedy families.

About $26,000 was raised forthe initiative.

Grassroots adviser to Nee SoonGRC GROs Henry Kwek said yes-terday: “It (this programme) com-bines the basic support from gov-ernment schemes, together withskills that will empower them(the beneficiaries) to take charge,build confidence and uplift theirfamily.”

The team locates needy fami-lies by consulting the Ministry ofSocial and Family Developmentand various kindergartens, aswell as through Meet-the-Peoplesessions.

Ms Sally Tan, 37, who volunteersfor the programme together withher husband, said: “It was throughhouse visits with the volunteersthat we realised how importantthe programme is ... It’s been won-derful working with the familiesand seeing them grow.”

Mr Kwek, who is also an MP forNee Soon GRC, also shared plansto set up a communal kitchen runby volunteers in the Kebun BaruCommunity Club, which is current-ly under construction.

Estimates of the cost of provid-ing daily meals come up to about$100,000 a year. “We are aimingto serve 200 to 300 meals a day...It is an ambitious project but noone should go hungry,” he said.

racheloh@sph.com.sg

Nee Soon GRC MP Henry Kwek with residents Madam Salmah Kawana (left), 65, and her daughter, Madam Izam Zamah.He and volunteers distributed food yesterday as part of the Kebun Baru Cares programme. ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

Ex-stewardess conspired to stage 3-vehiclecollision to cheat AXA Insurance of $20,870

Motor accident cheatgets 7 months’ jail

Volunteershelp needybreak outof povertycycle

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | HOME B13

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B19

Carolyn Khew

Lab scientists may make ground-breaking discoveries or invent won-derful devices that are lifesavers forhumankind.

But these may not put bread onthe table and the world may neverbenefit if were not for the efforts ofpeople like Dr Kevin Koh.

The 35-year-old founder of localstart-up Vivo Diagnostics spotsgood innovations, and works withtheir inventors and scientists totake them from lab to market – a pro-cess that can cost millions of dollarsand take up to a decade to complete.

His current projects include com-mercialising a made-in-Singaporehand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) test kit.

Current models in the market testfor the disease using blood and re-turn results in a few hours. ButDr Koh is in the midst of commer-cialising a home-use kit that uses sa-liva and gives the result in 15 min-utes. The kit was developed by re-searchers from Singapore Polytech-nic last year.

It is expected to undergo clinicaltrials at the end of the year.

Dr Koh, who founded the start-upin 2013, said his interest in commer-cialising innovations grew when hewas working as an investment direc-tor with a medical sciences venturecapital fund in Britain.

The company looked at investingin biotech and medtech innova-tions as well as creating universityspin-offs, among others.

“You’ve got to find the diamondin the rough,” he said.

“There are so many universities,research institutions, where do youstart? For all you know, it could be asmall university that pushes outsomething incredible.”

Vivo Diagnostics focuses on tak-ing to market medical devices thatare especially relevant to Asia.

In Singapore, the Ministry ofHealth has said that HFMD is a com-mon endemic childhood diseaseand outbreaks can be expectedfrom time to time.

Symptoms of HFMD includemouth ulcers, fever and sore throat.The viral infection is spread by con-tact with an infected person’s bodi-ly fluids.

In May, the number of weeklycases hit a four-year high. Whilethe effects of the virus are usuallymild, a more serious strain called

EV71 can result in death.Apart from the HFMD kit, other

products in Vivo’s pipeline includea sleek deep-cavity surgical lightingdevice so that surgeons need notwear headlamps when performingsurgical procedures.

Dr Koh is collaborating with theNational Cancer Centre Singapore,Singapore General Hospital and themedical division of a large Japanesemultinational corporation on thisproject.

Scientists often start off wantingto achieve research outcomes, with-out necessarily thinking aboutwhat makes “good business”.

This is where Dr Koh steps in.Once he sees potential in a product,he advises the scientists on how itshould be patented, or whether ex-tra tests are needed before it can bepushed out to the market. The firmalso provides the funding needed totake it to market.

Professor Gerry George, dean ofthe Lee Kong Chian School of Busi-

ness at Singapore Management Uni-versity, said that researchers couldface multiple issues in trying to taketheir research beyond the lab.

Most biotech discoveries havefew immediate applications, saidProf George, who added: “Conse-quently, you are looking at a longgestation cycle as well as requiringsignificant complementary assetsto make it work.

“Trying to commercialise these in-ventions would mean that you aredependent on other partners whohave the capabilities to conductclinical trials, for example.”

Dr Tan Eng Lee, centre director ofSingapore Polytechnic’s Centre forBiomedical and Life Sciences, ledthe research team that developedthe HFMD kit. He said that findingthe right partner to commercialisethe product is most important.

“There are many companieswhich know the market well, but itcan be challenging to find onewhich appreciates our innovationsand believes that they can be fur-ther developed and commercial-ised for the benefit of the commu-nity,” said Dr Tan.

Dr Koh said being in this line ofwork enables him to take moreproducts to market, compared withwhat he could have done alone as aresearcher.

He graduated with a PhD in bio-medical engineering at ImperialCollege London in 2011.

He said: “I specialise in only onefield. There would be only a finitenumber of products I could comeup with.”

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg

Dr Koh is thefounder of VivoDiagnostics,which helpsresearcherscommercialiseinnovations.The 35-year-oldis as passionateabout music ashe is aboutscience and isthe co-founderof theMetropolitanFestivalOrchestra inSingapore.ST PHOTO:DESMOND WEE

An equal love for science and music

Founder of start-up behind made-in-S’poreHFMD kit helps scientists push out products

At first glance, science and thearts may seem disparate but DrKevin Koh has shown that onecan be an expert in both domainsat the same time.

Apart from setting up VivoDiagnostics in 2013, the35-year-old – who learnt how toplay the piano at the age of three –is the co-founder of theMetropolitan Festival Orchestra(MFO) in Singapore.

Set up in 2013, the orchestra,which boasts 20 to 100 musiciansat any one performance, playslive soundtracks from moviessuch as The Lord Of The Ringsand Walt Disney classics such asCinderella.

So far, it has performed forabout 85,000 people at venues

such as the Star Performing ArtsCentre and the Marina Bay SandsGrand Theatre.

Unlike the Singapore Symphonyand the Singapore Chineseorchestras, the MFO is Singapore’sfirst fully independent profession-al orchestra.

Dr Koh, who also plays thesaxophone and violin, said thatwhen he was studying for his PhDin biomedical engineering atImperial College London, hiscoursemates were a musicallytalented bunch.

In 2008, some of them took partin a nationwide orchestracompetition in Britain, and tooktop spot despite being the onlyinstitution in the final that did notoffer a music degree.

Other contenders in the finalswere Cambridge, Manchester andSouthampton universities.

Dr Koh, who is MFO’s executiveproducer, said: “Anyone canmake and enjoy music in the sameway that anyone can study andapply science in their everydaylives.

“But to perform both at thehighest levels, years ofprofessional training, dedicationand constant work is required.”

He said he rarely has the time toplay the instruments nowadays.But if he does, it’s just the piano,for about a few hours each month.

“It really does lift one’s spirits,”he said.

Carolyn Khew

MORE THAN A MACHINE ROBOT STEALS THE SHOW AT SUMMIT B14

FINDINGTHE RIGHT FIT

There are manycompanieswhichknow the market well,but it can bechallenging to findone which appreciatesour innovations andbelieves that they canbe further developedandcommercialisedfor the benefit of thecommunity.

’’DR TANENG LEE, centre director ofSingaporePolytechnic’s Centre forBiomedical and Life Sciences, on finding theright partner. He led the research team thatdeveloped the HFMD kit.

ScienceFaces

He takesinventionsfrom labto market

Singapore’s biggest celebration ofscience is a treat for all ages and cel-ebrates the latest cutting-edge re-search, scientific innovations andnew technologies, says AssociateProfessor Lim Tit Meng, chief exec-utive of the Science Centre Singa-pore and co-chair of the SingaporeScience Festival 2016 organisingcommittee.

“This year’s festival will bring tolife the important role science playsin our daily lives, capture the imagi-nation of our young, and create un-forgettable experiences that en-courage an interest in sciencethrough creativity, exploration andfun,” he said.

“Fostering an interest in scienceby making it relevant to everydaylife will help develop the next gener-ation of Singapore’s Stem (science,technology, engineering and mathe-matics) leaders, and achieve our

goal of becoming a Smart Nation.”The festival aims to present scien-

tific concepts and innovations in asimple way so that everyone can un-derstand them.

Besides targeting the generalpublic, it also wants to get youngchildren thinking.

So some programmes have beenplanned specially with young chil-dren in mind, and will feature inno-vations, experiments and scientificconcepts in a humorous mannerthat is appealing and exciting.

Elaborating on how this year’sevent stands out from those of pre-vious years, Professor AlfredHuan, co-chair of the festival’s or-ganising committee, pointed totwo main differences: new per-formers and the new location formany events at one-north in Buo-na Vista.

“One-north is a ‘Science City’

and a hub for research and develop-ment, and there are many compa-nies located in one-north,” saidProf Huan, who is the executive di-rector of the A*Star (Agency forScience, Technology and Re-search) Graduate Academy andA*Star’s Institute of High Perform-ance Computing.

The events will not be short on en-tertainment.

New to the festival this year, forinstance, is The Flight Brothers, awacky duo famous for bringing sci-entific concepts to life through the-atrical performances filled with hu-mour and tailored for different cul-tural audiences.

People will be able to participatein more than 30 activities at the fes-tival, which is expected to have aturnout of 165,000 visitors.

nweers@sph.com.sg

Art and science can coexist in har-mony and participants will experi-ence this first-hand at the ScienceBuskers Festival, which combinesscience with “street entertain-ment” and performances. It will fea-ture 34 groups from primaryschools to tertiary institutions. Thegroups will have to perform a sci-ence experiment or present an inno-vation in a “show-and-tell” mannerin front of the audience.

The competition will be judgedbased on judges’ scores and audi-ence votes, and features experi-ments and creations such as crystal-lised Christmas trees, gravity-defy-ing tricks, self-made planes and themaking of “magic” potions.

The buskers will perform tomor-row and on Sunday at VivoCity onlevel one, from 11am to 6pm .

Senthilkumar Illakkiya, NehruSachin and Lim Yi Chen, 10-year-olds from Chua Chu Kang PrimarySchool, worked together to create

“Gravity Free Water”. The pupilscover the mouth of a cup with apiece of cardboard. When they flipthe cup over, the water does notflow out of it. They are from thesame Primary 4 class and share acommon interest in science. Be-sides learning more about the sub-ject through the competition, theyhave learnt how to work together asa team. “I want to be a scientistwhen I grow up,” said SenthilkumarIllakkiya. The other two pupils arein their school’s robotics co-curricu-lar activity and aspire to be roboticsengineers.

Another team, called MonstersJ.R, comprises Rachel Ng Yun Xuanand Janieve Goh Zhi Xuan, both11-year-olds from CHIJ Our LadyQueen of Peace. They have beenworking together to create severalinventions, such as figuring out away to make bubbles bounce.

Admission to the Science BuskersFestival is free.

The duo known as The FlightBrothers will be performing forthe very first time in Singapore atthe festival.

Comprising Mr Paul Taylor, 53,and Mr Nate Westover, 38, thetwo are known for merging scien-tific concepts with live demonstra-tions and humour. They are fromthe United States-based The Fran-klin Institute, a museum in Phila-delphia specialising in scienceand technology.

Here, they will be presenting sci-entific concepts, such as the fourforces of flight as well as fluid dy-namics, air pressure, and actionand reaction, in a humorous man-ner that caters to the young.

The Flight Brothers have per-formed in various festivals in theUS and have been to Beijing sever-al times but it is their maiden per-formance here.

Asked why they decided to ac-cept the offer to perform at the fes-

tival, Mr Taylor told The StraitsTimes: “I am interested in know-ing how the script is going to playout in different countries.

“And let’s be honest, I want tosee Singapore too because it is sobeautiful.”

Mr Westover added: “Science issomething that needs to be seenand felt.”

They will be performing atX-periment!, a three-day carnivalfeaturing other highlights such asan integrated mapping tool whichcan model shadows, wind, noiseand other elements to provide ur-ban planners with more informa-tion on their developments.

X-periment! will run from todayto Sunday at VivoCity on levelone, from 11am to 10pm. Admis-sion is free.

The Flight Brothers show timesare 2.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pmtoday, and 12.30pm, 2.30pm and7.30pm tomorrow and on Sunday.

Ever wondered what it’s like to livein space? How do you go to the toi-let when there’s no gravity? DrKevin Fong will answer these andother questions on how to survivein space, as part of a Star Lecture atthe Singapore Science Festival. Thetalk, How To Survive InSpace, high-lights the physiological challengesof a human space mission andshows how medicine, science andengineering are all interconnected.

Artificial gravity, space sickness,water recycling and the danger ofradiation are just some of the top-ics that will be explained by DrFong, with the help of Britain’s firstastronaut on the InternationalSpace Station, Mr Tim Peake.

Dr Fong, 45, who is also British,has worked with senior figures andresearch groups at the EuropeanSpace Agency, where he organisedand chaired meetings with the keygoal of increasing Britain’s involve-ment in human space flight. He has

worked with the National Aeronau-tics and Space Administration’s Hu-man Adaptive and Countermeas-ures Office, and was part of its artifi-cial gravity pilot study team.

He holds degrees in astrophys-ics and medicine from UniversityCollege London, a degree in astro-nautics and space engineeringfrom Britain’s Cranfield Universi-ty, and has completed space medi-cal training rotations at places likethe Johnson Space Centre, Hou-ston and Kennedy space centresand Cape Canaveral in the UnitedStates.

Dr Fong will give his Star Lec-ture at 3.30pm to 5.30pm on threedays – Aug 2 to Aug 4. More than1,500 students in total, aged 13 to18, will attend the lecture.

Pre-registration is required andlimited tickets are available forthe public at $10 each. It is free forthe registered school groups at-tending the event.

The Singapore Science Festival strives to ignite a passion forfour key subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths.Highlights include a buskers carnival and a lecture onhow to survive in space. Nicole Weers gives you the lowdown.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

The nation’s largest annualscience event – the SingaporeScience Festival – is now in its15th year. This year’s event willtake place from today to Aug 5and is expected to attractaround 165,000 visitors. Thevisitors will be able toparticipate in a wide range ofexciting events, hands-onactivities and performances.These include:

X-periment!Today to Sunday

Science Buskers FestivalTomorrow and Sunday

Visual SGJuly 22 to July 31

Star Lecture: How ToSurvive In SpaceAug 2 to 4

• For more information, go towww.sciencefest.sg

Science madesimple and fun

Creative ‘street entertainment’ Funny and for the young How to survive in space

The ScienceBuskers Festival,which combinesscience withperformances,will featuregroups fromprimary schoolsto tertiaryinstitutions.PHOTO:SINGAPORESCIENCE FESTIVAL

B18 SCIENCE ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

B16 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B17

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | B15

B14 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Cheryl Tehand Lin Yangchen

The way the economy works now isfundamentally flawed, said ex-perts, and the world has to changeit radically from a linear to a circu-lar model to ensure long-term sus-tainability. In a linear economy, nat-ural resources are exploited by hu-mans in a one-way path that ends atthe landfill. In the circular model,no waste is produced and every-thing is recycled or re-used.

Switching economic models wasdiscussed by industry experts in apanel discussion organised by CityDevelopments Limited on Wednes-day at the CleanEnviro Summit atMarina Bay Sands (MBS).

Indeed, Dr Janez Potocnik,co-chair of the International Re-source Panel of the United NationsEnvironment Programme, said: “Inessence, we have no real viablealternative.”

Mr Dalson Chung, managing

director of the CleanEnviro Sum-mit, said that, in Singapore, urgentaction has to be taken to managethe volume of waste. More than 7.6million tonnes of it were generatedlast year.

He said: “The current local pat-tern of consumption and produc-tion is not sustainable.

“If we cannot find a way to reducewaste, then we have to build oneincineration plant every five years,and one Semakau landfill every 30years.”

He added that the circular econo-my was an innovative concept thatneeded careful study before imple-mentation.

Meanwhile, Mr Ynse de Boer,managing director of AccentureStrategy and Sustainability, saidthat the circular economy, as a guid-ing principle, would allowSingapore’s economy to grow with-out the excessive use of naturalresources. “There are world-classexamples of the concept of recov-ery and recycling where Singapore

clearly leads the way globally,” hesaid, referring to the myriad waysin which Singapore’s limited re-sources are reused and recycled bylocal firms.

The circular economy thinkinghas indeed been embraced by sever-al local establishments in theirday-to-day operations, one of thembeing MBS.

Mr Kevin Teng, the executive di-rector for sustainability at MBS,said: “In addition to energy, waterand resource conservationprojects, we have in place a wastemanagement strategy which in-cludes the use of five food digestersto divert food waste.”

These food waste digesters har-vest the by-products of food wastefor further use instead of just send-ing food waste to landfills.

Food digestion machines – inwhich micro-organisms convertwaste into water and fertiliser – arealso being used in markets in AngMo Kio and Tiong Bahru as part of aNational Environment Agencyon-site food waste recycling pilot.

While such initiatives are on therise here, businesses can do evenmore.

Ms Susan Chong, chief executive

of local packaging company Green-pac, said that businesses afraid ofincurring high costs in their effortto go green could actually achievesavings as a result of applying circu-lar economic thinking to theirday-to-day business practices.

She said: “For a shipping busi-ness, we use pine, a sustainable re-source, to replace mixed hardwoodin shipping pallets.

“As a result, we reduced theweight of the pallets from 25kg to15kg, resulting in actual savings ofUS$40 (S$54) to US$50 per ship-ment.”

She added: “There’s a perceptionthat green costs more but, duringthe design stage, when you look atthe packaging design and use lessmaterial, you produce less wasteoverall.”

Mr Chung said that while Singa-pore has been balancing economicdevelopment and environmentalsustainability, implementing thecircular economy as an overall guid-ing principle would take time.

He said: “The circular economycan be more viable than the lineareconomy of ‘Take, Make andDispose’, but the Government hasto study it in more detail.

“Corporations need to see thatthey can help in environmental sus-tainability while also helping withthe bottom line.”

Mr Peter Lacy, global managingdirector of Accenture Strategy andSustainability, said that, in the end,the new way of thinking in businessis “about delivering an economythat can thrive, but also deliverenough forever, for all.”

ctlteh@sph.com.sglinyc@sph.com.sg

Pepper the robot stole the show atthe 2016 World Cities Summit as itdanced and took cafe orders fromvisitors.

Summit delegates got up closeand personal with Pepper, a human-oid robot developed by SoftBankRobotics, a branch of Japanese tele-communications giant SoftBank,for credit card company Master-Card.

Already, the two-year-old robothas traversed the globe, lending anon-judgmental listening ear toformer convicts in Japan and greet-ing patients in Belgian hospitals.

Pepper, which is 1.2m tall andweighs 28kg, was intended by itscreators to be a social robot – in oth-er words, the aim was to make peo-ple happy.

Unlike others of its kind – robotswhich carry out functions such ascleaning or carrying items – Pepperuses sensors in its eye sockets to

read the emotions of the person it iscommunicating with.

Pepper was one of two humanoidrobots deployed at two pre-schoolshere in early April on six-month tri-als, to teach children in interactiveways.

While Pepper has been used foreducational and entertainment pur-poses overseas, this is the first localinstance of a commercial transac-tion being integrated with a human-oid robot, said Mr Tobias Puehse,vice-president of Innovation Man-agement, Digital Payments & Labsat MasterCard.

As a waiter, Pepper can take or-ders in several languages, reply toquestions about the calorie countsof food items, and even recom-mend the specials of the day. It canalso settle bills via credit card.

Restaurant chain Pizza Hut Asiawill, in collaboration with Master-Card, be using Pepper to take or-

ders and serve customers by theend of the year. If used widely in theregion, robots like Pepper could fun-damentally change personalised en-gagement and customer service,and help relieve wait staff of menialnote-taking jobs.

The World Cities Summit, co-lo-

cated at Marina Bay Sands with theSingapore International WaterWeek and CleanEnviro Summit Sin-gapore, took place from July 10 to14, and was attended by over20,000 visitors.

Cheryl Teh

‘Genetic switch’ erasesmemories in miceResearchers from Belgium and Germany havefound a way to erase memories in mice at will,by using a “genetic switch”.

The scientists from KU Leuven in Belgiumand the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology inGermany trained mice that had beengenetically modified in one gene:neuroplastin. Changes in this gene haverecently been linked to decreased intellectualabilities and schizophrenia in humans.

The mice were trained to perform a taskthrough associative learning, the process bywhich someone learns an association betweentwo stimuli, for example, a dog conditioned toassociate the sound of a bell with getting food.

When the scientists switched off theneuroplastin gene after conditioning the mice,they were no longer able to perform the taskproperly. Mice with the neuroplastin geneswitched on, by contrast, could still do the taskperfectly.

Said Professor Detlef Balschun from the KULeuven Laboratory of Biological Psychology:“Switching off the neuroplastin gene has animpact on the behaviour of the mice, becauseit interferes with the communication betweentheir brain cells.”

By measuring the electrical signals in thebrain, the KU Leuven team discovered cleardeficits in the cellular mechanism used tostore memories. These changes are evenvisible at the level of individual brain cells, aspostdoctoral researcher Victor Sabanov wasable to show.

The researchers added that further researchis needed to show whether neuroplastin alsoplays a role in other forms of learning.

Newcomputer algorithmdetectssocial network mental disordersA group of professors from universities in theUnited States, Taiwan and China have createda computer algorithm to identify socialnetwork users with social network mentaldisorders (SNMDs).

The algorithm, named Social NetworkMental Disorder Detection, uses featuresextracted from social network data to identifypotential cases of SNMDs. Examples of SNMDsinclude cyber-relationship addiction,information overload and Internetcompulsion.

The effectiveness of the algorithm wasevaluated through a user study involving over3,000 social network users from variousbackgrounds and nationalities.

Each user filled out a standardquestionnaire, and a group of professionalpsychiatrists participating in the researchassessed and labelled the users as potentialSNMD cases (and identified their types ofSNMD) or normal users.

The results obtained by the psychiatristssupported those from the algorithm.

One of the scientists involved in theresearch, Associate Professor LeeWang-Chien from the Department ofComputer Science and Engineering atPennsylvania State University, said that whilethe algorithm could allow SNMDs to bedetected in advance, it still cannot replace theconventional approach of seeking out apsychiatrist for treatment.

He said, though, that the research couldcreate an opportunity for scientists to workmore closely with mental healthcareprofessionals. “We are interested tocollaborate with mental healthcareprofessionals such as psychiatrists in order tolearn more about these disorders.”

Secrets of birds and beesinspire drone researchersUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the futurewill be able to visually coordinate their flightand navigation just like birds and flying insectsdo, without needing human input, radar oreven Global Positioning System satellitenavigation.

These UAVs could be incredibly useful forapplications like surveillance, rescueoperations, defence and planetaryexploration, scientists believe.

A research group at the University ofQueensland, Australia, is trying to make thisfuture a reality by uncovering flyingtechniques that budgerigars and bees share,and applying their findings to UAV controlprograms. Professor Mandyam Srinivasan,who is leading the research, said the team’sfocus is on how small airborne creatures suchas bees and birds use their vision to avoidcollisions with obstacles, fly safely throughnarrow passages, control their height abovethe ground and more. “We then usebiologically inspired principles to design novelvision systems and algorithms for theguidance of UAVs,” he said.

“Bees’ brains weigh a tenth of a milligramand carry far fewer neurons than our ownbrains; yet the insects are capable ofnavigating accurately to food sources over10km away from their hive,” remarks ProfSrinivasan. “Birds too can perform incredibleaerobatics and navigational feats. They areclearly using simple and elegant strategies,honed by thousands of years of evolution.”

Compiled by Samantha Boh and Rachel Oh

A steward atFairmontSingaporeputting foodscraps into amachine thatconverts solidfood waste intofertilisersand liquids in2012.ST FILE PHOTO

Pepper usessensors in itseye sockets toread theemotions ofpeople it talkswith. ST PHOTO:JAMIE KOH

Experts at CleanEnviro Summit say circulareconomy model viable, needs careful study

ScienceBriefs

Zero-waste model‘the way forward’

Robot charms crowd atWorld Cities Summit

Fullerton Financial Holdings, anarm of Singapore investmentcompany Temasek Holdings, hashired Yeo Hong Ping for a seniormanagement role.

Mr Yeo is joining from JPMor-gan Chase & Co, where he hasworked since 2000, most recentlyas head of Singapore investmentbanking, according to a personwith knowledge of the matter.

Mr Yeo will start in his positionthis year, Fullerton said in ane-mailed response to Bloom-berg’s queries.

He will be chief investment offi-cer at the firm and plans to startwork in October, the personsaid, asking not to be identified be-cause the information is not public.

Mr Rohit Chatterji, head of bank-ing for Southeast Asia at JPMor-gan, will assume Mr Yeo’s respon-sibilities at the US lender, anotherperson said.

Investment firms have beenpoaching South-east Asia dealmak-ers from banks as acquisition activ-ity in the region slows. Takeoversinvolving South-east Asian compa-nies have fallen to US$35.2 billion(S$47 billion) this year, downfrom US$50.7 billion during thesame period last year, accordingto data compiled by Bloomberg.

Mr Alvin Lim left HSBC Hold-ings, where he was head of South-east Asia banking advisory, to joinCVC Capital Partners last month.Affinity Equity Partners hired MrRonnie Behar from Credit SuisseGroup, where he was co-head ofmergers and acquisitions in South-east Asia.

Fullerton, led by chief executiveofficer Gan Chee Yen, invests in fi-nancial institutions in emergingmarkets, including Bank Dana-mon Indonesia, Cambodia PostBank and Malaysia’s Alliance Fi-nancial Group, according to itswebsite. The firm posted profit ofS$1.1 billion for 2014, the websiteshows. BLOOMBERG

Marissa Lee

Singapore Post expects to name anew chief executive at the end of theyear, but the postal group was look-ing to a CEO with a “different pro-file” from that of Dr Wolfgang Baier– who quit last December – in itsnext phase of growth anyway, chair-man Simon Israel said yesterday.

SingPost’s annual general meet-ing at Suntec City Convention andExhibition Centre dragged into athree-hour affair as Mr Israel took

pains to clear the air over the firm’svery public board governance crisis.

“While in an ideal world, weshould like to have the same CEO fin-ish up executing the strategy, theboard is of the view that the taskahead of us is integration, which willrequire a different profile of CEOthan Dr Baier,” Mr Israel said in re-sponse to a shareholder’s question.

As for the chief operating officerrole, which Mr Sascha Hower vacat-ed last month, Mr Israel noted thatSingPost has “a very strong internalcandidate who will slip into that

role”. Mr Israel also took the initia-tive to address the burning issueamong some shareholders of whe-ther SingPost had overpaid forsome acquisitions. His conclusion:it is too soon to tell.

“We have owned Trade Globalfor just eight months and JaggedPeak, four months. It is prematureto take stock and reach conclusionson their progress at this earlystage,” he said in a speech.

“We are slightly behind the busi-ness case on Couriers Please, sinceacquiring it in Dec 2014.”

And while SingPost has enjoyed ahistorical return on equity of 17 to21 per cent, thanks to fatter mar-gins in the mail business, Mr Israelwarned that this return would fall

over time as the logistics and e-com-merce segments grow.

Urging shareholders to have “real-istic expectations for the next fewyears”, Mr Israel said that Sing-Post’s dividend policy of sevencents a share per year will need tobe reviewed “to ensure there is aclear link to underlying earnings”.

Activist investor Mano Sabnani ex-pressed concern that SingPost’s re-curring profit last year was not evensufficient to cover the dividends.

“The chairman has put us on no-tice, but I think it’s staring us in theface,” he said, arguing that returnswere even lower than what waspainted in the annual report, with aless than 4 per cent return on assetsin the logistics, retail and e-com-

merce segments combined.Mr Israel said: “If the board

forms a view that over time, thedividend is not sustainable, itneeds to be addressed.”

Many investors flagged the whop-ping $493.5 million of goodwill onSingPost’s books. Shareholder Dav-id Chan said: “If you ever want tobuy things with a lot of goodwill,please call an EGM (extraordinarygeneral meeting) first, ok?”

One shareholder simply stood upto thank Mr Israel for coming in as a“white knight” to “ rescue the ship”.

One unexpected gripe was theplacement of the chairman andCEO’s photos in the annual report.When Dr Baier joined in 2011, hispicture was next to chairman LimHo Kee’s, a shareholder noted. “Butas the years went by, his picture gotfurther and further away from thechairman. Next year, I hope to seethe chairman and CEO posing sideby side,” he added.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers wasre-appointed as SingPost’s auditorfor this year, though a request forproposal will be called startingfrom next year, Mr Israel said.

marilee@sph.com.sg

SingPost to name newCEO by end of the year

Swiss private banking giant UBS has retained thetitle of the world’s biggest private bank despite see-ing its assets under management (AUM) fall 1 percent over the year.

At the end of December last year, UBS was man-aging US$1.74 trillion (S$2.34 trillion), down 1 percent from 2014, noted wealth management research-er Scorpio Partnership, which compiled a study usedfor the ranking.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch came in second,with AUM of US$1.444 trillion – down 2 per cent forthe year, while Morgan Stanley was third withUS$1.439 trillion, down 2.8 per cent.

“In the last financial year, the majority of privatebanking institutions experienced a notable slowdownin AUM growth and a squeeze on operating margins,”Scorpio Partnership noted in its report.

Volatile markets have been one major factor hittingprivate banks’ performances. Wealthy clients are alsomore hesitant, amid the rough investment climate, toplace as much money with their banks as they used to.

Amid these tough operating conditions, ScorpioPartnership said bigger private banks did better thantheir smaller counterparts. “Unlike smaller operators,many appear to have benefited from their ability toreach out and appeal to a wider market,” it said.

The top 25 biggest private banks in the world man-aged US$11 trillion at the end of last year, representing a56.3 per cent market share, up from 55.9 per cent in2014. The top 25 also enjoyed a 33 per cent gain in netnew money, even as net new money fell 6.9 per centfor the industry overall.

The market leaders focused aggressively on improv-ing their cost-effectiveness to weather the storm asbest as possible, Scorpio Partnership said.

And in spite of the tough times, the industry still hasa positive future, it added. An analysis of feedbackfrom private banking clients showed that they still feltpositive about their relationships with their banks.

“But private banks will now need to become muchbetter informed on what to do next to generate the bestoutcomes for client experience from a new assets andgrowth perspective,” Scorpio Partnership added.

Yasmine Yahya

ZURICH/SINGAPORE • UBS Groupflagged suspicious transactionslinked to 1Malaysia DevelopmentBerhad (1MDB) to the MonetaryAuthority of Singapore (MAS),prompting an investigation of theaccounts involved, a person famil-iar with the matter said.

The transactions were not imme-diately recognised by UBS as suspi-cious, said the person, who askednot to be identified because thematter is private.

At least US$1.24 billion (S$1.66billion) was transferred in 2014from the account of a 1MDB subsidi-ary held at BSI in Lugano, Switzer-land, to a UBS account in Singaporeheld by what appeared to be a unitof an Abu Dhabi firm, investigativeblog Sarawak Report said on July 11.A UBS spokesman declined to com-ment on the 1MDB transfers.

When asked about the UBS case,the Singapore regulator referred toits previous statements on March31 and May 24. MAS has said it isconducting supervisory reviews ofseveral financial institutions andbank accounts through which sus-picious and unusual transactionshave taken place, without identify-ing the parties involved.

The Malaysian sovereign wealthfund is at the centre of probes inits home country and other juris-dictions including Singapore, Swit-zerland and the United States asregulators seek to determine whe-ther some of the billions of dollarsit raised were siphoned off.

While 1MDB has denied wrong-doing, a Malaysian parliamentarycommittee in April identified atleast US$4.2 billion of questiona-ble transactions, including thoseinvolving Abu Dhabi companies.

Singaporean regulators said inMay they will strip BSI’s local unitof its banking licence amid globalinvestigations surrounding 1MDB.

BSI was fined $13.3 million for 41breaches, including its failure toconduct due diligence on high-riskaccounts and monitor suspiciouscustomer transactions. BLOOMBERG

SingPost chairman Simon Israel preparing to deliver his speech at its 24th annual general meeting held yesterday at Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre. The meeting dragged into a three-houraffair as Mr Israel took pains to clear the air over the firm’s very public board governance crisis. ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

UBS remainsworld’s biggestprivate bank

1UBSAUM of US$1.74 trillion by the endof December 2015 – down1 per cent from the year before.

2BANK OF AMERICAMERRILL LYNCHAUM of US$1.444 trillion – down2 per cent for the year.

3MORGAN STANLEYAUM of US$1.439 trillion – down2.8 per cent.PHOTOS: REUTERS,AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG

Task ahead being integration, one with profiledifferent from ex-chief is required: Chairman

UBS ‘flaggedshady 1MDBtransactions’to MAS

JPMorgan’sSingaporeinvestmentbank headto joinTemasek unit

TOP 3 PLAYERS

Shop second-hand or sell your possessions in CLASS 162To advertise, call the Print Classified Hotline: 1800-289 9988

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure

C2 BUSINESS | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | C3

Wong Siew Ying

The upcoming mall at OUE Down-town looks set to not only enlivenShenton Way, but also offer bold re-tail concepts – such as cookingmeals in a shared kitchen and hav-ing lunch delivered to lockers.

OUE Downtown (formerly DBSBuilding) in the generally staid fi-nancial district is being redevel-oped into a mixed-use project com-prising offices, serviced apart-ments and a $195 million mall.

Its landlord, property group

OUE, told The Straits Times theDowntown Gallery mall with a netlettable area of 145,000 sq ft will bebig on lifestyle, wellness and tech-nology. It is set to open in the firstquarter next year.

One fresh idea is a 4,000 sq ft “so-cial kitchen” on level three, to be fit-ted out with 10 cooking stations,complete with kitchen equipment,crockery and condiments.

“You can book a slot for one ofthe stations online or via an app,just bring your own raw ingredi-ents and cook. Dining spaces are in-cluded too. We want to take social

gatherings of friends to the nextlevel,” said Ms Patrina Tan, seniorvice-president for retail, market-ing and leasing at OUE.

The landlord is also creating anauto deli in a duplex unit spanninglevels two and three. But there areno food vendors at this deli, onlylockers and a casual dining area.

