Return used trays and crockery: Fines for hawker centre diners who do not clear their tables from 1 September 2021

Mandatory for diners to return trays, clear own litter from 1 June 2021

Advisory period from 1 June to 31 August 2021, enforcement action to be taken from 1 September 2021

Singapore Food Agency will work with NEA to roll out enforcement progressively at coffeeshops and food courts in the fourth quarter of the year

By Adeline Tan, The Straits Times, 15 May 2021

It will be mandatory for diners to return their trays and clear their table litter from June 1, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

Table litter includes used tissues and wet wipes, straws, canned drinks, plastic bottles and food remnants.

In an effort to help diners adjust, no enforcement action will be taken until after Aug 31. During the three months, they will only be advised to follow the rule.

From Sept 1, enforcement action will be taken against those who do not comply with advice to clean up after themselves at hawker centres.

First-time offenders will be given a written warning. Second-time offenders will face a $300 composition fine, and subsequent offenders may face court fines, which can go up to $2,000 for the first conviction.

The Singapore Food Agency will also work with NEA to roll out enforcement progressively at coffee shops and foodcourts in the fourth quarter of this year.

NEA said the move, which comes amid a public health crisis, follows years of extensive educational efforts to change the behaviour and mindsets of diners at public places.

Its deputy chief executive of public health and director-general of public health Chew Ming Fai said: "We've been talking about these clean tables since 2013, and there's been a lot of education effort that has been put out over the years."

One example is the Clean Tables Campaign launched in February.

Mr Chew said: "Following that exercise, we've seen a small uptick in terms of tray return rates from 33 per cent to 35 per cent, but unfortunately I don't think that is significant enough."

NEA will be setting up more tray return infrastructure across the hawker centres.

Currently, there are about 900 tray return racks installed across 111 hawker centres.

During the advisory period, safe distancing ambassadors, SG Clean ambassadors, community volunteers and NEA officers deployed at hawker centres will continue to remind diners to clear their dirty trays, crockery and litter.

Visual cues such as posters and banners will also be progressively put up at hawker centres.

NEA said Covid-19 has underscored the need to maintain high public hygiene and cleanliness standards, and various members of the public and institutions have called for stronger measures to raise cleanliness standards, including the use of legislation.

Clearing dirty trays, crockery and table litter will protect not only other diners but also the cleaners, who are usually elderly folk.

Mr Chew said that while enforcement efforts will not be scaled back even after Covid-19, NEA will monitor the ground situation and make adjustments accordingly.

He said: "This is a long-term goal to raise public hygiene and cleanliness levels in Singapore. Even as we tackle the current Covid-19 crisis, we believe that this measure will be something that we need to put in place for the longer term."

Social Enterprise Hawker Centres: Teething problems with new not-for-profit model

Challenges like high costs faced by hawkers prompt debate on not-for-profit system
By Benson Ang, The Sunday Times, 14 Oct 2018

They were meant to help hawkers negotiate lower rates for services like cleaning, lower ingredient costs by bulk-buying, and even introduce innovation such as wireless Internet services - along with offering healthy, affordable food.

Operating surplus is supposed to be shared to improve the centres, and to help keep traditions alive by making sure hawker entrepreneurs get a leg up. But six years since not-for-profit hawker centres were proposed, the operating model is caught in the crosshairs.

Hawkers are complaining of high rents, being saddled with additional fees for services such as tray returns, having to work long hours despite low footfall, and being locked into contracts.

Makansutra founder and well-known food critic K. F. Seetoh is leading the charge against not-for-profit hawker centres, urging the National Environment Agency (NEA) to end the experiment, in an open letter to Dr Amy Khor, who is Senior Minister of State for Health and Environment and Water Resources.

What went wrong?

BIRTH OF A NEW MODEL

The idea of operating new hawker centres on a not-for-profit basis by social enterprises or cooperatives was recommended by the 18-member Hawker Centres Public Consultation Panel, which was formed in 2011 and chaired by entrepreneur Elim Chew.

It was driven by three key considerations, top of which was to let the community "derive maximum benefit from the centre". The other aims were to provide employment to lower-income groups and provide a platform for hawker aspirants.

It was suggested that social enterprise "management" teams look at ways, from loyalty programmes to community events, to increase crowds, and to draw income from ads and to use the funds to benefit the centres and stallholders.

