Hawkers' Productivity Grant: Kitchen equipment grant, info centre for hawkers launched

Initiatives part of the Government's efforts to sustain the hawker trade and attract more new hawkers
By Lim Min Zhang, The Straits Times, 10 Oct 2017

Potatoes, cucumbers and carrots - none is a match for the $2,000 commercial-grade vegetable cutter from Spain, which can slice up to 300kg of vegetables in an hour.

From yesterday, eligible hawkers might pay only 20 per cent for such kitchen automation equipment, by tapping a government grant announced in March.

The Hawkers' Productivity Grant, administered by the National Environment Agency (NEA), allows stallholders to claim 80 per cent of the unit cost of equipment on a reimbursement basis, up to a total of $5,000 within three years.

As part of the Government's efforts to sustain the hawker trade and attract more new hawkers, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor launched the grant at the opening of a one-stop information and service centre for hawkers yesterday.

Located at the revamped Customer Service Centre at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh, the centre provides information on the hawker trade for both aspiring and current hawkers, such as how to tender for a stall, where to take courses on food hygiene, and how to apply for the productivity grant.

Sharing sessions by veteran hawkers and courses related to the trade, such as on how to improve a stall's signboard and menu, are also in the works, said Dr Khor.

On some of the uses of the centre, Dr Khor said: "Apart from training, some hawkers are unaware of resources such as various types of equipment that can help in food preparation and suppliers' contacts for raw ingredients, which would be particularly helpful."

She added that the NEA will conduct briefings at hawker centres to help hawkers understand the types of equipment available to help them reduce their workload, especially for repetitive tasks such as chopping vegetables.

60 years of the Singapore citizenship: From hawkers to millionaires, they all queued up

How did the landmark 1957 citizenship law come about? What has changed in the 60 years since, and what were the consequences in terms of building a Singaporean identity? Insight takes a look.
By Elgin Toh, Insight Editor, The Sunday Times, 8 Oct 2017

"You go through one door, come out another door, and you are a Singapore citizen." So read an eye-catching quote by then Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock in a Straits Times report on Oct 15, 1957.

At a meeting with Chinese teachers, he sought to stress that an upcoming government campaign to register citizens - dubbed Operation Franchise - would be hassle-free.

The message was received.

Over a three-month window from November 1957 to January 1958, hundreds of thousands turned up to queue at registration points like the Singapore Citizenship Registry in Fort Canning Road, community centres and clan associations.

"Labourers, hawkers and millionaires queued up holding their application forms," said a news report.

In some cases, people waited more than an hour for their turn - but that did little to quell their eagerness, since some had waited decades for this moment.

The Chinese formed the bulk of those queueing, but there were also Indian and Malay registrants, and those of other races.

Millionaire banker Lien Ying Chow, among the first to submit papers, hailed the moment as important for overseas-born residents like himself who had worked hard to build a new life in Singapore.

India-born legislative assemblyman M.P.D. Nair registered, calling on others to follow, so that "they may help in shaping the destiny of our country".

By the end of Operation Franchise, more than 320,000 mostly foreign-born residents in Singapore had "come out another door" as Singapore citizens. A very big majority of those eligible signed up.

When added to a group of mainly local-born residents who were automatically considered citizens, the final tally was over 600,000 in total - the first people in history to be called Singapore citizens.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the enactment of the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance of 1957, the law that gave birth, unexpectedly, to a new national identity.

What led to the passing of this ordinance? What was its significance? How did it shape the course of later events? And what future scenarios are possible for the Singapore citizenship?

Insight speaks to historians and experts to shed light on the subject.

Singapore's first dementia-friendly coffee shop in Bishan

Stallholders trained as 'dementia friends' to recognise and help people with the condition
By Lin Yangchen, The Sunday Times, 8 Oct 2017

Since Friday, a bustling coffee shop in the heart of Bishan has displayed large decals showing life-sized photographs of delicious hawker food on every table big and small.

And if you sit down and read the accompanying text in English and Chinese, it tells you that someone who has dementia might not be able to see coin denominations correctly; think they have been served the wrong food; or ask for the wrong condiments, such as ketchup for half-boiled eggs.

Fifteen stallholders at Kim San Leng Food Centre at Block 511, Bishan Street 13, have also been trained as "dementia friends" to recognise and help possible dementia sufferers in what is being billed as Singapore's first dementia-friendly coffee shop.