People order food from a menuvia their mobile devices and pickup the items – prepared in a centralkitchen – from an assigned lockerat a specified time. OUE expects toroll out a new mobile app next yearwith a range of services. “We areworking with a renowned food con-sultant and a team of chefs to de-sign the menu; it will be hot foodfor the local palate,” Ms Tan added.

OUE said nearly 60 per cent of

the retail space has been pre-com-mitted. Tenants include a farmer’smarket by The Providore, dancecentre Wings To Wings, pilates stu-dio Upside Motion and boutique fit-ness studio GuavaLabs, all on thebasement level.

Unlike the many malls heavy onfood and beverage, just 29 per centof space at the mall goes to F&B.

The first storey will boast an11,000 sq ft trend gallery, withpop-up stores and retail counters.Some “athleisure” names to openare Australian sportswear label Lor-na Jane, yoga brand Manduka,sports apparel firm 2XU andBritain’s SuperDry Sport.

Another confirmed tenant is Mul-berry, which will run an 8,600 sq ftpre-school. The landlord said a

co-working space provider is tak-ing up 20,000 sq ft of space.

Ms Tan said OUE is also in talkswith “two car brands” on the possi-bility of having an electric-carshowroom on the ground floor.

These novel ideas will make themall one of a kind here in a retailmarket dogged by weak senti-ment, slower sales and high costs.“Every game-changing idea comeswith risk but it also comes with bigrewards when it is all done and themarket gets excited,” Ms Tan said.

Downtown Gallery is one ofthree malls due to open in the Cen-tral Business District. The othertwo – GuocoLand’s Tanjong PagarCentre and Marina One, jointly de-veloped by Khazanah Nasional Ber-had and Temasek Holdings – willoffer more than 200,000 sq ft of re-tail space combined.

Ms Tan sees the rival malls as pro-viding “critical mass and a biggeroffering”, giving consumers a rea-son to visit the CBD on weekends.

“It’s like growing a new shoppingprecinct for Singapore. Other cit-ies, like Hong Kong, Melbourneand London, all have shopping inthe CBD. Why can’t we?”

wongsy@sph.com.sg

Geraldine Goh

Germany has emphasised that for-eign companies are welcome to relo-cate their regional bases from Brit-ain to continental Europe followingBritain’s plans to exit the EuropeanUnion.

Germany’s Ambassador to Singa-pore, Dr Michael Witter, said talksare already taking place in Londonon the need for financial institu-tions to move parts of their busi-ness to Frankfurt, in the event thattheir EU passports for banking oper-ations become invalid for Britain.

Dr Witter extended the welcometo Singapore investors to do busi-ness in Germany at a presentationon high-tech Eastern Germanyheld at the Raffles Hotel yesterday.

He said Britain “might try todefend primarily the City of Lon-don – this would be at the expenseof industry”.

Britain will most likely suffermore in terms of economic growththan the rest of the EU, he added.

“Trade with the EU, relative to alltrade, is far more important to theUK than vice-versa. The rest of theEU will have economically and fi-nancially less to lose.”

Dr Witter said Brexit “will not af-fect Germany’s attractiveness”. Henoted that the impact of Brexit onGermany’s GDP would result ingrowth falling by just 0.1 per centthis year and 0.3 per cent next year,compared with a Remain scenario.

Dr Jurgen Friedrich, chief execu-tive of Germany Trade and Invest,said Brexit will affect not onlyBritain’s economic sectors butmore critically, the area of researchand development.

“Germany can serve as an alterna-tive for companies affected by Brex-it. Our strengths are in biotechnolo-gy, automotive technology, energysolutions, microelectronics, logis-tics, automation and pharmaceuti-cals,” he added.

Germany is one of Britain’s toptrading partners and a major inves-tor with the likes of BMW, Volkswa-gen, Daimler, Bosch, Bayer and Sie-mens providing employment forhalf a million workers in Britain.

ggoh@sph.com.sg

MUMBAI • Temasek Holdings isopen to investing in distressed as-sets in India either directly orthrough an asset reconstructionfirm, a senior executive has said.

Mr Ravi Lambah, however, addedthat the company has no firm plansto make such investments so far.

“We are an equity-only investor.So, if there is a business that couldbe a non-performing asset... whichis outsourced by a bank to an assetreconstruction firm and that need-ed an equity infusion, we would

look at it just as any other invest-ment opportunity,” the head for tel-ecom, media and technology at Te-masek International said onWednesday.

“We are not averse to taking con-trol of a company where we thinkthe investment thesis works,” MrLambah said, according to financeportal Livemint.com.

Global investors have shown in-terest in asset investments in India,as the country’s banks try to cleanup their balance sheets.

Bad loans in the country’s bank-ing sector rose to 5.8 trillion rupees(S$117 billion) as of March, a centralbank review found.

The central Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has persuaded such banks toclassify stressed assets as non-per-forming assets and set aside moremoney to cover the risk of default.

The RBI is also encouragingbanks to resolve these stressed as-sets either internally or throughsales to asset reconstruction compa-nies, Livemint.com said.

If there are opportunities in the fu-ture to pick up a stake in an ARC, Te-masek will look at those, said MrPromeet Ghosh, managing directorat Temasek Holdings Advisors In-dia. “There are also funds whichbuy out distressed assets and wemay look at them at that time. Whe-ther they will be interesting enoughfor us in the Indian context, we can-not say at this point in time,” MrGhosh said.

Temasek has invested nearly a bil-lion dollars in India each year over

the last five years, in sectors as var-ied as pharmaceuticals, consumerproducts, agri-commodities anddigital commerce.

According to the Singapore firm’slatest disclosures, it had a net port-folio value of $242 billion. Globally,Temasek undertook $30 billion ofnew investments during the yearended March 31, while exiting near-ly $28 billion in investments. Te-masek has also dabbled in the con-sumer Internet segment,Livemint.com said.

HONG KONG • Social networking gi-ant Tencent Holdings has agreed toacquire a controlling stake inChina’s leading music-streamingcompany China Music Corp (CMC),a union that will create a dominantplayer in the Asian country’s on-line-music market.

Tencent, which also runs its ownmusic-streaming service, will boostits stake in CMC to about 60 percent from 16 per cent, sources toldThe Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Thedeal values CMC at roughly US$2.7billion (S$3.6 billion).

Tencent operates QQ Music,while CMC owns Kugou and Kuwo.

The deal would bring togetherthe country’s top three mobile mu-sic applications with a combinedmarket share of 56 per cent.

According to iiMedia Research,China’s mobile-music services had450 million users as of the first quar-ter of this year, making it theworld’s largest market by thenumber of users.

CMC had been planning an initialpublic offering in the United Statesbefore agreeing to be bought byTencent. That plan has now beenput on hold, WSJ reported.

Tencent is also in talks with lend-ers for a loan of about US$3.5 billionto back its purchase of a majoritystake in Supercell Oy from Soft-Bank Group Corp, sources toldBloomberg.

Asia’s biggest Internet companyis discussing the non-recourse fi-nancing with its relationship banks,and the loan size may change, ac-cording to the person, who was notauthorised to speak publicly andasked not to be identified.

Tencent is leading a US$8.6 bil-lion deal for control of Supercell,

the Finnish maker of mobile games,including Hay Day, Clash Royaleand Boom Beach.

China’s Internet giants have beentapping demand for “new econo-my” investments and raising morefunds in debt markets, with thenation’s biggest e-commerce com-pany Alibaba Group Holding get-ting a US$4 billion loan earlier thisyear.

Tencent spokesman Canny Lodid not respond to an e-mail seek-ing comment and phone calls wentunanswered, said Bloomberg.

OUE’s Ms Tan,seen here nextto a model ofOUE Downtown,says thatbesides a “socialkitchen”, theDowntownGallery mall willfeature an autodeli wherepeople orderfood using theirmobile devicesand have itdelivered tolockers there.ST PHOTO: SEAHKWANG PENG

Supercellco-founder andCEO IlkkaPaananen (left)and Tencentpresident MartinLau meeting thepress inSupercell’sheadquarters inHelsinki, Finland,last month.PHOTO: REUTERS

Germanyeyes firmsrelocatingfrom UK

That is one of the bold retail concepts OUEwill offer at its upcoming mall in the CBD

Temaseknot averseto distressedassetsin India

Tencent to buymajority stake inChina Music Corp

Fancy cooking your mealin a mall’s shared kitchen?

C4 BUSINESS | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | C5

Christopher Langner

Mr Murray Rothbard would beturning in his grave.

The American economist wrotein his 1983 book, The Mystery OfBanking, that central bankintervention was often disastrous.

Whether the latest round ofstimulus, which has generated aslew of negative rates globally, willend badly is yet to be seen, but it’salready turned the most basicinvestment concepts on their head.

Companies are getting paid bybanks for swaps, or locking incosts they would normally have topay a premium for to hedge againstmarket swings.

Swaps used to be one of lenders’most profitable businesses. At thesame time, as more thanUS$8 trillion (S$10.7 trillion) ofgovernment securities yield lessthan zero, investors are buying thedebt with one eye on thereturns they can get from theirprice appreciation.

On the other hand, owningstocks for their dividend has neverbeen better, so investors aresnapping up shares to get a regularhandout.

If the zero-rate policy has turnedinvestment concepts upside down,it’s also creating a much too easyand perverse incentive for chieffinancial officers to juiceshareholder returns withborrowed money.

Since Europe introduced theworld to negative rates in 2014,companies on the S&P 500 havejacked up dividend payouts whileincreasing debt versus theiroperational profits.

Traditional finance says thateventually such a strategy willbecome unsustainable.

Yields can only go so negative, soat some point, capital gains frombonds will be capped as well.

After all, debentures can’t growtheir businesses like realcompanies can. But traditionalfinance assumptions have beenthrown out the window.

Whether that will result in adisaster like the one Mr Rothbardpredicted will take a few years tofind out.

For now, thanks to centralbanks, investors can buy stocks foryield and bonds for capital gains.BLOOMBERG

• This column does not necessarilyreflect the opinion of Bloomberg andits owners.

JAKARTA • Indonesia’s Islamicbond yields have fallen faster thanMalaysia’s in the past threemonths, as its higher-yieldingnotes do better at attracting inves-tors fleeing plunging rates in the de-veloped world.

Yields on rupiah sukuk due in2019 slid 39 basis points in the peri-od, compared with 26 basis pointsfor equivalent paper in Malaysia.

Indonesia’s three-year Islamicbonds pay 7.21 per cent, while thosein Malaysia yield 3.25 per cent.Overseas investors pumped US$6.6billion (S$8.9 billion) into Indone-sian debt as of Tuesday and US$4.9billion into Malaysian securities inthe first six months, data compiledby Bloomberg shows.

“On an absolute basis, Indonesiastill offers greater returns as inves-

tors chase yield,” said RHB ResearchInstitute credit strategist FakrizzakiGhazali. “I see limited downside po-tential for Malaysian sukuk yields.”

Indonesian bonds are the best per-formers in South-east Asia this yearafter its government passed a taxamnesty Bill on undeclared incomeheld overseas, while a rate cut byMalaysia’s central bank on Wednes-day helped drive gains there.

Cooling inflation had already giv-en Indonesia scope to ease policythis year as price increases aver-aged 3.9 per cent during the firsthalf, compared with 2015’s 6.38 percent. After Malaysia’s surprise ratecut, the central bank lowered itsprojection for consumer prices to 2per cent to 3 per cent this year,from 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

“The easier monetary policy by

the Indonesian central bank sincethe beginning of the year has clear-ly helped the rupiah sukuk market,”said Mr Johar Amat, head of Treas-ury at OCBC Al-Amin Bank. “Goingforward, the ringgit sukuk marketshould be supported as Bank Nega-ra Malaysia has started to ease itsmonetary policy.”

Both currencies are seeing a reviv-al. While both countries provided

stimulus through infrastructurespending, Malaysia has been doggedby a political scandal involvingPrime Minister Najib Razak and abond default at state investmentfirm 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Indonesia’s government is speed-ing up investment in roads and rail-ways amid pressure from PresidentJoko Widodo. “Indonesia’s funda-mentals are getting better,” saidBank Central Asia chief economistDavid Sumual. “We also see the rupi-ah as quite stable compared withlast year. That’s why we see more in-flows to rupiah assets.” BLOOMBERG

LONDON • The Bank of England (BOE) kept interestrates unchanged yesterday, wrong-footing many inves-tors who had expected the first cut in more than sevenyears as Britain’s economy reels from last month’s voteto leave the European Union.

The BOE said it was likely to deliver stimulus in threeweeks’ time, possibly as a “package of measures”, onceit has assessed how the June 23 referendum decisionhas affected the economy, the world’s fifth largest.

“In the absence of a further worsening in the trade-off between supporting growth and returning inflationto target on a sustainable basis, most members of thecommittee expect monetary policy to be loosened inAugust,” the BOE said in minutes of its July meetingwhich ended on Wednesday.

“The precise size and nature of any stimulatory mea-sures will be determined during the August forecastand inflation report round,” it said.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, ledby governor Mark Carney, voted 8-1 to keep the bench-mark at 0.5 per cent, with only Mr Gertjan Vlieghe say-ing the outlook justified an immediate reduction.

While policymakers discussed measures that couldhelp the economy, they stopped short of detailing whatthese might be.

Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said theBOE has opted not to rush into “a knee-jerk reaction” tothe Brexit vote. “Policymakers will therefore need todo a lot more to shore up confidence and keep the gearsof the economy turning in the coming months,” he said.

The surprise decision to keep rates on hold pushedup sterling to a two-week high against the US dollar atUS$1.3480 and British government bond yields rose.

Sterling fell more than 13 per cent against the green-back in the days after the vote and trillions of dollarswere erased from stock markets. But the quicker-than-expected appointment on Wednesday of Mrs TheresaMay as Britain’s new Prime Minister helped calm nerves.

Mr Carney was due to meet new Finance MinisterPhilip Hammond soon. Hours after his appointment, thelatter said the government will do what is necessary to re-store confidence in the economy and suggested a less ag-gressive approach to bringing down the budget deficit.

Mr Carney sent a clear signal two weeks ago that stim-ulus was on the way, in an attempt to show the econo-my was in safe hands even as Britain’s political leader-ship crumbled after the EU vote.

But Mr Carney also suggested he does not favour asharp cut in borrowing costs because of the possible im-pact on banks based in Britain, and said he did not wantto follow the example of the European Central Bankand Bank of Japan by cutting rates below zero.

The central bank will publish its quarterly inflation re-port on Aug 4. It will include new forecasts for growthand inflation and the Monetary Policy Committee’s firstfull take on how the vote is set to affect Britain. Initial re-ports suggest economic activity is likely to weaken in thenear term, the minutes said. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG

Indonesia sukuk beats Malaysia in luring investors fleeing plunging rates

BOE governor Mark Carney signalled two weeks ago that stimulus was on the way. But he suggested he does not favoura sharp cut in borrowing costs because of the possible impact on banks based in Britain. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

S. Korea central bank cutsgrowth outlook to 2.7%SEOUL • South Korea’s centralbank yesterday cut the country’sgrowth outlook and kept the keyinterest rate unchanged at arecord low as exports sputter anddemand slumps.

The Bank of Korea said itexpects the economy to expand2.7 per cent this year, just threemonths after cutting its forecastto 2.8 per cent.

It also left borrowing costsunchanged at 1.25 per cent as itlooks to assess the impact of lastmonth’s reduction – which wasthe first in a year – as well asnewly announced stimulusmeasures.

Britain’s shock decision to leavethe European Union last monthadded to uncertainty for theSouth’s export prospects, bankgovernor Lee Ju Yeol said.

Seoul’s Finance Ministry cut its

own growth outlook to 2.8 percent from 3.1 per cent last month.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

JPMorgan’sQ2 profitslips 1.4% to $8.3 billionNEW YORK • JPMorgan Chase,the biggest United States bank byassets, said second-quarter profitfell 1.4 per cent, beating analysts’estimates as fixed-incometrading revenue and loan growthjumped.

Net income dropped to US$6.2billion (S$8.3 billion), or US$1.55a share, from US$6.29 billion, orUS$1.54 a share, a year earlier, thecompany said yesterday in astatement. Revenue climbed 2.8per cent to US$25.2 billion. Thatfigure included US$3.96 billionfrom fixed-income trading, a35-per-cent increase, and US$1.6billion from equity trading, up 1.5per cent.

JPMorgan kicks off the earningsseason for US banks, and mayoffer insight into the industry’sprospects for trading andadvisory operations afterBritain’s surprise vote last monthto leave the European Union.

While JPMorgan executiveshave said trading rebounded inApril and May, that was beforethe referendum roiled marketsand pushed out expectations foradditional US interest-rateincreases to at least next year.BLOOMBERG

Sharp jump in full-timejobs DownUnderSYDNEY • Australianemployment rose only modestlylast month while theunemployment rate ticked upto 5.8 per cent, yet a sharp jumpin full-time jobs was welcomedby investors who nudged the

local dollar higher.Data from the Australian

Bureau of Statistics showed that7,900 net new jobs were createdin June, after a gain of 19,200 themonth before. Full-timeemployment impressed with anincrease of 38,400 as suchpositions tend to pay much betterthan temporary work.

The unemployment rate edgedup a tick to 5.8 per cent from 5.7per cent, but remainsconsiderably lower thanpolicymakers had forecast at thestart of the year.

Investors pushed the localdollar up a quarter of a US cent to76.28 US cents after the data,though the figures were notconsidered so strong as to lessenthe chance of a cut in interestrates in coming months.

The Reserve Bank of Australiahas kept rates at a record low of1.75 per cent since cutting them inMay. REUTERS

MoneyBriefs

Move surprises investors who expected firstcut in over seven years, in wake of Brexit vote

News analysis

Things turntopsy-turvy,thanks tocentral banks

Bank ofEnglandkeeps ratesunchanged

C6 BUSINESS | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

SINGAPORE-JAPAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Ties that bindSingapore and Japan celebrate 50 years of close bilateral relations and look ahead to a fruitful partnership

LEE XIN EN

AS SINGAPORE and Japan mark 50 years of diplomatic ties this year, trade and economic relations be-tween the two countries continue to grow from strength to strength.

The beginnings of the close links can be traced to Singapore’s inde-pendence in 1965, as Japanese com-panies were instrumental in the ear-ly days of the Republic’s economic development.

In the 1960s, the Singapore Govern-ment established an industrialisation programme to attract investment and grow the manufacturing sector.

Japanese companies heeded the call, ramping up manufacturing and investments here, prompting the late Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister, to remark: “The Jap-anese were thorough and careful be-fore deciding to invest overseas, but once a decision was made, they went all out to ensure its success.”

Japanese investments grew rapid-ly. According to data from the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), Japanese investments in the manu-facturing sector hit $298.2 million at the end of June 1975 — 11 times more than that in June 1965.

One of the earliest companies to set up shop — even slightly before independence — was Japanese elec-tronics giant Hitachi, which estab-lished its offi ce here in 1963.

Mr Hirohiko Morisaki, managing director of Hitachi Asia, recounts that Hitachi helped to kick off Sin-gapore’s development when it in-stalled the fi rst two sets of turbines at the Pasir Panjang Power Station in 1962. It installed 17 other power generation systems in Singapore up until the mid 1990s.

The company was also responsi-ble for some of Singapore’s iconic infrastructure projects. It support-ed the foundation work of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system network,

and provided the monorail system for Sentosa in 2007.

Jurong Island was transformed from a fishing village to a petro-chemical hub, thanks to Sumitomo Chemical. The company — one of the island’s earliest investors — took a 50 per cent stake in the then-$2 billion Singapore Petrochemical Complex in 1977. To date, it has invested more than $3 billion, making it the largest Japanese investor on Jurong Island.

The bulk of Japanese investments in the 1980s were in the electron-ics and petrochemicals sectors but shifted into value-added sectors such as semiconductors and busi-ness services sector in the 1990s.

Singapore’s incentives, such as a concessionary tax rate of 10 per cent, attracted more Japanese companies to set up large operational headquarters here, including Japanese giants such as Sony, Matsushita (now Panasonic) and Hitachi.

Singapore-Japan ties achieved a new milestone in 2002, when Singa-pore became the fi rst country with which Japan signed an economic partnership agreement.

In his speech in June, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) was negotiated at a time when bilateral FTAs were “not fashionable” and the “conventional wisdom” was to pur-sue multilateral agreements.

“The JSEPA, accounting for our strong trade and investment links, is the bedrock of our current close economic cooperation,” he says.

Boosted by the FTA, investments have been on the rise, with Japa-nese companies doubling their in-vestments in Singapore to US$7.58 billion in 2014 — up from US$3.29 billion in 2013.

And Japanese corporates are still choosing Singapore as their region-al headquarters.

Mr Takayoshi Futae, chief execu-tive officer for Asia and Oceania of Japan’s largest bank, Bank of To-kyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), says that close to 200 Japanese corporates have their regional headquarters here because of Singapore’s workforce.

“Although costs are higher in Sin-gapore compared with its South-east Asian neighbours, for our bank, the advantages outweigh the costs. Singapore is able to attract many corporates to set up their region-al headquarters largely because of its Government’s decisive and long-lasting strategies. With its well-built infrastructure and abili-ty to attract talents from all around the world, Singapore is an ideal lo-cation for us to serve our global and regional corporates as well as the Japanese companies in the region,” he adds.

On the groundIt is not just dollars and cents drawing the two countries together. Singapore and Japan enjoy excep-tionally strong people-to-people links. Japan is a top tourist desti-nation for Singaporeans, with an estimated one in 10 Singaporeans visiting Japan last year alone.

Singapore also has one of the largest Japanese expatriate com-munities in the world. According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statistics, more than 35,000 Japa-nese citizens were living in Singa-

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe signed the revised Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) following their talks in 2007. PHOTOS: ST FILE

Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam (centre), former Finance Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, with Mr H Fukada (right), Japanese Ambassador to Singapore and Mr N. Hasegawa, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical company, at the launch of the petrochemical complex at Pulau Ayer Merbau in 1977. After a delay of nearly 14 years, the high-technology petrochemical industry in Singapore fi nally got started.

Former Finance Minister Hon Sui Sen (right) at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) at Pulau Ayer Merbau. A joint venture between the Singapore Government, the Japanese government (through its Overseas Economic Corporation Fund) and 28 Japanese private companies, PCS was incorporated in 1977 with an authorised capital of $2 billion as the upstream company of the Republic’s petro-chemical complex.

pore last year. The spontaneous outpouring of

support by Singaporeans following the earthquake and tsunami in Ja-pan in 2011, also underscored Sin-gaporeans’ affection for Japan.

More than $35 million was raised in one of Singapore’s largest disas-ter relief contributions to a single country to date.

Looking aheadBusiness leaders believe that the next phase of Singapore-Japan co-operation lies in expansion into Asean. Surveys of Japanese small and medium enterprises con-sistently show strong interest in

South-east Asian markets.More than 2,800 Japanese com-

panies operate in Singapore, many of which have partnered Singapore companies, taking advantage of their local know-how to head into the Asean region together.

Recent examples include Singa-pore’s largest homegrown adver-tising group, Ad Planet, partnering with Japan’s Daiko Advertising in a $2.7 million joint venture to expand into South-east Asia.

The business community in Sin-gapore will be holding a forum to-day to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Sin-gapore and Japan. The invite-only

forum, organised by the Singapore Business Federation and supportedby media partners The Straits Times and Nikkei, is sponsored by Ascen-das-Singbridge, DBS, SMBC, Toray,Toshiba and UOB.

Mr Lim Swee Nian, assistantmanaging director at the Singa-pore Economic Development Board (EDB) says: “With a closer econom-ic relationship moving forward, we’ll see more Japanese companies leveraging Singapore as a base tomanage their overseas operations and explore new business oppor-tunities amid a fast growing mid-dle-income class in South-eastAsia.”

Sentosa Express monorail.

For the e-version, go to www.sphcountryspecial.sg

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | C7

SPECIAL | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |C8

Drive with confi denceWith a reputation for being reliable, durable, innovative and even iconic, Japanese cars have a special place in the hearts of motorists in Singapore

JONATHAN TAN

IT WILL come as little surprise that Japanese cars hold a special place in the hearts of Singaporean motorists, for in nearly every conversation on the topic, there will be fond memories about how well one has been served by such a car.

Statistically, of the 57,589 passenger cars registered in Singapore last year, 33,098, or 57.5 per cent, were from a Japanese brand.

In terms of overall sales volumes, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, in that or-der, occupied the top three spots. Put-ting that into perspective, one need on-

ly take a cursory glance out on the roads to note their signifi cance.

Nearly six out of 10 cars on our roads currently are

from a Japanese make.

Evidently, these cars are immense-ly popular, but what makes them so appealing to drivers here, especially when there are similarly priced alter-natives from Korean and even Conti-nental manufacturers?

Reliable workhorses The greatest appeal of Japanese cars has to be their reliability. It is rare to hear of a regularly serviced Honda or Toyota breaking down, or have com-ponents inexplicably failing on you.

After all, Japanese cars are primari-ly designed with utility in mind. With the same dedication that other manu-facturers devote to performance and driving enjoyment, the Japanese are driven towards making reliable work-horses for everyday use.

While cars developed by the conti-nental makes are synonymous with

punchy turbocharged drivetrains and sharp handling, Japanese offerings are a little more reserved. They have a preference for a feel-good personal-ity with characteristics such as plush interiors and a chassis designed to in-sulate and cocoon against things like pockmarked roads.

From household names Honda, Toyota and Nissan came the likes of the Civic, Corolla and Sylphy sedans respectively. Built simply with an honest to goodness nature, these cars checked all the requisite boxes for the typical family man or woman — easy to drive, enough space to accommodate passengers com-fortably, and a large boot for the gro-cery run.

SINGAPORE-JAPAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

CONTINUED ON C10

Honda

Mazda

Infi niti

On the commercial front, Isuzu’s D-Max pick-up truck can cover long distances with minimal fuss. PHOTOS: HONDA, INFINITI, ISUZU, MAZDA

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | C9

SPECIAL | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |C10

Drive with confi denceCONTINUED FROM C8

For larger families, the Toyota Wish and Honda Odyssey have long been choice options. Evolving with the trends, compact SUVs such as Honda’s HRV and Nissan Qashqai have proven to be runaway hits with a combination of sleek designs and functionality.

In the local context, Japanese cars are simpler to maintain too, as spare parts are more readily available and priced more affordably as compared to similar Continental makes, thanks to their sheer popularity as well as ease of importation due to Japan’s proximity to Singapore.

On the commercial front, brands like Isuzu have also adopted a similar approach with their D-Max pick-up trucks punching above their weight as machines that can not only go the distance, but are also able to do so with a minimal amount of fuss.

Capturing heartsUtility may be a key allele in their DNA, but Japanese carmakers do have sporty genes as well.

Recent automotive history has seen the development of numerous Japanese sporting icons such as the Honda Civic Type R, Subaru Impreza WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

and Mazda MX-5, which have remained as iconic to-

day as they were when they first made their appearance in the 1990s.

Evolving with the times, Japanese manufacturers have upped the ante with even more evocative designs. From plain boxes on wheels, these cars have since developed characters of their own, with nuanced designs that extend beyond the odd highlight — like the Nissan Juke — and into the entire exterior and interior of the car.

In recent years, Mazda has stood out for its KODO – Soul of Motion de-sign philosophy, which boasts a strik-ing design complete with bold lines and svelte contours. Applied to its latest generation of cars, it has seen models across its range, such as the compact Mazda 2, family-sized Maz-da 3 and executive-sized Mazda 6, score highly on the popularity charts.

Luxury and innovationBeyond the every day, carmakers like Toyota and Nissan have also success-fully ventured into luxury territory with their Lexus and Infi niti marques respectively. Taking what they have done very well onto the next level, models from Lexus and Infi niti now combine reliable performance with top-notch comfort and a handcrafted fi t and fi nish.

Representative of this is Infiniti’s Q50 sports sedan, a car that is geared for performance without compromis-

ing comfort in its well-appointed cabin. The latest automotive developments

out of Japan may be focused on green technologies, with Toyota’s all-new Pri-us as the poster child for fuel-effi cient hybrid drives, and fuel cell technol-ogies paving the way for sustainable motoring in the future.

But over the years, Japanese car-makers have made some really sig-nificant contributions on the tech-nological front. Nissan and Infiniti had been the fi rst to introduce drive by wire steering, which helps to achieve greater steering precision and control.

Where performance is concerned, Subaru is pioneering carmaker in the utilisation of four-wheel-drive on compact cars with mass appeal, while Honda and its VTEC engine system yielded enhanced performance and ef-fi ciency from its smaller displacement engines.

Arguably, it is the sum of these vari-ous components that have contributed to the positive experience motorists have had with a Japanese vehicle.

These endearing qualities are the rea-son that Japanese vehicles have left an indelible mark on our con-sciousness — of a car that is as reliable and steadfast as a loyal friend can be for the term of its Cer-tificate of Entitle-ment (COE).

SINGAPORE-JAPAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

The new Toyota Prius, a fuel-effi cient hybrid car with fuel cell technologies, raises the bar for eco-friendly motoring. PHOTOS: SUBARU, TOYOTA

Subaru is a pioneering carmaker in the utilisation of four-wheel-drive on compact cars with mass appeal.Subaru is a pioneering carmaker in the utilisation of four-wheel-drive on compact cars with mass appeal.

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | C11

Culinary delightsJapanese cuisine has a special place in Singaporeans’ hearts because of the way it has evolved over the last few decades

MEREDITH WOO

IT IS no mystery why Japanese cui-sine does so well here. As an Asian cuisine, it suits local tastebuds and its focus on fresh ingredients and preparation with less oil makes it a healthy yet delicious choice.

Japanese cuisine has been an inte-gral part of Singapore’s dining scene for over three decades. Shima Res-taurant — said to be the nation’s fi rst fi ne-dining teppanyaki restaurant — was established in 1980. Nanbantei, which celebrated its 33rd anniversa-ry earlier this month, specialises in Japanese yakitori.

Mr Lim Li-Wei, chief executive offi cer (CEO) of gourmet grocer and multi-restaurant concept Empori-um Shokuhin, traces the evolution of Japanese cuisine here back to the 1980s when Japanese food was a luxury, and focused on traditional high-end sushi shops and teppan-yaki restaurants, which were main-ly located in hotels. What followed in the 1990s was a proliferation of kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurants that were cheap and af-fordable, he says.

Adds Mr Lim: “At the turn of the millennium, other mainstream and affordable Japanese food such as ramen took centrestage and Japa-nese fast food outlets have saturated Singapore.

“These days, there is a trend for more creative fusion dining such as Japanese-Italian or Japa-nese-French. At the same time, we are observing a return to quali-ty traditional styles of Japanese dining but with a big difference — affordability and value-for-money.”

Mr Kenichi Takahashi, CEO of Japan Foods Holding, the holding company for franchised and orig-

research,” says Mr Lim.Mr Eiji Kamada, CEO of Dining

Innovation Asia-Pacific, which owns Sumire Yakitori House here, adds: “Running a restaurant chain business is getting tougher as peo-ple here prefer the ‘exclusive’ kind of dining experience.

“Even in a chain restaurant, each outlet should be unique and feature a special menu.”

Specialisation is keyPreviously, the demand was for a single restaurant to have a wid-er variety of food; but recently the trend is moving towards “special-

inal brands here such as Ajisen Ramen, Menya Musashi and Fruits Paradise, agrees.

“Many Singaporeans have trav-elled to Japan and know about the original taste and have savoured oth-er unique Japanese foods,” he says.

To keep up with customers’ de-mands, businesses, too, need to evolve.

“It is important that we contin-ue to maintain good supply chain relationships with our overseas farmers and traders. Our business development team also often trav-els to Japan to source for new in-gredients and suppliers, and for

ised concept restaurants”, says Mr Takahashi, who has launched two new concepts.

Ginza Kushi-Katsu specialis-es in medium-rare beef cutlets and diners can further grill the crispy steaks over a mini teppan with three choices of sauces, while Dutch Baby Cafe dishes out sweet and savoury Japanese-German fl uffy pancakes in cast iron pans.

Sumire, says Mr Kamada, updat-ed its grand menu just last month with Japanese Daisen Chicken Hot-pot and D-I-Y Yakitori Tamago Toji. The former uses a soup base cooked with chicken raised in the Daisen

Glorious green tea Green tea — or camellia sinensis leaves t at ave not een o i ise — as rst drunk in China, over 4,000 years ago.

During the Nara and Heian periods (AD 710 to 1192), Japan’s leading Buddhist scholars brought back tea seeds from Tang Dynasty China.

Initially a prized beverage consumed only by imperial court nobles and Buddhist monks, it slowly spread throughout Japan and became an integral part of Japanese culture.

Daily consumption of green tea has been associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease; it is also said to lower fasting blood sugar, decrease the blood concentration of total cholesterol and increase alertness, among other effects.

Says chef Pang Kok Keong of Antoinette: I use a premium matcha ( nely ground

green tea powder) from Nishio, Aichi prefecture. Good matcha has a nice rounded bitter end, should not be sweet at all, and has a more intense green colour.”

Antoinette’s Fetish Matcha menu which comprises 22 items including pasta, chocolates, drinks and confectionaries, will run till end July.

Mr Kevin Chee and Ms Kaelyn Ong own Matchaya, which just opened its brick-and-mortar store at Icon Village.

Other than matcha beverages, which

are freshly whisked upon order, they have collaborated with other brands to produce matcha popsicles and granola, and have just launched a soft serve offering.

Mr Hiroyuki Kodama, director of ITO EN Singapore, says its products popular here are matcha green tea sachets in Traditional, Jasmine, Lemongrass and Peppermint.

New to the range are Chamomile and Ginger. These are available in most supermarkets in Singapore. Gyokuro, a type of premium-shaded green tea from Japan, is also gaining popularity here, he says.

Antoinette’s Instagram-worthy Matcha Latte is inspired by the Japanese way of drinking and serving matcha. Instead of Japanese sweets on the side, it is served with French sweets and a visually stunning cloud of candyfl oss to sweeten the deal as it slowly melts. PHOTO: ANTOINETTE

Japanese Tea Ceremony DemonstrationWitness the beautiful and intricate process of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony from the preparation to the presentation of matcha. No spending is required.When: July 23, 4pmWhere: Basement 1 Atrium, AnchorpointVisit the customer service counter at Anchorpoint Basement 1 for more information of other Japanese-themed activities on July 23 and 24.

