IPS Study on Social Capital 2017 in Singapore finds clear divide among social classes

Elite schools' spirit and culture unify people

The dividing phenomena between people from different categories of school origins and residential dwellings should never be a surprise (New study finds clear divide among social classes in Singapore; ST Online, Dec 28).

It is social behaviour observed since ancient times and in any corner of the world today, not just Singapore.

A society based on class also existed before one based on race.

I am not sure if the emphasis of this report is skewed towards the need to dilute the elite-school culture.



Let's take a step back.

We must ask ourselves what makes the elite schools so successful and how do they continue to preserve the rich heritage, esprit de corps and positive social values that span decades.

The spirit and identity of these schools truly bind men and women of different nationalities, races, religions, ages and backgrounds.

I am proud to be part of such a heritage.

The fellowship is made up of people ranging from top government leaders, senior corporate executives, businessmen and millionaires to social workers, labourers, hawkers and taxi drivers.

They live in diverse residential dwellings and can connect just fine when seated at the same table.

A study should be made on how to replicate and inculcate this culture in all other schools instead of diluting it.

It also doesn't help to keep exacerbating the problem of differing residential status by stating the obvious.

Let us drive behaviour by creating more opportunities and activities that promote common interests and volunteering for social services.

Christopher Lim Sim Cheng
ST Forum, 30 Dec 2017

What we can learn from a galaxy far, far away

By Tan Ooi Boon, Published The Straits Times, 25 Dec 2017

If you have felt an unexplained stir around you of late, it's because the Force is stronger now with the latest Star Wars movie back in the theatres.

The sci-fi saga has captivated fans for four decades since George Lucas introduced the world to light sabres, chatty robots and Jedi masters in 1977.

Fans love it because the film is, at heart, about the triumph of good over evil and the good guys win by using the Force, a mystical power said to exist around us. But there's more - beneath all that dazzling sword play and hyperspace jumps, there are down-to-earth management lessons to be learnt from Star Wars.



So, if you aspire to have your own empire, here are some things you need to do to achieve galactic success.

LESSON 1 : DO NOT LOSE YOUR TOP TALENTS

Before Darth Vader became the Republic's nightmare, he was actually its rising star and most talented employee, Anakin Skywalker. Even as a boy, he proved his worth by single-handedly stopping a hostile takeover of the Planet Naboo by destroying the enemy's command station. He continued to shine as a young man by eliminating his employer's arch enemy, Count Dooku, as well as saving the lives of both the Supreme Chancellor and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi.

For his sterling achievements, the Chancellor made Skywalker his representative at the Jedi Council, the executive decision-making body. But it soon went downhill from there because some senior council members (read jealous older colleagues) were not happy and they barred him from using the title, Jedi Master, which came with the position.

As expected, young Skywalker was furious and his unhappiness made him vulnerable to poaching by rivals. He eventually joined them because he felt his new employers recognised his potential, offered training in new high-level secret skills, and to top it off, appointed him to a senior position that came with an awesome title, Darth Vader.

A rare peek behind the scenes at the nerve centre of SCDF operations

SCDF Operations Centre: Answering the (995) call with speed and efficiency
Singapore Civil Defence Force fine-tunes processes, uses technology at centre to better respond to emergencies
By Tan Tam Mei, The Straits Times, 25 Dec 2017

Phones ring off the hook and chatter fills the room at the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Operations Centre, as officers take calls and monitor a panel of video screens on the wall showing footage from security cameras around the island.

The centre - housed in a room barely the size of a tennis court - is the little-known nerve centre of the force and the first point of contact for reports of fire, rescue or medical incidents.

Every time someone in Singapore dials 995 - last year, SCDF handled more than 290,000 phone calls, averaging 790 calls a day - an SCDF operations centre specialist answers it. Officially opened in 2002, the centre in the basement of the SCDF headquarters in Ubi was open to the media for the first time last Thursday.

Despite the high volume, the 23 to 25 people who man the centre - some operations centre specialists, nurses and monitoring officers - hit strict timing targets. Calls are answered within 10 seconds and appropriate resources are deployed within 80 seconds.

And officers there said the festive periods tend to be the busiest.

SCDF chief medical officer Ng Yih Yng said with more people in the festive spirit, there are more calls related to drinking and "sometimes too much partying".

Captain Shawn Tan, 29, an SCDF rotation commander with the Operations Centre, said that sometimes the calls involve rubbish chute fires, where people who have barbecues throw hot charcoal or ashes down the chute.