They are also given a checklist to display in their stalls. It explains what to look out for, and contains advice to be polite and to let suspected dementia sufferers take their time instead of growing impatient.

This is the work of the Forget Us Not (FUN) initiative run by local philanthropic organisation Lien Foundation.



Mr Hoon Thing Leong, group chief executive of Kim San Leng and chairman of the Bishan Merchants' Association, said he immediately agreed to the proposal because his Bishan coffee shop has high footfall and the scheme would benefit many elderly people.

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Chong Kee Hiong said the coffee shop is a good place to raise awareness as the tenants are long-term operators who know regular patrons and can alert family members if they notice any behaviour changes.

SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace: Big push to equip workers with basic digital skills

Largest national training programme in a decade to get 100,000 trained over 3 years
By Amelia Teng, Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2017

A major initiative to ensure that Singaporeans keep pace with the digital economy, at work and in everyday life, was launched yesterday.

Over the next three years, the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace - the largest national training programme in a decade - aims to get 100,000 people equipped with basic digital skills that suit them, from the use of e-payments and e-commerce platforms, to data analytics and automation.

This will be done through two-day customised courses, developed with tech giants IBM, Lazada, Microsoft and Samsung. Courses cost $50 each, which can be paid using the $500 SkillsFuture credits given to all Singaporeans aged 25 and above.

SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) said the aim is to instil digital confidence and a positive attitude towards digital disruptions - a point which Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung stressed yesterday when launching the initiative. "Every workplace that we go to - regardless of industry - we have to know IT, we have to know robotics, digital technology. We don't have to be experts, we don't all have to be coders but we must know that these are our friends," he said.

He recalled the sense of unease among certain segments of the population when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at this year's National Day Rally, highlighted the need to adopt cashless payments as key to Singapore's vision of becoming a Smart Nation. "The recent feedback we got when e-payment came on stream was a sign of this (fear)," said Mr Ong. "There are people who are not familiar with technology and they are afraid, concerned."

He described the digital workplace initiative as a "friendly way" to overcome this. He hopes that "more and more workers can be familiarised with digital technologies and that will help Singapore in our economic restructuring".

The courses, which SSG chief executive Ng Cher Pong said have already drawn strong interest from the public and small and medium-sized enterprises, will introduce participants to how technology can uplift jobs and personal lives.

Workplace role model: The chef who gave up his Michelin stars

By Stefan Stern, Published The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2017

Maybe life is too short to stuff a mushroom after all. That is one conclusion to draw from the news that three-star Michelin chef Sebastien Bras has decided to renounce the accolade for a simpler existence in the kitchen instead.

"I want to give a new meaning to my life… and redefine what is essential," he said last month in a Facebook video message. He still wants to cook, it seems, just not so much of the fancy stuff and not under constant scrutiny.



How should you react to achieving a lifetime's ambition? The restless and the neurotic would press on, set new goals, imagining new threats or rivals to dispatch.

Alexander the Great was said to have wept when he saw there were no new lands to conquer. But having reached the top, Bras has decided it is time to do something else, to choose a calmer life. Once you have reached a peak, it is hard to avoid a sense of slipping downhill. But keeping up a three-star culinary performance does not seem to Bras to be worth the candle, the linen or the silverware.

Motivation and satisfaction in doing a job well can be shattered if you feel disrespected, menaced or taken for granted. Indeed, that elusive third star sometimes seems to have as much to do with staffing levels and degrees of luxury as it does with the cooking. It costs money to run a place like that. If clients don't spend an average of £100 (S$180) a head, a three-star establishment would probably struggle to break even.

The real significance of Bras' decision is what it tells us about motivation and meaningful achievement at work. What he likes is cooking, not the theatre or outward frippery of the three-star venue. Nor does he want to be measured by the anonymous Michelin inspectors who might descend at any moment. He wants to do work that he feels good about, that matters to him. He wants to satisfy customers, not hit arbitrary targets or conform to other people's ideas of quality. His motivation comes from within. He cannot be motivated or "incentivised" by other people. It is all down to him.

Bukit Batok water pipe leaks caused by corrosion, says PUB

Investigations are ongoing; works start this week to replace 170m of pipeline in St 21 area
By Lin Yangchen and Tan Tam Mei, The Straits Times, 5 Oct 2017

National water agency PUB is checking all 100km of water pipes in Bukit Batok after initial observations found that corrosion caused two water pipes in the estate to burst in the span of less than a week.