ITO EN Singapore’s matcha green tea bags are available in six fl avours — Traditional, Jasmine, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Chamomile and Ginger. PHOTO: ITO EN SINGAPORE

Matchaya’s matcha drinks are freshly whisked to order as the powder is very fi ne. PHOTO: MATCHAYA

Chateraise Singapore’s bestseller, the Double Fantasy cream puff,

is made with Hokkaido fresh cream, fresh eggs and Japanese spring water.

Above: Sumire Yakitori House’s new D-I-Y Yakitori Tamago Toji allows diners to drizzle beaten egg over the hotplate. Left: Ginza Kushi-Katsu specialises in medium-rare beef cutlets that can be further grilled over a mini teppan. PHOTOS: CHATERAISE SINGAPORE, JAPAN FOODS HOLDING, DINING INNOVATION ASIA-PACIFIC

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES || THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | C13C12 SPECIALSPECIAL SINGAPORE-JAPAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

SINGAPORE-JAPAN 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Revisiting beautiful sightsSingapore travellers are fl ocking to the Land of the Rising Sun, with some making leisure trips there a few times a year

MEREDITH WOO

MORE Singaporeans are travelling to Japan for leisure, and many are regular visitors who go back to the same place within a year to experi-ence different seasons.

Ms Stella Chow, senior manager of Hong Thai Travel’s marketing depart-ment, says customers go to Hokkaido two to three times a year to visit the lavender fields during summer and enjoy the snowy winter season.

This increment in repeat travellers to Japan is about 30 per cent in the past fi ve years, she adds.

Says Ms Jane Chang, head of mar-keting communications at Chan Brothers Travel: “We have seen a year-on-year 20 per cent increase in demand for Japan to date.”

Travellers are also looking for itineraries to lesser-visited destina-tions, such as Nikko, Karuizawa and Yamanashi, she adds.

Mr Daisuke Kobayashi, director of Japan National Tourism Organiza-tion (JNTO) says: “Repeat travellers make up approximately 70 per cent of Singaporeans visiting Japan.

“Although these visitors may have already been to different parts of Ja-pan, they frequently look forward to revisiting familiar locations, as the scenery and activities change along with the season.”

Singaporeans love holidaying in Japan as they can experience au-thentic Japanese cuisine, sights and culture, says Ms Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communica-tions at Dynasty Travel.

Recent attractions in the country include the Hokkaido Shinkansen, launched in March, and the Kyoto

ed in 1971. It connects Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture with Omachi Town in Nagano Prefecture, with an elevation change of 2,400m. It will be closed from Dec 1 to April 9, 2017.

Tourists and mountaineers alike are able to traverse this snow-walled corridor, which offers many modes of transport such as a ropeway, cable car and trolley bus. Tateyama is also a good spot for nature lovers as it is home to many rare species of plants, some so delicate they take several years to mature and bloom.

The Alpine route also has many high altitude attractions, which in-clude Shomyo Falls, the highest wa-terfall in Japan at 350m, Tateyama Murodo, the oldest mountain hut in Japan, and Mikurigaike Hot Spring.

OkinawaOkinawa is Japan’s southernmost prefecture, comprising a few doz-en small islands that stretch from Kyushu to Taiwan. This is the best place in Japan to go snorkelling and scuba diving as its seas house vi-brant coral reefs and scores of ma-rine wildlife.

Okinawa’s Ryukyu Islands, which have a different culture from the rest of Japan, were once an independ-ent kingdom and tributary state to China for many centuries, and were made a Japanese prefecture in 1879.

Other Ryukyu attractions include Shuri Castle, a reconstructed former Ryukyu royal palace on Okinawa Main Island, Shikinaen Garden, the second

residence of the former Ryukyu kings, and the ruins of Zakimi and Nakijin Castles.

KyotoThe historical city of Kyoto was for-merly Japan’s capital and the em-peror’s residence from 794 to 1868. Famed attractions here include Ni-jo Castle, the former residence of

the shogun, Nishiki Market, for its sumptuous fresh food, and cherry blossoms viewing trail, Philoso-pher’s Path.

Take a stroll through the steep lanes of the Higashiyama district, where there are many shops selling snacks and curi-os along the way. Pass by Yasaka Shrine before reaching the renowned Kiyomi-zudera, or “Pure Water Temple” in Japa-

nese, a Unesco world heritage site.Main draws of this temple include

the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to the de-ity of love and matchmaking, and the Otowa Waterfall where visitors queue to drink from in the hope for longevity, and success at school and in love.

Visit Amanohashidate, or “bridge in heaven”, a scenic pine-covered sandbar in northern Kyoto. During spring and

Railway Museum that opened in April, says JNTO. The former cuts travel time from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hako-date stations from almost fi ve hours to just an hour, while the latter will be a hit with train and history buffs.

Here are the top fi ve places to visit:

HokkaidoTravel to Biei, Kamikawa district in Hokkaido, to view the serene Shi-rogane Blue Pond. As temperamen-tal as the weather, its colour could range from green (rainy) to a daz-zling blue (at least three consecu-tive days of sunshine).

In the same town is the 30m-high Shirahige Waterfall, which means “white beard” in Japanese, taking its name from the water flowing down the rocks.

In mid-September, head to Sounkyo for its beautiful autumn colours. Take the ropeway from Sounkyo Onsen to Mount Kurodake for breathtaking views. Nearby is Daisetsuzan, Hok-kaido’s largest national park, also the first place in Japan to be bathed in both fall foliage and snow every year.

During the Sapporo Snow Festival from Feb 6 to 12 next year, you can see spectacular snow and ice sculp-tures, concerts and events. The fes-tival’s Tsudome Site boasts snow slides, snow rafting and food stalls.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine routeThis unique 90km route through the Northern Japan Alps was complet-

Hokkaido’s Shirogane Blue Pond in early winter. PHOTO: HONG THAI TRAVEL

Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera, or “Pure Water Temple”, bathed in autumn colours. PHOTO: JNTO

The unique Tateyama Kurobe Alpine route is 90km long. PHOTO: CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL

Okinawa is the best place in Japan to go snorkelling and scuba diving. PHOTO: OKINAWA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Tokyo’s Akihabara has sprawling electronics stores and Japanese idol cafés. PHOTO: JNTO

autumn, head to Arashiyama in the west-ern outskirts of Kyoto for its iconic bamboo groves, Togetsukyo Bridge and one of Kyo-to’s fi ve great Zen temples, Tenryuji.

TokyoA fi rst-time visitor to Japan should not miss Tokyo, the country’s modern capi-tal for shopping, eating and soaking up its entertainment and culture.

A big draw is the Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan’s largest and busiest fi sh mar-ket, with coveted tuna auctions early in the morning and two-hour queues for its outer market sushi eateries. The market will be relocating in November.

If you are into electronics and otaku goods, Akihabara is a whole day affair with Japanese idol cafes, sprawling electronics stores and music shops.

Those interested in Japanese sumo wrestlers can visit Ryogoku, and ani-me fans might want to take a selfie with the gigantic Gundam statue at the futuristic Odaiba. There is also the Ghibli animation fi lm studio museum, Tokyo Disney Resort and fashion cen-tral, Harajuku.

Another popular area is Asakusa where you will find the 7th century Sensoji Buddhist temple and Kamina-rimon, the entrance gate leading to it.

EDITOR Leong Phei Phei PROJECT EDITOR Goh Hwee Koon WRITER Meredith Woo CONTRIBUTORS Jonathan Tan, Lee Xin En CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Uma Venkatraman SUB-EDITOR Melissa Anne Tan ART DIRECTOR Chris Tan ART AND DESIGN Kimmie Tan, Lynnette Chia PHOTOGRAPHER Chong Jun Liang ADMIN MANAGER Zain Afridi ADVERTISING SALES Don Lam (9848-2313), Serene Cheong (9620-1409), Jaclyn Sim (8333-5665), Lina Tan (9620-1355) For reproduction of articles or reprints of photographs, call SPH's Information Resource Centre: 6319-5508 or 6319-5726. E-mail feedback to spu@sph.com.sg

mountain in Japan, while the lat-ter allows diners to drizzle beaten egg over the hotplate and cook it totheir liking.

Dining Innovation Asia-Pacifi c’stwo new shabu-shabu and Japa-nese barbecue concepts, Shaburi & Kintan Buffet, will be opening inAugust at Jem.

Mr Naoto Toyohara, general man-ager of Chateraise Singapore, justopened the Japanese confectionary’s fourth store at Chinatown Point. Itsproducts are all made in their Japa-nese factory. The bestseller, Double Fantasy cream puff, is made with Hokkaido fresh cream, fresh eggsand Japanese spring water.

To cater to Muslim customers,Mr Toyohara says Chateraise is de-veloping products without alcohol and animal oils.

Come November, East Japan Rail-way Company will be opening its fi rst Japan-bound tourism themedcafé outside of Japan.

Says general manager of JAPAN RAIL CAFE, Singapore, MakotoYamataka: “We believe many Singa-poreans are interested in food, trav-elling and the culture of Japan. Weaim to bring these three factors to-gether to provide a one-stop service.”

The café will offer informationand railway passes, and also actas a platform for sharing sessions,workshops and events.

JP Morgan is willing to provide€7 billion (S$10.5 billion) in abridging loan to a vehicle thatwould buy bad loans fromtroubled Italian lender Montedei Paschi di Siena, an Italiandaily said.

Nintendo shares skyrocketedin Tokyo on the strength ofsmartphone game PokemonGo. The shares, which hadsoared 75 per cent since thegame’s release last week,jumped 15 per cent yesterday.

Keppel AmFels, a whollyowned subsidiary of KeppelOffshore & Marine in theUnited States, has deliveredUxpanapa, a jack-up rig, toMexico’s Central Panuco, ontime and within budget.

A plan by Taiwan’s Foxconn toacquire Japan’s Sharp Corp is setto be approved soon by theChinese government, a Sharpexecutive was cited as saying byJiji news. The Nikkei had earliersaid the deal was held back byan antitrust review in China.

The yen slipped to athree-week low , after a reportsaying former US FederalReserve chairman BenBernanke had floated the ideaof perpetual bonds withJapanese policymakers.

52-WEEK CURRENCY LAST 'VOL GROSSHIGH LOW COMPANY TRADED SALE +OR- '000 YIELD %

169.8 101 ARA Asset Mgmt .................................... 136 unch 33 3.7253 209 Ascendas Reit .......................................... 243 -2 8361 6.3132 104.5 Ascott Reit ................................................... 113 unch 185 7.1103 66 Bumitama Agri ........................................ 75 +1 16 2

166.5 121.5 CDL HTrust ................................................... 149 -4 453 6.8156.5 122.5 CapitaCom Trust .................................... 154 unch 1780 5.6350 267 CapitaLand .................................................. 305 -2 2883 3225 184.5 CapitaMall Trust .................................... 217 +1 1548 5.2

165.5 129.5 CapitaR China Tr .................................... 156.5 +0.5 472 6.893 41 China Everbright ................................... 66 -0.5 939 0.5

997 661 CityDev ........................................................... 845 -8 832 1.9315 256 ComfortDelGro ......................................... 295 unch 2190 3.1

2150 1301 DBS Grp ........................................................... 1595 -4 1871 3.878 56 Far East HTrust ....................................... 62.5 unch 28 -

219 143.5 First Resources ....................................... 159 +3.5 2740 1.6215 179.5 Frasers Cpt Tr ........................................... 212 -3 354 5.598 73.5 GL .......................................................................... 80 -1 114 2.837 27.5 Genting HK US$ ................................ US28.5 +0.5 385 -93 66 Genting Sing ............................................... 78.5 +1 6785 1.9

262 159.5 Global Logistic ........................................ 188 cd -0.5 5308 3.244 28 Golden Agri-Res ..................................... 36 unch 6022 1.463 41 HPH Trust USD ................................... US45 -0.5 3486 9.9

812 555 HongkongLand USD ..................... US613 -3 195 3.16103 4500 JMH USD .................................................. US5762 -106 40 2.53300 2524 JSH USD .................................................... US3002 +13 43 0.94520 2636 Jardine C&C ................................................ 3679 -16 55 2.754.5 44 Kep Infra Tr ................................................. 51 +0.5 31 1.8824 464 Keppel Corp ................................................ 559 +2 1936 6.1115 85.5 Keppel Reit ................................................... 107.5 -0.5 925 6.3331 219 M1 ......................................................................... 284 -5 803 5.4

155.5 123 Mapletree Com Tr .................................. 154 +1 373 5.3107.5 80.5 Mapletree GCC Tr ................................... 104.5 -1.5 1726 6.9

179 135 Mapletree Ind Tr ..................................... 173 -2 708 6.4116 91 Mapletree Log Tr .................................... 105 unch 1699 7.1

130.5 77 NOL ..................................................................... 130 unch 67 -52.9 15.1 Noble ................................................................. 16.6 -0.1 49405 -

1048 741 OCBC Bank .................................................... 886 -3 1460 4.1203 149 OUE ..................................................................... 153 -0.5 99 3.3

87 63 OUE HTrust .................................................. 70.5 unch 99 9.3216 155.5 Olam Intl ........................................................ 187.5 -1.5 251 3.2265 208 ParkwayLife Reit .................................... 259 -1 105 5.1

108.5 82 Perennial Hldgs ...................................... 90.5 +0.5 6 -167.5 129.3 Raffles Medical ........................................ 153.5 -0.5 156 3.9449 338 SATS ................................................................... 437 cd -2 211 3.4855 661 SGX ...................................................................... 779 unch 420 3.61175 957 SIA ........................................................................ 1099 cd +8 457 4.1400 320 SIA Engineering ...................................... 375 cd unch 65 3.7

94 56 SIIC Environment .................................. 64 +1 109 -167.5 112 SMRT .................................................................. 154 cd unch 477 2.6425 350 SPH ...................................................................... 403 unch 901 5

103.5 89.5 SPHREIT ......................................................... 94.5 xd unch 108 5.8347 267 ST Engineering ........................................ 335 -2 1094 4.5396 216 Sembcorp Ind ........................................... 291 +1 1158 3.8286 129.5 Sembcorp Marine .................................. 154.5 -1 1151 3.9110 35.5 Silverlake Axis .......................................... 57 -0.5 412 7.4

196.5 128.5 SingPost ........................................................ 157 halt 3827 4.9444 338 Singtel ............................................................. 425 cd -1 12500 4.1398 324 Star Hub ......................................................... 391 -1 668 5.188.5 69.5 StarhillGbl Reit ....................................... 79.5 -0.5 872 9.6

181 142.5 Suntec Reit .................................................. 179.5 +0.5 1642 5.697.5 66 ThaiBev .......................................................... 96.5 +0.5 2591 2.5

2360 1680 UOB ...................................................................... 1862 -2 601 4.8702 522 UOL ...................................................................... 565 +1 419 2.7268 171.5 United Engineers .................................. 228 -1 45 3.5884 765 Venture Corp .............................................. 882 +3 227 5.7375 246 Wilmar Intl .................................................... 333 +4 1455 2.4196 146 Wing Tai .......................................................... 173.5 +1.5 1480 1.7134 85 YZJ Shipbldg SGD .................................. 90 -0.5 3487 5

133.5 94.5 Yanlord Land .............................................. 116.5 -1 340 1.3

52-WEEK CURRENCY LAST 'VOL GROSSHIGH LOW COMPANY TRADED SALE +OR- '000 YIELD %

253 209 Ascendas Reit .......................................... 243 -2 8361 6.3156.5 122.5 CapitaCom Trust .................................... 154 unch 1780 5.6350 267 CapitaLand .................................................. 305 -2 2883 3225 184.5 CapitaMall Trust .................................... 217 +1 1548 5.2997 661 CityDev ........................................................... 845 -8 832 1.9315 256 ComfortDelGro ......................................... 295 unch 2190 3.1

2150 1301 DBS Grp ........................................................... 1595 -4 1871 3.893 66 Genting Sing ............................................... 78.5 +1 6785 1.9

262 159.5 Global Logistic ........................................ 188 cd -0.5 5308 3.244 28 Golden Agri-Res ..................................... 36 unch 6022 1.463 41 HPH Trust USD ................................... US45 -0.5 3486 9.9

812 555 HongkongLand USD ..................... US613 -3 195 3.14520 2636 Jardine C&C ................................................ 3679 -16 55 2.7

824 464 Keppel Corp ................................................ 559 +2 1936 6.11048 741 OCBC Bank .................................................... 886 -3 1460 4.1449 338 SATS ................................................................... 437 cd -2 211 3.4855 661 SGX ...................................................................... 779 unch 420 3.61175 957 SIA ........................................................................ 1099 cd +8 457 4.1400 320 SIA Engineering ...................................... 375 cd unch 65 3.7425 350 SPH ...................................................................... 403 unch 901 5347 267 ST Engineering ........................................ 335 -2 1094 4.5396 216 Sembcorp Ind ........................................... 291 +1 1158 3.8286 129.5 Sembcorp Marine .................................. 154.5 -1 1151 3.9444 338 Singtel ............................................................. 425 cd -1 12500 4.1398 324 Star Hub ......................................................... 391 -1 668 5.197.5 66 ThaiBev .......................................................... 96.5 +0.5 2591 2.5

2360 1680 UOB ...................................................................... 1862 -2 601 4.8702 522 UOL ...................................................................... 565 +1 419 2.7375 246 Wilmar Intl .................................................... 333 +4 1455 2.4134 85 YZJ Shipbldg SGD .................................. 90 -0.5 3487 5

5

52-WEEK LAST 'VOL GROSSHIGH LOW COMPANY SALE +OR- '000 YIELD%

66.5 48 AccordiaGolfTr ....................................... 63.5 +0.5 197 10.481 57 Ascendas-hTrust ................................... 70 -0.5 286 7.7

101 70 Ascendas-iTrust ..................................... 100.5 unch 140 4.585.5 53 AsianPay TVTr .......................................... 54 unch 339 15.319.4 4.7 AusGroup ........................................................ 6.2 -0.1 1849 -

125.5 71.5 Boustead ......................................................... 80cd unch 28 24142.5 70 BreadTalk ....................................................... 114 +1 2 1.3

237 172 CWT ...................................................................... 213 +2 79 1.4116 80.5 CacheLogTrust ....................................... 86.5 unch 478 9.870 48.5 CambridgeIndTr ..................................... 55.5 unch 3107 8.6

49.5 32.5 Centurion ....................................................... 36 unch 125 4.221.5 4.4 ChinaFishery ............................................... 7.6 susp - -

80.5 57 ChipEng Seng ............................................ 62.5 - - 6.446.5 29 Civmec .............................................................. 40 - - 1.8171.5 107 Cordlife ............................................................ 132 +0.5 18 0.853.5 27.5 Cosco .................................................................. 31 unch 895 -

41 30.5 CourtsAsia .................................................... 40cd -0.5 26 3.290 74.8 CroesusRTrust ......................................... 84co unch 228 9.6

- - DMXTechnologies ................................ 10.9 susp - 2.845 28 DelMontePac ............................................. 34 unch 890 -

2000 10.6 Dyna-Mac ...................................................... 13 - - -72.4 36.2 Ezion ................................................................... 43.5 +0.5 5050 -16.1 4.8 Ezra ...................................................................... 6.7 +0.1 12989 -

26.5 15.7 FalconEnergy ............................................ 18.4 -0.9 10 2.7143.5 114 FirstReit ......................................................... 130 unch 89 6.4

156 114.5 FrasersComTr ........................................... 132.5 -0.5 228 7.364 27 GMGGlobal ................................................... 58 -0.5 168 -

20.5 10.2 GeoEnergy Res ......................................... 13.3 +1.1 7697 -75 42.5 HalcyonAgri ................................................. 74.5 +0.5 121 -

54.5 31 Hi-P Intl ............................................................. 35.5 - - -89.5 47 Hyflux ................................................................ 60.5 +0.5 372 2.8

151 97 IFAST .................................................................. 100 - - 2.875 61.5 IREITGlobal .................................................. 73 unch 30 7.2

68.5 41 IndofoodAgri ............................................. 48.5 +1 153 -105 71.5 K1Ventures ................................................... 88 +0.5 49 4.5118 95.5 KeppelDC Reit ........................................... 116 +1 706 5.9155 120.5 KeppelT&T .................................................... 140.5 +0.5 12 2.5

40.5 12.8 KrisEnergy ..................................................... 15 unch 40 -57 40.5 LianBeng ....................................................... 46 - - 6.537 29 LippoMalls Tr ............................................. 35.5 unch 348 8.7

86.5 77 ManulifeReitUSD ................................... 85.5 unch 859 -35 22.5 Midas ................................................................... 25.5 -1 685 2

28.5 7.2 NamCheong ................................................ 7.9 unch 185 -73 53 NeraTel ............................................................. 69 +1 193 5.175 6.8 OKHGlobal ..................................................... 9.2 unch 102 -72 55.5 OUEComReit .............................................. 68 +0.5 38 6.450 29 PEC ........................................................................ 42 -1 5 4.8

41.5 27 POSH ................................................................... 36 unch 264 1.46.4 1.7 PacificAndes .............................................. 2.2 susp - -47 23.5 PacificRadiance ..................................... 25 +0.5 2 490 56.5 Q&MDental ................................................... 70.5 -0.5 333 1.228 11.7 RHPetroGas ................................................. 13.6 +0.7 2 -

30.5 19.2 RafflesEdu ..................................................... 19.5 -0.4 3 5.134.5 12.6 RambaEnergy ........................................... 21.5 unch 250 -

107.5 81 ReligareHTrust ......................................... 101.5 -1.5 151 7.613000 86.5 Riverstone .................................................... 90 +0.5 74 2.8

88.5 50.5 SabanaReit .................................................. 53 -0.5 109 12.9235 128 SarineTech ................................................... 183 - - 1.292.5 78.5 ShengSiong ................................................. 90.5 +0.5 1148 3.934.5 26.5 SingHoldings ............................................... 29.5 -0.5 24 4.278.5 23.5 SinoGrandness ........................................ 63.5 -0.5 4948 0.687.5 65.5 SoilbuildBizReit ........................................ 70.5cd +0.5 540 9.232.5 7.7 SunVicChemical ..................................... 11.1 -0.1 20 -110.5 68 SuperGroup ................................................. 82 -1 439 2.733.4 16.8 Swiber ................................................................ 17.3 -0.3 294 -

39 9.6 Swissco ............................................................ 9.7 -0.1 342 151.5 23 Triyards ........................................................... 38.5 -0.5 0 2.665 45 UMS ...................................................................... 59 -0.5 132 10.251 12.4 Vard ..................................................................... 16.8 -0.2 890 -50 29 VibrantGroup ............................................ 42 unch 42 4.333 24 WeeHur ............................................................. 25 -0.5 60 6

21.5 11.9 YingLi Intl ...................................................... 13.9 unch 661 -62 30 YomaStrategic .......................................... 59.5cd unch 3736 0.441 20.5 Yongnam ......................................................... 20.5 -0.5 5 -

185 125 ZhongminBaihui .................................... 143 - - 3.1

43

VOL CLOSE($) CHANGE +/-

CPH ...................................................... 400.0 0.005 +0.001 +25.00TiongWoon ........................................ 552.3 0.240 +0.015 +6.67ResourcesPrima ................................ 31,963.7 0.054 +0.009 +20.00NewWave ............................................ 900.2 0.008 +0.001 +14.29AsiaPhos ............................................. 1,769.7 0.105 +0.003 +2.94Hafary ................................................. 142.5 0.190 +0.010 +5.56GeoEnergy Res ................................... 7,697.0 0.133 +0.011 +9.02MDevelopment .................................. 1,300.0 0.002 -0.001 -33.33SHCCapitalAsia ................................ 88.6 0.118 +0.006 +5.36APOil .................................................. 183.5 0.250 +0.005 +2.04

Showsthestocks with thehighest combination ofpricechangeandofdaily activity relative to thethree-month averagevolume

VOLUME

Annica ............................................. 85,806,100Noble R ............................................ 55,918,400Noble .............................................. 49,405,200EzionR ............................................... 32,421,100Resources Prima ............................. 31,963,700Ezra .................................................. 12,989,000Singtel .............................................. 12,500,700AllianceMineral ............................... 12,376,900China MedIntl ................................. 12,010,000CedarStrategic ................................. 11,025,100

Marketvolume ............... 715,395,000

VALUE ($)

Singtel .............................................. 53,092,811DBSGrp .............................................. 29,916,312AscendasReit ................................. 20,453,250OCBCBank ....................................... 12,966,661UOB ..................................................... 11,227,682KeppelCorp ..................................... 10,861,537Global Logistic .................................. 9,961,243CapitaLand ....................................... 8,859,037Noble .................................................. 8,198,497CityDev ............................................... 7,115,230

Marketvalue ..................... 345,318,000

2

VolCompany Last Sale +or- ('000)

CapMallA3.8%b220112 .......................................................... 101.7 unch 26CapMallTrb3.08%21022 ....................................................... 103.2 -0.2 271CityDev NCCPS ................................................................................ 104 - -DBS Bk 4.7% NCPS ....................................................................... 10560 unch 0FCL Trea 3.65%n22052 .......................................................... 99.6 - -FibreChem NCPS ........................................................................... 11 susp -Genting SP5.125%Perp ........................................................... 102.2 +0.1 10Hyflux 6% CPS ................................................................................. 10180 +20 0OCC 5.1% NCPS ................................................................................ 10520 - -Tigerair 2%PerpC .......................................................................... 83.5 - -UE Pref .................................................................................................... 190 - -

52-Week Vol LastQuoteHigh Low Counter LastSale +/- (’000) Buy Sell

119.9 112 ABFSGBondETF ...................................................... 118.9 +1.9 0 118.2 118.9132 97 CIMBAPACDivS$D .................................................. 109.9 +2.9 1 107.8 110

96.7 69.1 CIMBAPACDivUS$ ............................................ US76.3 - - 80.1 81.71290 991 CIMBASEAN40S$D ................................................. 1162 - - 1160 1184

941 700 CIMBASEAN40US$ ........................................... US864 - - 875 8793497 2355 DBXTChina50 US$ ........................................... US2909 - - 2790 2930126.7 97.5 DBXTMSSING US$ ............................................ US115 - - - -

351 190 DBXTMSBrazilUS$ .......................................... US341 - - - -1456 995 DBXTMSCHINA US$ .......................................... US1212 - - 1080 -5547 4478 DBXTMSKoreaUS$ .......................................... US5281 - - - -1234 990 DBXTMSMSIA US$ ............................................ US1137 - - - -219.6 158.5 DBXTMSPHILS US$ .......................................... US218.6 -0.7 1 - 220504 401 DBXTMSPacXJp US$ ....................................... US461 - - - -

1894 1419 DBXTMSTHAIUS$ .............................................. US1894 - - - -2171 1667 DBXTMSTaiwan US$ ........................................ US2128 +23 6 - 2127

13090 10018 GLDUS$ ...................................................................... US12778 -21 1 12850 128501483 1433 ISASIABNDS$D ........................................................ 1480 - - 1480 -1499 1407 ISASIAHYGS$D ........................................................ 1475 +13 0 1461 -1130 977 ISASIAHYGUS$ .................................................. US1079 - - 1080 -1100 1010 ISAsiaBND US ...................................................... US1094 - - 1097 -1100 807 ISMSINDIA S$D ......................................................... 942 - - - -780 575 ISMSINDIA US$ ................................................... US717 - 35 716 717344 259 NikkoAMSTIETF ...................................................... 297 +1 13 297 297343 254 STIETF .............................................................................. 295 - 231 295 295

1

FTSE ST Large & Mid-Cap Index stocks

FTSE ST Small-Cap Index stocks

Jacqueline Woo

Trading volume and value in the Sin-gapore market yesterday hit theirlowest level this year, after a majoroutage led to a significantly short-ened session.

With the half-day trading closureowing to technical faults, only538.7 million shares worth $335.2million changed hands – about athird of recent averages.

When trading was halted, theStraits Times Index had lost 3.73points, or 0.13 per cent, to 2,906.92.

“We were expecting the marketto be back up at 2pm, but it didn’thappen. Then again at 4pm, and itstill didn’t happen. It was quitebad,” said remisier DesmondLeong, who was watching the mar-ket from home yesterday. “I guess Ididn’t miss much.”

He noted that while technicalglitches do happen, it would havebeen better if the bourse operator re-opened trading, even if it was just for30 minutes. “If I had to do contra

trades, that 30 minutes would meana lot to me,” he said, adding that heexpects trading today to be more vol-atile than usual as traders pick upwhere they left off during the outage.

Oil and gas play Annica Holdingswas the day’s most heavily traded,closing flat at 0.1 cent on 85.8 mil-lion shares done. Other actives in-cluded Noble Group nil-paid rights,which added 0.1 cent or 2.1 per centto 4.9 cents on its last day of trading,and Resources Prima Group, which

soared 0.9 cent or 20 per cent to 5.4cents. Jet fuel supplier China Avia-tion Oil sank 3.5 cents or 2.4 percent to $1.45 after an intraday highof $1.515, while coal mining groupGeo Energy Resources jumped 1.1cents or 9 per cent to 13.3 cents.

Postal company Singapore Postfinished flat at $1.57, after it calledfor a trading halt at 10.30am, pend-ing the outcome of its annual gener-al meeting in the afternoon.

It was business as usual else-

where in the region. Asian marketsextended gains for the fourthstraight session, still driven by opti-mism that global policymakers willroll out further stimulus measures.

Tokyo added 0.95 per cent on aweaker yen, as traders held on toPrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s prom-ise of a new round of stimulus ef-forts. The Nikkei 225 has erased allthe losses it sustained in the wakeof Britain’s shock vote to leave theEuropean Union. Hong Kong rose1.12 per cent and Sydney grew 0.43per cent. Shanghai pared 0.22 percent after trade figures showed slug-gish consumer demand.

The overall buoyant sentimentwas likely helped by Wall Street’s0.13 per cent overnight gain.

“The recent rally we’ve had postthe Brexit news is anticipation of ad-ditional stimulus,” Mr George Bou-bouras, chief investment officer ofContango Asset Management in Mel-bourne, told Bloomberg. “Stimuluswill remain as a pre-condition formost economies. There’s no alterna-tive to risk assets, you’ve got to gosomewhere at the end of the day.”

tsjwoo@sph.com.sg

ETFs

BYCENTS

CLOSE UP %

JSHUSD ........................ 3002 17.5 0.4BukitSembawang ........ 500 12.0 2.5SIA ................................. 1099 8.0 0.7HPL ................................. 350 4.0 1.2Wilmar Intl ..................... 333 4.0 1.2FirstResources ............ 159 3.5 2.3SUTLEnterprise ........... 40 3.0 8.1VentureCorp ................ 882 3.0 0.3FischerTech ................. 156.5 2.5 1.6AusNetServices ........... 168.5 2.0 1.2

BYPERCENTAGE

CLOSE % UP

Polaris .......................... 0.5 66.7 0.2Infinio ........................... 0.3 50.0 0.1Next-GenSat ................ 0.3 50.0 0.1BlackGoldNatural ........ 3.5 40.0 1.0ChinaHaida .................. 2.2 37.5 0.6Elektromotive .............. 0.4 33.3 0.1Mercurius ...................... 0.9 28.6 0.2CPH ............................... 0.5 25.0 0.1Cacola ............................ 0.6 20.0 0.1ResourcesPrima ........... 5.4 20.0 0.9

Half-day closure due to technical glitches;buoyant Asian markets again extend gains

BYCENTS

CLOSE DOWN %

JMHUSD ..................... 5762 -142.7 -1.8JardieC&C ................. 3679 -16.0 -0.4CityDev ...................... 845 -8.0 -0.9BundCenter .............. 67.5 -7.0 -9.4GlobalTesting ............ 112 -5.5 -4.7Delfi ............................ 235 -5.0 -2.1GreatEastern ............ 2074 -5.0 -0.2M1 ................................ 284 -5.0 -1.7A-SonicAero ............. 31.5 -4.5 -12.5HongkongLandUSD .. 613 -4.0 -0.5

BYPERCENTAGE

CLOSE % DOWN

MDevelopment .......... 0.2 -33.3 -0.1IPCOIntl ..................... 0.3 -25.0 -0.1Sitra ............................ 0.9 -18.2 -0.2OLS .............................. 0.5 -16.7 -0.1EmasOffshore .......... 8 -15.8 -1.5A-SonicAero ............. 31.5 -12.5 -4.5ICP .............................. 0.7 -12.5 -0.1MirachEnergy ............ 8.3 -9.8 -0.9BundCenter .............. 67.5 -9.4 -7.0Jadason ..................... 2.6 -7.1 -0.2

Most active

BullsAndBears

Volume, value inS’pore market sinkamid trading halt

Bonds

Gainers Losers

Market highlights

Price and volume movers

Straits Times Index stocks

Market watchNEW YORK TOKYO HONG KONG

KOSPI

SHANGHAI SEOUL

BURSA KLCI

KUALA LUMPURSHENZHENNEW YORK JAKARTA BANGKOK

COMPOSITE INDEX SET THAILAND

SYDNEY

1,654.78(-5.61)

NIKKEI

-0.34%+1.12% +0.16% +0.16%

-0.22%+0.13% +0.95% +0.75% +0.43%

16,385.89(+154.46)

2,008.77(+3.22)

5,083.54(-50.39)

1,488.69(+11.08)

SYDNEY ASX 2005,411.61(+23.07)

DOW JONES18,372.12(+24.45)

NASDAQ5,005.73(-17.09)

2,044.93(+3.27)

3,054.02(-6.67)

COMPOSITE INDEXCOMPOSITE INDEX

-0.98%-0.34%

21,561.06(+238.69)

HANG SENG

STI trading volume

74.33million shares

STI up& down

Gainers: 8Losers: 16Unchanged: 6

Straits Times Index

SeptJuly Nov2015

Jan March May July2016

July 14, 2016

2,906.92(-3.73)

2,400

2,600

2,800

3,000

3,200

3,400

3,60052-WEEK

HIGH:LOW:

3,373.48 (July 20, ’15)2,532.70 (Jan 21, ’16)

-0.13%

C14 BUSINESS ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

AT A GLANCE

GROSS REVENUE: $26.6 million(+6.5%)

DISTRIBUTABLE AMOUNT:$16.2 million (+5.5 %)

DISTRIBUTION PER UNIT:2.11 cents (+1.9%)

Rachael Boon

Contributions from recently ac-quired properties helped health-care real estate investment trustFirst Reit boost its second-quarterresults.