Wi-Fi access was talked about, as was recycling, cutting down energy use and promoting a tray-return system. Instilling social graciousness through posters was also part of the menu. Even then, there was some scepticism. Some hawkers said they would bid for stalls elsewhere if the new rents were too high. Others were worried about having to seek the manager's approval if they wanted to raise food prices.

In 2015, NEA began appointing socially conscious operators to manage new hawker centres.

Currently, seven out of 114 hawker centres are new centres managed by private social enterprises and cooperatives, such as Fei Siong Social Enterprise, NTUC Foodfare, Timbre+Hawkers, Hawker Management by Koufu and OTMH by Kopitiam.

The new centres are Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, Hawker Centre @ Our Tampines Hub, Yishun Park Hawker Centre, Jurong West Hawker Centre, Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market, Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre and Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre.

In August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the country's hawker culture will be nominated for inscription into UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - raising a debate on whether enough was being done to preserve the culture.

PM Lee Hsien Loong's interview with CNBC Conversation, 19 October 2017

Next prime minister likely from current Cabinet: PM Lee
Strong team has been assembled, but it will take a while to work out successor, he says
By Royston Sim, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 21 Oct 2017

Singapore's next prime minister is "very likely" to be one of the current Cabinet ministers, but it will take a while to work out who, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The country's next generation of leaders will, in time, have to reach a consensus on who should lead the team, beyond him, PM Lee told US news channel CNBC in an interview released yesterday ahead of his visit to the United States.

He spoke about Singapore's relations with the US and China, the North Korean nuclear threat, political succession and domestic issues during the wide-ranging interview.

PM Lee said he has assembled a strong team of younger ministers, who have to establish themselves among their peers, work out their relationships and assess one another. They will also have to gain the public's confidence and show their calibre, he added.

Asked if he is close to finding the next prime minister, he said: "I think it is very likely that he is in the Cabinet already. But which one? That will take a while to work out."

Political watchers have identified Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, labour chief Chan Chun Sing and Education (Higher Education and Skills) Minister Ong Ye Kung as among front runners for the post.

PM Lee reiterated that he is ready to step down some time after the next general election, but said he has to make sure a successor is ready to take over from him.

This entails building up the next generation of leaders to ensure they can work and carry things forward after he leaves. "They are doing that by being hands-on, by having responsibility for major policies, by taking charge of important, spiky ministries," PM Lee said.

Asked if the next general election - due by early 2021 - could be called in the next two years, he replied: "Yes, of course. Any time."

On whether he will remain behind the scenes after stepping down, he said it is up to the next prime minister.


Singapore PM: Would like to grow 2% to 3% annually to ensure 'quality of life' from CNBC.

Asked what he hopes to achieve on his visit to the US from today to Thursday, PM Lee said Singapore hopes to further develop its deep and multi-faceted relationship with the US, which is based on a strategic congruence of views and close cooperation in areas such as defence.

On relations with China, PM Lee said both countries hope to do more together. While there will always be issues where they do not see eye to eye, there are no basic conflicts in perspectives, he added.

As for North Korea's ongoing nuclear provocations, PM Lee said its actions pose an immediate danger to the region, and could shift the strategic balance in North-east Asia in the longer term as South Korea and Japan mull over nuclear capabilities.

Mr Lee also addressed whether Singapore, as a developed economy, still needs the Government to act as a "nanny". Noting that Singaporeans have very high expectations of the Government and its performance, he said: "If you ask a Singaporean - on one hand, they will say let us do our own thing. On the other hand, whenever an issue comes up, they will ask, 'What is the Government doing about it?'... So, we have to keep that balance."

Asked about life without Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March 2015, PM Lee said: "We miss him, we think of him often, we read his old speeches and we say, 'Well, that is still relevant to us today'... At the same time, we have to build on that and move forward."

And if he were still alive, his advice would be to press on and not look at the rear-view mirror, PM Lee said. "Remember what has happened, understand how you got here, but look forward and press forward."

Why Singapore needs more naysayers

By Charissa Yong, The Straits Times, 25 Feb 2017

Singapore needs more people to speak up and challenge authority, said a panel of academics and former senior civil servants yesterday.

They lamented the reluctance of civil servants to pose contrarian views when facing political office-holders, and the reticence of university students in asking questions at conferences.