The Operations Centre can take calls in the four main languages and has team members who speak a variety of dialects and other languages, like Burmese.

"Additionally, our call takers are well-versed in medical knowledge so they're able to give pre-arrival instructions to members of public when they need to," said Capt Tan.

Over the years, the SCDF has also changed some of its processes and added technology to help make the centre more efficient.

Deepest tunnel system to ensure power supply to Singapore

Transmission Cable Tunnel Project: Giant tunnels to safeguard power supply network
$2.4 billion effort to house 1,200km of cables is among deepest such projects worldwide
By Jose Hong, The Straits Times, 20 Dec 2017

A warren of giant tunnels which will safeguard Singapore's electricity supply network for the future has been completed.

The multibillion-dollar effort to house 1,200km of extra-high-voltage cables - more than thrice the distance between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - is one of the world's deepest electricity supply projects.

Singaporeans will begin tapping this electrical source from next year, said energy utility company SP Group yesterday.

Given the depth, it will be easier to monitor and replace cables inside these tunnels and carry out upgrading works in the future, experts said.



Most tunnels will be about 60m beneath the earth - the height of a 20-storey Housing Board building - but some will be at 80m, the deepest among any tunnels here.

"We had to build 60m deep because Singapore lacks space. We had no choice," said Mr Michael Chin, SP Group's managing director of infrastructure and projects.

"If you look at the profile of Singapore, we have the MRT, which is 30m to 40m deep, then you have your Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, which is between 20m and 55m, so we 'choped' (saved) our space at 60m," said Mr Chin.

The three tunnels are named the North-South, East-West and Jurong Island-Pioneer tunnels, and work on the $2.4 billion project started in 2012.

SP Group said the high-voltage cables in the tunnels will mainly replace eight circuits running north and south or east and west across the country. These eight circuits, built in the 1980s, are the oldest transmission cables still in use here.

The laying of cables, which will begin early next year, is projected to be completed by 2022. The first cables will go online by the end of next year.

Death of Annie Ee: Guilty or not, every accused person deserves due process

Each of us can feel an innate revulsion for the acts committed by Singaporean couple Pua Hak Chuan and Tan Hui Zhen on their flatmate Annie Ee (Couple jailed for torturing flatmate until her death; Dec 2).

Yet our moral repugnance can be simultaneously coupled with a firm commitment to principles of access to justice for the accused involved. It is not an either/or proposition for right-thinking and right-feeling members of Singapore society.

The couple has been convicted by a court of law and no appeal has been filed. Legal representation was afforded by pro bono volunteer lawyers.

It is understandable that in cases such as Miss Ee's, the Internet community will be abuzz with comments (via social chat or chatter) including visceral disgust. However, a bright line needs to be drawn between freedom of speech on the one hand and incendiary, defamatory or hate speech (including against the pro bono lawyers involved) on the other.

This is part and parcel of the lawful boundaries of free speech (even under the cloak of anonymity) in a functioning democracy. The accused's lawyer's role in mitigation is not to call white black or black white. To do so is intellectually disingenuous. It would invariably result in the plea of guilt being revoked.

At the sentencing stage, criminal defence counsel identifies mitigating circumstances of both offence and offender to the sentencing judge. But in essence, the plea in mitigation is a plaintive cry for judicial mercy. Analytically, the court weighs all relevant factors (aggravating and mitigating). The ultimate goal is a fair and proportionate sentence meted out by the judge.



Three distinct stakeholder roles in criminal justice need to be better appreciated. First, the prosecution and its discretion to prefer charges. Due consideration will be given on, among other things, whether the charges brought can be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Second, the role of our courts in considering all relevant facts and allowing due process before making a decision in accordance with the law. The courts' sentencing powers are circumscribed by the statutory minimum and maximum punishments prescribed for the penal offences concerned.

Third, the duty of criminal defence lawyers to give a voice to their clients on extenuating circumstances. That voice needs to be articulated professionally, responsibly and fairly. Lawyers are officers of the court.

To hold such criminal defence lawyers in contempt of the court of public opinion blithely ignores the golden principle of access to justice. We should not shoot the messenger because we neither like the message nor the client he represents.

Every accused deserves due process, even during sentencing after they have pleaded guilty. As Eleanor Roosevelt said : "Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both." This is a bedrock of our Singapore criminal justice system. It is a cornerstone of the Law Society's criminal legal aid scheme.