The Reit, which owns health-care-related properties in Indone-sia, Singapore and South Korea, yes-terday posted a distribution perunit (DPU) of 2.11 cents for thethree months to June 30.

This was 1.9 per cent higher thana year earlier, said its manager,Bowsprit Capital Corporation.

First Reit’s properties in Singa-pore include the Pacific Health-care Nursing Home@Bukit Merahand nursing home The Lentor Resi-dence. There are 17 properties inits portfolio.

Based on an annualised DPU of8.49 cents and a closing price of$1.25 on June 30, the trust main-tained a healthy annualised distri-bution yield of 6.8 per cent.

Distributable income expanded5.5 per cent to $16.2 million forthe quarter.

Gross revenue rose 6.5 per centto $26.6 million for the quarter,while net property income rose 6.9per cent to $26.3 million from theprevious year.

For the six months ended June 30,gross revenue rose 6.8 per cent to$53.1 million and net property in-

come rose 7.5 per cent to $52.5 mil-lion, while distributable income in-creased 5.8 per cent to $32.4 million.

The growth was mainly owing tothe contribution from First Reit’sKupang property in Indonesia – Si-loam Hospitals Kupang and LippoPlaza Kupang –which was acquiredin December, said Bowsprit.

Bowsprit chief executive RonnieTan said the Reit’s consistent andstrategic acquisition trail has con-tinued to boost growth.

He added that the trust recentlyannounced the issuing of $60 mil-lion subordinated perpetual securi-ties, priced at a fixed distributionrate of 5.68 per cent a year.

“This exercise will lower our gear-ing from 34 to 30 per cent as the pro-ceeds raised will be used to reduceour existing loans and thus increase

our debt headroom for future acqui-sition opportunities,” said Dr Tan.

The additional stream of cashmeans the trust will not apply thedistribution reinvestment plan forthis quarter, and may consider it ata later date.

First Reit will continue to lookfor potential “yield-accretive ac-quisitions in the region to boostgrowth”, particularly in Indonesia,where its sponsor PT Lippo Kara-waci Tbk continues to expand itshealthcare portfolio.

First Reit’s quarterly earnings perunit was 1.84 cents, down from 1.9cents a year ago, while net asset val-ue per unit was $1.0312 as at June 30,down from $1.0388 as at Dec 31. Itsunits closed flat at $1.30 yesterday.

rachaelb@sph.com.sg

Reit manager credits Kupangproperty acquired in December

Siloam HospitalsBali, one of FirstReit’s properties.CEO Ronnie Tanof the Reit’smanagerBowsprit CapitalCorporation saidits consistentand strategicacquisition trailhas continued toboost growth.PHOTO: FIRST REIT

Jul 14

AgainstS$ AgainstUS$Currencies Bid Offer Bid OfferS$/US$tooneunitofforeigncurrency:Australiandollar .................................................................................................. 1.0273 1.0286 0.7632 0.7636Canadiandollar .................................................................................................... 1.0399 1.0412 0.7730 0.7726Euro ............................................................................................................................... 1.4939 1.4954 1.1099 1.1102NZdollar ...................................................................................................................... 0.9725 0.9737 0.7225 0.7229Sterlingpound ...................................................................................................... 1.7805 1.7826 1.3228 1.3234USdollar ..................................................................................................................... 1.3460 1.3470 - -S$/US$to100unitsofforeigncurrency:Chineserenminbi ................................................................................................ 20.1253 20.1406 14.9519 14.9522Danishkrone ........................................................................................................... 20.0860 20.1048 14.9227 14.9256HongKongdollar ................................................................................................. 17.35 17.37 12.8934 12.8951IndianRupee ........................................................................................................... 2.01 2.01 1.4945 1.4948Indonesiarupiah .................................................................................................. 0.0103 0.0103 0.0076 0.0076Japaneseyen ........................................................................................................ 1.2752 1.2768 0.9474 0.9479Koreanwon ............................................................................................................... 0.1183 0.1184 0.0879 0.0879Malaysianringgit ............................................................................................... 34.13 34.20 25.3550 25.3872NewTaiwandollar ............................................................................................... 4.2055 4.2099 3.1244 3.1254Norwegiankrone ................................................................................................ 16.0048 16.0426 11.8906 11.9099Philippinepeso ..................................................................................................... 2.8590 2.8635 2.1240 2.1259Saudiriyal .................................................................................................................. 35.8876 35.9162 26.6624 26.6638Swedishkrona ...................................................................................................... 15.8554 15.8726 11.7797 11.7837Swissfranc ............................................................................................................... 136.9138 137.0574 101.7191 101.7501ThaiBaht ................................................................................................................... 3.8369 3.8420 2.8506 2.8523

Source:OCBC

Jul 14

S$ Offer Bid

0vernight ........ 0.03 Par1-month ........... 0.6875 0.56252-months ........ 0.8125 0.68753-months ......... 0.875 0.75

Overnight mode: 0.05

US$ Offer Bid

7days .............. 0.52 0.421 month ............. 0.55 0.452 months ......... 0.65 0.453months .......... 0.75 0.556 months .......... 1.05 0.859months .......... 1.25 0.9512months ........ 1.45 1.25

A$ Offer Bid

1 month ............. 1.95 1.753months .......... 2.05 1.856 months .......... 2.25 2.0512months ........ 2.60 2.40

Euro Offer Bid

1 month ............ -0.30 -0.503months .......... -0.20 -0.406 months .......... -0.05 -0.2512months ........ 0.05 -0.10

NZ$ Offer Bid

1 month ............ 2.50 2.303months .......... 2.60 2.406 months .......... 2.80 2.6012months ........ 3.10 2.90

Yen Offer Bid

1 month ............ -0.10 -0.303months .......... -0.10 -0.306 months .......... -0.05 -0.2512months ........ 0.00 -0.20

£ Offer Bid

1 month ............ 0.50 0.403months .......... 0.55 0.406 months .......... 0.70 0.5012months ....... 0.95 0.75 Rates quoted by Icap (S) Pte Ltd

First Reit’s new propertieshelp boost Q2 results

Interbank currency rates Interbank rates

Government securities

Sapphire Corporation

Mainboard-listed rail infrastructure andmining company Sapphire Corporation hasnew infrastructure contracts in China worthabout 873 million yuan (S$176 million), said thefirm yesterday. The order book has risen about37.5 per cent to about 2.75 billion yuan, from apreviously announced 2 billion yuan.

Ranken Infrastructure, its engineering,procurement and construction unit, willhandle the 300 million yuan Jian Cao Pingflyover, which will connect to Taiyuan city’sfirst metro line.

Ranken also won a 313 million yuan project toconstruct part of the Urumqi Rail Transit Line 2.

The other new projects are in Jinan City,Chongqing and Chengdu.

The new contracts are slated to be completedover the next 24 to30 months.

China Everbright Water

Mainboard-listed China Everbright Water,which provides integrated environmentalwater services, has announced a new project.

It has won a project to treat municipal wastewater from the Shudong new urban area, eastof Shu River in Ju County. A facility will beconstructed on a build-operate-transfer basisand has a designed daily waste-watertreatment capacity of 20,000 cubic metres,with a concession period of 30 years.

The project’s total investment is about 50million yuan, and the water discharge willcomply with the national Grade 1A standard.

The project is expected to be completed tobegin operations next year.

Two waste-water treatment plants the firmworked on have been transferred to its projectcompany, and started operating commercially inMay. The total designed daily waste-watertreatment capacity of the plants is 90,000 cubicmetres. The total investment is about 160 millionyuan with a concession period of 30 years.

Changtian Plastic & Chemical

Plastics maker Changtian Plastic & Chemicalsaid poor weather in the past two months hasaffected construction works for a projectknown as the Nylon-6 Chip Development.

It expects works to be delayed to October,and the trial production and sales of Nylon-6chips are expected to start only in the fourthquarter of the year.

If anything changes, the firm said it will makean announcement, and also told shareholdersand investors to exercise caution when dealingin the firm’s securities.

CompanyBriefs

Jul 14GOVERNMENTBONDS

Period Issue Coupon Maturity Close Day'scode rate (%) Bid High Low

2-Year N513100T ................... 0.500 01-Apr-18 99.27 - -5-Year NX11100X .................. 2.250 01-Jun-21 104.24 104.40 104.2010-Year NX16100F .................. 2.125 01-Jun-26 103.48 103.90 103.5015-Year NZ10100F ................... 2.875 01-Sep-30 110.3 110.80 110.4820-Year NZ13100V .................. 3.375 01-Sep-33 118.01 118.60 118.0030-Year NA16100H .................. 2.750 01-Mar-46 111.06 112.95 111.96

Note: Based on latest issue Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore

Points Change Points Change

Mid CapSmall Cap Fledgling CatalistChinaChina TopMaritimeBasic materialsConsumer goodsConsumer serv Financials

Healthcare IndustrialsOil and gasReal estate Real estatehldg & dev

Reits Technology TelcoUtilities

1,528.49685.73333.05705.74

661.77

757.20244.991,095.20405.57

FTSE ST Indexes

Eur/S$ S$/RM

Source: BLOOMBERG

S$ S$1.4942 RM

Eur/S$ GoldUS$1,329.37US$ S$

Catalist

400

500

600

700

800462.90

Catalist

RM2.9347S$1.3456

BrentUS$

US$/S$

2015 2016

20

30

40

50

60

70-3.65-5.28+0.91-2.58

-3.36

-1.96-0.89-3.00+3.47

2015 2016 2015 2016

2015 2016F MJ AM JJ A S O N D

F MJ A M JJ JA S O N D F MJ A M J JJ A S O N DF MJ A M J JJ A S O N D2015 2016

F MJ A M JJ A S O N D

F MJ A M JJ JA S O N D2015 2016

689.31392.70691.82462.90190.50161.75193.77100.24515.52767.42763.65

US$47.04

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

3.0

3.1

3.2

1,000

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

-1.39+0.06-0.39+3.93-0.30-0.48-0.86-0.30+3.32+2.31-2.21

1.30

1.35

1.40

1.45

J

J

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | BUSINESS C15

MADRID • Among their roster of in-ternational superstars, Barcelonahave long singled out Lionel Messifor special care.

But, when the Spanish footballclub began an online solidarity cam-paign in support of the Argentinianforward after he was sentenced in atax fraud case, many in Spain areasking just how far a club should goto support their best player.

The debate began almost immedi-ately after Barcelona announcedtheir “We Are All Leo Messi” cam-paign last Saturday.

Social media reaction was swifton both sides, and this week topgovernment officials joined thechorus of critics.

On Tuesday, Miguel Cardenal,the president of the High Councilfor Sport, the government agencythat oversees sports in Spain, de-scribed Barcelona’s public cam-paign as “completely wrong”.

He said that Spain had laws thatallowed Messi to appeal such a rul-ing – which the player plans to do –without requiring extra supportfrom his club, especially one with aglobal profile as large asBarcelona’s.

“Messi should be satisfied withliving in a country with the ad-vanced system of protection thatwe have,” he said.

As part of Barcelona’s campaignto support Messi, the club askedfans to show solidarity by postingonline photos of themselves withtheir hands open.

Josep Maria Bartomeu, theteam’s president, posted his ownmessage on Twitter in which he ad-dressed his superstar: “Leo, thosewho attack you are attacking Barcaand its history. We’ll defend you tothe end.”

Barcelona’s campaign was a re-sponse to a court ruling that sen-tenced Messi and his father, Jorge,to a largely symbolic 21 months inprison for failing to disclose toSpain’s tax authorities some of hisadvertising contracts.

The club have defended theircampaign by insisting that the sen-tence against Messi was “unjust”.

Amid dozens of high-profile fi-nancial fraud and corruption casesin Spain, however, Barcelona’s ac-tive support for Messi has infuriat-ed those struggling to collect Span-ish taxes.

Carlos Cruzado, the president ofGestha, an association of tax inspec-tors, said on Tuesday that the cluband their star player should havejust accepted the sentence andclosed this chapter.

Instead, Barcelona’s campaign is“dismantling the pedagogic workthat should be done to make citi-zens more conscious” of their taxobligations, Cruzado said.

The tax inspectors also arguedthat Messi, as a superstar, shouldbe setting a public example, andthat his club should be remindingtheir followers that they are all tax-payers.

Predictably, one of the responsesto Barcelona’s crusade has beenthe start of an “I Am Not Leo Messi”campaign online. NEW YORK TIMES

FIFA TOP 10

1 (1) Argentina

2 (2) Belgium

3 (3) Colombia

4 (4) Germany

5 (5) Chile

6 (8) Portugal

7 (17) France

8 (6) Spain

9 (7) Brazil

10 (12) Italy

158 (149)Singapore

Last month’sranking inbrackets

Loris Karius isconfident he canoust SimonMignolet to beLiverpool’sfirst-choice’keeper.

LONDON • Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to have re-ceived preferential treatment from Manchester Unit-ed, after he was allowed to miss the English footballclub’s pre-season tour to China despite Sweden’s ear-ly exit from Euro 2016.

The 34-year-old is on holiday in the United States,with his most recent public appearance being on Sun-day at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event inLas Vegas.

Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Marcus Rash-ford, the England players, are due to return toUnited’s training ground in Carrington on Monday fortests before flying to China with the squad the nextday.

The trio will not play in China, but will build up theirfitness there during training sessions.

Even though Sweden were knocked out of the tour-nament in the group stage, five days before England,Ibrahimovic is set to miss United’s two games in Chi-na, against Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on July 22and Manchester City in Beijing three days later.

It is likely that the Swedish striker’s United debutwill instead come in Sweden on July 30 when JoseMourinho’s side face Galatasaray in Stockholm.

If not, Ibrahimovic will feature against Everton atOld Trafford on Aug 3 in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial.

Mourinho’s other two new signings, Eric Bailly andHenrikh Mkhitaryan, are set to travel to China, havingtrained for the first time with the squad on Wednes-day.

Luke Shaw, the left-back, also looks set to be on theplane to China after making an encouraging start topre-season.

The England defender is expected to make hiscomeback from a 10-month lay-off tomorrow whenUnited play their first game under Mourinho, away toWigan Athletic.

The 21-year-old suffered a broken leg in two placesafter a tackle by Hector Moreno, the PSV Eindhovendefender, during United’s 2-1 Champions League de-feat in the Netherlands in September.

The England player was ruled out for the rest of theseason, but he is now training with the Unitedfirst-team squad and is expected to feature at the DWStadium tomorrow.

Another player who will be given a chance to im-press is Phil Jones, the centre-back.

Jones’ injury record and inconsistent form had ledto suggestions that the England player could be on hisway out of Old Trafford, but it is understood thatMourinho is considering starting the season with theformer Blackburn Rovers man and Chris Smalling ashis first-choice centre-half pairing.THETIMES, LONDON, THE GUARDIAN

Support campaign for Messi gets negativeresponses, but Barca chief remains defiant

LONDON • Loris Karius has stakedhis claim to be Liverpool’sfirst-choice goalkeeper, saying thathe expects to oust Simon Mignolet,having sacrificed a place inGermany’s Olympic team in orderto prove himself at Anfield.

In a revealing insight into the23-year-old’s character and self-be-lief, two of the qualities whichprompted manager Jurgen Kloppto sign him from Bundesliga clubMainz, Karius claimed he is toogood to be a substitute at Liverpool.

He insisted that he agreed to re-turn to English football only on thebasis that he will play, following anunrewarding spell at ManchesterCity as a teenager.

With Mignolet yet to return to

training following his involvementat Euro 2016 with Belgium, Kariusis given an early opportunity toprove himself in Liverpool’spre-season matches and he doesnot intend to waste the chance.

He has even gone so far as to in-form Germany that he does notwant to be included in their Olym-pic team due to club commitments.

Instead of playing for his nationalteam in Brazil, Karius expects to beselected for the Reds’ opening twoPremier League fixtures, at Arsenal(Aug 14) and Burnley (Aug 20).

Should that happen, Mignolet’sstatus as No. 1 goalkeeper will belost after three mixed seasons.

“I wouldn’t come here just to siton the bench. That doesn’t make

sense for me,” Karius said.“I’m not a ’keeper who hasn’t

shown his ability. I know I am agood goalkeeper.”

Regarded as one of theBundesliga’s most promising goal-keepers before moving to Liver-pool for £5 million (S$8.9 million),Karius has already had one briefspell in English football.

He spent 21/2 years in City’s jun-ior ranks before joining Mainz in or-der to play regular football in Au-gust 2011.

During discussions with Kloppbefore his move to Anfield, Kariuswas not swayed from the idea thathe could hold down a regular start-ing place in the Liverpool team, buthe would not be drawn on whetherhe has been afforded any guaran-tees to that effect.

“What we’ve talked about stayswith us,” the goalkeeper said.

“Of course I know that a club likethis has more competition.

“I am not scared or anything. If Iwas, I wouldn’t have come here. Ihave a good feeling.”THETIMES, LONDON

Karius wants to become Liverpool’s No. 1

Ibra to miss United’s China tour,still in holiday mode despiteSweden’s early exit from Euro

LONDON • Antonio Conte was pre-sented by Chelsea yesterday. Hereis what the English PremierLeague football club’s new manag-er had to say on some key issues:

JOHN TERRY STAYS AS CAPTAINHe is a captain of this team. He is agreat player with a great personali-ty, with great charisma. I like tospeak with him because I knowthat he knows the club, and has theright spirit to play in this club.

DEALING WITH PRESSUREThe pressure, for me, is not impor-tant. I was born with pressure. ... Iknow that this league is very, verydifficult because there are six orseven teams who can win the title.For this reason, this situation is

very, yeah, exciting for me.

AIMING FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUEThe fans need to find a team readyto fight until the end, and to com-pete with the other teams... Chel-sea belongs in the ChampionsLeague, and we must stay there.

PLAY THREE AT THE BACK?You have to respect (the players’)characteristics. Then you decide...Three at the back, four at the back,it’s not important. What’s impor-tant is the right spirit for the team.

WORK, WORK, WORKThe most important message isthat I’m a worker. I like to work. Ilike to work, and I know only thisroad to win. THEGUARDIAN

Conte’s road map for Blues

PARIS • Singapore fell nine placesto 158 in the Fifa world rankings yes-terday, as Wales, propelled by an im-pressive European Championshipcampaign, climbed 15 places to 11,two places ahead of England.

Chris Coleman’s charges, whoreached the last four in France inWales’ first major tournament since

1958, were boosted by an increaseof 291 ranking points, the highest ofany nation in the football world.

Iceland, the smallest nation everto have qualified for the EuropeanChampionship and which has a pop-ulation of just 330,000, saw theirfairy-tale run end in the quarter-fi-nals but saw their rankings jump 12

places to 22.There were no changes in the top

five rankings with Copa America fi-nalists Argentina retaining topspot, followed by Belgium, Colom-bia, Germany and Chile.

Five-time world champions Bra-zil, who failed to progress past thegroup stages of Copa America for

the first time since 1987, are on thebrink of dropping out of the top 10,ranked at ninth, ahead of Italy.

European Championship finalistsFrance jumped 10 places to move toseventh, one place behind winnersPortugal.

Thailand, placed 121, are topsamong South-east Asian nations, de-

spite falling four places.They are followed by the Philip-

pines (135), and Vietnam (139). Ma-laysia (167) lie nine places belowSingapore.

Asia’s top sides are Iran (39),South Korea (48), Japan (57), whofell by four places, and Australia(59). REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (foreground) and his father Jorge attending a session of their tax fraud trial last month. They were sentenced to 21 months in prison lastweek, which prompted the club to start an online solidarity campaign in support of their Argentinian star. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

SPECIAL ONES, SPECIAL TREATMENT

After Euro 2016,ZlatanIbrahimovic is onholiday in theUnited States,where hislatest publicappearance wasat a UFC event inLas Vegas.PHOTO: AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE

BACKING FROMTHE HELM

Leo, those who attackyou areattackingBarca and its history.We’ll defend you tothe end.

’’JOSEPMARIA BARTOMEU, Barcelonapresident, in supportof Lionel Messi.

Wales overtake England in Fifa world rankings

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SPORT C21

Rick Broadbent

Golf began its quest for a new heroyesterday as it faced up to the starkreality that the old one is a fadingpresence.

Tiger Woods is overseas and golffinds itself between a rock and ahard place.

The good news is there is a crop ofreplacements battling to take golfto new pastures.

“Tam Arte Quam Marte” is theRoyal Troon motto, meaning “asmuch by skill as strength”, and thatmight be a mantra for the next fourdays.

Woods’ protracted absence after

a third back operation is a source ofperennial angst for many.

Rory McIlroy has cited the needfor an icon like a golfing LionelMessi, while even Todd Hamilton,the “unknown champion” and lastof Troon’s Open winners in 2004,said: “I’m in the camp that likes tosee one person dominating.”

The flip side to that argument isthe mesmerising golf produced byMcIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Dayand Dustin Johnson over the pasttwo years.

If Johnson prolongs a purplepatch that has wrought wins at theUS Open and the WGC BridgestoneInvitational in his past two outings,he may join the others in attainingNo . 1 status.

However, shifting sands do notmean golf is on shaky ground. Allthe top four have games and storiesto entice new watchers.

In one corner is Day, incumbentof top spot, formerly an under-agedrinker and now a vertigo sufferer,admitting to intense stress athaving to live up to self-imposedstandards.

In the other is Johnson, a man oflugubrious speech and chequeredback story. Believing that subtlety isa 400-yard drive, he sounded asoporific warning.

“I always feel like I’m the bestplayer in the world,” he said ofmaking the final step to the top ofthe rankings.

Play his best game here and will

he win? “If I have my best stuff Ibelieve so.”

This refusal to peddleself-deprecating platitudes wasrefreshing. Indeed, golf has beentelling it straight all week.

McIlroy has been pilloried forsaying he would prefer to watchdiving than golf at the Olympics, butit was honesty bereft of a PR filter.And this is what matters.

This is McIlroy panning for goldwhere a million gallons of waterwere pumped off the Old Courseevery week in the winter; a placenow saturated only with tradition.

Luke Donald pre-dates what cannow be termed the “big four” as theworld’s No. 1.

Straddling two eras, he is well

placed to judge the huge depth ofthe field and he says the drama isbetter now.

“You have four or maybe fiveguys dominating now, but when Istarted it was Tiger,” he said.

“There were some great players,but he was just way ahead.

“Now there’s strongcompetition. I was in awe of Tiger— his record, his demeanour onthe course, the fact he was noteasily approachable.

“These young guys are pavingthe way for other younger guys tothink they can come out andcompete straight away,specifically with what Jordan hasdone by winning multiple Majors.”

Spieth is 22 and, like all the “bigfour”, has something to prove.

The trauma of the Masters, whenhe took a quadruple bogey on the12th, thus turning a processioninto a concession, recast apreviously unflappable figure.

Having looked like dominatinggolf last year, he arrived for The

Open admitting that he does notfeel like he did a year ago, that hehas been hesitant from tee togreen, and that, in a nutshell: “It’smostly mental.”

The Texan said that everyonewent through peaks and valleys,but the media had misread hisjourney. “I’ve won twice and comesecond in a Major,” he said. “Ifthat’s a valley then it’s going to be alot of fun back up a peak.”

Shane Lowry is another ofTroon’s many potential winnerssearching for peak form after a fall.

His came on the final day at theUS Open when he squandered afour-stroke lead to facilitateJohnson’s maiden triumph.

“The first few days afterwardswere not easy,” he said onWednesday. “I’m not going to lie –there were a few moments whenthere might have been a tear shedor two. I was beating myself up.”

Yet, Lowry’s rise to contentionand the top 30 is symptomatic ofpost-Tiger parity.

McIlroy, the leader of the packwith four Majors but none sinceHoylake in 2014, may have craveda Messi, but others may look to theway Novak Djokovic and SerenaWilliams have dominated tennisand welcome the unpredictability.

It is a new world. Woods may yetreturn, but he has only madeSunday night of two of the past 10Majors and it is 10 years since hewon his last Open.

Instead of a one-man band, wehave a Royal Troon variety showon a tough links stage.THETIMES, LONDON

Commentary

Time for ‘Big Four’ to step into the spotlight

LONDON • Patrick Reed laid downan early marker in The Open yester-day, after an impressive openinground of 66 gave the American golf-er the clubhouse lead at RoyalTroon.

The 25-year-old Texan was oneshot clear from his fellow AmericanJustin Thomas after both made themost of the conditions on a gloriousday on Scotland’s west coast.

Reed signalled his intent when heholed his approach shot for an eagleat the par-four third hole.

He then added birdies at thefourth, sixth and seventh holes toreach the turn in 31, but bogeyedthe 10th and 13th and did well tocome home in level-par 35.

The stiff breeze blowing in fromthe Firth of Clyde made life particu-larly difficult on the back nine, andReed admitted his relief at comingthrough his round in such a strongposition.

“It doesn’t matter if the wind isblowing or not, that back nine istough,” said the former Junior Openwinner. “It’s one of these golf cours-es that allows you to get off to aquick start, allows you to get almostover-confident and cocky, and all ofa sudden you get a little too carelesson the back nine and you can goshoot 31-41.”

Thomas also handled the condi-tions expertly to put himself in con-tention.

Appearing in his first Open, the23-year-old scored an excellent 67after beginning his day with birdiesat each of the first four holes.

He had seven birdies all together,along with a bogey five at the 10thand a double-bogey six at the 15th.

England’s Justin Rose also movedinto contention with a 68.

It is the American players whohave history on their side in the145th Open, though, with the lastsix winners at Troon all comingfrom the United States.

Jordan Spieth, winner of the Mas-ters and US Open last year, openedwith an unremarkable 71 that fea-

tured three birdies and three bo-geys.

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizenbagged the first hole-in-one of theweek when his tee shot at thepar-three 14th landed at the front ofthe green and dropped in.

The 2010 Open winner, who shota 71, also managed a stunning ace atthe Masters in Augusta in April.

Other players found the goingrather tougher, with 2001 Openchampion David Duval of the Unit-ed States shooting 82.

He had reached the turn level par,but promptly bogeyed the 10th holeand then had a nine at the par-four11th hole, which is separated fromthe Glasgow to Ayr railway line onlyby a 1.2m-high stone wall.

Scottish veteran Sandy Lyle, the1985 Open champion, fared evenworse, shooting an 85 that featured10 bogeys, a double-bogey and a tri-ple-bogey, as well as one birdie.

His compatriot Colin Montgomer-ie had the honour of hitting the firstshot of the championship at 6.35am(local time) in front of enthusiasticgalleries.

Now 53 and seen as one of thebest players never to win a Major,Montgomerie came through qualify-ing for this year’s Open in his hometown.

He recovered from a double-bo-gey six at the first hole to shoot a re-spectable 71.

“I tell you what, a lot better play-ers than me in the world of golfwould have taken 71 after being twoover at the first hole,” he said.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BRITISH OPENDay 2: Singtel TV Ch114 & StarHubCh208, 1.30pm

However, shifting sandsdo not mean golf isonshaky ground. All the topfour have games andstories to entice newwatchers.

Patrick Reed of the United States lining up a putt on the 18th green which he birdied during the first round. His impressiveopening round of 66 gave him the clubhouse lead, one shot clear of fellow American Justin Thomas. PHOTO: REUTERS

British Open 2016

REED SETS PACEAS OOSTHUIZENHITS FIRST ACE

TROON • Special measures to en-sure that any in-play rules con-troversy at The Open will be re-solved within minutes havebeen reinforced by the R&A inthe light of the Dustin Johnsonaffair, which marred play on theback nine in the final round oflast month’s US Open at Oak-mont.

The chief referee will, as usual,be located in the administrationcompound behind the 18thgreen and have access to videoreplays and always be accompa-nied by Peter Unsworth, chair-man of the R&A ChampionshipCommittee, or Martin Slumbers,

the R&A’s chief executive.The office, in turn, will be

linked with every match refereeon course and in a position tomete out instant justice shouldthe situation arise.

The uncertainty over whetherJohnson had moved the ball andwould be penalised had dam-aged the spectacle at the USOpen for players and spectatorsalike.

The American went on to winthe tournament despite the situ-ation created by the USGA –which would have likely un-nerved other players in that posi-tion. THE GUARDIAN

R&A to impose stricter control on disputes

American one stroke clear as South Africanclaims hole-in-one, Spieth unimpressive

NOTTO BE UNDERESTIMATED

It’s one of these golfcourses... that allowsyou toget almostover-confident andcocky, and all of asuddenyou geta littletoo careless on theback nine and you cango shoot 31-41.

’’PATRICK REED, former Junior Open winner,whoheld it together on the back nine withaneven-par 35 after going five under on thefront nine.

C20 SPORT | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

MADRID • Spain’s world and Euro-pean triathlon champion JavierGomez Noya pulled out of nextmonth’s Olympic Games in Rio deJaneiro yesterday, after fracturinghis left arm in a cycle accident.

The only triathlete to win fiveworld titles, he was among the fa-vourites to clinch gold at this year’sOlympics after claiming silver inLondon in 2012.

“Unfortunately this has forcedme to pull out of competing in Rio. Ineed to be realistic, there is no timeto prepare and to be fit,” the33-year-old said on the SpanishOlympic Committee’s Twitter ac-count. “It’s the hardest moment ofmy sporting life.”

He was due to compete in a stageof the world series in Hamburg thisweek to prepare for Rio.

“The only thing left now is to takeon board what’s happened and tomake a quick recovery,” he added.

He was world champion in 2008,2010, 2013-15 and took his fourthEuropean title in Lisbon in May.

He won the Olympic trial event inCopacabana in August last year.

Meanwhile, the Cuban men’s vol-leyball team will compete in Rio de-spite the detention of six of their

players in Finland over a suspectedaggravated rape.

“After not qualifying in volleyballfor 16 years, we had 18 athletes inour pre-selection and we are goingto be there with 12 in the OlympicGames,” Jose Antonio Miranda, anofficial at the National Sports Insti-tute, was quoted as saying onWednesday.

Police detained eight players ear-

lier this month in the Finnish city ofTampere, where the Cuban teamwere playing in a World Leaguetournament.

The suspected rape occurred atthe hotel where the team were stay-ing. Two of the men were then re-leased and are no longer suspects.The other six will remain in custodywhile the investigation continues.REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Fifty readers of The StraitsTimes will get a chance to at-tend an injury managementtalk at the National UniversityHospital Sports Centre on Ju-ly 23.

The event is part of thelead-up to the OCBC Cycle2016 on Oct 1 and 2.

To win a place at the session,which will feature a series oftalks by experts on injury pre-vention in cycling, answer thisquestion correctly:

What is the distance of TheStraits Times Ride at theOCBC Cycle 2016?

E-mail your answer tostsportscontest@sph.com.sgby July 20, 5pm. Include yourname and contact number.

Yogaraj Panditurai

Bike fitting may be an unfamiliarconcept in Singapore but as Loue Bi-cycles owner and director TimothyLim explains, it is a simple practicethat anyone can adopt easily.

The former national cyclist said:“Bike fitting is mainly adjusting a bi-cycle to fit the rider, based on hisneeds and goals. The bicycle can beadjusted in many ways – the saddleheight, the handlebar height,choice of saddle or handlebar, thebike size.

“A bike fit helps the rider find outthe correct components to use andallows the rider to enjoy cycling andhave more comfort in a more effi-cient and safe manner.”

The entire bike fit process for onecyclist takes about three hours andcomprises three key steps.

First, the bike fitter will observehow the cyclist rides on a stationaryplatform, tracking his movementsvia a motion analysis system.

The second step is for the bike fit-ter to interview the cyclist and dis-cuss what issues the latter has beenfacing, such as the cyclist’s injuryhistory and cycling style, and howthey can be rectified.

Finally, the cyclist lies flat for aphysical assessment for any joint is-sues or muscle injuries. The cyclistwill also be asked to perform a sin-gle-leg squat on each leg for a bal-ance and stability test.

A bike fit can cost between $170to $500 depending on the testsdone. However, for those who arenot able to afford the time or mon-ey to get a professional fit, Lim hassome tips to help riders perform ad-justment to improve their cycling.

The 29-year-old said: “According

to your needs, you can adjust yoursaddle height and how high yourhandlebars should be. A generalrule is when you’re seated and yourfeet are hanging, the tips of yourtoes should just touch the ground.

“A few simple things like wearingthe correct bib shorts to ensureproper contact between the pelvisand saddle is important. Wearingthe right shoe size is also key.”

Lim will go more into detail onthe topic in The Importance of BikeFit talk at the National UniversityHospital Sports Centre on July 23 aspart of the OCBC Cycle Carnival. Hewill also do a live demonstration ofa bike fit with a cyclist and his bike.

Along with game stations and in-formation booths, there will also besports management tips and injurymanagement talks by experts.

yogarajp@sph.com.sg

PARIS • The lack of golf stars at theRio Olympics will be a key factorwhen deciding whether to keep thesport for Tokyo 2020, according toInternational Olympic Committeechief Thomas Bach .

The world’s top four – Jason Day,Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth andRory McIlroy – are among about 20golfers who have withdrawn fromthe Olympics, where golf is makingits return after 112 years.

Many have cited fears about theZika virus but the withdrawals haveled to questions about whether golfwill remain in the Olympics.

Bach said on Wednesday that thepresence of a sport’s top starswould be “one of the main catego-ries” considered in an evaluation af-ter Rio.

“We have to respect the individu-al decisions even if they are goingcontrary to recommendations giv-en by the World Health Organisa-tion” on Zika, he said when askedby the media about the spate of

withdrawals from the sport.“We see now in the discussion in

the golf community there are obvi-ously very different reasons for notgoing to Rio, not related to Zika.And we are also following with in-terest the discussion in the golfcommunity, how they themselvesare considering these decisions andwhat judgments they are making.”

Bach said the Olympic tourna-ment would be judged along withother sports.

“In one of the main categories ofthe evaluation is of course the ques-tion of the participation of the bestplayers. So, let us wait then for thisevaluation and then of course wewill also speak with the Internation-al Golf Federation once this is availa-ble,” he said.

The IOC president also said thatathletes from one sport should notbe punished for the sins of thosefrom another, cooling speculationthat Russia could be banned fromthe Olympics altogether for system-atic doping.

The World Anti-Doping Agency(Wada) is due to issue a report onMonday covering its investigationinto allegations that a Russian

state-run system helped doped ath-letes escape detection at the SochiWinter Olympics in 2014.