But this ability to question views and policies is vital if Singapore is to do well in the next 50 years, said the speakers at a one-day forum with the theme of unintended consequences in Singapore.

Said Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy dean Kishore Mahbubani, 68: "We need more naysayers."

He argued that Singapore cannot take its formulas for success developed over the last 50 years and apply them to the next 50 years, as the world has changed drastically.

"We need to create new formulas, which you can't until you attack and challenge every sacred cow. Then you can succeed," he added.

Panellist and behavioural scientist David Chan jokingly addressed civil servants in the audience, saying: "You talk so much to me but when the minister is present, in front of him, you're absolutely silent."

This habit stems partly from a fear of looking bad in front of others and of failing, added Prof Chan, 50.

He heads the Singapore Management University (SMU) Behavioural Sciences Institute, which organised the conference that was attended by 350 people.

Mr Han Fook Kwang, 63, the editor-at-large of The Straits Times, said Singapore became so successful in such a short time that its people became too risk-averse.

For instance, policymakers are unwilling to take bigger risks with policies and fear that making major mistakes will cause Singapore to lose it all, he added.

But it is in policies and leadership teams that Singapore needs people willing to challenge authority, said Professor Chan Heng Chee, who is in her 70s and chairs the Singapore University of Technology and Design's Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.

She called for more robust internal discussions on policies with a wider range of people from different backgrounds, adding: "We need naysayers in leadership teams who can think the unthinkable."

Panellists also noted that Singaporean audiences tended not to ask questions at conferences, unlike people overseas, whose hands would shoot up as soon as academics finished their lectures.

How Will Jobs Transform in the Future? - Let’s Think About It

6 Feb 2017

Will you lose your job to a robot? How can you prepare yourself for future jobs and what do mad cows have to do with it?

In this second episode of the new season of “Let’s Think About It”, Ron Sim, David Low and Cynthia Siantar share their views and experiences with Minister Chan Chun Sing on the changing job landscape.

Hard decisions needed for Singapore to stay competitive

I agree with Editor-At-Large Han Fook Kwang's view that the instincts of our people have changed ("Does Singapore have the mettle to survive tough times ahead?"; Jan 1).

Our instincts have become flabby as a result of "years of stability and abundance and from having an overly-protective government which took care of most things".

We have also become complacent because of a collective hubris about our place in the world.

We have to give value for money and remain cost-competitive against not only our fast-developing neighbours, but also the rest of the world.

There are several ideas to consider:

- It is time to soften the Singapore dollar. It may not be a bad thing if imported goods and holidays become more expensive, as it will spur Singaporeans to work both harder and smarter to attain these things. In doing so, our productivity will increase.

- As the Government is the biggest landowner in Singapore, it can influence land and rental prices across the country, and should take measures to lower the cost of doing business here.

- It is important to wean our young working adults off the subsidy mentality. For example, housing grants for couples to buy executive condominiums (ECs) are an unworthy expense, as our HDB flats are excellent. Ending EC housing grants will spur them to make their own money in order to enjoy the good things in life.

- If there is no increase in fertility rate, the maternity and paternity leave policies should be re-examined as these, together with leave for reservist training, are making investors think twice about setting up or continuing their operations here.

These are some of the hard truths that must be addressed.

We must stay paranoid if we are to keep ahead and prevent others from eating our lunch.

Anne Chong Su Yan (Dr)
ST Forum, 8 Jan 2017

Man rides electric scooter at 70kmh, overtakes bus in Mandai; More than 700 caught for unsafe cycling and riding since May 2016

Clip of e-scooter user overtaking bus sparks safety concerns
By Jalelah Abu Baker, The Straits Times, 24 Sep 2016

A video of a man on an electric scooter overtaking a bus in Mandai Road has sparked safety concerns over the use of such personal mobility devices.

The minute-long clip shows the e-scooter user wearing a helmet and riding on the left-most lane of the three-lane road. At one point, he veered past a bus, nipping in ahead of a taxi, before cutting back close in front of the bus.



The incident was recorded on a phone camera in a car following the e-scooter, and uploaded on citizen journalism site Stomp on Thursday.

The car passenger who took the video said the incident happened on Thursday at about 8am.

"I think it is too dangerous for him to ride his e-scooter in this way and all the vehicles had to slow down for him," said the man, who did not want to be named.