Gregory Vijayendran
President
Law Society of Singapore
ST Forum, 19 Dec 2017

Jurong Lake District: From the boondocks to boom town - and beyond

Singapore has thrived by betting big on future trends that make or break economies, whether in air or sea transport, urban development or water sustainability. It is how the Republic rose to become the world's top transshipment hub, a leading air hub and a model liveable city. In the last of a three-part series on major infrastructure projects, Insight looks at plans to transform Jurong into Singapore's second Central Business District.
By Rachel Au-Yong, The Sunday Times, 17 Dec 2017

A decade ago, the idea that the industrial - some might even say boring - town of Jurong would one day be transformed into a vibrant business district with pockets of tranquillity was often met with incredulity by developers and residents alike.

Yet today, long-time Jurong East resident Aimee Saw, 62, can point to an accelerated momentum in the Government's efforts to not just revitalise the area, but also to turn it into Jurong Lake District (JLD), the nation's second Central Business District.

The retired secretary says: "In the 60s and 70s, there wasn't much here besides factories and a few shops.

"But suddenly, in the last 10 years, you have so many new shopping centres and a big hospital, and people say there will be more to come. It's good to know Jurong is not forgotten."

In 2008, the Government unveiled a blueprint to turn JLD - a 360ha area comprising Jurong Lake and the area around Jurong East MRT station, where the Jurong Country Club was - into a lakeside destination for business and leisure over 10 to 15 years.

Almost a decade later, the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched a draft masterplan in August this year, ambitious in its promises to elevate the district to a second CBD, as well as a sought-after living destination.



The goal is to provide more than 100,000 new jobs in sectors such as maritime, infrastructure and technology, as well as a further 20,000 homes.

Given the monumental effort that lies ahead to achieve this, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong has cautioned that JLD will be realised only in 2040 and beyond.

Insight takes a look at the plans.

Euthanasia: A good life to the end, or a quick death

The Victorian state of Australia has legalised euthanasia. Concerns about a slippery slope are real. The alternative to euthanasia is palliative care to alleviate suffering.
By Chong Siow Ann, Published The Straits Times, 16 Dec 2017

The Australian state of Victoria recently legalised assisted suicide. This law, when enacted, will enable a resident who has lived in Victoria for at least a year, and who has a terminal, incurable illness with a life expectancy of less than six months, to obtain a lethal drug to commit suicide.

Victoria has now joined the ranks of the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Colombia and Luxembourg which have legalised euthanasia. Several states in the United States, including California, Washington, Vermont and Oregon, have passed laws allowing assisted suicide.

In physician-assisted suicide, a physician supplies a lethal drug or suggests a means by which a patient will use it to complete the act that brings about death.



In euthanasia, the physician performs the act of directly injecting the medication to cause death. These terms do not apply to a patient's refusal of life-support measures, or to the request for these life-prolonging measures to be withdrawn.

We would think that it would be terminally ill patients with grievous and irredeemable pain who are most likely to want physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia, but the laws permitting this were mainly motivated by the concerns of the "worried-well" - by healthy people who fear the unknown future and the possibility of dying painfully, and who want that control and assurance that they can have the legalised means to end their lives if things become unbearable.

But empirical studies of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in the Netherlands and the United States indicate that pain played a relatively minor role in motivating requests for assisted suicide. These studies showed that in only 11 to 32 per cent of all cases was pain the reason for requests for euthanasia.

Depression, general psychological distress, and fear of a loss of control or dignity, of being a burden, and of being dependent on others, were the common reasons. This prompted oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel to ask (in an article published in The Atlantic) if the wishes of these patients should then be granted. He followed with this riposte: "Our usual approach to people who try to end their lives for reasons of depression and psychological distress is psychiatric intervention - not giving them a syringe and life-ending drugs."



SLIPPERY SLOPE

One of the biggest - and perennial - concerns of legalising physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is that it will lead to the "slippery slope".

The slippery slope argument contends that even a relatively conservative law like the Victorian model would evolve over time, becoming more permissive and with the right to receive assisted suicide extending to many others: from physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill and fully consenting adults to euthanasia for patients who cannot give consent - the unconscious, severely disabled children, and the mentally ill.