Travis Tygart, head of the UnitedStates Anti-Doping Agency, is oneof several people who have saidthat if the report does confirm theallegations of systemic doping aretrue, then Russia should be bannedfrom the Rio Olympics.

Russia’s track and field athletesare already banned.

However, Bach said: “It is obviousyou cannot sanction a badmintonplayer for an infringement of therules by an official or a lab directorat the Winter Games.

“In the same way we would notconsider sanctioning all athletesfrom a particular sport if there is ma-nipulation of the rules by the leader-ship of a federation.

“What we have to do is take deci-sions based on facts and to find theright balance between a collectiveresponsibility and individual jus-tice.”

He added that he did not want tospeculate about what measurescould be taken until there is evi-dence of any proven infringement.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Former national cyclist Timothy Lim,owner and director of Loue Bicycles,says bike fitting is “mainly adjustinga bicycle to fit the rider, based onhis needs and goals.” ST PHOTO:AZMI ATHNI

JUNE 22:World No. 4 RoryMcIlroy (above,playing in roundone of theBritish Openyesterday) pullsout of theOlympics overZika andsecurity. He thensaid on Tuesdaythat he may notwatch the golf atRio.

JUNE 28:World No. 1Jason Day citesfears over Zika.

JULY 8:World No. 2Dustin Johnsonalso gives Zikaas his reason.

JULY 11:World No. 3Jordan Spieth’sdecision is alsobased on Zika.

PHOTOS:EUROPEANPRESSPHOTOAGENCY, AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE

Viraj shares leadwith Thai duoIt was a three-way tie atopthe Singapore OpenAmateur Championshipleader board yesterday asIndian Viraj GanapathyMadappa shot an even-par70 to share the lead withThai duo SangchaiKaewcharoen (68) andKamalas Namuangruk (69).

All three golfers were on208 at the Singapore IslandCountry Club’s IslandCourse. Singaporean JamesLeow (67) and HongKong’s Tiger Lee (69) werea stroke back in jointfourth.

The winner will earn aspot in next year’s SMBCSingapore Open.

SNG to give out cashprizes to winnersA total of $220,000 will beup for grabs across 16sports and five para sportsin the Singapore NationalGames (SNG).

Winners of the varioussports will earn cash prizesof up to $300 for individualopen category events, andup to $1,500 for opencategory team events whenthey come out on top.

SNG registration closestoday. Interestedparticipants can register atwww.myactivesg.com or atall ActiveSG sports centres.

Ratchanok in faileddrugtest allegationsBANGKOK • The Olympicparticipation of Thaibadminton star RatchanokIntanon is under a cloud asrumours have surfaced thatshe tested positive for anunauthorised substanceduring a competition inWuhan, China, in April.

However, the BadmintonAssociation of Thailand hasinsisted the player ispreparing hard for nextmonth’s Olympics,reported the Bangkok Post.

De Gendt clinchesTour’s 12th stageMONT VENTOUX • BelgianThomas De Gendt(Lotto-Soudal) won the12th stage of the Tour deFrance, a 178km ride fromMontpellier ending on theMont Ventoux, yesterday.

His compatriot SergePauwels (Dimension Data)was second, ahead ofSpain’s Dani Navarro(Cofidis). REUTERS

Hoeness may resumerole as BayernbossBERLIN • After serving 21months in prison for taxevasion, former BayernMunich president UliHoeness could soon beback in his old job.

German footballmagazine Kicker saidHoeness may be offeredthe honorary job ofpresident, with the realpower remaining in thehands of managing directorKarl-Heinz Rummenigge.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Spain’s injured triathlon world champ out of Rio

DECISION PENDING ON TOKYO

We are also followingwith interest thediscussion in the golfcommunity,how they... are consideringthese decisions andwhat judgmentsthey are making.

’’THOMASBACH , International OlympicCommitteepresident.

GOLF STARS’ ABSENCECREATES TOKYO DOUBTIOC chief warns Rio withdrawals will be afactor in evaluating golf’s future at Olympics

SportsWorld

Three crucial steps define bike fitting OCBC Cycle 2016:Learn to preventinjury at July 23 talk

VIDEO ONLINESee how a bike fitting is done.http://str.sg/bikefit

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | SPORT C19

C18 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

WELLINGTON • Super Rugby’s or-ganiser defended the finals formatof the tournament yesterday, aftercomplaints that in-form New Zea-land sides were getting a raw deal.

Based purely on results going in-to the final round, New Zealandteams occupy four of the five topspots and three of them would ex-pect to host quarter-finals.

But Super 18’s complicated sys-tem guarantees each of the fourconference winners a home finalsberth, meaning only one Kiwi teamwill play host in the last eight.

The other three will have to trav-el overseas and concede the home

advantage to sides who they haveoutperformed during the season.

Ahead of the final weekend ofthe regular season, the top fivespots in terms of total points areheld by the Lions (52), WaikatoChiefs (51), Canterbury Crusaders(50), Otago Highlanders and Wel-lington Hurricanes (both 48).

Under the new system, however,the Crusaders are ranked fifth,Highlanders sixth and Hurricanesseventh, while South Africa’sStormers are third (46) andAustralia’s ACT Brumbies fourth(39) based on being the top teamsin the conference.

Sanzar chief executive Andy Ma-rinos rejected any criticism, sayingNew Zealand teams were receiving“due reward” for their exceptionalform by receiving four of the eightplay-off berths, regardless of ven-ue.

“Sanzar stands by the existingqualification process,” he said in astatement. “A tournament’s qualifi-cation criteria cannot be deter-mined on one year’s results in isola-tion.”

Even New Zealand Rugby bossSteve Tew, who signed off on theformat for an expanded 18-teamcompetition this year, has brandedthe system “unfair”.

Tew admitted the system wasnot ideal but said it was driven bythe need to have finals in thesprawling competition’s main tele-vision markets – South Africa, Aus-tralia and New Zealand.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

LOS ANGELES • Tim Duncan, theSan Antonio Spurs talisman who re-tired on Monday after 19 seasonsand five National Basketball Associ-ation (NBA) titles, thanked fansand team-mates on Wednesday ina letter posted on the team’s web-site.

The 40-year-old had not spokenpublicly since the Spurs an-nounced that he was retiring afterspending his entire career with theteam, who made him the No. 1 over-all selection in the 1997 NBA draft.

“If asked to write a script for mycareer 19 years ago, there is no wayI would’ve been able to dream upthis journey,” wrote Duncan, wholed the Spurs to titles in 1999, 2003,2006, 2007 and 2014.

“I stand here at the end of thisride and look back in awe of whatI’ve experienced.

“The wins and losses will be re-membered, but what I’ll remembermost are the people.

“The fans inside the arena andout, the staff and coaches whopushed me and held me together,the team-mates (and even oppo-nents) who will be lifelong friends,sharing my ups and downs withfamily and close friends, and, mostimportantly, the snapshots of mykids growing up and levering inwatching Dad work.

“Thank you to the city of San An-tonio for the love and the supportover these years. Thank you to thefans all over the world.”

Duncan, a native of the Virgin Is-lands, opted to go out without fan-fare – just as he played. But he didspeak on Wednesday, opening upon his thoughts about retirement.

“I started not enjoying myself asmuch. It wasn’t fun as much,” hesaid of the decision. “When it’s notfun any more, I’m done.”

Duncan was praised this week bylong-time coach Gregg Popovichfor a work ethic that made him thefirst to show up at practice and thelast to leave.

Now that those demands areover, Duncan said he does notknow just how his life will unfold.

“There is no script for the firsttime in 20-something years,” hesaid. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

SEOUL • As the rest of the world’stop women golfers were playingfor millions of dollars in prize mon-ey at the US Open last week, SouthKorea’s Ko Jin Young was half aworld away, dreaming of whatmight have been.

One of the brightest young tal-ents in women’s golf, she madeher mark on the world stage by fin-ishing second at last year’s BritishOpen and has risen to 33rd in theworld despite playing outside theUS circuit, where events offer farmore money and world rankingpoints than the domestic KoreanTour.

While she received an invitationto the US Open, the most prestig-ious tournament in women’s golf,there was one thing holding herback – the threat of a US$100,000(S$134,300) fine from the KoreaLadies Professional Golf Associa-tion (KLPGA).

The 21-year-old, who won theChojung Sparkling-Yongpyong Re-sort Open with SBS last year, was avictim of the KLPGA’s “DefendingChampion” rule, which demandsgolfers repay all the prize moneyfrom a tournament they win ifthey do not return the followingyear.

Aimed at discouraging playersfrom taking up invitations to for-eign tournaments when the datesclash with Korean events, the KLP-GA said Regulation 14:2 helpedthe Tour flourish by giving spon-sors value for money and bringingin more fans.

“The regulation is a promise tofans that the champion will beback next year. It also makes spon-sors happy,” the KLPGA said.

The KLPGA added that it hadnever imposed the fine, suggest-ing Korean players take their de-fending champion duties very seri-ously. That or they are unwillingto repay the prize money.

It also pointed out that “the Japa-nese LPGA has a similar rule”,though the Ladies ProfessionalGolfers’ Association of Japan im-poses a fine of only ¥1 million(S$12,715) on players who do notdefend their titles.

If the tournament clashes withone of the five global Majors thenthe fine is not levied.

Ko had taken the whole thing inher stride, determined to try herbest in her title defence last week-end.

But clearly her heart was not init. She missed the cut for the firsttime this season. REUTERS

Nicole Chia

Rio-bound sprinter Timothee Yapmay not have posted a new person-al best in the 18th Asean UniversityGames (AUG) 100m final yester-day, but the 21-year-old can takecomfort from the fact that he beatfellow national sprinter and goodfriend Calvin Kang for the firsttime.

Yap’s personal best time is10.62sec, but he finished in fifthplace at Choa Chu Kang Stadium

yesterday with 10.88sec — two plac-es ahead of Kang, who posted10.91sec.

Malaysia’s Jonathan Nyepa wonthe final yesterday, clocking10.62sec to finish ahead ofVietnam’s Le Trong Hinh(10.66sec) and Indonesia’s IswandiIswandi (10.75sec).

Said NUS law undergraduateYap: “(Calvin and I have) alwaysbeen very close this season, so I feelquite happy about beating him to-day.

“We’ve raced head-to-head in

60m (races) in Singapore a fewtimes but I’ve never beaten him. Atthe 60m mark (today) I was behindhim, and I caught up in the last bit.”

Although Yap, who was nominat-ed for the wild card for the RioOlympics by Singapore Athletics,admitted he was “not very happy”with his time yesterday, he insistedhe is still on track to posting a newpersonal best in Brazil next month.

“I have about four weeks beforethe Olympics preliminaries andheats, so I’ll probably do some load-ing and fix my technique,” he said.

“Hopefully I’ll be fit enough forthe Games.

“Right now I still feel fresh, so Ithink a new personal best is a veryhigh possibility.”

Kang, who ran beside Yap duringthe heats and finals, had words ofencouragement for his team-mate.

“It’s good that Tim has been im-proving this year, and that he hasbeaten me,” said Kang, 26.

“I think we’ve raced together sixor seven times this year and it’s ourfirst time running on home soil, so Ithink it’s good and (shows) thatTim is preparing well for Rio.”

Kang, who clocked his personalbest of 10.47sec at last year’s SEAGames on home soil, representedSingapore at the 2008 Olympics inBeijing.

When asked if Kang, an NTUsports science and managementstudent, had any advice for Yap asthe latter prepares for his debut at

the Games, Yap chimed in, saying:“He gives me advice every night.”

And he will be taking at least onepiece of advice from Kang with himto Rio.

Said Yap: “Like what Calvin toldme, I’m going for excellence, andnot just experience.

“Going forward to the Olympics,I’m not expected to win a gold med-al, but hopefully the competitorsaround me will push me to do mybest.

“If I achieve a new personal best,I’d feel that at least I went there anddid something meaningful, insteadof just going to Rio for the experi-ence alone.”

cnicole@sph.com.sg

TODAY

ASEAN UNIVERSITY GAMESArchery Individual elimination (NIEhockey field, 9.15am).Athletics Heats (2pm), finals (4.50pm)– Choa Chu Kang Stadium.Badminton Individual events (SIMSports Hall, 10am).Basketball Round robin (NTU SportsHall 2 & 3, 1pm).Canoeing Men’s finals (MarinaChannel, 9am).Fencing Prelim round (9.30am),s-finals (3.05pm), finals (5.10pm) –

NUS Stephen Riady Hall 1 & 2.Football S-finals (NTU main field,3.30pm).Petanque Prelim round (9am), s-finals(2pm), finals (5.45pm) – Toa PayohSports Complex.Sepak takraw Regu third placeplay-offs (10am), finals (11am) –Singapore Sepak Takraw Federation,Bedok North.Shooting Qualifying (9am), finals(1pm) – Yishun Safra Shooting Range.Silat Tanding s-finals (Singapore SilatFederation, Bedok North, 10am).Swimming Heats (9am), finals (5pm) –

OCBC Aquatic Centre.Table tennis Singles group stage(10am), mixed team s-final (5pm) –NTU Sports Hall 2 & 3.Volleyball Round robin (NUS SportsHall 5, 2pm).

GOLFThe Open C’ship Day 2 (Singtel TVCh114 & StarHub Ch208, 1.30pm).

TENNISGerman Open Q-finals (StarHubCh201, 5pm).

TOMORROW

ASEAN UNIVERSITY GAMESArchery Team elimination (NIEhockey field, 9.15am).Athletics Heats (2pm), finals (4pm) –Choa Chu Kang Stadium.Canoeing Finals (Marina Channel,9am).Fencing Q-finals (9.30am), s-finals(10.30am), final (12.30pm) – NUSStephen Riady Hall 1 & 2.Petanque Prelim round (9am), s-finals(3pm), finals (6pm) – Toa Payoh SportsComplex.

Rugby 7’s Prelim round (10am), finals(2pm) – NTU sports and recreationfield 2.Sepak takraw Prelim doubles(Singapore Sepak Takraw Federation,Bedok North, 10am).Silat Tanding finals (Singapore SilatFederation, Bedok North, 10am).Table tennis Round of 16 (9am),s-finals (2pm), finals (3.30pm) – NTUSports Hall 2 & 3.Volleyball Third place play-offs(10am), finals (2.30pm) – NUS SportsHall 5.Water polo Round robin (OCBC

Aquatic Centre, 9am).

GOLFThe Open C’ship Day 3 (Singtel TVCh114 & StarHub Ch208, 5pm).

TENNISGerman Open S-finals (StarHubCh201, 9pm).

JonathanNyepa (right)of Malaysiawinning gold inthe AseanUniversityGames 100m in10.62sec atChoa Chu KangStadiumyesterday.Indonesia’sIswandiIswandi(No. 20) wonthe bronzebehindVietnam’s LeTrong Hinh.ST PHOTO:LIM YAOHUI

Asean University Games 2016

YAP TO FOCUS ON TECHNIQUE

Next 48 Hours

Duncan thanks fans, Spurs in letter

No 100m medal, but first victory over Kang tospur quest for ‘excellence’ at Rio Olympics

Super Rugby format notunfair to NZ: Sanzar

ChampionKo loses toKLPGAregulation

| THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

BounceOFF!What: At this race, which takesplace at Marina South Pier inNovember, participants have toclimb, slide and bounce on hugeinflatable obstacles such as a giganticslide or a mattress with “humps”.

The aim is to have maximumbouncy fun along a 3km route.

The minimum height requirementfor the race is 130cm. Younger chil-dren can play in the BounceOFF!Bazaar, which features smallerinflatables such as a “soft” 8m-highrock climbing wall.

There will also be a food fair, Feast-OFF!, offering various cuisines. Theevent is open to the public for free.

The first BounceOFF! was to havebeen held in October last year, but itwas postponed to March this yearbecause of the haze. UndergraduateWalter Wong, 23, who was at thefirst BounceOFF!, will be returningfor this latest edition. He says:“These huge inflatables allow me torelive my childhood memories ofplaying in bouncy castles.”

The organiser expects 10,000people to turn up.Where: Marina South PierWhen: The BounceOFF! race is onNov 12, 2 to 11pm; BounceOFF!Bazaar and FeastOFF! are onNov 12 and 13 with the timing to beconfirmedCost: Early-bird price of $75 tillAug 4 for the race. Entry to thebazaar is free with a race ticket.After that, it will be $98. Entry tothe bazaar alone is $48Info: Registration closes oncetickets sell out. Go towww.bounceoff.com.sg

SpongeBob Run SingaporeWhat: Say hello to cartoon charac-ter runs. First there was Hello Kitty,then My Little Pony, followed bySnoopy and now SpongeBobSquarePants.

The lovable yellow sponge is nowthe theme of a 5km run next month.

Participants will be flagged off bya SpongeBob mascot as they embarkon a mission in search of his bestfriend, Patrick Star.

Along the route that has beendesigned to resemble the underwa-ter city of Bikini Bottom from thecartoon, fans can spot thecharacters’ iconic homes –SpongeBob’s pineapple house,Patrick’s brown rock andSquidward’s Moai-shaped home.

Registration for the run costs$49.90 and $59.90. The pricier op-tion has a more substantial goodiebag that includes an exclusiveSpongeBob plush toy and a brightyellow drawstring bag with thecharacter’s face, on top of the medaland T-shirt.

There is also an 800m Kids Dashfor the tots.

Stay-at-home mum Mary Heng,39, is training for the 5km run withher daughter, 11, and son, eight, whoare fans of the animated series.

She says: “We get to bond whiletraining. It’s also a good way to getthem out of the house.”Where: Siloso Beach Walk, SentosaWhen: Aug 6, 4pmCost: $49.50 or $59.50. Childrenbelow 0.9m tall enter for free.Info: Registration closes on Aug 4.Go to www.sbrun.sg

Families

Ground Zero – Run ForHumanity 2016What: This charity run allows theparticipants to walk or run in theshoes of a disaster survivor.

In the 5km Relief Aid Challenge,runners will take on an extra load of5 to 7kg in the form of a relief packfilled with non-perishable fooditems such as rice and sugar all theway to the finish line.

To create a more “authentic”atmosphere”, sand sections havebeen added to the route.

Organised by home-grownhumanitarian organisation MercyRelief, the run was created to give aglimpse of the experience ofdisaster victims, says executivedirector Zhang Tingjun.

All proceeds will go to MercyRelief’s general fund, which helpshumanitarian disaster relief effortsin the region.

Ms Zhang says: “We hope run-ners can experience the challengesin a survivor’s journey through asimulated experience of the disas-ter ‘ground zero’ situation.”

Participants in the 10km RaceAgainst Time will have to sprint tocomplete the run within 80minutes.Runners who want to kickit up a notch can opt to carry a re-lief pack.

Parents can sign their kids up forthe new 500m category. Each par-ent and child pair will worktogether to carry a relief packweighing 1kg.Where: Casuarina Grove,East Coast ParkWhen: Aug 14, 7.30amCost: From $58 for 10km, $63 for5km and $70 for a parent-and-child(aged three to 12) pair for 500mInfo: Registration closes on Aug 7.Go to www.groundzerorun.com

Craze UltraWhat: The tagline for this ultraendurance race is “Are you nuts?” –and the distances reflect that.

There are four categories: 43km,74km, 101km and 100 miles(161km). It is one of a handful ofraces in Singapore that offer suchlong distances.

All runners will start and finish atMacRitchie Reservoir. Dependingon the race distance, they will runalong several scenic areas in Singa-pore such as Woodlands Water-front, Yishun Dam and LorongHalus Wetland in Punggol. Thereare checkpoints along the way toensure that runners are on the rightpath.

Participants have a maximum of32 hours to complete the run andthere are no medals in this race.Those who complete the 101km and163km will get a souvenir but other-wise, the organisers cheekily statethat the best prize is one’s achieve-ment.Where: Reservoir Deck,MacRitchie ReservoirWhen: Sept 3 and 4, flag off at 7amon Sept 3 for all categories or 6pmon Sept 4 for the 43km, 74km and101km runsCost: From $65 for 43km, $110 for74km, $170 for 101km and $275 for100 miles (161km)Info: Registration closes on July 24.Go to crazeultra.blogspot.sg

Gurveen Kaur

Singapore is a nation of avid run-ners, judging by the proliferation ofmarathons, fun runs and races onthe event calendar.

Seven months into the year,about 60 runs have taken place andat least 40 more are locked in till theend of the year.

As more runs are introduced eachyear, the options get quirkier. Thisis because organisers are movingbeyond the classic competitivemodel and tapping into a newmarket of amateur runners out for agood time.

Participants can now bounceacross giant inflatables, get blastedwith UV neon glow powder or meetpopular cartoon character Sponge-Bob SquarePants.

Typically 5km or less in distance,these fun runs are not so muchabout racing to the finish line, butabout enjoying the experience.

Ms Michelle Ng, marketingmanager at events managementcompany Pink Apple, says 60 percent of the runs it holds are funruns. Pink Apple specialises inorganising sports events.

Over the years, the company hasintroduced new runs such as theBatman V Superman Run and MyLittle Pony Friendship Run, wherecomic and cartoon characters aremascots in the race.

Participants are willing to forkout money for the fun run eventstoo. At times costlier than a compet-itive run, registration for a fun runtypically starts at $50 and can go upto more than $100, with the prom-ise of goodie bags containing exclu-sive merchandise.

Consumers are willing to stump

up as they may feel that the fee is jus-tifiable, says Dr Dianna Chang, a lec-turer in the marketing programmeat SIM University’s School of Busi-ness.

She adds: “Runners are paying forthe experience and they also getsouvenirs.”

But the running scene is gettingcrowded.

One challenge is picking the rightevent date and venue, saysMr Jeffrey Foo, managing directorof Infinitus Productions, organiserof The Straits Times Run In The City2016, Great Eastern Women’s Runand Illumi Run.

Fighting for sponsorship isanother battle, says Mr Elvin Ting,managing director of OrangeRoom, organiser of the upcomingSkechers Blacklight Run, a 5kmnight run where participants areshowered with neon powder thatglows under UV light.

He says: “Everyone is fighting towork with the same few companiesso we need to offer fresh ideas thatstand out.”

Organisers say that on average, asix-figure sum is the minimumamount needed to hold a run.

Nonetheless, more peoplecontinue to sign up for runs eachyear. Ms Ng of Pink Apple notesthat the average number of runnerssigning up for the company’sevents last year rose to 7,500 from7,000 in 2014, and 6,300 in 2013.

The largest marathon in town,the Standard Chartered MarathonSingapore, had an attendance of50,000 in each of the last twoeditions.

New organisers are entering thescene too. JRL Concepts, the compa-ny that manages website JustRun-Lah, is co-organising its first run,The Performance Series, this year.

The concept is, instead of signingup for one run, participants cansign up for a bundle of five runsspread out throughout the year indifferent settings.

Some of the locations are faraway from the typical marathonvenues of Marina Bay and EastCoast Park.

So far, two of the runs have takenplace at Coney Island and PunggolWaterway in May and at JurongLake Park last month.

The company’s director Liu Zhi-yong says: “People are always hun-gry for new experiences.”

gurveenk@sph.com.sg

The consummate runner

Standard Chartered MarathonSingapore 2016What: The most well-attended mar-athon in Singapore with an averageof 50,000 participants, the Stand-ard Chartered Marathon has fivecategories of races that draw run-ners from all around the world.

The most challenging is the 42kmfull marathon with a grand prize of$50,000 each for the top male andfemale runner.

If the full marathon is too daunt-ing, there are four other categories:the 21km half marathon; the Ekiden,where a relay team of six complete42km; the 10km race that is alsoopen to wheelchair-users; and the

800m Kids Dash.A key change to this year’s edi-

tion is the starting point for theKids Dash and half marathons.

Participants will be waved off inOrchard Road instead of SportsHub and Sentosa.

The marathons will still end atthe Padang.

For serial marathoner and bankofficer Justina Zeng, 33, the Stan-chart run is a must-do. She signs upfor 25 runs yearly and hasparticipated in the Stanchart Mara-thon twice.

She says: “It’s the biggest runhere and a good chance for me tocatch up with my running friends.”

Where: Orchard Road for the KidsDash, Ekiden, full andhalf-marathon. Esplanade Drive forthe 10km raceWhen: Dec 3 and 4. Start-off timehas yet to be announcedCost: Super early-bird tickets aresold out except for the Ekidencategory, which costs a flat rate of$460 for a team of six.

Registration now starts at $20for Kids Dash (aged 13 and below),$65 for 10km, $75 forhalf-marathon and $85 for fullmarathonInfo: Registration closes on Nov 25or when slots run out. Go towww.marathonsingapore.com

The patriotic runner

The hardcore runner

There are morenovelty runs inSingapore, which aredrawing runners outfor the experience

One Nation Run 2016What: Kick off the National Dayfestivities on Aug 9 with a casual5km run or walk amid the lushgreenery at Marina Barrage andGardens by the Bay.

At the inaugural One Nation Run,runners will have to wave a mini Sin-gapore flag as the organisers aretrying to break the national recordfor most number of participantsrunning with a Singapore flag.

After the run, there will be a masskite-flying session on the greenrooftop of Marina Barrage and a car-nival where participants can playold-school games such as fivestones and chapteh.

For procurement executiveKlessis Lee, 38, this is the perfectopportunity to rally her two girls,aged seven and 10, to go for a newexperience. She says: “I like to gofor family-friendly runs as the kidscan be involved too and the OneNation Run is a new way tocelebrate National Day.”Where: Marina BarrageWhen: Aug 9, 8amCost: $64.20 an adult, $53.50 achild aged 12 and below, $235.40for a family package (two adultsand two children)Info: Registration closes onMonday. Go towww.onenationrun.sg

The Performance Series –Race #3What: You can sign up for not onebut five races when you registerwith The Performance Series.

The series gives runners a sched-ule of five races spread out through-out the year in different settings –island, lake, city, reservoir andfarm. The locations are revealedonly closer to the race date.

The first two events were held atPunggol Waterway and ConeyIsland, and Jurong Lake Park. Thenext one on Aug 7 will be at Gar-dens by the Bay.

The bundle deal is no longer avail-able but runners can sign up for theOct 9 and Dec 18 races individually.

For each location, there are threecategories – 2.5km, 5km and 10km– to appeal to both serious and ama-teur runners.

Runners who complete all fiveraces will have five medals that canbe pieced together to look like Sin-gapore on the map.

One such runner gunning for allthe medals is operations managerIvan Lau, 36.

He signed up for the bundle pack($230) because he enjoys the factthat the runs are held in differentsettings.

He says: “It’s a different conceptand a good chance for me toexplore other locations. Normally,the other runs take place within thecity.”Where: Gardens by the BayWhen: Aug 7, 6.30amCost: $35 for 2.5km, $45 for 5kmand $55 for 5kmInfo: Registration closes on July 24.Go to www.theperformanceseries.com

The serial runner

Skechers Blacklight RunSingaporeWhat: In this run whose conceptoriginated from the United States,participants are blasted withnon-toxic UV neon powder alongthe 5km route.

There are three zones, each witha different colour: green, pink andorange. The powder will glowunder these special lights.

After the race, there is an after-party for runners to boogie till thewee hours.While the crowd dances,powder will be showered on themevery 15 minutes.

Polytechnic student Clarissa Tan,18, who had been curious about funruns for a while, signed up for theBlacklight Run.

She says: “It’s one of the newestfun runs in Singapore and I like theidea of glowing in the dark.”Where: Palawan Beach, SentosaWhen: Oct 29, 5.30pmCost: Early-bird prices of $50 or$80 for a VIP pack that includesLED shutter shades, glow-in-the-dark tattoo and a merchandise packworth $50. Limited to the first3,000 who register by Aug 13.

Children under the age of six runfor freeInfo: Registration closes on Oct 9or when all 7,000 slots are taken.Go to www.blacklightrun.sg

Electric Run RechargedWhat: After a hiatus last year, 5kmnight race-cum-dance party Elec-tric Run returns to Singapore andwith a cool, new gadget.

Participants each strap on an illu-minating Electroband, an LED brace-let that blinks in sync with music thatchanges in different zones.

Prepare to party through sevencourses that are decorated with lightstructures in the shape of mega ted-dy bears or flashing arches. Post-run,participants can hit the dance floor.There is also a light show synced tothe Electroband.

Created in the US in 2012, theElectric Run has been held in morethan 30 cities across 19 countries.Where: Marina BarrageWhen: Sept 3, 6pmCost: $85 for standard ticket and$115 for deluxe that also includesLED shutter shades, foam batonand glow party kit. Children aged

three and younger run for freeInfo: Registration will stay openuntil the week of the event or whentickets are sold out. Go towww.electricrun.sg

The Color Run Singapore 2016What: Probably the biggest fun runto date, The Color Run has travelledto more than 200 cities in 40 coun-tries since its first event in 2011.

Participants start the 5km run ina white shirt and are periodicallydoused in coloured powder. Theycross the finish line looking likethey ran through a rainbow.

Now in its fourth edition here,The Color Run has attracted morethan 15,000 runners each time inthe last two editions.Where: Palawan Green, SentosaBeach StationWhen: Aug 20 and 21, 4pmCost: $65 for regular runners, whowill receive a limited-editionT-shirt, and $98 for deluxe runnerswho will also receive sunglassesand socks. Children aged three andyounger run for freeInfo: Registration closes on Aug 1.Go to thecolorrun.com.sg

The part-time runner, full-time thrill seeker

Runners in the 5km Relief Aid Challenge carry a relief pack filled with food tosimulate people fleeing disasters. PHOTO: RUN SOCIETY

You will get aglow after theSkechersBlacklight RunSingapore, and itis not just fromexercising.PHOTO: ORANGE

ROOM

RUNFORFUN

Which run should you join?

Bounce your way through the course of the BounceOFF! run. PHOTO: BOUNCEOFF!

Race #2 of ThePerformanceSeries Singapore2016 at JurongLake. PHOTO: THE

PERFORMANCE

SERIES SINGAPORE

2016

The altruistic runner

weekend weekend

Thenon-traditionalistrunner

D2 life ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | ● life D3

Gurveen Kaur

A travelling heritage exhibitionshowcasing the tools used bySingapore’s pioneers has found apermanent home in Little India.

The exhibition, titled The ToolsThat Built Singapore, popped up atvarious public venues for sevenmonths last year, wrapping up inNovember.

It is now housed at thetwo-month-old A Living HeritageMuseum on Perak Road.

On display are more than 300 toolsused in Singapore from the 1940s to1960s. The instruments are groupedaccording to 21 trades and displayedin sealed, transparent cases.

All the tools are from the personalcollection of civil servant WinstonWong, an ardent gatherer of thingshe considers to have historic value– be it a rusty cargo hook used bylabourers or a feather plucker home-makers once used on poultrybought from the wet markets.

The 112 sq m private museum,which occupies the ground floor of atwo-storey shophouse, is opened byhim and three long-time friends whoare all from the pioneer generation.

Mr Wong, 69, who started collect-ing the tools at the age of 13, says:“The tools reflect the sheer grit ofpeople back when jobs were verymanual in nature. People workedhard to earn a living and learning touse a tool meant they had skills towork in a certain profession.”

After the exhibition’s run, he andhis friends decided that the itemsshould not be relegated to a storagespace, but put on show for their edu-cational and heritage value.

Mr Vijaya Raghavan, 69, also sawthe collection as an opportunity to“convert idle assets into a revenuestream”.

Pumping in $65,000, theyopened the boutique museumwithin a heritage district to reachout to students, tourists, communityorganisations and locals. Entrycosts between $6 and $9 a person.

Mr Wong is the curator consult-ant while Mr Raghavan is one ofthree directors of Team Friday, thecompany they started to run themuseum.

Each exhibit is accompanied byan illustration by Mr Wong to painta picture of the setting for eachtrade. To explain how the toolswere used, the museum’s centre

manager will give tours. If there is abig group, part-time guides willcome in to help.

One of the tools displayed, andnow rendered obsolete, is a bicycleoil lamp, a vital instrument forcyclists returning home from workwhen night fell. The tool is in anexhibit dedicated to the bicyclerepairman trade.

In another panel focusing on thefisherman – a profession many mentook up when Singapore was stilldotted with kampungs – 11 toolssuch as a cylindrical fish trap andflimsy-looking fishing rod made outof bamboo are on show.

There is also a tribute to the hard-working samsui women. In a panelof more than 20 tools, such as a nailhammer and pulley, the laboriousnature of their job is brought tolight.

Most of the tools on display arestill in use, but now come in fancier,modernised versions, says Mr Rag-havan, explaining the use of theterm “living” in the museum’sname.

“During those times, though, ifyou knew how to work a screwdriveror fuse, it meant a world of differ-ence to your life,” he adds.

Mr Wong willalso add new exhibitsof other professions such as thesundryfarmer and draughtsman.

Visitors can also don a samsuiwoman’s uniform or trishaw man’sstraw hat and take photos on atrishaw. Tour groups will also get a

taste of the past, courtesy of anon-site ice ball machine.

There are plans to introduce moreinteractive exhibits too, saysMr Raghavan, such as a re-creationof an unloading dock area wherelabourerscarried heavy sacks of com-

modities from boats.He says: “The museum is a trip

down memory lane for thepioneers, while the young get tolearn about how their elders used towork and how tools have changedtheir lives.”

Tools used by samsui women on show at A Living Heritage Museum.PHOTO: DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

weekend

Nabilah Said

What becomes of pianos in homeswhen they are no longer played?

“Some people don’t play themanymore, so they become part ofthe furniture. Or they keep them forsentimental value. The pianos justcollect dust at home,” says artsmanager Jean Hair.

“It’s hard to resell a piano too, so alot of them go to the incinerator. Sosayang,” she adds, using the localcolloquial term meaning “what awaste”.

Two years ago, she startedthinking of alternative uses for suchpianos. Seeing how not everyonecan afford to buy a piano or easilyhave access to one to play, Ms Hair,32, was inspired to put old pianoson the street for the public to freelyplay on.

The idea is based on a similarmovement from the United King-dom called Play Me, I’m Yours,which started in 2008. The streetpiano movement made its way toSingapore earlier this year.

Last September, Ms Hair and twofriends – artist Billy Soh, 37, andarchitect Lee Yan Chang, 40 –started Play It Forward Singapore.The three were formerly part of theNational University of Singapore’s(NUS) piano ensemble.

Their “social experiment”, asMs Hair describes it, started with twopianos on Aliwal Road, as part of theUrban Redevelopment Authority’s(URA) PARK(ing) Day, which trans-forms carparks into public spaces.

From that first one-day event,Play It Forward Singapore is nowalmost a year-long affair in differentspots in the city and it does notseem to be ending anytime soon.

