08 March, 2019
SINGAPORE — Air pollution, stalled rail projects and constant antagonism by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad are just some of the issues Singaporeans must continue to bear with because of the instability of Pakatan Harapan, said retired Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan.
In a Facebook post on Friday (March 8), Mr Kausikan shared a TODAY report stating that the Rapid Transit System (RTS) rail system connecting Singapore with Johor would be delayed as Putrajaya had failed to meet project deadlines.
“This is just another example of the consequences of a fundamentally incoherent and thus ineffective, government across the causeway,” he wrote in a caption accompanying the report.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Friday, March 8, 2019
Budget ‘hongbao’ squeezed out of Government’s coffers: Heng Swee Keat
By Janice Lim
08 March, 2019
SINGAPORE — While he is often jokingly referred to as the God of Fortune, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Friday (March 8) that the “hongbao” (red packets, or goodies) dished out in the Budget have to be squeezed from the Government’s coffers.
To those who have asked him why the hongbao in this year’s Budget was so small, Mr Heng has replied: “This God of Fortune is not fat. This God of Fortune is quite thin, so money no enough. Whatever ‘hongbao’ given were squeezed out.”
Features of Budget 2019 include the S$1.1 billion Bicentennial Bonusand the S$6.1 billion set aside for the Merdeka Generation Package.
SINGAPORE — While he is often jokingly referred to as the God of Fortune, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Friday (March 8) that the “hongbao” (red packets, or goodies) dished out in the Budget have to be squeezed from the Government’s coffers.
To those who have asked him why the hongbao in this year’s Budget was so small, Mr Heng has replied: “This God of Fortune is not fat. This God of Fortune is quite thin, so money no enough. Whatever ‘hongbao’ given were squeezed out.”
Features of Budget 2019 include the S$1.1 billion Bicentennial Bonusand the S$6.1 billion set aside for the Merdeka Generation Package.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Loss in Semenyih by-election ominous for PH’s rule in Malaysia
By MOHAMED NAWAB MOHAMED OSMAN
05 MARCH, 2019
The recently concluded Semenyih by-election won by the Barisan Nasional (BN) is indeed a game changer for Malaysian politics. The by-election is a confirmation that many Malay voters have abandoned ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH), a trend that was discerned in the previous Cameron Highlands elections.
The key difference between Cameron Highlands and Semenyih is the demography of the Malay voters. Prior to the election, many political pundits predicted that PH will retain Semenyih due to the high percentage of Malays from middle and upper-middle class background, a traditional vote bank for PH.
However, the results indicated otherwise, though it is perhaps premature to suggest that the by-election is a referendum for the PH government.
The recently concluded Semenyih by-election won by the Barisan Nasional (BN) is indeed a game changer for Malaysian politics. The by-election is a confirmation that many Malay voters have abandoned ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH), a trend that was discerned in the previous Cameron Highlands elections.
The key difference between Cameron Highlands and Semenyih is the demography of the Malay voters. Prior to the election, many political pundits predicted that PH will retain Semenyih due to the high percentage of Malays from middle and upper-middle class background, a traditional vote bank for PH.
However, the results indicated otherwise, though it is perhaps premature to suggest that the by-election is a referendum for the PH government.
What a Singapore Strait traffic jam says about the world economy
06 March, 2019
HONG KONG — Flying into Singapore’s Changi Airport, visitors often remark on the hundreds of vessels, from supertankers to freighters, anchored along the coastline. Why are there so many? What are they doing there?
A decade ago, the global recession created a maritime car park of apparent ghost ships in the Singapore Strait — vessels sat idle in the world’s busiest shipping lane as companies were going bust or did not have enough business to justify their use.
Now there’s a similar stockpiling of ships in the strait, but it’s more like a traffic jam. A growing global population that is getting materially richer means a burgeoning demand for goods.
HONG KONG — Flying into Singapore’s Changi Airport, visitors often remark on the hundreds of vessels, from supertankers to freighters, anchored along the coastline. Why are there so many? What are they doing there?
A decade ago, the global recession created a maritime car park of apparent ghost ships in the Singapore Strait — vessels sat idle in the world’s busiest shipping lane as companies were going bust or did not have enough business to justify their use.
Now there’s a similar stockpiling of ships in the strait, but it’s more like a traffic jam. A growing global population that is getting materially richer means a burgeoning demand for goods.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
China defends belt and road strategy against debt trap claims
Reuters file photo - A map illustrating China's "One Belt, One Road" megaproject at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.05 March, 2019
BEIJING — China has sought to defend its ailing “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) from mounting international criticism ahead of an important summit in April to fine-tune the multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment programme.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Explainer: What does a giant dislodged iceberg mean for us in Singapore?
By NEO RONG WEI
03 March, 2019
SINGAPORE — An iceberg roughly two-and-a-half times the size of Singapore could break away from a western Antarctic ice shelf in weeks, said the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) last month.
It is the result of a rift, known as a Halloween crack, intersecting with another fissure which was stable for the past 35 years but which recently started accelerating northwards.
The two rifts are set to meet in a few weeks, experts estimate, which will lead to the iceberg calving, or being dislodged.
There is “no one reason” that can explain the calving at Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, said Professor Benjamin Horton of Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment.
Ice is melting everywhere, although the western Antarctic is the most sensitive and the fastest melting region, he said.
03 March, 2019
SINGAPORE — An iceberg roughly two-and-a-half times the size of Singapore could break away from a western Antarctic ice shelf in weeks, said the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) last month.
It is the result of a rift, known as a Halloween crack, intersecting with another fissure which was stable for the past 35 years but which recently started accelerating northwards.
The two rifts are set to meet in a few weeks, experts estimate, which will lead to the iceberg calving, or being dislodged.
There is “no one reason” that can explain the calving at Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, said Professor Benjamin Horton of Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment.
Ice is melting everywhere, although the western Antarctic is the most sensitive and the fastest melting region, he said.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Singapore’s giant reserves: a taxing question for its next prime minister, Heng Swee Keat
It’s budget season in the Lion City, which can only mean one thing: a debate over whether more of the revenue from Singapore’s giant reserves should be used to offset taxes
The prime minister in waiting – Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – is to unveil the budget on Monday
The prime minister in waiting – Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat – is to unveil the budget on Monday
- Jing Yng Ng
- Bhavan Jaipragas
- 16 Feb, 2019
It’s a mouthful, but in the coming weeks the term is likely to be on the lips of many of the Lion City’s lawmakers as they debate the national budget Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will unveil on Monday. The NIRC is the amount of Singapore government revenue that comes from interest earned on its outsize reserves.
The city state has elaborate rules on how much a sitting government can rely on past reserves. Among them are requirements that the administration is not mired in net debt, and that only up to 50 per cent of long-term expected returns can be used each year.
The NIRC is computed based on long-term expected returns from net assets invested by three entities as well as investment income.
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