Investigations into the incidents are ongoing, including what caused the pipes to corrode, added PUB yesterday, even as it looks to speed up a project to renew old water pipes islandwide.



On Sept 26, and then on Sunday, pipes had burst in Bukit Batok West and Bukit Batok East, respectively. Water spouts rose several storeys and caused localised flooding.

Mr Michael Toh, director of PUB's Water Supply (Network) Department, told reporters during a site visit to Bukit Batok that both pipes were laid in the 1980s, when Bukit Batok New Town was being developed.

The pipe that burst in Bukit Batok West was a 700mm-diameter high-pressure steel pipe and supplied water to the whole Bukit Batok estate.

The one in Bukit Batok East was a smaller 150mm ductile iron distribution pipe.

Starting later this week, PUB will replace 170m of pipeline within the Bukit Batok Street 21 area, which includes Blocks 222 and 223, where the most recent incident occurred. The works are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

PUB will also examine the condition of the old pipes that will be dug out in Street 21 before deciding whether to step up the frequency of inspections elsewhere in the estate.

Singapore must stand united against terror threat: Members of Parliament; Why some foreign preachers get banned: Shanmugam

Multiracialism, strengthening bonds among communities key to prevent distrust, they say
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 4 Oct 2017

Parliament yesterday roundly vowed to keep Singapore united against the threat of terrorism, at a time when attacks have sowed discord in societies around the world.

During a 4 1/2-hour debate, 17 MPs from both sides of the House noted the Muslim community had stepped up to counter extremism, and stressed the importance of all communities standing together.

This has become more crucial as the country faces its highest terror threat in years, Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) noted. "That multiracialism can be discussed so openly by members of many different races here in Singapore's Parliament is itself a strength not many Parliaments around the world possess," he said.

Mr de Souza was part of a multiracial slate of four People's Action Party (PAP) MPs who filed a motion on staying united against terror by reaffirming multiracialism and social cohesion.



MPs who spoke - four from the Workers' Party - agreed not to point fingers at any race or religion but to condemn terror attacks in a single voice, he noted. "That agreement is not something to be belittled, especially when we see how so many countries around the world choose the fractious route of finger-pointing and ostracising," he said. "So this bipartisan support for this motion is good for Singapore and good for a united stand against terrorism."

MPs had come armed with suggestions on what more Singaporeans could do to prepare for an attack and nurture trust among the different communities, along with anecdotes illustrating how multiracialism has featured in their own lives.

Las Vegas shooting kills at least 59 in deadliest ever gun attack in modern United States history

Polarised politics ensures little will change on gun policy
By Nirmal Ghosh, US Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 4 Oct 2017

As the scale of Sunday night's massacre at a concert in Las Vegas became apparent, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, tweeted: "Tragedies like Las Vegas have happened too many times. We need to have the conversation about how to stop gun violence. We need it NOW."

But America has been having the conversation for years. It peaks at every mass shooting that shocks a nation increasingly dulled by 24-hour cable news.

Sunday's mass killing may stall a pending Bill to loosen restrictions on the purchase of gun silencers, and another to allow concealed-carry permit holders to take their guns with them to another state. But many analysts say that may be as far as it goes.

The massacre is unlikely to make any decisive difference to a gun debate trapped in political and ideological gridlock.

"We'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by," United States President Donald Trump told reporters yesterday morning as he left for a visit to hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico.



Earlier on Monday, asked about gun legislation and possible political outcomes, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said it would be "premature" to discuss gun restrictions. "Today is a day for consoling survivors," she said.

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence executive director Josh Horwitz told The Straits Times: "We have 85 people killed every day from gun violence. Congress somehow manages to do nothing. But when we learn more about this, there will be an effort. And if Congress somehow manages not to do anything important, things can happen in the states, where leaders are much less beholden to the National Rifle Association. We have to try, we have to hope."



The National Rifle Association (NRA) and its five million active members helped elect Mr Trump. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre pledged that his organisation would cover Mr Trump's back for the next eight years. Mr LaPierre's simplistic position is: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun."