According to what was said in the video, the e-scooter was travelling at at least 60kmh. The passenger started taking the video after the e-scooter user overtook another vehicle travelling at 50kmh, he said.

Mr Denis Koh, chairman of Big Wheel Scooters Singapore, a community of scooter enthusiasts, said the e-scooter rider tested all limits in doing what he did.

"He wobbled while overtaking. The wheels are not as big as a motorbike's or bicycle's, so it's difficult and dangerous to make such manoeuvres at that speed," he said.

He added that a standard e-scooter would be able to travel at about 30kmh, and the one in question was likely to have been modified illegally. The rider was also breaking the law by using it on the road.

"The Land Transport Authority will investigate the use of such personal mobility devices on the road," said a spokesman.

Online betting to be allowed from October 2016 via Singapore Pools, Singapore Turf Club

Singapore Pools and Turf Club allowed to run remote gambling platforms, but must have safeguards in place
By Danson Cheong and Melissa Lin, The Straits Times, 30 Sep 2016

Online betting will be introduced in Singapore over the next two months after lottery operators Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club were given the go-ahead to run online betting platforms.

The two operators will be exempted from the Remote Gambling Act, which outlaws online and phone gambling, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) yesterday, confirming a recent Straits Times report that had flagged this.

But the operators have to put in place safeguards, such as allowing only those above 21 to open accounts and requiring players to set daily limits on how much they want to spend on online gambling.

Singapore Pools will launch its online betting services on Oct 25 and the Turf Club will launch its new Web and mobile platform on Nov 15.

Punters can place bets only for 4D, Toto, football, F1 and horse-racing. Casino-style games or poker will not be allowed.

The exemptions will last for three years and the operators can apply for their renewal.

Since the Act came into force in February last year, several hundred websites offering remote gambling services have been blocked. More than 120 people have been arrested for remote gambling offences.

The Act was passed into law in late 2014 following intense debate spanning the political spectrum, and the move to grant the exemptions once again reignited concerns that this will make online betting more accessible and lead to an increase in gambling addictions.

Said Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher De Souza: "If, by providing the exemptions, more Singaporeans are attracted to online gambling and this in turn increases gambling addiction cases, then I would be highly concerned.

"But if the number of online gambling addiction cases goes down as a result of having this regulated regime, it will be a significant advantage. The converse result would be immensely unfortunate - especially for family members."

Rental car numbers surge fuelled by private-hire players

By Christopher Tan, Senior Transport Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 Sep 2016

The growth of Singapore's rental car population remains in the fast lane, fuelled by private-hire players such as Uber and Grab.

According to the latest available figures from the Land Transport Authority, there are now over 40,000 rental cars here - almost 40 per cent more than at the end of last year, and more than double the figure in 2014.

Compared with 2012, the year before Uber and Grab arrived, the rental fleet has grown by 173 per cent. Yet, the overall car population has shrunk by 3 per cent.

Uber is said to account for nearly 15,000 of the fast-expanding cohort. Grab, through tie-ups with rental firms, accounts for around 10,000.

They make up a growing number of private-hire vehicles that are seen by commuters and policymakers as a viable alternative to taxis. The segment is now almost the size of the cab population of 28,000.

Cab firms have taken a "can't fight them, join them" stance, with SMRT and Prime starting their own private-hire fleets.

Even Trans-Cab, a long bitter critic of the newcomers, has entered into an exclusive pact with Grab to use its ride-hailing app. "They do have a superior app. We're doing this to give our cabbies more options," said managing director Teo Kiang Ang.

He said the number of idle cabs in his yard has begun to shrink since the tie-up two weeks ago.

Taxi giant ComfortDelGro, too, is finalising a deal with British ride-hailing start-up Karhoo, which has an app allowing users to compare fares across ride service providers and is working with rental firms to launch private-hire fleets.

Car dealers are also jumping on the bandwagon. Multi-brand agent Cycle & Carriage and Toyota agent Borneo Motors - two of the largest dealerships here - are offering "Uber-style" financing aimed at car buyers who cannot afford or do not wish to go for a hire-purchase deal.

Buyers can drive away with a new car with a down payment of just 10 per cent, and instalment payments over 10 years - versus 30 per cent and seven years for conventional hire-purchase deals.