New Credit Limit Management Measure to help individuals manage unsecured debts from 1 January 2018

Monetary Authority of Singapore acts to curb excessive unsecured debt
By Lorna Tan, Invest Editor/Senior Correspondent, The Straits Times, 16 Dec 2017

More help is on the way for borrowers who are in danger of being overwhelmed by unsecured debt like credit card borrowings.

A new Credit Limit Management Measure coming into effect on Jan 1 will potentially affect people who have unsecured debts that are six times their monthly income.

Banks will not be allowed to grant any increase in credit limits or any new unsecured credit facilities to such a person if they cause his total credit limit to exceed 12 times his monthly income.

Ms Loo Siew Yee, assistant managing director (policy, risk and surveillance) at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said yesterday that the measure aims to help borrowers avoid getting over their heads in debt.

In June 2015, an industrywide borrowing limit was introduced that capped unsecured loans to 24 times one's monthly income. It was cut to 18 times in June this year, and will be lowered to 12 times from June 2019.

There are an estimated 60,000 borrowers with unsecured debts between six and 12 times their monthly income. That is only about 4 per cent of the total 1.5 million unsecured credit users here.

These borrowers will be affected only if they apply for new credit facilities, or a credit limit increase, that push their total credit limit above 12 times their monthly income.

They can still draw on their existing unutilised unsecured credit facilities.

Steps taken to manage borrowing have produced results. The number of highly indebted borrowers has come down by about 21,000 since June 2015, from 5 per cent to below 4 per cent of the total number of unsecured borrowers.

But since January, an average of 4,000 borrowers every month have hit unsecured debt levels 12 times their monthly income or more.

HDB to launch 17,000 new flats in 2018, keeping supply steady

BTO flats to be spread across mature and newer towns; some to be ready in 2-1/2 years
By Ng Jun Sen, The Straits Times, 15 Dec 2017

Around 17,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched next year, keeping the supply of flats on a par with this year's, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said in a blog post yesterday.

These new flats will be spread across mature and non-mature towns. These include the upcoming Tengah town, the first time that Housing Board flats will be launched there.

Sembawang, Yishun and Sengkang will also see launches in the second half of the year that feature a shorter waiting time of 2½ years, compared with the typical three to four years.

Said Mr Wong: "We will continue to calibrate our flat supply carefully, taking into account underlying demand and the stability of the HDB resale market."

Taking stock of the public housing situation for the year, he added that the Government had focused on allowing first-timer families to move into their homes quickly by offering higher Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grants, more rental subsidies for applicants staying in interim housing and re-offering unsold flats to those with more urgent needs.

He said: "All this means that young couples will have even more affordable and accessible housing options to start their marriage and parenthood journey early."

Real-estate watchers told The Straits Times that the move to launch 17,000 new flats next year was adequate to meet the needs of first-time flat buyers.

MINDEF to invite 300 hackers to test its cyber defences; New short-term Cyber Specialist scheme for NSFs from 2018

MINDEF Bug Bounty Programme: International and local hackers will try to locate vulnerabilities in its Internet-linked systems
By Lim Min Zhang, The Straits Times, 13 Dec 2017

In a first for the Government, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) will be inviting about 300 international and local hackers to hunt for vulnerabilities in its Internet-connected systems next year, in a bid to guard against ever-evolving cyber threats.

From Jan 15 to Feb 4, these selected experts will try to penetrate eight of MINDEF's Internet-facing systems, such as the MINDEF website, the NS Portal and LearNet 2 Portal, a learning resource portal for trainees.

These registered hackers can earn cash rewards - or bounties - of between $150 and $20,000, depending on how critical the flaws discovered are. Called the MINDEF Bug Bounty Programme, it will be the Government's first crowdsourced hacking programme.

This follows an incident earlier this year when MINDEF discovered that hackers had stolen the NRIC numbers, telephone numbers and birth dates of 854 personnel in a breach of its I-Net system.

One of the systems being tested, Defence Mail, uses the I-net system for MINDEF and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel to connect to the Internet.



Yesterday, the new programme was announced by defence cyber chief David Koh after a visit to the Cyber Defence Test and Evaluation Centre - a cyber "live-firing range" where servicemen train against simulated cyber attacks - at Stagmont Camp in Choa Chu Kang.

On the significance of the "Hack MINDEF" initiative, he told reporters: "The SAF is a highly networked force. How we conduct our military operations depends on networking across the army, navy, air force and the joint staff.

"Every day, we see new cyber attacks launched by malicious actors who are constantly seeking new ways to breach our systems... Clearly, this is a fast-evolving environment and, increasingly, you see that it is one that is of relevance to the defence and security domain."