Of LRT disruptions and political pressure

By Elgin Toh, Insight Editor, The Straits Times, 2 Oct 2017

Eyebrows were raised last month when Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that "political pressure" had prompted the building of the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) line, which was completed in 1999.

He also described the BPLRT as an "afterthought" - a line constructed in a built-up town, as opposed to one planned from the town's inception.

His comments were part of an explanation as to why the BPLRT faces more frequent disruptions. His broad point: It was conceived in less-than-ideal circumstances.



A brief backgrounder: When the Bukit line - or the branch line from Jurong East to Choa Chu Kang that was later merged into the North-South MRT line - was built in the 1980s, Bukit Panjang happened to fall some distance from it. Residents had to go to the neighbouring Choa Chu Kang to board an MRT train.

Those from Bukit Panjang and other areas without MRT stations could feel the daily inconvenience, and they asked for better links to MRT lines. The Government studied the use of LRT lines to do this.

"Political pressure" came from residents asking questions of the Government, and MPs reflecting the sentiments behind closed doors with ministers or in Parliament.

One Bukit Panjang resident told The Straits Times before the BPLRT was built: "I hardly ride on the MRT as the bus (to Choa Chu Kang station) can be a 20-minute wait." Another resident said: "The internal (feeder) bus service is quite bad and, although the bus into town is fast, it's always very crowded."

Then Communications Minister Mah Bow Tan, who oversaw transport, told Parliament in 1994 that "many MPs and members of the public have suggested introducing light rail systems as an additional form of public transport". The LRT issue was also raised in 1995 at a dialogue with residents when Acting Environment Minister Teo Chee Hean visited Bukit Panjang for a ministerial walkabout.

The Government thus began planning for two LRT lines - in Bukit Panjang and Buona Vista. In 1996, it announced that BPLRT would go ahead, but Buona Vista would not, because it was not financially viable - there were not enough riders.

Singapore soldiers on the front line in the fight against ISIS

Flying flag high amid the heat and danger
They miss local food, and once a week, they sing the National Anthem. Toh Yong Chuan stayed three days with members of Singapore's medical team supporting the coalition in the fight against ISIS.
By Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 1 Oct 2017

Singaporean Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad created a stir online last Sunday when he featured in the latest recruitment video for terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

When news of the video broke, I was in the United States Air Force (USAF) airbase in Kuwait waiting to board a C-130 transport plane that would take me to Iraq.

I was travelling to meet a little-known group of Singaporeans who, like Shahdan, had gone to Iraq. But unlike the militant who had gone to create violence, the men whom I was meeting were there to stop it. They are Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers who are members of the multinational coalition set up to defeat ISIS.

They have been deployed there since June as part of the medical team, working alongside the Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force to provide medical support to coalition efforts.

To get to the coalition base in Iraq, I had to take a commercial flight to Kuwait City through Dubai, before hopping onto the USAF plane.

My travelling companion was a Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) media relations officer.

"Getting you into Iraq is unprecedented," she said, referring to MINDEF making an exception to its media restriction policy and allowing The Sunday Times to visit troops on the ground there.

About a dozen US Army soldiers were also in the plane, as was cargo bound for Iraq. The Americans mostly kept to themselves.

The C-130 cargo plane was unlike passenger planes. Its soldier passengers sat in the cargo hold - about the size of a four-room HDB flat - along the sides of the plane, shoulder to shoulder, on webbing seats.

The windows consisted of a few portholes along the fuselage. The four propellers were so noisy that earplugs were given out by the air crew and had to be worn throughout the flight. It was impossible to talk above the noise.

FLARES AND A SHARP LANDING

The last leg of the flight was dramatic.

As the plane prepared to make its landing at an airstrip within the base, I had to don a Kevlar helmet and body armour. It dived sharply towards the airstrip and I heard what sounded like crackers being fired from the sides of the plane.

A senior SAF officer travelling with us explained: "Those are chaffs. It is standard operating procedure for pilots to fire them when they land in hostile zones."

I learnt later that chaffs are flares used to counter heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles.

Reserved presidential election was right thing to do: PM Lee Hsien Loong

PM Lee spells out why he pushed for reserved election
He knew it'd be unpopular and cost votes, but sees it as necessary for multiracialism
By Tham Yuen-C, Assistant Political Editor, The Straits Times, 30 Sep 2017

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made it plain that he knew the reserved presidential election would be unpopular - and would cost his party votes.