'Sexualised' uni orientation camps spark fierce debate

Parents worried but undergrads say they are old enough to decide
By Yuen Sin and Jeremy Koh, The Sunday Times, 31 Jul 2016

The brouhaha over university orientation camps and whether they have become too "sexualised" has sparked a fierce debate.

The issue prompted the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Friday to suspend all such camps.

Many undergraduates are upset. They said they are old enough to decide what is appropriate for them, and do not need parents and the authorities breathing down their necks. They added that most activities follow guidelines, and while some "black sheep" push the limits of good taste - it is not fair to tar everyone with the same brush.

But there is some concern over these camps after a New Paper report highlighted how the activities include re-enacting rape scenes. There were also complaints about sexually suggestive cheers such as "itai itai yamete", which in Japanese means "it hurts, it hurts. Stop".

Acting Education Minister (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung weighed in on the issue on Wednesday last week, and called some of the activities "reprehensible".

On Tuesday, NUS said it would take "strong disciplinary action" against those found responsible, and added that it did not "condone any behaviour or activity that denigrates the dignity of individuals, and that has sexual connotations".

But after student leaders were briefed on what was acceptable at the camps, a video showing a male and female getting dunked in a pond in Sheares Hall still surfaced online. Then came the suspension, affecting six NUS camps.

Two student groups - the G Spot from Yale-NUS College and the Gender Collective, an independent group from NUS - in a joint statement said students were "disappointed". "To suspend all (student-organised) activities is... no less than throwing the baby out with the bathwater and will negatively affect the experiences of all incoming freshmen."

New PSLE scoring system and changes to Secondary 1 Posting from 2021

New PSLE scoring system to have 8 grade bands
Aim to get pupils to focus on own learning as they will not be graded relative to their peers
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 14 Jul 2016

In a move to dial down the competition over the Primary School Leaving Examination and encourage pupils to go beyond book smarts, the new PSLE grading will no longer be based on how they perform relative to their peers.

Instead, the new scoring system, which will come into effect in 2021, is aimed at encouraging pupils to focus on their own learning, instead of the competition.

Their marks will be converted into grade bands 1 to 8 and their PSLE score will be the sum of their grades in all the subjects, with 4 being the best score.

The Ministry of Education, in its press statement, said: "Students will no longer be as finely differentiated, as there will only be 29 possible PSLE scores, compared with more than 200 T-score aggregates under the current system."

Achievement Level (AL) 1 is pitched close to the A star grade in the current system, for those scoring 90 and above. AL 2, 3 and 4 have a five-point difference, while bands will widen from AL 5 onwards.

MOE said the new system will still give parents and educators a gauge of a pupil's progress at the end of primary school so that they can be matched to suitable academic programmes in secondary school.

It also said that if there are too few grade levels, there would be more pupils with the same PSLE score, which would lead to more balloting for Secondary 1 posting.

The secondary school streams will remain - pupils with a PSLE score of 4 to 20 will qualify for the Express stream.

Posting will continue to be based on academic merit first. But under the new system, the choice order in which a student lists the secondary schools will now matter more, as a tie-breaker.

Currently, when two students are tied for a place in a school, computerised balloting is used to award the place, regardless of where they listed the school in their order of choices.

Under the new system, the student who lists the school higher in his choice list will have priority.



Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng told the media that the new system of eight ALs afforded enough differentiation to match students to the school that suits them, but it was not so broad that there would have to be too much balloting. It is estimated that fewer than one in 10 places will be subject to balloting.

In response to parents who wished MOE had been bolder in its changes, Mr Ng said Singapore already has a strong and robust education system that has been developed over the last 50 years.

"Some things are best evolved and not revolutionalised," he said.

PSLE: Switch to holistic assessment may add pressure on students

Government's plan to change current methods of assessment to reduce emphasis on academic achievement may be undermined by the fact that Singaporeans will adapt to compete on whatever terms they are given
By Lye Kok Leong, Published The Straits Times, 28 Jun 2016

The winds of change are blowing hard against the Singaporean obsession with examination results that deprives the young of their childhood and propagates despair in society's pressure-cooker environment.

In April, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that the aggregate score for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) will be scrapped, and replaced with wider scoring bands from 2021. This will be similar to grading at O and A levels.

The current system involves working out a child's aggregate T-score based on component subject scores - English, Mother Tongue, mathematics and science - weighted against the range of scores within each cohort.

