The Big Read in short: Where did it all go wrong with the Sports Hub?

Illustration: Anam Musta'ein

In separate interviews with TODAY, former staff of Sports Hub Pte Ltd spoke about deep lying issues that plagued the project from the get-go. But everything boiled down to this: A disconnect between the interests of the Government and the private firms, and a partnership only in name that was pulled in multiple directions by a long list of stakeholders with different objectives.


Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into the trends and issues that matter. This week, we examine where it all went wrong with the running of the Singapore Sports Hub, which led to the termination of the public-private partnership. This is a shortened version of the full feature,​ which can be found here.

• Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced on June 10 that it will be taking over full ownership of the Sports Hub from its private partner, Sports Hub Private Limited (SHPL)
• Former staff of SHPL largely agree with this decision, saying that the partnership between the Government and private sector was flawed from the start 
• Several of them say that the partnership was akin to a vendor-client relationship, and that the Government had given the private sector too much leeway to call the shots 
• SHPL had also found it challenging to manage its various private partners, who were all jostling to make their own profits out of the venture 
• Moving forward, the Government will have to strike a balance between maintaining the prestige of a world-class venue, and making the Sports Hub accessible to the community

Sports Hub takeover: What is a public-private partnership and have they worked in Singapore?

• Sport Singapore announced that it will be taking over the Singapore Sports Hub
• It is terminating its public-private partnership with a consortium of private partners
• This form of partnership facilitates cross-sector collaboration between the public sector and private sector
• Singapore has had success cases with such partnerships, such as ITE College West
• However, the Government has taken back other facilities under these arrangements before, such as Tuaspring Desalination Plant

LORAINE LEE

June 10, 2022


SINGAPORE — National sports governing body Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced on Friday (June 10) that it will be taking over the management and operations of the Singapore Sports Hub, ending its public-private partnership with a consortium 12 years ahead of time.

It explained that its decision to terminate the partnership was so that it could better integrate the hub with upcoming facilities in the surrounding Kallang precinct, such as the Kallang Football Hub, Kallang Tennis Centre and Youth Hub.

MIND THE GAP: HOW CHINA’S CIVILIAN SHIPPING COULD ENABLE A TAIWAN INVASION

THOMAS SHUGART
AUGUST 16, 2021





Recent months have seen much discussion of the “Davidson Window” — the idea, based on recent commentary by the then-commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip Davidson, that China could take military action against Taiwan in the next six to 10 years. Some within the defense commentariat accused Davidson of “sloppy exaggeration,” that he was “simply wrong as a matter of fact” (though perhaps some critics should consider that a combatant commander may have access to a different set of facts than they do). While others took his warning more seriously, there have been good reasons to question whether China could successfully subjugate Taiwan any time soon. Among these is that China has appeared to lack the amphibious transport capacity necessary to successfully conduct a cross-strait invasion. However, assessments of China’s amphibious sealift capability have typically focused on its navy’s dedicated amphibious assault ships, and have largely discounted the ability of China’s civilian merchant shipping to contribute to an invasion — especially in its initial stages. This approach does not take sufficient account of the emerging and ongoing integration of substantial portions of China’s merchant marine into its cross-strait assault forces. When civilian shipping is included in an assessment of China’s cross-strait sealift capability, Davidson’s warning gains added credibility.

Putin still wants most of Ukraine, war outlook grim, says US intelligence chief

A Ukrainian soldier wounded by an artillery strike in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on June 23, 2022. PHOTO: NYTIMES

30 June 2022


WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to seize most of Ukraine, but his forces are so degraded by combat that they likely can only achieve incremental gains in the near term, the top US intelligence officer said on Wednesday (June 29).

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, outlining the current US intelligence assessment of the more than four-month war, said that the consensus of US spy agencies is that it will grind on "for an extended period of time."

BBC asked Shanmugam about S'pore's 'social controls', 'draconian' drug laws and Section 377A. Here's how he responded

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam (left) was a guest on BBC journalist Stephen Sackur's podcast HardTalk.

• Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam was a guest on the BBC's HardTalk programme, hosted by British journalist Stephen Sackur
• Mr Sackur questioned the minister on Singapore's "social controls" and controversial laws such as the death penalty
• Refuting facts presented by the journalist at several points, Mr Shanmugam set out why the Republic takes a tough stance on drugs
• He also explained Singapore's approach on Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises gay sex

June 29, 2022

The Armed Uprising of 2024 (Or the Second American Civil War)

[These are excerpts from: 

Newsweek January 07 - 14, 2022

It makes a case for how American politics have become so fractured and the schism between Republicans and Democrats is widening into an unbridgeable chasm. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) have struck down a New York law that requires applicants for concealed carry permits to show that they have an actual need for a concealed weapon. This means anyone in New York can carry a concealed firearm. And that means that the next Storming of the Capital could be by armed protestors. The suggestion is that this schism might well lead to the Second American Civil War.]

A growing number of RADICALIZED REPUBLICANS are willing to grab their guns if the next presidential election doesn't go their way

DAVID H. FREEDMAN




MIKE “WOMPUS” NIEZNANY is a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran who walks with a cane from the combat wounds he received during his service...

...Nieznany is no loner. His political comments on the social-media site Quora received 44,000 views in the first two weeks of November and more than 4 million overall. He is one of many rank-and-file Republicans who own guns and in recent months have talked openly of the need to take down—by force, if necessary—a federal government they see as illegitimate, overreaching and corrosive to American freedom...

Large crowds outside The Cathay as people gather to watch busker perform

[Buskers don't usually attract thousands of people as an impromptu audience. Let alone in Singapore. 

So this is unusual. This is newsworthy. This is... an indication that Singaporeans are badly deprived of live (or free) entertainment?]




Eileen Chew
Lakeisha Leo

25 Jun 2022 

SINGAPORE: Large crowds were seen outside The Cathay at Handy Road in Dhoby Ghaut on Saturday (Jun 25) as people gathered to watch a popular busker perform.