To date, 10 pianos have been partof the movement, travelling toabout 18 spots, including under theEsplanade Bridge and outside TheArts House.

All 10 were donated by membersof the public following open calls onthe Play It Forward Singapore Face-book page and website.

In deciding where to place thepianos, the team works with venueowners, festivals such as sustaina-ble light art festival iLight MarinaBay, and initiatives such as URA’sCar-Free Sunday SG.

Currently, three of the pianos arelocated permanently in publicspaces – one at NUS’ UniversityTown and two at the main entranceof The URA Centre on Maxwell Road.

The pianos are usually placed inpairs to highlight the social natureof Play It Forward Singapore.

Ms Hair, Mr Soh and Mr Lee wereinitially concerned about how Sin-gaporeans would respond to theunsupervised pianos, not to men-

tion how the humidity would affectthe instruments, but their fearsproved unfounded.

Says Ms Hair: “The pianos stayedin good condition, no onedestroyed them. Also, we placedthem in the city which is a bit moreopen, so you have a lot more eyeslooking at you and you won’t do any-thing funny.”

The movement has seenencouraging response in the formof mini concerts by the SingaporeRiver, with amateur musicianscoming out of the woodwork toshow off their talent, as well as inti-mate musical chance encounters,such as joggers stopping to ticklethe ivories at two in the morning.

The pianos are also artinstallations themselves – localartists have given the instrumentstheir own distinctive looks andeach piano has a name.

After enjoying their day in thesun, most of the pianos are donatedto various beneficiaries. For exam-ple, one of the two pianos on AliwalRoad, which is named Maurice andpainted by Mr Soh, has found a newhome at Chaoyang School, forspecial-needs children.

Members of the public who wouldlike to donate their unused pianosto the movement can contact theorganisers of Play It ForwardSingapore, who will arrange to havea professional mover collect thepianos. Donors will be updated onthe progress of doing up the pianosand invited to view the final trans-formed instrument.

Ms Hair, Mr Soh and Mr Leecheck the condition of the pianosevery other day, repairing andtuning them if necessary, but theyalso have the help of fans who alertthem to issues such as loose keys.

Says Ms Hair: “We’ve built afollowing. We know some of themby their Instagram usernamesbecause they tag us in their photosand videos.

“For amateur musicians, if not forthis movement, they would nothave a chance to play in public. It’sdemocratic in that everyone gets toplay.”

Ngee Ann Polytechnic studentDenise Chng, who does not own apiano, follows the Play It ForwardSingapore Facebook page and says“wherever the pianos go, I willfollow”.

The 25-year-old plays a range ofmusic on the pianos, from HarryPotter film scores to pop hits byJustin Timberlake and Madonna.

“To me, this movement is like adream come true. I consider thestreet piano as my own free,open-air classroom.

“It gives me confidence andbuilds up my self-esteem. It’s aplace where I can find myselfagain.”

nabilahs@sph.com.sg

Playing itforward

The team (abovefrom left)comprisingMr Lee YanChang,Ms Jean Hairand Mr Billy Soh.A crowdwatching aperformance(left) on thepianos at OneFullerton.PHOTOS: PLAY IT

FORWARD

Learn about tools used by Singapore pioneers at boutique museum

Three friends start a socialexperiment that puts pianos invarious parts of Singapore for thepublic to tickle the ivories

BOOKIT / A LIVINGHERITAGE MUSEUM

WHERE: 27 Perak Road

WHEN: 9.30am to 5.30pm,Tuesday to Sunday. Monday isby appointment only

ADMISSION: $9 foradults,$7 for full-time nationalservicemenand senior citizensaged55 and older, $6 forchildrenaged six to 16. Childrenyounger thansix enter for free

INFO: Call 6297-1727 or go towww.toolsmuseum.com.Bookings must be made twodays in advance for groups

• For more information, go toplayitforwardsg.org orwww.facebook.com/playitforwardsg.

D4 life | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

GIGSDate Night Fridays WithDawn Ho & Gabriel HernandezThis musical duo are launching theirnew album, Hush Now. Accompaniedby Darryl Ervin on drums and CaseySubramaniam on bass, they willpresent love songs in jazz.WHERE: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City Hall WHEN: Today, 7.30 & 8.45pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6828-8377INFO: www.esplanade.com

ColdCut QuartetIncorporating elements of jazz,classical, rock and metal, ColdCutQuartet present a unique brand offusion that is progressive yet musical.WHERE: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City Hall WHEN: Tomorrow, 7.15, 8.30& 9.45pm ADMISSION: FreeTEL: 6828-8377INFO: www.esplanade.com

Big Band Sundays: SingaporePolytechnic Jazz BandA performance of jazz numbersfrom different eras and genres,from swing to funk, fusion to R&B.WHERE: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City Hall WHEN: Sun, 7.15 & 8.30pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6828-8377INFO: www.esplanade.com

Tim Stocker & Andrew LimAustralia baritone saxophonistTim Stocker will present jazzstandards, improvisations and hisoriginals. Joining him is Singaporeanjazz guitarist Andrew Lim.WHERE: Esplanade Concourse,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City Hall WHEN: Mon, 7.15 & 8.15pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6828-8377INFO: www.esplanade.com

Tegan And SaraLive In SingaporeTheCanadiantwinsistersperformhereaspartof theirpromotional tour fortheir latestalbum,LoveYouToDeath.WHERE: The Star Theatre, 1 VistaExchange Green, The Star PerformingArts Centre MRT: Buona VistaWHEN: July 29, 8pm ADMISSION: $72 -$232 TEL: 6348-5555INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

CHARITYProject Tomorrow ExhibitionThis exhibition showcases the storiesof patients with blood diseases whowere given a second chance at life, aswell as the people who stepped up togive them that gift of life. Part of theBone Marrow Donor Programme’srecruitment campaign.WHERE: Causeway Point, 1 WoodlandsSquare MRT: Woodlands WHEN: Mon -July 24, 10am - 9pm ADMISSION: FreeTEL: 6340-1040 INFO: www.bmdp.org

SMU Charity Golf 2016Proceeds from the SingaporeManagement University’sinaugural golf fund-raiser gotowards supporting studentswith financial difficulties.WHERE: New Course, Singapore IslandCountry Club, 180 Island Club Road,Island Location MRT: Marymount/Bishan WHEN: July 28, noon - 9pmADMISSION: Free (fee applies whensigning up to play) TEL: 6828-0217INFO: For inquiries, e-mailgiving@smu.edu.sg

Community Chest HeartstringsWalkThis family event offers opportunitiesforpeople with and without disabilitiesto interact with one another. There is a4km Fun Walk and a competitive RaceToThe Sky vertical marathon up 57storeys. Donations go to80 charitiessupported by Community Chest.WHERE: Event Plaza, 10 BayfrontAvenue, Marina Bay Sands, Level 1MRT: Bayfront WHEN: July 31, 7 -11.30am ADMISSION: $10 donation(4km Fun Walk, individual); $2,000donation (Race To The Sky verticalmarathon, team of four)INFO: Register at www.comchest.sg/heartstrings

SPORTSThe Snag @ BishanComplete an obstacle course toreceive a finisher goodie bag andmedal. Fringe activities include gamebooths and live music performances.WHERE: Open field opposite BishanMRT station Exit D MRT: BishanWHEN: Sun, 7.30am - noon

(registration starts at 7am)ADMISSION: $5 (a person), $15 (groupof four) INFO: Call 6259-4720 fortickets. Go to www.facebook.com/BishanCommunityClub

TALKSLow-carbon DevelopmentStrategy In ChinaThis talk by Professor Zhu Xufeng,visiting senior research fellow atthe East Asian Institute at NationalUniversity of Singapore, assesses theimplementation of a low-carbondevelopment strategy in China.WHERE: East Asian InstituteConference Room, 469A Bukit TimahRoad, NUS Bukit Timah Campus,Tower Block, 06-01 MRT: BotanicGardens WHEN: Today, 3.30 - 5pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6516-3715/6779-1037 INFO: www.eai.nus.edu.sg

Public Forum: Parenthood –An Amazing JourneyLearn about child safety and injuryprevention as well as commonchildhood illnesses. There is also adiscussion on managing parentinganxieties.WHERE: KKH Auditorium (TrainingCentre), 100 Bukit Timah Road,KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital,Women’s Tower, Level 1 MRT: LittleIndia WHEN: Tomorrow, 11am - 4.15pm(registration starts at 10.30am)ADMISSION: Non-KK Juniors Clubmembers: $12 a person, $18 a couple;KK Juniors Club members: $10 aperson, $15 a couple INFO: To register,

call 6394-5038 (today, 8.30am to5.30pm). Go to www.kkh.com.sg/ParentingForum

Galboss Asia Symposium 2016Women from different industriesspeak on topics such as harnessingdigital power to drive businesses,how to manage a diversifiedbusiness portfolio and the globaltrend of “mumpreneurs”.WHERE: The Gallery, 10 Scotts Road,Grand Hyatt Singapore MRT: OrchardWHEN: Thu, 8.30am - 5.30pm(networking cocktail receptionfrom 5.30pm) ADMISSION: $480,$384 (each package of three ormore people) INFO: Tickets fromwww.galbossasia.com

The Magic Behind The Music –A Songwriters SeriesThis series, specially put together foraspiring songwriters, provides a rareopportunity to learn about theseunsung heroes as they share theirknowledge, skills and insights.WHERE: Yellow Box Studios, 1 Ubi View,Focus One, 01-19 MRT: Paya Lebar/MacPherson WHEN: July 23, 9am -5pm (Session 1: Role Of A MusicProducer And Arranger WithSessionists) ADMISSION: $80(student), $120 (standard)WHERE: *Scape Hubquarters,2 Orchard Link, Level 4 MRT: SomersetWHEN: July 30, 9 - 11am (Session 2:Understanding The Music Industry);11.30am - 1.30pm (Session 3:Publishing And Copyrights)ADMISSION: $15 (student);$25 (standard) INFO: Register at

www.apactix.com. Ticket pricesexclude booking fees. Go towww.songwriters.sg

Adobe Symposium 2016Explore the latest tools and trendsand learn to combine creativity,content and data.WHERE: Marina Bay Sands, Expo &Convention Centre, 10 BayfrontAvenue MRT: Bayfront WHEN: July 28,8am - 6.30pm (symposium), 6.30 -8.30pm (symposium after-party)ADMISSION: $499 INFO: Register atsymposium.adobe.com/sea

Singapore ParentingCongress 2016: Are YouA Superhero To Your Child?Held over two days, the eventfeatures dialogue sessions onthe parenting of children agedfour to 12 and dissecting themodern-day challengesfamilies face.WHERE: Suntec SingaporeConvention & Exhibition Centre,1 Raffles Boulevard, Level 3 MRT: CityHall/Esplanade WHEN: July 30 & 31,9.30am - 1pm or 2.30 - 6pmADMISSION: $18 (a person),$24 (a couple) a sessionINFO: Tickets from www.sistic.com.sg.Go to www.singaporeparentingcongress.com

CLASSESOrchestra Day 2016Participants will receive coachingfrom instrumental soloists andensemble players in the region and

collaborate with amateur andsemi-professional musicians.No formal music qualification isnecessary, but participants shouldhave some performing experiencein an ensemble or orchestra.All participants (except forpercussionists) should also bringalong their own instruments.WHERE: Lee Foundation Theatre,151 Bencoolen Street, NanyangAcademy of Fine Arts, Campus 3MRT: Bugis WHEN: Sun, 1 - 9pmADMISSION: Free with registrationTEL: 6512-4179 INFO: Register atwww.bit.ly/ orchestraday2016

Writing From The HeartPlaywriting WorkshopsTheatreWorks is organising a six-dayplaywriting workshop conducted byplaywright and writer Tony Perez.WHERE: 72-13 Mohamed Sultan RoadMRT: Clarke Quay WHEN: Mon -July 23, various timesADMISSION: $200 INFO: Open toparticipants aged 17 & above.To register, e-mail Ezzat atezzat@theatreworks.org.sg or call6737-7213

Songwriting Part 1: Songs AreGreat Works Of Art, MelodyComposition And ChordProgressionThe first of a two-part workshop.Participants will learn to identifychords and put into practice whatthey have learnt by writing a song.WHERE: Singapore Training &Development Association, 16Arumugam Road, LTC Building D,

06-01 MRT: Paya Lebar/MacPhersonWHEN: July 23, 9.30am - 4.30pmADMISSION: $73 TEL: 6848-8297INFO: www.alap.bookcouncil.sg

FESTIVALSSingapore Cantonese OperaFestival 2016Chinese Theatre Circle Limited, incollaboration with Kreta AyerCommunity Club Chinese OperaGroup and China GuangzhouHong Dow Cantonese OperaTroupe, will present a programmecomprising three full-lengthoperas and one session ofCantonese Opera Extravaganza.All performances will have Chineseand English surtitles.WHERE: Drama Centre, 100 VictoriaStreet, National Library Building,05-01 MRT: Bugis WHEN: Thu -July 24, various timesADMISSION: $10 - $50; prices excludeadministrative chargesTEL: 6100-2684 INFO: Tickets fromwww.botempus.com/ctc

Singapore InternationalFinger-Style GuitarFestival 2016Held in Singapore for the first time,the festival features some of thebest finger-style guitarists such asMasa Sumide and Andy McKee.WHERE: University Cultural CentreTheatre, 50 Kent Ridge Crescent,NUS Centre for the ArtsMRT: Clementi WHEN: July 23, 8pmADMISSION: $41 - $92TEL: 6348-5555INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

G.E.M. NEW ALBUM HEARTBEATPROMO TOUR – SINGAPOREHeartbeat is Hong Kong-basedsinger G.E.M.’s (right) first album sinceshe wowed audiences on the Chinatelevision competition, I Am A Singer,in 2014. It is packed with hitsincluding Heartbeat, LongDistance and One Way Road, all ofthem written by her.WHERE: Wisma Atria, 435 OrchardRoad, Level 2 Atrium MRT: OrchardWHEN: Sunday, 4pm (admission timeis noon) ADMISSION: Every purchaseof Heartbeat from Jazzy Groupcomes with an autograph sessionentry pass. To buy, e-mail marketing@jazzygroup.com or call Jazzy GroupMalaysia Office on +603-5622-1600

ADAM CHENG AND LIZA WANGSINGAPORE CONCERTAhead of her 50th year in showbusiness next year, the grand dameof Hong Kong entertainment LizaWang (above), 68, performs inSingapore with fellow veteranAdam Cheng, 69. The two hadstarred in many television dramastogether in the 1970s and theirchemistry should certainly bea highlight of the concert.WHERE: The Star Theatre,1 Vista Exchange Green,The Star Performing Arts CentreMRT: Buona VistaWHEN: Tomorrow, 8pmADMISSION: $78 to $238from Sistic

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCKLIVE IN SINGAPORE 2016The English singer’s (above) hitsdate back to the 1960s and 1970s,including Release Me, The LastWaltz and After The Lovin’, andthe 80-year-old still performsregularly around the world.Retirement? What’s that?WHERE: Grand Theatre, Marina BaySands, 10 Bayfront AvenueMRT: Bayfront WHEN: Today, 8pmADMISSION: $108 to $248 fromSistic (call 6348-5555 orgo to www.sistic.com.sg)

ZOUK SOUNDSYSTEMPRESENTS OLIVER HELDENSDutch electronic music producerOliver Heldens was thehighest-ranking house DJ inDJ Mag’s list of Top 100 DJs lastyear at No. 12. The 21-year-old’shit tracks include Gecko (Overdrive)and he has performed at someof the biggest dance musicstages in the world, includingUltra Miami and Tomorrowlandin Boom, Belgium.WHERE: Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim StreetMRT: Orchard WHEN: TomorrowADMISSION: $28 (women), $33(men), includes two standard drinks

happenings

Li Ruimin (left), 25, is a dancer with the SingaporeHokkien Huay Kuan Dance Theatre.

The graduate from the Hong Kong Academy forPerforming Arts is performing tonight and tomorrow inLife’s A Stage, a dance drama staged at the NationalLibrary Building’s Drama Centre Theatre. The HokkienHuay Kuan production, a blend of Chinese dance andChinese opera, looks at the lives of three characters in1950s Singapore who are sold to an opera troupe. Tickets($28, $38 and $48) are available from Sistic.

Li lives with her parents, three older brothers and adomestic helper in a terrace house in Rosyth Road.

Do you have a regular weekend?My days off are Mondays and Tuesdays, so those are myweekends. My schedule depends on my mood. Some-

times, I chill at home if I have had a hectic week. Or I gofor open dance classes. A few months ago, I was doingcheerleading so my rest days were spent doing that.

MySaturdays and Sundays are spent on rehearsals or I’dteachat thedance theatre.

What are your favourite places to hang out at?I like sushi, so any restaurant with sushi works for me.Going anywhere with my fiance works too. Because weare both dancers with the same group, we are busy andwe treasure our time together.

Describe your perfect weekend.I love being around people, whether it’s family orfriends. It does not matter what we do.

I like to binge-watch American dramas, such as

Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, How I Met YourMother and The Big Bang Theory.

If you could hang out with anybody for a weekend,who would it be?My teacher Pei Chang Qing from the Hong Kong Acade-my for Performing Arts. She helped me a lot artisticallyand taught me values in life, which I’m grateful for.

If you could travel anywhere for a weekend, wherewould it be?Probably to a prestigious dance academy where I canattend its classes. Somewhere like the Beijing Dance Aca-demy.I’d take myfiance alongso wecan learntogether.

Brina TanPHOTO: SINGAPORE HOKKIEN

HUAY KUAN DANCE THEATRE

PHOTOS: UNUSUAL ENTERTAINMENT,

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK, BIZ TRENDS MEDIA

MyW

eeke

nd

Gig

sPic

ks Boon Chan Media Correspondent recommends

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | life D5

GREEK FARE AT DEMPSEYGreek Restaurant Blu Kouzina moved to Dempsey Hillabout three months ago, from its former shophouselocation along Bukit Timah Road, off Old Holland Road.

Not only is its new premises much more spacious, butthe restaurant’s ventilation has also improvedtremendously – I am glad it is no longer stuffy and I do notleave smelling like food.

The restaurant is in the same block as Portico Prime andChopSuey.

Things I like to eat here include the fresh and light Greeksalad withcucumber, olives and onions, served with a blockof feta ($21.80); imam baildi ($18.80), baked eggplant toppedwitha rich tomato sauce; and dipssuch as tzatziki ($14.80), ayogurt mixedwithcucumber and garlic; fava ($13.80), amellow yellow lentil dip; and melitzanosalata ($15.80), asmoky eggplantand herb dip balanced outwith lemon juice.

Main courses to order include a meat platter (from$94.80, above) that comes with succulent lamb chops,juicy beef patties, beef kalamaki (grilled cubed marinatedbeef on skewers) and meatballs. Be sure to order somegrilled octopus ($29.80) too.WHERE: Blu Kouzina, 10 Dempsey Road, 01-21MRT: Holland Village OPEN: Noon to 2.30pm (Friday toSunday), 6 to 10pm (daily). First seating 6 to 8pm; secondseating 8.15 to 10pm TEL: 6875-0872 INFO: Go toblukouzina.com or e-mail blukouzina@singnet.com.sg

Rebecca Lynne Tan Food Correspondent recommends

SWEET JAPANESE SWIRLTo me, a name like Small Potatoes Ice Creamery has itspitfalls. I am not sure I would want the name of mybusiness to be synonymous with being small potatoes inSingapore’s competitive ice cream industry.

However, this new ice creamery in Novena Square 2 ispretty good and can hold its own.

It does its two soft-serve flavours – Japanese sea saltand Japanese purple yam – very well. Prices start at $5 aserving.

I would recommend getting a twist, which is a

combination of both flavours. Milky sea salt ice creamand sweet-savoury Japanese yam make a winningcombination.

Or opt for one of its parfaits, such as the Small PotatoParty ($9.50, left), which comes with a small Japaneseyam, yam paste, warabi green tea mochi, azuki beansand crispy rice.WHERE: Small Potatoes Ice Creamery, Novena Square 2,10 Sinaran Drive, B1-131 MRT: Novena OPEN: 11am to10pm daily TEL: 6352-2661 INFO: Go towww.facebook.com/smallpotatoesicecreamery

happenings

POPSICLES IN BOOZENestled in the heart of Orchard Road is a rather unpretentious,laidback and low-key alfresco bar called Bar Canary.

Kick off your shoes as you relax on bean bags on artificial turf.Located on the fifth floor of Grand Park Orchard hotel, the bar

serves a range of cocktails including fruity popsicles in glasses ofbooze ($6 a pop, and $18 with a glass of alcohol, above).

The popsicles are made by local artisan pop-maker Popaganda.Try the refreshing Passionfruit Mint pop in a glass of riesling or

the Mango Cayenne pop in sparkling wine. The invigorating Mixed

Berries Shiso pop comes in a glass of sake.Other good cocktails here include the Coco Chanel – a blend of rum,

coconut liqueur, wheatgrass, coconut water, mint and lime ($20); andSugar ‘N Spice And All Things Nice ($20), a sweet and energisingcocktailwith salted caramel vodka, kaffir lime andgula melaka.WHERE: Bar Canary, Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard RoadMRT: Orchard OPEN: Noon to 1am (Sunday to Thursday), noon to2am (Friday, Saturday and eve of public holiday) TEL: 6603-8855INFO: Go to www.parkhotelgroup.com/orchard or e-mailfnb.gpor@parkhotelgroup.com

GOOD FOOD TO GO WITH DRINKSEmployees Only in Amoy Street opened to much fanfare lastmonth. It is an offshoot of the one in New York’s West Villagethat has been named one of thebest bars in the world.

The vibe is buzzy and inviting, no matter which night ofthe week. But do not come just for the drinks.

The bar-restaurant makes a mean and addictive hotsauce, which is served with steak tatare ($27) that is mixedtable-side.

The scrumptious and moist bacon-wrapped lamp chopswith salsa verde ($32, above) are not over-seasoned andgo well with drinks; while the fried skate ($31), deliciouslysmoked rainbow trout ($38) and cavatelli pasta with porksausage ($23) are good choices.WHERE: Employees Only, 112 Amoy Street MRT: Telok AyerOPEN: 5pm to 2am (Sunday to Thursday), 5pm to 3am(Friday to Saturday) TEL: 6221-7357 INFO: Go towww.facebook.com/employeesonlysingapore

FOODPROMOTIONS

Culinary Delights At ParagonSpend at least $400 (maximum tworeceipts; at least $100 for F&B) atParagon this month to redeem abottle of Leonardo Chianti Riservawine and enjoy complimentarytwo-hour parking ($60 in one F&Breceipt). Outlets offering specialsinclude Sushi Tei (05-04;complimentary Golden Ebi Fry witha minimum spend of $80), ShimbashiSoba (B1-41; sashimi voucher), DaPaolo Gastronomia (B1-K8;one-for-one Pizza Taglio, weekdays, 6- 8pm) and Dome Cafe (04-09; Tea SetSpecial: cake and a cup of coffee ortea: $9.90++).WHERE: 290 Orchard RoadMRT: Orchard WHEN: Till July 31TEL: 6738-5535INFO: www.paragon.com.sg

Tavern Restaurant Celebrates22nd Anniversary With22 Per Cent DiscountThe Tavern Restaurant, which servesSwiss and Continental cuisine, isgiving a 22 per cent discount on all itsfood dishes for its 22nd anniversary.Besides its daily set lunch, there areappetisers such as the signaturePan-fried Fresh Goose Liver withraspberry sauce ($34++), AlaskanCrab Leg Salad ($32++), Swissspeciality Raclette With Air Dried Beef($19.50++) and Wild Mushroom Soup($14++). Mains include KagoshimaWagyu Rib-Eye ($65++ for 100g),Australian Wagyu Rib-Eye ($45++ for100g), Whole Airflown Dover Sole($85++) and Rack Of Lamb inrosemary garlic sauce ($42++). Fordessert, Crepe Suzette with ice creamfor two ($36++) and Lemon PancakeSouffle with vanilla ice cream ($18++)are recommended.WHERE: 227 River Valley RoadMRT: Clarke Quay WHEN: Tue -July 26; lunch: 11.30am - 2.15pm;dinner: 6 - 10.30pm PRICE: Daily setlunch: $35 nett a person (one dinesfree for every four persons); selecteda la carte items: $14++ - $85++TEL: 6737-6995 INFO: tavern.com.sg

The Great Thai Feast At WestinSingapore’s Seasonal TastesThis event features Thai dishes fromIsaan in north-east Thailand. Itemsrange from street food to perennialfavourites and buffet mainstays suchas lobsters, oysters, scallops, musselsand prawns. Other highlights includeTom Yum Gung, Kor Moo Yang (grilledpork neck), Sai Krok Isaan (Thaifermented sausage), Pad Kra Pao(Thai basil chicken), mango sticky riceand Thai pumpkin custard.WHERE: The Westin Singapore,12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2,Level 32 MRT: Downtown WHEN: Mon- July 31, 6 - 10pm PRICE: $68++ (Sun -Thu) & $82++ (Fri - Sat) a personTEL: 6922-6968 INFO: E-mailseasonaltastes.singapore@westin.com

Steak Nights At LaBrezza,St RegisLaBrezza’s Steak Night Indulgenceswill feature a parade of fine meatsprepared a la minute. The gourmetcuts include Japanese Wagyu A5Chuck Tender, Australian Grain-FedBlack Angus Striploin and USA WagyuInside Skirt. Among other choices areBaby Yellow Chicken Alla Diavola, NewZealand Rack Of Lamb, Loch FyneScottish Salmon Fillet and KurobutaPork Chop.WHERE: The St Regis Singapore,29 Tanglin Road, Level 2 MRT: OrchardWHEN: Sun - Aug 31 (Sun - Thu)PRICE: $80++ a person ($128++includes free-flow wine, beer, softdrinks) TEL: 6506-6884 INFO: E-maillabrezza@stregis.com

Discounted Beer And Half-PriceSnacks At Re!Wine Retro BarRe!Wine Retro Bar, perched on thesecond floor of Hotel Re! @ Pearl’s Hill,is having its six-hour Happy Hourpromotion that includes one-for-oneTiger Draft beer ($10 nett a glass),bottled beers ($8 nett) and half pricefor hot bar snacks (usual price:$10.80++ - $14.80++). The LightSnacks menu has items such asVietnamese Spring Roll, ChickenYakitori, Scallop Tempura andCalamari Fritto.

WHERE: Hotel Re! @ Pearl’s Hill,175A Chin Swee Road, Level 2MRT: Outram Park (complimentaryshuttle bus service to & from hotel:8am - 8pm daily) WHEN: Daily: 6pm -midnight PRICE: Beer promotions: $8- $10 nett TEL: 6827-8226INFO: www.hotelre.com.sg/dining-offers

Menus InspiredBy Jay Chou SongsOrder the set menus inspired by JayChou’s songs at Si Chuan Dou HuaRestaurant, Top of UOB Plaza, and wintwo tickets (worth $396) to his Sept 3concert. The chefs have createddishes such as Poached Mee Sua withgaroupa fillet in rice wine (inspired bySimple Love, one of Chou’s earliesthits) and Poached Crispy Bubble Ricewith seafood (inspired by Rhythm OfThe Rain).WHERE: UOB Plaza 1, 80 Raffles Place,60-01 MRT: Raffles PlaceWHEN: Till Aug 7; lunch: 11.30am -2.30pm; dinner: 6.30 - 10.30pmPRICE: $88++ - $108++ a personTEL: 6535-6006INFO: www.sichuandouhua.com

Cocktail Masterclass ByRenowned Japanese BartenderMr Hidetsugu Ueno, who is on thejudging panel of the World ClassBartender of the Year annual awards,will be conducting a CocktailMasterclass Demonstration. Itincludes a demonstration of his “icediamond” carving, basic techniques inmaking cocktails, cocktail and foodpairing, and how to make Hunter andWhite Lady cocktails. He will also bethe guest bartender at Copper OnStanley both nights (8pm to midnight).WHERE: Copper On Stanley, 3 StanleyStreet MRT: Telok Ayer WHEN: Today& tomorrow; 1st session: 3 - 5pm; 2ndsession: 5.30 - 7.30pm PRICE: $150 aperson ($30 off for F&B industry staff)TEL: 6221-3639 INFO: E-maildrink@copperonstanley.com

Kwee Zeen’s SaturdayPink BrunchKwee Zeen, at Sofitel SingaporeSentosa Resort & Spa, is launching

Saturday Pink Brunch tomorrow.Besides live seafood andmade-to-order delicacies, there willbe Provencal creations such asBeet-cured Salmon with pinkgrapefruit, Gammon Ham withrhubarb sauce and Prawn Penne withpink vodka sauce, and desserts inshades of pink such as Lychee RoseRaspberry Panna Cotta and RubyPeach and Wild Strawberry Verrine.WHERE: Sofitel Singapore SentosaResort & Spa, 2 Bukit Manis RoadMRT: HarbourFront WHEN: Sat: 12.30 -3.30pm PRICE: $98++ a person($30++ includes free-flow Rose wine),$49++ for a child TEL: 6708-8310INFO: E-mail H9474@sofitel.com

O’Coffee Club All-day BreakfastO’Coffee Club’s all-day breakfastpromises hearty portions from $5.90.Highlights include French Toast($7.90), Eggs Benedict ($10.90), thethree-tiered Waffle Stacker ($19.90)as well as the protein-packed FullBreakfast ($10.90)WHERE: 11 outlets islandwide,including The Seletar Mall,33 Sengkang West Avenue, 02-K7LRT: Fernvale WHEN: 10am - 10pmdaily PRICE: $5.90 - $19.90TEL: 6702-4210INFO: www.ocoffeeclub.com

New Menu At Hilton’s Il CieloHilton Singapore’s rooftop Italianrestaurant il Cielo has unveiled a newmenu. Standout dishes in ChefRiccardo Catarsi’s menu includePumpkin Charcoal Ravioli ($24++)with chickpea cream, red onions,Modena balsamic and black truffles;slow-cooked Glacier 51 Toothfish($45++) in smoked herbs, roastedpumpkin cream, asparagus andcauliflower; rack of lamb ($46++) withsun-dried tomatos tartar, babycarrots and sweet peas; lobster salad($35++) with toscana roschetta, icevegetables, bottarga andmascarpone cream; and signaturebuffalo milk burrata ($25++) servedwith heirloom tomato carpaccio, basilcream and olives.WHERE: Hilton Singapore, 581Orchard Road, Level 24 MRT: Orchard

WHEN: Lunch: noon - 2.30pm (Mon -Fri); dinner: 7 - 10.30pm, dailyPRICE: $24++ - $46++TEL: 6730-3395 INFO: E-maililcielo@hilton.com

SINGAPORE FOOD FESTIVAL

Ion Orchard’s First In-MallPicnic GardenIon Orchard has kicked off its CulinaryCreations 2016 campaign with its firstin-mall picnic garden and a line-up ofculinary workshops, wineappreciation and food sampling byPutien, Wrap & Roll, Food Opera,4 Fingers Crispy Chicken, Watami,Mr Churros and Nara Thai. Spend atleast $50 at any F&B store to redeema picnic basket containing diningvouchers, picnic essentials, snackpacks and the Ion Orchard diningbooklet worth up to $150, with treatsfrom brands such as Haagen-Dazs,Putien, Lim Chee Guan, Dunkin’Donuts and The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.WHERE: Ion Orchard Station,2 Orchard Turn, B4 MRT: OrchardWHEN: Today - Sun, 10am - 10pmPRICE: Purchase any food item fromIon Orchard to gain entry to the PicnicGarden TEL: 6238-8228INFO: www.ionorchard.com

NATIONAL DAY

Cat & The Fiddle’s Singapore-Inspired CheesecakesCat & The Fiddle pays tribute to thenation with two Singapore-inspiredcheesecakes. The Milo Dinosaurcheesecake (1kg; $32.90) is namedafter the popular drink sold in coffeeshops, while the King Cat Of TheMountain (mao shan wang) version(900g; $38.90) is made for durianlovers.WHERE: KA Foodlink, 171 KampongAmpat, 05-04 MRT: Tai SengWHEN: Ongoing (20 per cent discounton the two cheesecakes from Aug 1 -31) PRICE: $32.90 - $38.90 (5 per centdiscount for members; free deliveryfor orders above $120)TEL: 6287-0077INFO: www.catandthefiddle.com

MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL

Mooncakes And Reunion SetMenu At Hai Tien LoPanPacificSingapore’sHaiTienLo istakingordersformooncakesfromMonday.Thenewsingle-yolkGreenTeaPasteandBlackSesame(both$66+)andthesignatureMaoShanWangDurianSnowskinMooncake($76+)areavailablefromAug15toSept15.OthersincludeWhiteLotusSeedPastewithmacadamianuts($62+)andVegetarianMixedNuts($72+).Asix-courseMid-AutumnReunionSetMenuisavailablefordine-in,withdishessuchasCrispySeaPerchFilletandBraisedClassicWholeAbalone.WHERE: Pan Pacific Singapore,7 Raffles Boulevard, Level 3MRT: PromenadeWHEN/PRICE: Mooncakes: Aug 15 -Sept 15; pre-orders: Mon - Aug 14 (25per cent early-bird discount); $62+ -$76+ (box of four); Reunion Set Menu:Aug 15 - Sept 15 (lunch: 11.30am -2.30pm; dinner: 6.30 - 10.30pm);$128++ a person (minimum twodiners; includes gift box of FourTreasures Mooncakes worth $72+)TEL: 6826-8240 INFO: E-mailcelebrate.sin@panpacific.com

WINE EVENT

Masi Wine DinnerThe dinner features a seasonallyinspired five-course menu paired withvintages from Masi Agricola winery inthe Veneto region in Italy. Masi’sexport manager for Asia Pacific,Mr Marco Zauli, will take guests on ajourney to discover thedistinctiveness in the wines served.Dinner highlights are Sicilian redprawns, house-made veal ravioli,pan-seared pigeon and slow-cookedUS prime beef short ribs. Featuredwines include Levarie Soave Classico2014, Costasera Riserva Magnum(2006 - 2008) and Recioto Amabiledegli Angeli 2008.WHERE: Ocean Financial Centre,10 Collyer Quay, Level 43 MRT: RafflesPlace WHEN: Wed, 8pm (reception:7.30pm) PRICE: $188++ a personTEL: 6509-1488 INFO: E-mailmarketing@zafferano.sg

PHOTOS: EMPLOYEES

ONLY, BAR CANARY,

BLU KOUZINA, SMALL

POTATOES ICE

CREAMERY

Food

Pic

ksD6 life | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Chan Hampe Galleries presents Petrichor, an exhibitionthat draws its name from the fleeting, earthy scent thatcomes with rain after a prolonged dry spell. The sixartists on show aim to capture the similarly ephemeralmoment of creativity with works that follow traditionalapproaches and pieces that push the boundaries oftheir media. They include fabrics, metal sculptures,irradiated pointillism portraits and site-specificinstallations.