The MOE has also hinted that it will review the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme to realign it with its original intent, presumably to recognise achievements and talents in specific areas instead of general academic ability.

The DSA scheme has been criticised for evolving into a channel for students to secure places in sought-after Integrated Programme schools whose students bypass O levels. Some parents also try to boost their kids' chances by sending them for DSA preparation classes and enrichment programmes.

The PSLE review was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2013. It is meant to reduce the overemphasis on academic results and allow students more time and space to develop holistically.

Hence, the envisioned brave new world is one where the child can be "holistically assessed" from primary school all the way through to tertiary institutions. Presumably, this relieves the competitive pressure our children face within the school system.

Will it work?

Fare cuts by Uber, Grab will hurt sector: Taxi body

Strategy unhealthy and unsustainable, and 'price war' will hit private-hire car drivers and cabbies alike, says NTA
By Adrian Lim, The Sunday Times, 24 Apr 2016

The National Taxi Association (NTA) has criticised the recent price cuts by Grab and Uber, saying they not only hit their drivers' earnings but, if left unchecked, could also hurt the taxi industry and, ultimately, commuters.

"It's an unhealthy and unsustainable business strategy," said NTA executive adviser Ang Hin Kee.

On April 14, Uber cut fares for its UberX private chauffeur service by an average of 15 per cent. Four days later, Grab slashed its GrabCar prices by up to 14 per cent, with minimum fares falling from $8 to $4.

Cab firms, which had fares comparable to those of UberX and GrabCar before, are now under pressure, Mr Ang told The Sunday Times. But a "price war" would mean both private-hire car drivers and cabbies having to do more trips and driving longer to earn the same amount.

"We don't want to go down this road," he said.

Mr Ang, who is also an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, pointed out how both app companies were still taking their 20 per cent cut from their drivers, despite having shaved fares.

The worry is that if private-hire car firms end up dominating the market, they can then start raising prices, and charge a premium.

"The new players will (first) offer a lot of goodies... But when they have the market share later on, they could exercise the right to earn profits," said Mr Ang. "What checks and balances do we have to ensure that both commuters and drivers are not taken advantage of?"

Earlier this month, the Government said that by the first half of next year, Uber and GrabCar drivers must be licensed and undergo background and medical checks, and also have to register their cars.



Mr Ang said that while the taxi industry welcomes competition, the playing field is not level, given that cab operators must factor in "compliance costs". These include the bulk of cabbies having to meet certain standards set by the Land Transport Authority, such as covering 250km each day and being on the road during peak hours. Fleets also have to be serviced regularly.

"Cab firms hire teams of people to manage this, and these costs are passed down to the taxi drivers through their rentals," said Mr Ang.

While these yardsticks benefit the public, he believes similar standards should be imposed on the private-hire car business. Alternatively, have these requirements lifted from taxi firms, he suggested.

Cafe owners worried as home bakers rise as 'rivals'

But greater oversight of those who do not need to be licensed could stifle hobby baking
By Ng Huiwen, The Sunday Times, 24 Apr 2016

From low-carb protein loaves to mango sticky rice tarts, more home bakers here are whetting appetites with their unique artisanal offerings. As they work from their own kitchens and do not run a brick- and-mortar shop, they are not required to be licensed by the National Environment Agency.

Most sell their products through word of mouth and social media.

However, concerns have surfaced over whether the authorities should be keeping a closer tab on the industry. In a forum letter published last month, Ms Chong Siew Yen, 41, highlighted how home bakers who sell their products to the public are putting licensed bake shops at a disadvantage.

"We are competing with a higher cost, which includes rental, utility bills and licence fee," she wrote.

Home bakers come under the Housing Board's Home Based Small Scale Business Scheme, which allows them to practise "baking on a small scale for sale" in homes "without turning the flat into a bakery".

But Ms Chong, who owns The One Bake Shop in Toa Payoh, and other cafe owners The Sunday Times spoke to believe that such a definition is a grey area that home bakers could exploit. "I've noticed several of them selling their baked goods to corporate clients and even catering a spread for functions," she said.

Ms Jessica Loh, who started dessert cafe Shiberty Bakes this month, said: "If I sell my cakes to my friends, is that not commercialism in a minor way?"

After baking from home for about four years, she decided to open her cafe at Owen Road. "If you want to reel in the big clients, they will definitely require you to be licensed and operating in a commercial space," she explained.