The bigger picture is that cyberspace is emerging as the next battlefield, said Mr Koh, who is also the deputy secretary for special projects at MINDEF.

"Some countries have begun to recognise cyber as a domain similar to air, land and sea. Some have even gone so far as to say that the next major conflict will see cyber activity as the first activity of a major conflict," he added.

While there will be some risks in inviting hackers to test the systems, such as an increase in website traffic and the chance that these "white-hat" hackers will turn over discovered vulnerabilities to the dark Web, measures will be put in place to guard against this.

Dakota Crescent to be redeveloped for public housing; iconic dove playground and parts of estate to be retained

Dakota icons to be kept as estate is redeveloped
Playground, courtyard to stay; six blocks to be repurposed for civic and community uses
By Toh Wen Li, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2017

Dakota Crescent, one of Singapore's oldest public housing estates, will start a fresh chapter when new public flats are built there, but it will not turn the page entirely on the past.

The historic estate's courtyard and iconic dove playground will be retained, along with the six blocks around them. These blocks will be repurposed for civic and community uses, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post yesterday.

His announcement was welcomed by those advocating the conservation of the 59-year-old estate.

Dakota Crescent's 17 low-rise blocks with 648 units off Old Airport Road were developed by the Singapore Improvement Trust in 1958 as a public rental housing estate, and handed over to the Housing Board in 1960 - the year the statutory board was formed.

The estate was named after the Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a model of plane that used to land at Kallang Airport.

In 2014, the Government said the estate would make way for developments under renewal plans for Mountbatten, and residents had till the end of last year to vacate their flats.

Of the 17 blocks, which have hardly changed in nearly six decades, two - Blocks 13 and 21 across Old Airport Road - have been kept for interim use under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme. This scheme allows eligible buyers waiting for their new flats to be built to have a place to stay in the meantime.

Blocks 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20, the central cluster of blocks around the playground, will be kept.

These comprise two seven-storey curved "butterfly" blocks, two seven-storey slab blocks, one three-storey block and a two-storey block - all representative of the four types of SIT buildings.

Mr Wong said in his Facebook post that redeveloping the estate for public housing "will provide more public housing options near the city, and allow another generation of Singaporeans to build their own memories of the place".

"To achieve this, we will need new HDB flats in the estate that can better serve the housing needs of Singaporeans," he added.

Fees at polytechnics, ITE to increase for students enrolling in the 2018 academic year

New poly and ITE students to pay more
Fees up by 3% to 7% next year but remain heavily subsidised by Govt, says ministry
By Amelia Teng, Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2017

Tuition fees for students entering the polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) next year will go up by between 3 per cent and 7 per cent.

The new fees, posted on the institutions' websites yesterday, apply only to newcomers in the 2018 academic year.

Tuition fees for polytechnics and the ITE have been rising yearly in the past few years and, as with previous hikes, the increase will be bigger for permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners than citizens.

The Education Ministry told The Straits Times that the Government continues to subsidise heavily polytechnic and ITE education for Singaporeans - at about 85 per cent and over 90 per cent respectively.

Its spokesman said the higher fees are "to allow the polytechnics and ITE to continue to deliver a high-quality education to Singaporeans".

Singaporeans entering the five polytechnics next year will pay an annual tuition fee of $2,800, up from the $2,700 their seniors paid.

The polytechnic fees for PRs and international students will climb to $5,600 and $10,000 respectively, up by $200 and $400.

Fees for full-time ITE Nitec courses will go up by $20 for Singaporeans, while PRs and foreign students will pay $300 and $900 more respectively. Fees for the higher Nitec courses remain unchanged.

The ministry's spokesman said students who need help can approach the financial aid offices in the institutions.

She also said the ministry, with the institutions, "will ensure that financial assistance is available to students who need it, and that no deserving student is denied a polytechnic or ITE education due to financial difficulties".

Financial aid to help students defray their costs of living is also available, she added.

Government bursary amounts were raised this year. Polytechnic and ITE students can get up to $2,350 and $1,400 a year respectively, depending on household income.

"The household per capita income cut-off to qualify for the bursaries was also increased from $1,900 to $2,250 per month, which translates to a gross monthly household income of about $9,000 for a family of four," said the spokesman.

Parents and students interviewed said the fees are still affordable despite the hike, although they hope for more financial aid.