Forecast (2016)By Ruben Pang, oil,alkyd and retouchingvarnish on canvas,70x60cm

The artist, who wasborn in Singapore, didthis piece while livingalone in Europe. Itreflects a relationshiphe started to nurturewith his inner child,expressing also hisconflict and instability.

Alpha Male, BetaBlockers (2016)By Ruben Pang, oil,alkyd and retouchingvarnish on canvas,70x60cm

The artist explores thesense of a room. InEurope, he spent mostof his time in a roomlooking out of thewindows. He calls hisworks from this period

his “cave paintings” – suffused with a strange light thatto him defines solitude.

Pensieri Di Capelli(2016)By Gabriela Butti,mixed media, backlit,40x35cm

The artist, who wasborn in Italy, reflects onemptiness with thismoody piece. Herpunched dotsrepresent atoms –essential but invisible.

Dream Logic InSitu (2016)By Melissa Tan,acrylic onwatercolourpaper andcompressedfoam,119x51x72cm

The artist riffs on a theory that it was a shower ofcomets that brought water to Earth. This work showsthe Singapore artist’s interest in land and terrain.

Blue Rice (2016)By Ashley Yeo, Koreansilk, watercolour andink on paper panel,30x30cm

The Singapore artist,who is interested in thecolours of water andlight, exploresgradients and layerswith her paintings.

This was created by layering thin washes of ink andwatercolour more than 30 times to create depth andvibrancy.

Untitled (TheElastic Forest)(2016)By Gabriele Dini,bubble gum,colourant, sea salt,62x62cm

During a two-monthresidency inSingapore, theItaly-born artist

investigated minerals and stones of the island. This is apolished granite-like tile composed of bubblegum andit explores, among other things, environmental care andpolitical restriction.

SuisekiSoftfall(2014)By WeixinChong, print onsilk cotton,450x120cm

The artist, whowas born in Singapore, sees marble as a symbol ofluxury and power and explores in this piece marble as askin, making the stone surface both flexible and fluid.The large-scale textile print is made from detailedscans of various marble surfaces.

JAZZ IN JULYJazz guitarist Az Samad will presentworks from famous Malaysiancomposers such as P. Ramlee andJimmy Boyle as well as music inspiredby literary works written by his father,acclaimed Malaysian poet and novelistA. Samad Said. Az will reinterpret

classic Malay jazz pieces into sologuitar renditions interspersed withreadings of his father’s poetry.WHERE: Esplanade Concourse,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: City HallWHEN: Tomorrow, 5.15, 6.15 and 7.15pmADMISSION: FreeINFO: www.esplanade.com

IN SILENCE BY PEARL LAMGALLERIESThe art exhibition’s title is inspired byNyepi, a day of silence, self-restraintand reflection that marks the BalineseNew Year. It brings togethercontemporary works (right) by eightartists that meditate on what thatmeans today.WHERE: Pearl Lam Galleries, GillmanBarracks, 9 Lock Road, 03-22MRT: Labrador Park WHEN:Till Sept 4,11am to 7pm (Tuesday to Saturday),noon to 6pm (Sunday), closed onMonday and public holidayADMISSION: FreeINFO: www.pearllam.com

JOACHIM THEODORE LIM’SSOLO SHOWPercussionist Joachim Theodore Lim,who is part of Singapore classicalmusic-pop fusion quintet Lorong Boys,is holding his first solo showcase here.He will play seven pieces includingworks by German Baroque-eracomposer Johann Sebastian Bach andAmerican Pulitzer Prize-winningcomposer Joseph Schwantner.WHERE: Yong Siew Toh Conservatoryof Music, 3 Conservatory Drive,Orchestra Hall, Level 3MRT: Kent Ridge WHEN: Tomorrow,7.30pm ADMISSION: $10, e-mailjoachimtheodore@gmail.comINFO: www.joachimtheodore.com

BROADWAY BENG: 10THANNIVERSARY CONCERTTheatre actor Sebastian Tan returns asBroadway Beng (above, with directorSelena Tan) in this rollicking revue,which celebrates the character’s 10th

year in show business. He will tackleworks from Hokkien ditties to Englisholdies and a song written for him bygetai star Hao Hao and composerElaine Chan.WHERE: Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford

Road MRT: City Hall WHEN: Till July 31,8pm (Tuesday to Friday), 3 and 8pm(Saturday), 3pm (Sunday) ADMISSION:$58 to $138 from Sistic (call6348-5555 or go to www.sistic.com.sg)INFO: www.dreamacademy.com.sg

ARTSBOOKS

Meet-The-Author: SimonChesterman Of Raising ArcadiaThe dean of the National University ofSingapore’s law faculty talks about RaisingArcadia, the first book of a trilogy for youngadults. Local author Adrian Tan, bestknown for The Teenage Textbook and TheTeenage Workbook, will host the event.WHERE: Kinokuniya Singapore Main Store,391 Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City, 04-20MRT: Orchard WHEN: Tomorrow, 2pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6737-5021INFO: www.kinokuniya.com.sg

Meet-The-Author: Mei Fong Of OneChild – The Story Of China’s MostRadical ExperimentPulitzer Prize-winning journalist andauthor Mei Fong shares her investigationsinto China’s one-child policy, arguably theworld’s largest experiment in socialengineering.WHERE: Kinokuniya Singapore Main Store,391 Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City, 04-20MRT: Orchard WHEN: Tomorrow, 3.30pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6737-5021INFO: www.kinokuniya.com.sg

CONCERTS

Sangeet Sayamkaal –Music Of The DuskAs part of the ongoing Chakra series, thisconcert presents Dr Dhananjay Daithankaron the santoor (Indian dulcimer) andNawaz Mirajkar on the tabla (percussioninstrument).WHERE: Esplanade Recital Studio,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City HallWHEN: Tomorrow, 4pm ADMISSION: $31 &$19 (students, full-time nationalservicemen & senior citizens)TEL: 6348-5555 INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

Best Of Chinese VirtuososPerforming with the Singapore ChineseOrchestra , renowned flautist Dai Ya playsHao Wei Ya’s Flowers Blooming On ThePaths In The Fields and huqin doyenneJiang Ke Mei displays her virtuosity on thebanhu, erhu and jinghu.WHERE: SCO Concert Hall, 7 Shenton Way,Singapore Conference Hall, Level 1MRT: Tanjong Pagar WHEN: July 29 & 30,8pm ADMISSION: $33 - $74TEL: 6348-5555 INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

SSO Pops: A Night On BroadwayEnjoy Broadway hits such as Tonight,I Could Have Danced All Night and Cheek ToCheek in this concert featuring conductorJoshua Tan and singer Rani Singam.WHERE: Esplanade Concert Hall,1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City HallWHEN: July 29, 7.30pmADMISSION: $31 - $92 TEL: 6348-5555INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

DANCE

LiTHE 2016 By T.H.E SecondCompanyThe fifth edition of liTHE showcases danceartists such as Singapore’s Chiew Peishan,Japan’s Naoko Ito and Spain’s Anna Borras.WHERE: Goodman Arts Centre Black Box,90 Goodman Road, Block M, 01-53MRT: Mountbatten WHEN: Today &tomorrow, 8pm ADMISSION: $28(standard), $22.40 & $20 (concession)TEL: 6345-8454 INFO: Tickets fromlithe2016-show2.peatix.com. Go towww.facebook.com/THEDanceCo

Hatch Season 3See how artists such as Sherman Fu,Koustav Basu Mallick and Joseph Nairinterpret perspectives in time and spacewith their bodies as they investigatehuman relationships.WHERE: Goodman Arts Centre DanceNucleus Studio, 90 Goodman Road,Block M, 02-53 MRT: MountbattenWHEN: Thu - July 23, 8pmADMISSION: Pay as you wish INFO: Ticketsfrom www.tinyurl.com/HATCHS3. Go towww.dancenucleus.com

EXHIBITIONS (MUSEUMS)

Odyssey: Navigating Nameless SeasThis exhibition comprises contemporaryartworks by 11 artists and artist collectivesfrom Singapore, Australia, Pakistan andaround the region.WHERE: Singapore Art Museum, 71 BrasBasah Road MRT: Bras Basah/Dhoby GhautWHEN: Till Aug 28, 10am - 7pm (Sun - Thu),10am - 9pm (Fri) ADMISSION: Free forSingaporeans & permanent residents;foreigners: $10 (adults), $5 (students &senior citizens aged 60 & above), free forchildren under six; free admission every Frifrom 6 - 9pm & on open house daysTEL: 6589-9580INFO: www.singaporeartmuseum.sg

EXHIBITIONS (GALLERIES)

Reframing ModernismNational Gallery Singapore’s firstinternational collaboration – co-curatedand presented with Centre Pompidou,Paris – showcases modern masterworks bySouth-east Asian artists such as Le Pho,Latiff Mohidin, Affandi, Georgette Chen andH.R. Ocampo as well as works by PabloPicasso, Henri Matisse and WassilyKandinsky. The Gallery has also added twotours by senior curator Lisa Horikawa andcurator Phoebe Scott tomorrow and onSunday. There is free admission thisweekend as the exhibition ends on Sunday.WHERE: National Gallery Singapore,

1 St Andrew’s Road, Singtel SpecialExhibitions Gallery MRT: City HallWHEN: Today & tomorrow, 10am - 10pm;Sun, 10am - 7pm ADMISSION: Today, $15(adults) & $10 (children) for Singaporeans,$25 (adults) & $20 (children) for foreigners;free tomorrow & on Sun TEL: 6271-7000INFO: www.nationalgallery.sg

Enigmatic LandscapesMalaysian artist Tang Hong Lee’s newseries explores nature’s spirituality andmystical power.WHERE: Momentous Arts, 1557 KeppelRoad, Block C, 02-11 MRT: Tanjong PagarWHEN: Tomorrow - July 29, noon - 6.30pm(Mon - Fri), noon - 6pm (Sat), Sun byappointment ADMISSION: FreeTEL: 9641-3235INFO: www.momentousarts.com

Nara Yoshitomo – Picture BoxExhibitionThis exhibition features a selection ofwoodblock prints and lithograph works byJapanese artist Nara Yoshitomo.WHERE: Kato Art Duo, 328 North BridgeRoad, Raffles Hotel Arcade, 01-26 MRT: CityHall/Esplanade WHEN: Till Mon, 11am - 7pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 6338-9073INFO: www.katoartduo.com

Chen Wen Hsi’s Ink JourneyThis exhibition features 20 ink paintings bySingapore master Chen Wen Hsi, includinghis works on gibbons from differentdecades, curated in chronological order tohelp the audience understand the stylistictransitions and works from differentperiods in his career. There is also a talk onauthenticating his paintings on July 24.WHERE: Artcommune gallery, 231 BainStreet, Bras Basah Complex, 03-39MRT: Bras Basah/City Hall WHEN: TillJuly 28, noon - 7pm; Special Art Talk:

Authenticating Chen Wen Hsi’s Paintings:July 24, 7 - 9.30pm ADMISSION: Free forexhibition, $25 a person for talkTEL: 6336-4240 INFO: www.facebook.com/artcommunegallery orwww.artcommune.com.sg

EXHIBITIONS (SHOWS)

Snapshots Of Heritage PhotographyExhibitionThis exhibition explores our colourful anddiverse heritage. It also showcases 100winning and selected photo entries fromthe Snapshots of Heritage competition.There will be a critique by curator andjudge A.L. Lee and a prize-giving ceremony.WHERE: Outdoor Plaza, 11 Stamford Road,Capitol Piazza, Level 1 MRT: City HallWHEN: Exhibition: Today - Aug 11, 10.30am -10.30pm; prize-giving ceremony:tomorrow, 2.30 - 4.30pm ADMISSION: FreeINFO: www.capitolpiazza.com

The Brick Collective:Tiong Bahru EditionTemasek Polytechnic, in collaboration withfive Lego artists, presents an exhibitionthat showcases some of Tiong Bahru’smost iconic landmarks and nostalgicdetails, fashioned from Lego bricks.WHERE: Glocal Connect Village,21 Tampines Avenue 1, TemasekPolytechnic MRT: Tampines WHEN: TillJuly 27, 9am - 6pm (Mon - Thu), 9am -5.30pm (Fri), 11am - 6pm (Sat), closed onSun ADMISSION: Free TEL: 6780-5133INFO: www.tp.edu.sg

Exhibition Of Studio Ghibli’s ArtworkPolar Bear Gallery is exhibiting originalhand-drawn production celluloids fromStudio Ghibli films such as Castle In The Sky(1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki’sDelivery Service (1989) and Princess

Mononoke (1997). The celluloids are part ofa private collection and being exhibited forthe first time in Singapore. The gallery willalso showcase works by renownedJapanese artist Naohisa Inoue, abackground artist for Studio Ghibli’sanimated film Whisper Of The Heart (1995).WHERE: Polar Bear Gallery, 69A Haji LaneMRT: Bugis WHEN: Ongoing, noon - 8pm(Fri & Sat), noon - 6pm (Sun), privateviewing (Mon - Thu) ADMISSION: FreeTEL: 9169-4880INFO: www.contemporaryart.com.sg

THEATRE

Every Singaporean DaughterIn this original play, a group of youngSingaporeans struggle to balanceexpectations from family and society withtheir ambitions and explore what it meansto be a Singaporean daughter.WHERE: KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT,20 Merbau Road MRT: Clarke QuayWHEN: Today, 7.30pm; tomorrow, 3.30 &7.30pm; Sun, 3.30pm ADMISSION: $25INFO: Tickets from peatix.com. Go towww.srt.com.sg

Emily Of Emerald HillStella Kon’s iconic play about a Peranakanmatriarch who learns some bitter lifelessons returns. The play will open the newseries, Comfort Theatre: The Off CentralPerformances, which aims to bring theatreto the heartland in a stripped-downfashion.WHERE: Tanglin Community Club,245 Whitley Road MRT: StevensWHEN: Tomorrow, 4 & 7pmWHERE: Goodman Arts Centre Black Box,90 Goodman Road, Block M, 01-53MRT: Mountbatten WHEN: July 29 & 31,7pm ADMISSION: $11 TEL: 6348-5555INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

happeningsLee Jian Xuan recommends

NurAsyiqin MohamadSalleh

WHERE: Shophouse 5, 5 Geylang Lorong 24AMRT: AljuniedWHEN: Till July 31, 11am to 7pm (Tuesday to Sunday),closed on Monday. Open house tomorrow, 11am to 7pm,with an artists’ talk from 2 to 3pm. Viewings outsideopen house by appointment, call 6338-6192ADMISSION: Free

PHOTOS: SEAH KWANG PENG,

PEARL LAM GALLERIES

Art

sPic

ks

HourAtTheMuseum

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARTISTS AND CHAN HAMPE GALLERIES

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | life D7

FILMSArtScience On Screen: WhaleRider By Niki Caro (PG13)This Academy Award-nominatedfamily drama from New Zealand tellsthe tale of a young Maori girl whochallenges tradition and embracesnature in order to find the strength tolead her people forward.WHERE: ArtScience Museum,6 Bayfront Avenue, ExpressionGallery, Level 4 MRT: BayfrontWHEN: Today & July 29, 10am - 7pm(screened in a continuous loop)ADMISSION: FreeINFO: marinabaysands.com/museum

III Venezuelan Film FestivalThe six acclaimed Venezuelan films atthis festival are The House At The EndOf Time (La Casa Del Fin De LosTiempos); Venezzia; Fresh Air (AireLibre); The Parrot’s Mess (Er RelajoDer Loro); 1888, The ExtraordinaryJourney Of The Santa Isabel (ElExtraordinario Viaje De La SantaIsabel) and Brother (Hermano). WithEnglish subtitles.WHERE: The Arts House, 1 OldParliament Lane MRT: Clarke Quay/City Hall WHEN: Tue - July 23, varioustimes ADMISSION: Tickets arecomplimentary & will be given half anhour before each screening on afirst-come, first-served basisTEL: 6332-6900INFO: www.facebook.com/theartshouse

Food Film FestivalGolden Village’s first Food FilmFestival will screen renowned fooddocumentaries Kampai! For The LoveOf Sake, Ants On A Shrimp, JiroDreams Of Sushi, Sergio Herman:F***ing Perfect, Tsukiji Wonderlandand Foodies.WHERE: GV Suntec City, Suntec CityMall, 3 Temasek Boulevard, 03-373MRT: City Hall/PromenadeWHEN: Thu - Jul 27, various timesADMISSION: Opening night on Thuincludes a bottle of Utakata SparklingSake Yuzu: $22 (GV movie clubmembers), $26 (non-members);tickets for movies screening fromJuly 22 - 27: $13 (GV movie clubmembers), $15 (non-members)TEL: 6653-8100INFO: www.gv.com.sg

Star Trek Beyond MovieMarathonRevisit the world of Star Trek throughthe movie marathon screening ofStar Trek (2009) and Star Trek IntoDarkness (2013). Then continue thegalactic adventure in the latestinstalment, Star Trek Beyond, asCaptain Kirk and his crew, strandedon an unknown planet, battle tostay alive.WHERE: GV Suntec City, Hall 7, SuntecCity Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard,03-373 MRT: City Hall/PromenadeWHEN: July 22, from 7pmADMISSION: $35 (GV movie clubmembers), $39 (non-members)TEL: 6653-8100INFO: www.gv.com.sg

NATUREWhat’s In My Mangrove?Mangrove forests are living bordersbetween fresh and salt water. Out of73 true mangroves speciesworldwide, 22 can be found in SungeiBuloh. Join this morning walk andlearn more about the mangrove treesand plants of the forest.WHERE: Meet at Information Counter,Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve,Visitor Centre (Kranji Way entrance),301 Neo Tiew Crescent MRT: KranjiWHEN: July 23, 9.30 - 11amADMISSION: Free with registrationINFO: Registration closes on Tueor when full, whichever is earlier.Register at www.nparks.gov.sg

Nature Sketching InThe GardensEnjoy nature and showcase yourcreativity through this engaging, funand therapeutic activity.WHERE: Meet at Service Desk atBotany Centre, Tanglin Entrance,1 Cluny Road, Singapore BotanicGardens MRT: OrchardWHEN: Tomorrow, 9 - 11amADMISSION: Free with registrationINFO: Register at the Service Desk15 minutes before the programme.Go to www.nparks.gov.sg

CONTESTTheatreWorks 24-HourPlaywriting Competition 2016The event this year is held at GillmanBarracks, a cluster of pre-war colonialbuildings that have beentransformed into a swanky artscentre. Participants will be inspiredby the unique blend of art, history andheritage of Gillman Barracks. One ofthe winning scripts from this year’scompetition will be developed into afull production that will tour theSouth East District in the first quarterof next year.WHERE: Gillman Barracks, Block 7Lock Road MRT: Labrador ParkWHEN: July 30, 4pm - July 31, 4pm

ADMISSION: $30 (Youth category forages 15 -18), $40 (Open category forages 19 & above) INFO: To register,download the registration form atwritingandcommunity2016.wordpress.com/registration-form &e-mail tworks@singnet.com.sg by Wed

TOURSConnecting With Nature – TreesOf The Fort TourDid you know that a Kapok tree cangrow up to 40m high? Join this tourand find out more about the heritagetrees and other beautiful treesincluding the flaky Gelam andmagnificent Madras Thorn.WHERE: Fort Canning Park (meet atthe roundabout between FortCanning Centre & Hotel Fort Canning),River Valley RoadMRT: Somerset WHEN: July 23, 10 -11.30am ADMISSION: Free withregistration INFO: Registration closeson Sun or when full, whichever isearlier. Register at www.nparks.gov.sg

KIDSSingapore Science Festival:X-Periment!The three-day carnival celebrates thelatest developments and research inthe fields of science and technology.There will be interactive innovationsand experiments by local researchersand performances by The FlightBrothers from the Franklin Institute inthe United States.WHERE: VivoCity, 1 Harbourfront Walk,Level One MRT: HarbourFrontWHEN: Today - Sun, 11am - 10pmADMISSION: FreeINFO: www.science.edu.sg

Bump!A parent-child workshop based onAnnie Kubler’s Ten Little MonkeysJumping On The Bed. Suitable forchildren aged three and four.WHERE: ACT 3 Drama Academy, 126Cairnhill Road, One-Two-Six CairnhillArts Centre MRT: NewtonWHEN: July 24 & 31, 10.30am -12.30pm ADMISSION: $75 (for parent& child) TEL: 6735-9986INFO: Register atact3international.com.sg

Future World: Drop-In PaperCraft ActivityMakeand take home your own artproject related to themes fromtheFuture World exhibition. Suitable forchildrenaged four and older, who musteachbe accompanied by an adult.WHERE: ArtScience Museum,6 Bayfront Avenue, Rainbow RoomMRT: Bayfront WHEN: Till July 31(Sat & Sun only), 10am - 2pmADMISSION: $5 a child, free foraccompanying adult; admission feesto Future World exhibition applyINFO: marinabaysands.com/museum

OTHERSFalls Awareness Day 2016Join this event and learn how thewhole family can play a part inpreventing falls around the home andin the community. Tan Tock SengHospital’s physiotherapists,occupational therapists anddietitians will provide free healthscreenings and health advice.WHERE: Ang Mo Kio Central Stage(beside Jubilee Square), Ang Mo KioAvenue 8 MRT: Ang Mo KioWHEN: Tomorrow, 9am - 3pm

ADMISSION: Free TEL: 6359-6398INFO: E-mail chep@ttsh.com.sg.Go to www.ttsh.com.sg

Crimson RomanceWedding ShowSign up for a package during the showand enjoy special perks such as freeflow of beer and house wine. A team ofwedding consultants will also be onhand to offer tips.WHERE: Grand Copthorne WaterfrontHotel, 392 Havelock Road MRT: ClarkeQuay WHEN: Sun, noon - 4pm(registration starts at noon at leveltwo foyer) ADMISSION: $28 nett acouple (the first 50 couples enjoy aspecial rate of $20 nett)INFO: To register, call 6233-1199or e-mail weddings.gcw@millenniumhotels.com

City Gas Carnival SaleCatch a live demonstration on howgas appliances work, attend acooking class by celebrity chef TonyKhoo and learn how to make your ownmini bouquet and enjoy delicioustreats at the noodle bar.WHERE: City Gas Gallery @ PWCBuilding, 8 Cross Street, Level 2MRT: Telok Ayer WHEN: Till July 30,9am - 6pm (Mon - Fri), 9am - 4pm (Sat).Closed on Sun & public holidayADMISSION: Free TEL: 6732-6910INFO: www.citygas.com.sg

From Collector To Collector:An Art BazaarThis initiative aims to help collectorsfind new homes for treasuredartworks that were previously part ofprivate collections.WHERE: AC43 Gallery, 231 Bain Street,Bras Basah Complex, 02-43MRT: Bugis/Bras Basah

WHEN: Till July 31, noon - 7pm dailyADMISSION: Free TEL: 6336-0446/8127-3984 INFO: www.facebook.com/ac43gallery

LAST CALLThe Glasgow School Of ArtSingapore Degree Show 2016Thisyear’seditionof theannual show isstagedby the2016graduating cohortfromtheGlasgowSchool ofArt’sCommunicationDesignand InteriorDesignprogramme. It showcasesadiverserange ofworks, from prints,short films and installations tospatialconceptmodels.WHERE: Deck, 120A Prinsep StreetMRT: Bugis/Rochor WHEN: Today,noon - 7pm ADMISSION: FreeINFO: www.facebook.com/GSofASingapore

Opening The Great Masters OfThe 20th Century: AlexanderCalder, Marc Chagall, Joan Miro,Pablo PicassoThis exhibition showcases originalpaintings from some of the mostinfluential artists of the 20th century.Highlights include Les Maries SurFond Bleu, an important canvas byMarc Chagall.WHERE: Partners & MucciacciaSingapore @ Scotts Square, 6 ScottsRoad, 01-06/07 MRT: OrchardWHEN: Last day, 10am - 8pmADMISSION: Free TEL: 9118-0174INFO: E-mail info@partnersandmucciaccia.com

OMM: Sibelius 1Orchestra of the Music Makers’principal guest conductorChristopher Adey returns to deliver

Sibelius’ nordic first Symphony andSingaporean violinist Alan Chooperforms Prokofiev’s highly lyricalSecond Violin Concerto.WHERE: Sota Concert Hall, 1 Zubir SaidDrive, School of the Arts MRT: DhobyGhaut WHEN: Sun, 7.30pmADMISSION: $13 & $20TEL: 6348-5555INFO: www.sistic.com.sg

The Great ExhibitionJapanese artists Ken + Julia Yonetanipresent their recent works. Thecentral piece is The Last Supper(2014), which shows a 9m-long tablemade of more than one tonne ofgroundwater salt sourced from theMurray-Darling basin in Australia.WHERE: Mizuma Gallery, 22 LockRoad, Gillman Barracks, 01-34MRT: Labrador Park WHEN: Till Sun,11am - 7pm (today & tomorrow),11am - 6pm (Sun) ADMISSION: FreeTEL: 6570-2505 INFO: E-mailinfo@mizuma.sg or go towww.mizuma.sg

Compiled by Callyn Chow &Ronald Kow

The listings on this page are free.Write to Life Happenings, Life,The Straits Times, 1000 Toa PayohNorth, Singapore 318994, e-mailstlife@sph.com.sg or fax 6319-8276at least two weeks ahead. Include thename of the event, organiser, venue,date and time, ticket prices andnearest MRT station, as well as yourname, address and contact number.We reserve the right to edit or rejectitems. Go to www.straitstimes.com(click on Lifestyle) for more listings

happenings

PHOTOS: SHAW

ORGANISATION,

UNITED

INTERNATIONAL

PICTURES, SAM@8Q

Film

Pic

ks

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (M18)119 minutes/

BenCash (ViggoMortensen, above)andhisbroodhavesetuphome in the leafysplendourof the forestsof thePacific

Northwest. No phones, computers orscreens of any kind distract the kidsfrom hunting-gathering, meditation,strenuous exercise and readingsfrom the classics of the AmericanLeft. Ben’s goal is to raise a

generation of philosopher-kings.After a decade of isolation, an

emergency forces them to leave theirrefuge . The group smacks headfirstinto junk culture, high-fructose-corn-syrup America.

Matt Ross won the directing prize inthe Un Certain Regard section at theCannes film festival for this work,filled with memorable characters andwinning performances, especiallyfrom the children.

THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR (NC16)109 minutes/

By standard movie reckoning, the third movie in the Purgeseries should be a lazy rehashing of old ideas. While it’sstill a long way from being original, writer-director JamesDeMonaco has the good sense and integrity to not repeathimself.

Based on the idea that a future America will fix its crimeproblem by making one night of the year free of policeintervention and legal consequences, the latestinstalment is a political thriller with a high body count,with Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) doomsdaycult overtones.

DeMonaco loves 1970s B-movies, and this work packs inover-the-top performances and idiots throwingthemselves in front of bullets and chainsaws whiledressed in Halloween clothes. Some people just prefer tocombine cosplay with gunplay.

THE HANDMAIDEN (R21)140 minutes/

One part Gothic fantasy, one part softcore thriller, thisperiod drama blurs the line between highbrow andsexploitation.

Not that it matters. Celebrated Korean film-maker ParkChan Wook (Oldboy, 2003; Lady Vengeance, 2005) fills theframes with images so lush, there is little time to ask if oneform of titillation is more correct than another.

Set in 1930s Korea, then under Japanese occupation,pickpocket Sook Hee (ingenue Kim Tae Ri, above left) fakesher identity to become a maid in the aristocratic family ofLady Hideko (Kim Min Hee, above right). Sook Hee’s real jobis to push Hideko into the arms of the gold-digger CountFujiwara (Ha Jung Woo).

FUNDAMENTALLY HAPPY (NC16)80 minutes

Film-makers Tan Bee Thiam and Lei Yuan Bin take on theaward-winning play of the same name, working withcelebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle (In TheMood For Love, 2000; 2046, 2004).

Eric (Joshua Lim) visits old neighbour Adibah (HabibaSalim, both above), but their happy reminiscing takes adarker turn when a painful secret is revealed.

This film, based on the theatre piece by Haresh Sharmaand Alvin Tan (The Necessary Stage), has screened atfestivals here to acclaim and The Projector is bringing itback as part of a celebration of the work of the 13 LittlePictures collective.WHERE: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower, 6001 BeachRoad, 05-00 MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: Tomorrow,2.30pm ADMISSION: $13 INFO: Bookings at theprojector.sg

John Lui Film Correspondent recommends

D8 life | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

REVIEW/ HORROR-COMEDYGHOSTBUSTERS (PG)

116 minutes/Now showing

Thestory: Erin (Kristen Wiig) is a physicisttrying to findsuccess in mainstreamacademia when her old friend, fringescientistAbby (Melissa McCarthy), dragsherback into the world of paranormalstudy.Helped by the contraptions ofengineer Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) andthe NewYork trivia knowledge of Patty(LeslieJones), the team takes on a ghostinvasion.

John Lui

Reboots are rarely good ideas, butthis one is helped greatly by makingits main cast all women – at least itfeels like an attempt to cut a newpath, instead of appeasing nostalgiacrybabies out for blood.

Too bad then that the all-femaleGhostbusters team is the only thingfresh about this enterprise.

Stuffed with fan service shout-outs and pandering cameos and astory template that copies so muchfrom the 1984 original it could make

the executives behind Star Wars:The Force Awakens (2015) blush, itwastes the shot that director PaulFeig (Bridesmaids, 2011) mighthave had to kickstart a trend forbig-budget, women-driven actioncomedies.

For this project, Feig and co-writerKatie Dippold dropped the enginebehind comedies such as The Heat(2013), Spy (2015) and Bridesmaids:insecurity.

No one here frets about beinginept, overweight or single; there isno jealousy or spite or any of thosedelicious emotions that makehuman interactions funny.

So the structural problem thatmakes so many action comediesweak, the problem that crippledPixels (2015) and made other bigspecial-effects spectaculars sounfunny, is much too present here:The jokes do not come from charac-ters, but from situations.

We get the slimings, the bug-eyedscreaming and running hither andthither; we get the ghosts that looklike cartoon characters and the sci-entific gobbledygook about ecto-plasm and protonic disturbances.We even get bits about flatulence(of course there has to be jokes

about flatulence).What we do not have are charac-

ters that feel like real people deal-ing with problems in their lives in afunny way.

Feig and Dippold might have cre-ated strong comedies in the past,but as they say in business, past per-formance does not guaranteefuture – or even present – results.

johnlui@sph.com.sg

Slimings runaround inGhostbusters.PHOTO: CTMG

Anjali Raguraman

Women emcees are expected tolook amazing at all events, whiletheir male counterparts are held toa much lower standard, says televi-sion host and emcee Kelly Latimer.

“As a man, you could be slightlyoverweight and host a sports event,but as a lady, you’re expected to showup with a full face of make-up andlook amazing in your sports gear,”the 29-year-old says, citing her ownexperience.

As an expectant mother now, shealso mentions instances of how“you’re suddenly getting turneddown because you’re touting abump and I don’t think that’s fair”.

Creating a safe and fair playingfield for freelance women emcees isone of the things she would like tosee as an ambassador of the newlyformed Singapore Talent, Artistesand Resources (Star) association.

In a first of its kind initiative, agroup of veterans from the eventsand entertainment industry in Sin-gapore has formed the associationto champion its interests and assistfreelancers in an increasingly com-petitive environment.

The non-profit organisation waslaunched earlier this week.

While it has no regulatory power,it hopes to elevate industry stand-

ards by representing the interestsof freelance workers such as per-formers, masters of ceremony,deejays, audio and visual engineersand event producers.

According to the association,there are more than 1,200 such indi-viduals active here.

Mr Davwinder Singh Sheena, 47,who has more than 30 years of expe-rience in the industry in audio engi-neering, event management anddeejaying, is the association’s presi-dent.

He wants the association to be“one voice” for an otherwise splin-tered industry.

“The industry has come to a pointwhere people are competing onlyon price, with one of the biggestproblems right now being risingcosts and competition with peopleundercutting one another,” he says.

“We need to change that mindsetand focus on what value they canbring to events instead.”

The association will look intopractical steps to address suchissues and is working on initiativeswith various government agenciesand statutory boards.

Membership, which costs $100 ayear, gives members access toenrichment talks, workshops andspecial rates with partner establish-ments. For example, deejays could

learn how to toggle between vari-ous digital audio work stations, aswell as learn to use social media topromote themselves.

There are also plans to list mem-bers on a registry for potential clientsand the rest of the industry to access.

About 70 people signed up as ofthe first call to join at the launchevent on Tuesday.

One of those who did so was MrDaryl Ng, 46, a freelance deejaywho provides music support forevents such as dinner and dancenights and awards events.

He has been in the industry foralmost 30 years and says setting upthe Star association is “long over-due”.

While he says issues such as latepayments are an industry-wideproblem, his concern is the lack ofrecognition for deejays.

“People think we just have topress a play button, but it’s not atrade that one can pick up over-night,” he says.

He hopes Star can build aware-ness among clients and consumersabout the value of deejays, includ-ing their ability to read a room andchange the music accordingly andtheir knowledge of hardware andsoftware.

“(Star) can do things for us thatwe can’t do as individuals,” he adds.

I thought Knight Riderwas very cool. Eventhough it has a talkingcar, I never played it asa corny situation.Iplayed it as real.Thirty years on, it’s allcome true. I’ve drivenin the Googleself-driving car.

’’FORMERKNIGHT RIDER STAR DAVIDHASSELHOFF

I know a lot ofactresses who have atough time and I’vegotten offered thosemomparts. But youcan make somethingof it. For me, I’m finallygettingto play my ownageand it’s liberating.Iwould notwant to goback to playing theingenue.

’’ACTRESSWINONA RYDER, 44, onage-appropriate roles

‘Shrill’ isa word we usetoshut women up.Iwant women to belouder.