However, running a cafe in Singapore is extremely costly, she added.

"It makes the business very cut-throat."

For housewife Shireen Shen Jega, 31, home baking has become a viable way to pursue her passion while selling her bakes for a small income.

The mother of two, who has been baking cupcakes and customised cakes for the past three years, has dreamt of opening a cafe, but the high costs of doing so has held her back on several occasions.

Clamping down on home bakers would stifle opportunities for those who are simply pursuing it as a hobby, she added. "We have only one person doing the baking and that's definitely not going to generate a lot of business, compared to an established bakery," she said.

"In today's tough economy, we should be looking for opportunities to help everyone supplement their incomes."

Lifting cooling measures 'not key to property sector's outlook': Lawrence Wong

State of local economy, and not whether cooling measures are eased, will determine long-term prospects: Minister
By Wong Siew Ying, The Straits Times, 22 Apr 2016

The property market's long-term prospects are not dependent on whether market cooling measures are lifted but the overall state of the local economy, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

Real estate industry players have repeatedly lobbied the Government recently to ease the cooling measures, which have weakened demand for new homes.

Mr Wong said he knows the industry is "fixated" over the measures, but the key issue is for the country to grow and remain a successful global city with a thriving economy over the next 10 to 20 years.

"If we stagnate, if we decline, if we are unable to sustain growth in the economy, if we cannot retain our position as a global city, then you can be sure that the property market will be in the doldrums even if we lift the cooling measures," he said.

The Government has implemented a slew of measures, such as stamp duties and loan curbs, which have helped bring down prices. Private home prices fell 3.7 per cent last year, after sliding 4 per cent in the year before; new home sales came in at more than 7,000 units in each of the past two years, about half of the 14,948 units in 2013.

Speaking at property agency ERA Realty Network's career advancement day event yesterday, Mr Wong said the Government will monitor the market closely and "policies will always evolve and be updated over time".

PSLE revamp: Going beyond grades

Evolving the Singapore education system
The PSLE revamp is part of a larger shift away from academics towards broadening opportunities for students to discover their interests and talents, and develop life skills, a sense of curiosity and a love for learning. Experts say that while this is a necessary change, it will take time for the country to embrace it and move away from its preoccupation with marks.
By Amelia Teng and Calvin Yang, The Sunday Times, 17 Apr 2016

Pupils in Primary 1 this year will be the first cohort to take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and receive a new set of results.

In 2021, the national examination will do away with the aggregate score - often criticised for being the cause of excessive stress among pupils and parents. With the change, children will no longer be graded relative to one another.

In its place will be wider scoring bands such as A, B, C and D - similar to the scoring system used in the O- and A-level examinations.

But this is only the most obvious change to what has been a steady overhaul of a pressure-cooker system which has had a strong focus on marks instead of a child's holistic development.

Already, in the early stages of primary education, exams have become a thing of the past. Pupils are increasingly being encouraged to express themselves. Applied learning is in, along with the development of character and life skills.

At Primary Four or Five, pupils take part in a three-day cohort camp and learn to prepare simple meals, adapt to the outdoors, and build resilience and camaraderie.

In the coming years, primary school leavers will have more choice to go to secondary schools offering niche programmes in robotics, environmental issues, the arts and music, for instance, where they can develop their interests beyond the three "R"s - reading, writing and arithmetic.

As Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng explained in Parliament earlier this month when he announced the changes: "Let's help our children make good use of their time to branch out to explore other interests and passions and to pursue what they want to do in life.

"Let's help them make good choices about their educational and career pathways based on their aptitudes and aspirations.

"Let's help them to be ready for the future."

Madonna concert: Catholic Archbishop expresses grave concerns

Archbishop speaks out against Madonna's concert
By Pearl Lee, The Straits Times, 23 Feb 2016

Archbishop William Goh has expressed the Catholic Church's grave concerns about American singer Madonna's concert here on Sunday.

He reminded Catholics that it was their "moral obligation not to support those who denigrate and insult religions, including anti-Christian and immoral values promoted by the secular world".

"There is no neutrality in faith; one is either for or against. Being present (at these events) in itself is a counter witness. Obedience to God and His commandments must come before the arts," he said in a statement issued by his office.