"But I did it because I strongly believe, and still do, that this is the right thing to do," he said, addressing the unhappiness squarely for the first time last week at a closed-door dialogue.

The reason he gave is that despite the progress made in building a multiracial and multi-religious society, Singapore has "not yet arrived at an ideal state of accepting people of a different race".

His candid remarks were made to about 500 grassroots leaders at a People's Association Kopi Talk dialogue last Saturday, and an edited transcript was released by the Prime Minister's Office yesterday.

PM Lee cited recent surveys that show "we are not completely colour-blind". This will influence people's choices, he said, and he is convinced it is harder for a minority - Malay, Indian or Eurasian - to win an open election for president than it is for a Chinese.

To lend weight to his view, he pointed to the 2011 Presidential Election when there were four candidates, all Chinese.

"Where were the Farid Khans and the Salleh Maricans? Why didn't they come?... Because they knew that in an open election - all things being equal - a non-Chinese candidate would have no chance."

He added: "It is a reality."

Businessmen Salleh Marican, 68, and Farid Khan, 61, had applied to contest the recent presidential election reserved for Malays, but they did not qualify and President Halimah Yacob, 63, won in a walkover.



Another reality is racial issues crop up even in day-to-day living.

Sometimes, minorities face discrimination when looking for a job or a house to rent. Recently, a picture on a construction hoarding of a Malay girl wearing a tudung had the word "terrorist" pencilled on it.

"These are the realities we have to manage," he said.

PM Lee said the Chinese, being the majority race, may think Singapore has "arrived" as a multiracial society. They get occasional reminders when they travel abroad and encounter racism, then "you may know what it feels like to be treated as a minority", he said.

For Singapore's young, having known only racial harmony here, it is very easy to believe race does not matter any more. "We have to know our blind spots," he said, adding that the Chinese community, especially, must make a special effort to make the minorities feel welcomed and valued.

However, having multiracial presidents in itself does not make Singapore a multiracial country. "But it is an important symbol of what Singapore stands for, and a declaration of what we aspire to be," he said.

He noted that nearly two years were spent discussing and debating having a multiracial presidency.

"But it is only now that people are seized with it, after a reserved election in which only one candidate qualified," he said.

PM Lee said he could feel there was some unhappiness. "People think we may be going backwards, towards racial politics. But actually, the reality is the opposite: We are making necessary changes to strengthen our multiracial system."

He shares President Halimah's hope for that day when Singapore will not need the reserved election to ensure minority representation.

But to get to the ideal state, "we need guide ropes and guard rails to help us get there and to prevent us from falling off along the way".

"The reserved election for the president is one such guard rail."

He also said striving for multiracialism includes having the courage and determination to take pragmatic steps to get there, step by step. "That is how we will continue to expand our common space, strengthen trust and become one people, one nation, one Singapore."

PARKING.SG: Pay for public parking fees via mobile app from 1 Oct 2017

Coupon-free parking app goes online Oct 1
Motorists can pay for parking and extend sessions via their mobile phones at 1,100 carparks
By Adrian Lim, Transport Correspondent, The Straits Times, 30 Sep 2017

Scouring for parking coupons or looking for another driver to buy them from will now be a thing of the past.

The Parking.sg app, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at this year's National Day Rally, makes its debut tomorrow, letting motorists pay for parking at public carparks through their mobile phones.

It can be used at all 1,100 carparks which still require coupons. Through the app, motorists can use their credit or debit cards to pay parking charges.

The app, however, can be used only for cars and light goods vehicles for now.

The scheme will be extended to motorcycles and heavy vehicles by the end of the year, the Housing Board, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Government Technology Agency of Singapore said yesterday.

The agencies added that even as the new app is rolled out, paper coupons can still be used.



The app will automatically calculate parking fees based on 30-minute blocks, but if motorists move their vehicles out earlier and end the session, they will be charged on a per-minute basis and get a refund.

This will prevent overpaying.

Under the coupon system, motorists pay 60 cents for 30 minutes, even if they leave earlier.

The app, which will be available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, will also alert motorists when their parking sessions are about to expire. Instead of running back to their vehicle to display more coupons, they can extend their sessions through the app.

Parking.sg is part of Singapore's drive towards becoming a Smart Nation. Trials, involving more than 15,000 public officers and selected members of the public, were conducted in two phases - from May to June and from July to this month.