’’WRITER LINDY WEST on being anunapologetic, fat-positive feminist

Ghostbusters reboot a bust

Sorely missing in thisreboot are funnyhuman interactionsamong characterswith insecurities

Association set upto support events freelancers

GoAheadQuoteMe

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | ● life D9

Eunice Quek

It was a morning of surprises yester-day as hawkers, restaurant ownersand zi char stall operators receivednews that their outlets had beengiven the Bib Gourmand rating inthe inaugural Michelin Guide forSingapore, to be launched on Thurs-day next week.

Many of them say they neversuspected that Michelin inspectorshad tried their food.

Business owners tell The StraitsTimes that they have been floodedwith congratulatory text messagesfrom their friends and loyal cus-tomers all day.

Mr Manfred Lim, 40, owner ofHong Heng Fried Sotong PrawnMee at Tiong Bahru Market, says: “Ihad no idea about the BibGourmand until customers startedcongratulating me as if I had strucklottery.

“This is an honour for my familyas we have been running the stallfor more than 30 years.”

But while they are grateful for therecognition, many hawkers are alsoconcerned about getting inundatedwith eager diners.

Mr Max Cheong, 48, co-owner ofTiong Bahru Hainanese BonelessChicken Rice, says: “I am happywith the award, but I will not beincreasing the quantity of my foodeven though more people may visitmy stall.

“I am already facing a manpowershortage and cannot handle theextra work.”

Mr Daniel Soo, in his 60s, theowner of Famous Sungei RoadTrishaw Laksa in Hong Lim FoodCentre, says: “My stall is already sopopular even without this BibGourmand mention. With thisaward, I may have to work until mylegs and hands turn to jelly as morepeople will find out about theshop.”

At Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksaat Alexandra Village Food Centre,owner Zhang Li Jin, 38, says: “Beingrecognised by the Michelin Guidewill help me to cook with moreconfidence. We already have a 20-minute waiting time during lunchand can sell about 200 bowls of clay-pot laksa daily.

“I think more curious customerswill come to check out the stall so Iwould advise them to come duringoff-peak hours.”

Ms Kris Goh, 39, assistant at thenine-year-old Famous Crispy CurryPuff at Amoy Street Food Centre,says: “It is just me and my husbandrunning the stall, we have no helper.For our type of business, we have todo it with care and cannot massproduce.”

And like the rest of the hawkers,she insists that they will maintaintheir standards as well as currentprices.

Geylang zi char restaurant JB AhMeng’s owner, Mr Wong Fong,

better known as “Ah Meng” todiners, says: “My friends had toldme that Michelin inspectors werein town and said that maybe theywould come to JB Ah Meng. Ilaughed and said that would be ajoke.

“This honour shows that our hardwork has been worth it. It is assimple as that. We have neverthought of expanding and we willcontinue to cook and keep up thestandards.”

The head of marketing forCantonese restaurant Peony Jade,Mr Dominic Han, 34, says theaccolade is not unexpected as hehad met the Michelin Guideinspectors when they visited therestaurant’s Keppel Club outletearly this year. There is anotherbranch at Clarke Quay.

He says: “This is an affirmationfor our team, especially when themarket has slowed down this year.

“We always try to do somethingnew for diners, but we will alsostick to serving our traditionalChinese cuisine as we believe thatis what the Michelin inspectorslike.”

euniceq@sph.com.sg

• Additional reporting byKenneth Goh and Benson Ang

Ankita Varma

Seventeen hawkers may have madethe cut in the inaugural MichelinGuide Singapore’s Bib Gourmandlist yesterday, but the reaction fromfoodies on the ground has beenmixed.

The award, which rewardsestablishments offering high-quality meals under $45, featured34 restaurants and street-food out-lets and 19 styles of cuisine, includ-ing Indian, Cantonese, Peranakanand vegetarian.

For Mr Song Seng Wun, directorof group private banking at CIMBPrivate Banking, who regularlyposts about food on his Facebookpage, the list toes the line betweenappealing to an internationalaudience and celebrating localcuisine.

The 56-year-old says of theselection: “To find a Turkish restau-rant such as Alaturka on the list issurprising because Turkish food isnot close to the hearts of Singa-poreans nor would it be on avisitor’s eating list in Singapore.”

Still, he contends that theaddition of many familiar hawkernames on the list helps “recogniseheritage hawkers while also giving apat on the back to younger oneswho took up the challenge to be ahawker”.

Chairman of real estate agencyDennis Wee Realty, Mr DennisWee, a self-confessed hawker foodfan, agrees that the selection islikely to give a boost to Singapore’sstreet-food scene.

The 64-year-old says: “It is oftensaid that being a hawker is a dyingtrade, so recognition like this is verygood encouragement for ourhawkers to keep on going.

“I am particularly pleased thatSong Fa Bak Kut Teh and HooverRojak are on the list and I hope thatthis accolade will mean theestablishments featured will con-tinue to maintain their standards.”

Also celebrating are loyal fans ofthe restaurants and stalls on the list,who laud the recognition theirfavourite joints are getting.

Ms Jean Kuah, 45, an accountantand customer at Hoo Kee RiceDumpling in Amoy Street FoodCentre, says: “I’ve been cominghere at least once a month for thepast eight years. I love the saltedegg and chestnut dumplings andalso the mushroom and chestnutones because they are so fragrantand tasty.”

Even Mr Laurence Tan, 40, an ITengineer who is sceptical of foodguides, is happy to see his favouriteZhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa atAlexandra Village Food Centre onthe list. He says: “I have been visit-ing this stall for more than 10 years.I trust my taste buds and will notbase my dining options on a guide-book. That said, the claypot laksagravy is so unique and thick andtasty that I dare to visit the stall onlyon my days off, as the queue can gettoo long.”

Still, given how fiercely loyalSingaporeans can be to theirfavourite hawker stalls, it wasunsurprising that the final cut didnot have everyone applauding.Some on social media Facebook saythe list barely scraped the surface ofthe extensive selection of streetfood available in Singapore.

Oil trader Davy Choo, 56, calls theMichelin Guide “rubbish”.

He says: “There are just too manygood stalls for each category andthe inspectors have missed themout and did not check out otherneighbourhoods.”

Pilot Aaron Mak, 37, questionsthe limited options on the list.

“Singapore food is all about diver-sity and this list doesn’t capture it,”he says. “Where are our classicdishes such as char kway teow androti prata? There are too manyoptions to choose from to try andname one stall to represent a dishcategory.”

Outspoken hawker championand founder of food culture-focused company Makansutra,Mr K.F. Seetoh, was particularlydisappointed with the range ofestablishments featured. Makan-sutra puts out a street-food guide,Makansutra Singapore, whichstarted in 1998.

The 52-year-old says: “The BibGourmand selection is not expan-sive enough and is hardly reflectiveof the Singaporean street-foodscene. It is hard to tell by what yard-stick these establishments werejudged and it shows the inexperi-ence of the Michelin Guide when itcomes to judging heritage streetfood.

“I think perhaps the Michelininspectors should stick to whatthey do best, especially when Ibelieve Singaporeans are the bestjudges of their own heritagecuisines.”

• Additional reporting byKenneth Goh and Benson Ang

Including streetfood in theMichelin GuideBib Gourmandlist is goodencouragementfor hawkers,says Mr DennisWee, a foodie.

Good recognition for streetfood, but selection is superficial

HawkerchampionK.F. Seetoh isdisappointedby the narrowrange ofestablishmentsfeatured.

Michelin Guide Singapore’s Bib Gourmand list

Famous CrispyCurry Puff atAmoy StreetFood Centre,run by ownerLee Meng Li, 47,and his wifeKris Goh, 39, isamong the foodoutlets given theBib Gourmandrating forexcellent foodcosting notmore than $45.ST PHOTO:

MARCUS TAN

Stall owners are honoured to beon the list and say they willwork hard to maintainfood standard and prices

Singapore Michelin Guide: More stories online at straitstimes.com

Videos:Watch what the hawkers say about their awards http://str.sg/455T

Web special:How a tyre company started publishing a foodie guide http://str.sg/4iz9

Microsite:For more reports and viewpoints, go to http://str.sg/4wqA

Accolade takes hawkers by surprise

Myfriends had told me that Michelininspectors were in town and said that maybethey would come to JB Ah Meng. I laughedandsaid that would be a joke. This honourshowsthat our hard work has been worth it.

’’MR WONGFONG, ownerof Geylang zi char restaurant JB AhMeng

D10 life ● | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

OnT

VT

oday

Tides

Free to airCHANNEL 5

AM6.00 Sunshine Station (P)6.30 Mister Maker Comes To Town(P)7.00 Club M.A.G.I.C (S)7.30 Mat Yoyo 3 (V) (P)8.00 Sunshine Station (P)8.30 Mister Maker Comes To Town(P)9.00 The Dr Oz Show 6 (HD) (PG) (IE)10.00 JML TV Home Shopping (PaidPresentation)11.00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 13(HD) (V)PM12.00 Annabel Langbein: The FreeRange Cook 2 (HD) (IE)12.30 Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals (HD)(IE)1.00 Wheel Of Fortune 33 (HD) (CC)(V)1.30 Tanglin (HD) (CC) (D)2.00 Red Thread (D)2.30 Talking Point (HD) (CA)3.00 The Dr Oz Show 6 (HD) (PG) (IE)4.00 My Sassy Neighbour(Episode 1) (SC)4.30 Toque 12 2 (HD) (IE)5.00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 13(HD) (V)6.00 Just For Laughs Gags (HD) (V)6.30 Friday Mega Movie: TheLibrarian: Return To King Solomon’sMines (HD) (PG) (Premiere) (CC) (SeeOn TV Today)8.30 Tanglin (HD) (CC) (D)9.00 News 5 (HD)9.30 On The Red Dot (HD) (CC) (CA)10.00 All Access Changi: ProtectAnd Secure (HD) (Season Premiere)(IE)11.00 Dining With Death (PG) (IE)AM12.00 Tanglin (HD) (CC) (D)12.30 Minute To Win It (HD) (CC) (V)1.30 Code Of Law (HD) (PG) (D)2.30 Annabel Langbein: The FreeRange Cook 2 (HD) (IE)3.00 Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals (HD)(IE)3.30 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12(HD) (PG) (V)4.30 Wheel Of Fortune 31 (HD) (CC)(V)5.00 The Dr Oz Show 6 (HD) (PG) (IE)

CHANNEL 8

AM6.00 A Toast Of Love (SC)6.30 Tongue Twister (V)7.30 Hello Singapore Highlights(HD) (CA)8.00 The Dream Job (HD) (PG) (D)9.00 Morning Express (HD) (News)9.30 Peace & Prosperity (HD) (PG)(D)10.00 Focus (CA)10.30 The Monk At Xiaoxiang(Cantonese Opera)PM12.30 Commandos (HD) (IE)1.00 News 8 At One1.30 Street Smart 2 (HD) (V)2.00 Magic Institute 2 (HD) (C)2.30 Detectives And Doctors (HD)(PG) (D)3.30 Golden Age Talentime 2016(HD) (V)4.30 A Place Called Home (PG) (D)5.30 C.L.I.F. 2 (HD) (PG) (D)6.30 Hello Singapore (HD) (News)7.30 Peace & Prosperity (HD) (PG)(D)8.00 Frontline (CA)8.30 Body SOS 5 (HD) (V)9.00 The Dream Job (HD) (PG) (D)10.00 News Tonight10.30 Taiwan Taste 3 (HD) (IE)11.00 The Legendary Vagabond(HD) (PG) (D)AM12.00 The Legend Of Crazy Monk 3(PG) (D)1.00 Lady Investigators (D)2.00 Heiress (D)4.00 Love (PG) (D)

CHANNEL U

PM3.00 China’s Got Talent (V)4.30 Sweet Tales From Tokyo (V)5.00 Wang’s Family (PG) (D)6.00 Moon Embracing The Sun (PG)(D)

7.00 House Of Bluebird (PG) (D)9.00 World This Week (IE)10.00 Pinocchio (Episode 1) (PG)(Debut) (D)11.00 News Tonight11.30 World This Week (IE)AM12.30 House Of Bluebird (PG) (D)2.30 Close

CNA

AM6.00 News Pulse7.00 First Look Asia9.00 Asia Business First9.32 World View10.00 News Now10.32 Fighting Tall (HD)11.00 News Now11.32 Secret Tribes (HD)PM12.00 News Now12.32 First Look Encore1.03 ISIS: Terror In Asia (HD)2.00 News Now2.32 Fighting Tall (HD)3.00 News Now3.32 World View4.00 News Now4.32 Investor Insights 2016 (HD)5.00 News Now5.32 First Look Encore6.03 Insight6.30 Conversation With (HD)7.00 Primetime Asia8.01 Asean Spotlight (HD)8.30 A Class Above (HD)9.00 Primetime World9.31 Correspondents’ Diary10.00 Singapore Tonight11.01 Men With A Mission (HD)AM12.00 News Pulse12.31 Correspondents’ Diary1.01 Asean Spotlight (HD)1.30 A Singaporean Abroad 3 (HD)2.00 News Pulse2.31 World View3.00 News Pulse3.31 Correspondents’ Diary4.00 Singapore Tonight5.00 News Pulse5.31 World ViewProgrammes may be pre-emptedby breaking news

VASANTHAM

PM3.00 Asku Isku 2 (IE)3.30 Aasai Aasaiya 2 (IE)4.00 Tharma Yutham (D)4.30 Puthaiyal (D)5.00 Vaseegara (V)5.30 Chutti Ulagam 5 (C)6.00 Suryaputhri (Malayalam) (D)7.00 Motu Patlu 2 (CC) (C)7.30 Chhota Bheem (CC) (C)8.00 Our Dear Kudumbam (HD) (CC)(C)8.30 Tamil Seithi (HD) (News)9.00 Indian Beat 7 (HD) (CC) (IE)9.30 Tamil Talkies: Indhu (CC) (M)AM12.30 Tamil Seithi (News) (R)

1.00 Healthy Lifestyle (Commercial)1.30 Close

OKTO

AM9.00 Mat Yoyo: The New Generation(V) (S)9.30 The Rainbow Bus (P)10.00 Peppa Pig (P)10.30 Justin Time (P)11.00 Sid The Science Kid (P)11.30 Barney & Friends (P)PM12.00 Mat Yoyo: The NewGeneration (V) (S)12.30 The Rainbow Bus (P)1.00 Peppa Pig (P)1.30 Justin Time (P)2.00 Sid The Science Kid (P)2.30 Barney & Friends (P)3.00 Mat Yoyo: The New Generation(V) (S)3.30 The Rainbow Bus (P)4.00 Wendy (S)4.30 Kamen Rider OOO (S)5.00 The New Adventures Of PeterPan (HD) (S)5.30 Lab Rats Challenge 2 (S)6.00 The Day My Butt Went Psycho(S)6.30 A Tale Of Song And Danz (HD)(D) (S)7.00 Alvinnn!!! & The Chipmunks (S)7.30 The Deep (HD) (S)8.00 MasterChef Junior USA (V) (S)9.00 Absolute Genius With Dick &Dom (S)9.30 Omnisport (HD) (Sports)10.00 The Big Painting Challenge(HD) (IE)11.00 Lily Cole’s Art Matters: Christo(IE)AM12.00 Close

SURIA

PM4.00 Janji Qasidah (Telemovie)6.00 Kem Tahan (IE)6.30 Makan Expose (IE)7.00 Keluarga Karaoke (HD) (D)8.00 Berita (HD) (News)8.30 Sekuriti (HD) (D) (CC) (Finale)9.00 Kelap Kelip (Telemovie)11.00 Mancing Mania (IE)11.30 Berita (HD) (News) (R)AM12.00 Healthy Lifestyle (PaidPresentation)1.00 Close

C: Children; CA: Current Affairs;CC: Closed Captions; Cul: Culture;D: Drama; IE: Info-Ed; M: Movies;P: Preschool; PG: Parental Guidance;R: Repeat; S: Schoolkids; SC: Sitcom;V: Variety

Programme schedules correct attime of printing. Telecast detailsfrom Mediacorp, StarHub andSingtel TV. For pay TV updates, go towww.starhub.com/tv orwww.singteltv.com.sg

Singtel TVNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC(CHANNEL 201)

AM6.00 Cosmos: A SpacetimeOdyssey7.00 Fly Me To The Stars: Japan’sSpace Challenge7.55 Hacking The System8.50 Machine Impossible9.45 Science Of Stupid10.40 Crowd Control11.35 Locked Up AbroadPM12.30 Breakout1.25 Wicked Tuna2.20 Science Of Stupid3.15 4 Babies A Second4.10 The Great Human Race5.05 Russia’s Mystery Files6.00 Wicked Tuna7.00 Breakout8.00 Locked Up Abroad9.00 4 Babies A Second10.00 The Great Human Race11.00 Hazen’s Wild Survival Guide

CARTOONNETWORK(CHANNEL 226)

AM6.00 Foster’s Home ForImaginary Friends6.30 The Grim Adventures OfBilly & Mandy7.00 Jimmy Two Shoes7.30 Rat-A-Tat8.00 Chaplin8.30 Chowder9.30 We Bare Bears10.00 Steven Universe11.00 The Amazing World OfGumballPM12.00 Oggy & The Cockroaches1.00 Clarence1.30 Rat-A-Tat2.00 Adventure Time3.00 Sonic Boom4.00 The Amazing WorldOf Gumball4.30 Uncle Grandpa5.00 Supernoobs5.30 The Powerpuff Girls5.41 Adventure Time

STAR WORLD (HD)(CHANNEL 301)

AM6.20 How I Met Your Mother7.15 The Great Food Truck Race8.10 The Royals9.00 Britain & Ireland’sNext Top Model9.50 A To Z10.15 Melissa & Joey10.45 The BachelorPM12.35 The Great Food Truck Race1.30 Once Upon A Time3.20 The Royals4.15 Britain & Ireland’sNext Top Model5.10 The Great Food Truck Race

6.05 How I Met Your Mother7.00 Once Upon A Time9.00 Royal Pains10.00 Devious Maids11.55 A To Z

FOX (HD) (CHANNEL 330)AM6.00 Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.6.50 Criminal Minds7.40 Castle8.30 Criminal Minds9.20 NCIS10.10 Battle Creek11.00 The Mysteries Of Laura11.50 CastlePM1.30 Battle Creek2.20 The Mysteries Of Laura3.10 Best Time Ever WithNeil Patrick Harris4.00 Castle5.40 Criminal Minds6.30 Castle7.20 The Mysteries Of Laura8.10 The Grinder8.35 Last Man Standing9.00 Castle9.50 NCIS10.40 Castle11.30 The Grinder11.55 Last Man Standing

JIA LE (CHANNEL 502)AM6.00 Marry In The Purple7.00 Chronicle Of Love8.00 Legend Of Mi Yue9.00 Taste Of Love10.00 Taste Of LifePM12.10 Chronicle Of Love1.00 Fighting! Meiling2.00 Taste Of Life4.10 Legend Of Mi Yue5.00 Chronicle Of Love6.00 Fighting! Meiling7.00 Taste Of Life9.10 Chronicle Of Love10.00 The Legend Of S10.50 Taste Of Love

FOX SPORTS (CHANNEL 114)

AM6.00 Fox Sports Central7.00 Magazine: Countdown To Rio7.30 Sport Confidential8.00 Golf: The Open Championship2016, Day 1 Highlights8.30 Magazine: Countdown To Rio9.00 Golf: The Open Championship2016, Highlights11.00 Tennis: Wimbledon 2016 BestMatch Of Day 13, Men’s SinglesFinalsPM12.00 Magazine: Countdown To Rio12.30 Soccer: Clubland1.00 Golf: The Open Championship2016, Day 1 Highlights1.30 Golf: The Open Championship2016, Day 2 (Live)AM3.00 Football Asia3.30 Fox Sports Central

Aries (March 21 - April 19)Your friends are looking to you forguidance, though you do not have toturn into an advice dispenser.Lead by example.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)You need to take great care todaywhenyou are interacting with peopleyou do not know well.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)Your intellect is sparkling with goodenergy today.You may feel the urgeto take on a big new issue that hasbeen bothering you.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)You are not in the mood to take care ofanyonetoday, so once the essentialsare done, take care of yourself.

Leo (July 23 - Aug 22)You want to try new things, meetnew people, see new places andget out of the rut you have falleninto lately.

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sept 22)Theday's energy is holding you backthough you want to get out there andshake things up.

Libra (Sept 23 - Oct 22)Todaydemands balance from you andyou can step right upto get thingsback on track. Many of your people arehard to reach, but you can manage.

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21)It is easy for you to get caught up intheheat of the moment and saythings that you might regret later.

Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21)Sometimesyou need to stop worryingabout the future or the pastand justenjoy the present.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)Your big project seems daunting, butyou know you can finish it if you canpush through the next roughpatch.

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18)You attach yourself to a group thatseems toshare many of your ideals.

Pisces (Feb 19 - March 20)You can win big today as long as youkeepyour eyes andears open.Justhang back a little.

• Provided by Astrology.com(www.astrology.com)

television

StarHub TVHISTORY(CHANNEL 401)

AM7.00 Missing In Alaska8.00 Mountain Men 49.00 Power & Ice10.00 Alone 211.00 America's Book Of Secrets 3PM12.00 Missing In Alaska1.00 Chasing Monsters2.00 Power & Ice3.00 Mountain Men 44.00 Alaska Off-Road Warriors5.00 Power & Ice6.00 Alone 27.00 Chasing Monsters8.00 Mega Disasters 29.00 History Drama: Vikings 410.00 Barbarians Rising11.00 Roots: A History Revealed

LIFETIME (CHANNEL 514)

AM7.00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 139.00 MasterChef Australia 810.00 Dance Moms 511.00 The Rap GamePM1.00 One Born Every Minute UK 42.00 MasterChef Australia 83.00 Clara's Deadly Secret4.40 Bad Ink 25.00 Dance Moms 56.00 The Amazing Race Canada 37.00 MasterChef Australia 810.00 My Haunted House 211.00 MasterChef Australia 8

HBO (CHANNEL 601)

AM7.30 Reach Me (NC16)9.05 The Water Diviner (NC16)10.55 Million Dollar ArmPM1.00 Unbroken/3.15 Surf's Up4.40 Stardust6.50 Fury (NC16) (See On TV Today)9.00 San Andreas (NC16)10.55 Sweeney Todd: The DemonBarber Of Fleet Street (NC16)

FOX MOVIESPREMIUM(CHANNEL 622)

AM8.40 The Maze Runner10.40 Maze Runner: The ScorchTrialsPM12.55 Mississippi Grind2.50 Spy (NC16)/4.55 Hart’s War7.05 White Chicks9.00 The Hunger Games:Mockingjay – Part 111.10 88 (NC16)

ECITY (CHANNEL 825)

AM7.00 Showbiz7.50 May Queen (PG)9.00 Keywords (HD)

9.05 Hot Door Night 1010.00 Keywords (HD)10.05 Feng Shui Family11.00 Love Journey 2 (HD)PM12.30 Trends Food 2 (HD)1.00 TVB Entertainment News2.00 May Queen (PG)3.10 Super M 25.00 Feng Shui Family6.00 TVB Entertainment News7.00 Hot Door Night 107.55 Keywords (HD)8.00 Mr Player 4 (HD)10.00 Keywords (HD)10.05 Uncontrollably Fond (HD)

SUPERSPORTS 1(CHANNEL 201)

AM8.00 Badminton Unlimited8.30 Tennis: WTA All Access 20169.00 Motorsports: Virgin AustraliaSupercars Championship CastrolEdge Townsville 400, Race 1411.30 Cycling: inCyclePM12.00 Table Tennis: ITTF World TourKorea Open 2016, Semi-finals3.00 Motorsports: 2016 FIMSpeedway Grand Prix, Adrian FluxBritish FIM Speedway Grand Prix4.00 Badminton Unlimited4.30 Extreme Sports: Pure Outdoor5.00 Tennis: ATP 500 German OpenChampionship: Day 5, Quarter-finalsAM1.00 The World Sailing Show

SUPERSPORTS ARENA(CHANNEL 205)

AM7.00 Magazine: Supersports 3607.30 Table Tennis: ITTF World TourJapan Open 2016: Men’s & Women’sSingles Quarter-finals 211.00 Magazine: Trans World Sport2016PM12.00 Football: 2016 Chinese SuperLeague: Shandong Luneng VsJiangsu Suning2.00 Magazine: National SchoolGames 20162.30 Magazine: National SchoolGames 2016: Track And Field BDivision – Highlights3.30 Football: 2016 Chinese SuperLeague: Hebei China Fortune VsGuangzhou R&F5.30 Magazine: Omnisport TV6.00 Football: Major League Soccer2016: New York Red Bulls Vs OrlandoCity8.00 Magazine: Supersports 3608.30 Boxing: Golden Boy Boxing IBFYouth Super Welterweight: StevenButler Vs Sladjan Janjanin10.30 Football: Major League Soccer2016 – Highlights11.00 Wrestling: WWE VintageCollection (PG)AM12.00 Magazine: Supersports 36012.30 Magazine: National SchoolGames 2016

Com

ics

Radio

PHOTO: STARHUB

TV Special: Todd BarrySuper Crazy •Comedy Central Asia(HD) (Singtel TVChannel 324), 10.25pm

Barry reflectsonhis historyasa lazygermaphobe,beinga lone juryholdoutandwhyanaudience inGlasgowthinkshe hasmagicalpowers.

SUN RISE/SET TIME: 7.05am/7.17pmMOON RISE/SET TIME: 3.25pm/2.58am

TIDES TODAY: Singapore: 1.30am (1m),8.22am (1.9m), 1.33pm (1.4m), 7.41pm (2.4m).Desaru: 12.46am (1m), 7.31am (1.9m), 1.09pm(1.5m), 6.39pm (2m). Port Dickson: 3.02am(1.8m),9.22am (1m), 3.57pm (2.2m), 10.23pm

(1.1m).Mersing: 7.30am (2.3m), 1.40pm(1.8m),4.43pm (1.9m), 12.07am (0.8m).

TIDES TOMORROW: Singapore: 2.33am(0.8m), 9.37am (2.1m), 2.33pm (1.4m),8.39pm (2.5m).Desaru: 1.43am (0.9m),9.03am(2m), 2.24pm (1.6m), 7.30pm (2m).Port Dickson: 4.14m (1.9m), 10.38am (0.8m),

4.50pm(2.3m), 11.13pm (1m). Mersing:8.18am (2.4m), 2.59pm (1.7m), 5.39pm (1.8m).

Forupdates and more details, callMeteorological Service Singapore,NEA,on 6542-7788or goto www.nea.gov.sg

The Librarian: ReturnTo King Solomon’sMines •Channel 5, 6.30pm

LibrarianFlynnCarseniscalled upontosaveantiquitieshidden inKingSolomon’s fabled mines.

BABY BLUES GARFIELD

TheStarsSayKISS92

AM6.00 Maddy, Jason & Arnold InTheMorning10.00 Claressa MonteiroPM1.00Charmaine Yee4.00 John Klass8.00 Josh’s Goodnight Kiss

ONEFM 91.3

AM6.00 ONE FM’s #1 Breakfast Show WithGlennAnd TheFlying Dutchman10.00 DesireeLaiPM1.00Melody Chen4.00 The EscapePlan With Shan & Cheryl8.00 ONE FM Reality CheckWith Jill

UFM100.3

AM6.00 UFM100.3 Mornings With Wen Hong,LiMei & Xiao Zhu10.00 Hello, Anna!PM1.00Tea With Yu Ling4.00 U-Good Evening With Jing Yun&Liang Quan8.00 Feel The Night With Cheng Yao

Fury •HBO (StarHub TVChannel 601),6.50pm

Anarmysergeant andhismen bravethe oddstopenetrate thecoreofNaziGermanyduringWorldWar II.Stars (fromfar left)LoganLermanandBradPitt.

| FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | life D11

D12 life | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016 |

Calvin Harristweeted thatex-girlfriendTaylor Swift istrying to makehim look bad.Both are seenhere at theiHeartRadioMusic Awards inInglewood,California, inApril before theybroke up.PHOTO: AGENCE

FRANCE-PRESSE

LOS ANGELES • DJ and producerCalvin Harris criticised his formergirlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift, onWednesday for making him “lookbad” after a celebrity news publica-tion revealed that she had writtenhis latest hit song under a pseudo-nym.

People magazine, citing Swift’srepresentative, said Swift hadwritten This Is What You Came For,which Harris released as acollaboration with R&B singerRihanna in April.

The magazine reported that Swifthad written the song under thepseudonym Nils Sjoberg while thecouple were dating and that Swiftbecame upset after Harris said in aninterview that he had neverdiscussed collaborating with histhen-girlfriend.

That interview with show hostRyan Seacrest took place the dayThis Is What You Came For wasreleased. They announced theirbreak-up days later.

“Hurtful to me at this point thather and her team would go so farout of their way to try and make MElook bad at this stage though,”

Harris wrote on Wednesday in aseries of tweets directed at Swift.

“I figure if you’re happy in yournew relationship, you should focuson that instead of trying to tearyour ex bf down for something todo.”

He praised her lyric-writing tal-ents and said she had wanted tokeep their collaboration secret,hence the pseudonym.

Swift, 26, and Harris, 32, split uplast month after dating for morethan a year. Swift has recently beenphotographed with British actorTom Hiddleston.

Harris also hinted at a long-speculated feud between Swift andpop star Katy Perry, saying: “I knowyou’re off tour and you need some-one new to try and bury like KatyETC but I’m not that guy, sorry. Iwon’t allow it.”

Shortly after, Perry posted onTwitter a GIF of Democratic presi-dential candidate Hillary Clintongiving a shrug followed by a silentlaugh. Perry, 31, re-tweeted a com-ment she made in May last year:“Time, the ultimate truth teller.”REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LOS ANGELES • Is Jennifer Anistonat fault herself for inviting mediascrutiny on herself?

British television host PiersMorgan kicked up furore by imply-ing as much after the formerFriends star penned a blog on Huff-ington Post criticising the mediafor the way it scrutinises femalestars.

Aniston, 47, on Tuesday wrotethat she was sick of the years oftabloid scrutiny of her figure andpersistent pregnancy rumours.

“For the record, I am not preg-nant,” she wrote.

“What I am is fed up. I’m fed upwith the sport-like scrutiny andbody shaming that occurs dailyunder the guise of ‘journalism’, the‘First Amendment’ and ‘celebritynews’.”

Her essay came out three monthsafter she spoke of her excitementover being named for the secondtime by People magazine as theworld’s most beautiful woman.

Morgan, the editor-at-large ofthe United States edition ofBritain’s Daily Mail newspaper,published a counter-essay entitled“My dear Jennifer, if you’re so fed

up with having your body judged,stop trying to make it look soPhotoshop-perfect on magazinecovers”.

“There’s another reason why themedia objectify and scrutinisefamous women, and why little girlsget confused about beauty andbody image,” he wrote, accord-ing to a story by Agence France-Presse.

“It’s this: female stars like JenniferAniston deliberately perpetuate themyth of ‘perfection’ by posing forendless magazine covers whichhave been airbrushed so much that

in some cases the celebrity isvirtually unrecognisable.”

Celebrities such as model ChrissyTeigen and Anna Paquin decriedhis comments.

In a series of back-and-forthtweets with Morgan, who iswell-known for his controversialremarks, Teigen wrote: “Myhusband (John Legend) thinks youare one of the most misogynistic,condescending morons on theplanet.”

The couple last crossed swordswith Morgan on Twitter last month.

Stars such as Melissa McCarthy,

Jason Bateman, Margaret Cho andOliviaWildealso supported Aniston.

“Everybody needs to stop tearingdown women,” McCarthy, 45, saidon Entertainment Tonight, afterdeclaring she was “one hundredthousand billion per cent” behindAniston.

But publications such as the NewYork Post questioned if Anistonwas right to blame the media.

Titling its piece, “Hypocrisy, thyname is Jennifer Aniston”, it said shehad posed, looking sexy, airbrushedand thin, on magazine covers and onadvertisements over the years.

TAIPEI • Taiwanese star Ruby Linwas photographed yesterday withwhat appeared to be a baby bump,said Apple Daily Taiwan.

A video of Lin and her fiance, tele-vision star Wallace Huo, on Apple’swebsite showed her in a loose dressand displaying a tiny protrudingbelly.

She has been facing pregnancyrumours since she and Huoconfirmed on July 5 that theywould wed in Bali on July 31.

Suspicion was raised as they havedated for only six months. At ajewellery event in Paris last week,

she was snapped with a clutch bagseeming to shield her belly, asnoted by the Chinese media.

Apple’s video showed the coupleleaving a KTV lounge with friendsaround 2am in Taipei, after attend-inga birthdaycelebration.

Huo appeared to be tipsy and hadto be helped by two male friendsinto a taxi.

Lin was wearing a face mask,Apple said, adding, “as a light windblew, her baby bump appearedmore evident, completely seen forthe first time. It was impossible tohide it”.

SHANGHAI • Chinese conglomer-ate Dalian Wanda is in talks to buy astake in United States film studioParamount Pictures, according to areport, marking the Asian com-pany’s latest move to expand itsentertainment empire.

Wanda, which in January boughtproduction giant LegendaryEntertainment for US$3.5 billion(S$4.7 billion), is seeking 49 percent of Paramount from parentcompany Viacom, the Wall StreetJournal quoted “people familiarwith the discussions” as saying.

The agreement would giveParamount, which is behind theStar Trek and Indiana Jones fran-chises, a crucial foothold in the vastChinese market.

The report comes as Viacom isembroiled in a bitter internal powerstruggle that pits controlling share-holder Sumner Redstone and hisfamily against other executives.

In late February, chairman andchief executive Philippe Daumansaid the firm would sell a signifi-cant minority stake in the moviestudio and had received expres-sions of interest. But months later,Mr Redstone said he opposed anysuch sale in what he considered thejewel in the Viacom empire.

Wanda, founded by Chinesebillionaire Wang Jianlin, bought USmovie theatre chain AMC in 2012 forUS$2.6 billion and AMC just days agoannounced it was buying London-basedOdeon& UCIcinema group inadeal worth about US$1.2 billion.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

buzz

Chinesefirm seeks49 per centstake inParamount

Harris slamsSwift onsocial media

Stars voice support for Aniston’s criticism of media

Ruby Lin wasreportedlyshielding herbelly with aclutch bag atan event inParis last week.PHOTO: WEIBO/

BULGARI

Is that Ruby Lin’sbaby bump?