Madonna's Rebel Heart tour, which has an R18 rating here, has been altered slightly for the Singapore audience, with religiously sensitive content removed.

In his criticism of Madonna, Archbishop Goh told Catholics that "we should subscribe to authentic arts that lead us to God... and not support the 'pseudo arts' that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography... abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths".

The statement, put online on the Catholic News publication and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore websites, described her music and props as blasphemous and disrespectful to the Christian faith.

Archbishop Goh had told various government ministries and statutory boards of the "Catholic Church's grave concerns" about the concert, to be held at the Sports Hub.

"(In) multiracial, multi-religious Singapore, we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression, at the expense of respect for one's religion, especially in these times of heightened religious sensitivities," he said.

LTA: Bicycle licensing not practical

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has studied the licensing of bicycles and cyclists very carefully ("Bicycle licensing allows for better rule enforcement" by Mr Jeremy Aw Chon Wai; yesterday, "Bicycle licensing necessary to curb errant riding" by Ms Amy Loh Chee Seen; Feb 3, "Let cycling culture develop naturally" by Mr Lim Choong Pin, and "Bike licensing would be ineffective" by Mr David Knapp; both published last Saturday).

The main benefit of licensing is to aid identification and tracking of errant cyclists.

However, this requires that the registry of licences be regularly updated by licence holders.

There are practical difficulties for ensuring this is so.



Many bicycles are sold and change hands every year. The profile of cyclists is diverse, ranging from very young children to the elderly.

Some people cycle to work, while others cycle occasionally to neighbourhood amenities, or for leisure and exercise.

It will be resource-intensive to implement and police a system to license bicycles or cyclists that is up to date.

More importantly, a licensing system would make owning and using a bicycle too onerous, and would discourage people from cycling.

For these reasons, even countries like the Netherlands, which has a very large population of cyclists, does not practise a licensing regime.

Most cyclists are considerate people. Strengthening public education and building up a culture of graciousness, supported by targeted enforcement of cycling rules, is more practical and sustainable.

LTA is working with schools, the community and cycling interest groups to strengthen public education.

For instance, school-going children are educated from a young age on the dos and don'ts of safe cycling.

LTA is also currently in public consultations to develop a set of rules and code of conduct to inculcate a culture of safe and gracious cycling in Singapore.

Tan Shin Gee (Ms)
Director
Active Mobility and Policy (Fares)
Land Transport Authority
ST Forum, 12 Feb 2016

If a new player disrupts the rules, maybe it's the rules that need to change

The regulator's job is to look at the potential for good in a new player
By Chua Mui Hoong, Opinion Editor, The Sunday Times, 9 Jan 2016

Pity the regulator today.

He inherited a system at the peak of its success, with rules carefully thought out. He thought his role was to implement and enforce rules.

Then things change. Disruptive technologies change the industry and new players enter the market. Unhappy incumbents want to deny the new players access to funding or infrastructure they had paid to build, and hold the regulator to the rule-book.

Meanwhile, consumers clamour for choice and diversity at ever declining prices. Citizens who once trusted the state to preserve a stable status quo now question its impartiality and ask whose side it is on.

Across different sectors, the chaps in government whose job is to come up with rules for industry are facing a hard time.

In transport, the entry of Uber and other car-sharing apps turns owners of private cars into chauffeurs for a fee. Taxi companies are unhappy, but consumers are delighted - they get a chauffeured private car service for a fee about equivalent to or less than for taxis.

The Land Transport Authority is now looking at these issues.

Next, consider the infocomms sector. The three telcos - Singtel, StarHub and M1 - have settled into a cosy equilibrium, and some say they act like a cartel.

The entry of new broadband players had shaken up that industry. Why not open the mobile market to new players too? This was the thinking behind the call for a fourth mobile operator.

Last July, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) came up with a novel proposal: It would set aside mobile spectrum at a heavily discounted rate to attract a fourth telco operator. It called for public feedback on its proposal.

At least two companies - MyRepublic and OMGTel - expressed interest. But the three incumbents objected. They said a fourth player would lead to congested airwaves which would be bad for consumers.They questioned IDA's rationale for subsidising the newcomer.

IDA hasn't firmed up its decision.

The cases illustrate the conflicting demands that today's regulator must take into account. Regulation has never been easy, but is especially complicated when technology is changing so fast, and disrupting markets in such unexpected ways.