SINGAPORE — Singapore’s amateur golfer, Aloysa Margiela Atienza, is determined to fulfil her ambition of becoming a professional athlete. At 25 years old, Atienza has already demonstrated her exceptional skills with remarkable achievements at the 2022 SEA Games and the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship held earlier this year in January.
Atienza made her SEA Games debut for Team Singapore in Vietnam and won the silver medal in the women’s golf individual event. She achieved a personal best and set a course record of seven under (65) during the final round at Heron Lake Golf Course. This remarkable accomplishment brought glory to Singapore and established Atienza as one of the most promising golfers in the region.
Photo credit: Saltine Communications
“I firmly believe in the mantra ‘hard work pays off. I embrace the challenges and the long hours of practice and repetition required to excel in golf. Representing Singapore and winning a medal at the SEA Games has been a dream come true, and it has fueled my ambition to compete at the highest level,” expressed Atienza.
Proving her growth potential on the international stage, Atienza had an outstanding performance in various tournaments last year. Her notable achievements include a third-place finish at the 2022 Malaysian Amateur Open and a joint-13th position at the Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs.
At the SCGA Women’s Amateur Championship, Atienza displayed her skills and determination by securing a remarkable second-place finish. Despite missing the title, she showcased her talent and resilience alongside tournament winner Ashley Yun.
Adding to her ever-growing list of accolades, Atienza also claimed a commendable third-place finish at the Donna Andrews Invitational in 2022. These consistent achievements highlight Atienza’s continuous progress and potential as a rising star in the golfing world.
Photo: Website screengrab / wagr.com
As Atienza prepares for the next phase in her golfing journey to turn professional, she is currently getting herself ready for Stage 1 of the LPGA Q-School in California at the end of August. After that, she will be representing Singapore at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, this September, aiming to make her mark on the international stage again. Additionally, Atienza is considering participation in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi in October.
In her relentless pursuit of becoming a professional golfer, Atienza has embarked on a strategic journey, travelling far and wide to compete alongside some of the best amateur players. Since May, she has dedicated herself to the United States, where she has soaked in the invaluable experiences of playing on diverse and challenging courses and adapting to ever-changing conditions. This immersive exposure has sharpened her skills as an athlete and cultivated her personal growth, setting the stage for her triumphant foray into the professional realm.
She has competed in several tournaments since her move overseas. In June, she came in 19th position in the Southwestern Amateur event. In July, she competed in the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship and Women’s Western Amateur Championship, while she placed 43rd at the recent Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship that was held earlier in Aug.
Since her move overseas, she has participated in multiple tournaments. In June, she achieved a 19th position in the Southwestern Amateur event. A month later, she competed in the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship and the Women’s Western Amateur Championship. In the recent Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in August, she placed 43rd.
Prizm Digital Singapore will be leading fundraising efforts to support Atienza on her path to becoming a professional golfer. Further details on these fundraising initiatives will be announced in the near future.
SINGAPORE: “The size had reduced significantly…,” wrote a netizen who posted a photo of a Sausage McMuffin in his hand on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Tuesday (Aug 15).
The famed breakfast sandwich fit into the cupped palm of Mr Al Asaraf Omar Chulia’s hand, giving many the impression that it was significantly smaller than it used to be.
A Sausage McMuffin is supposed to be 4 ounces or 115 grams. And while the fast food giant’s exact specifications for its offerings are very likely to be a closely guarded secret, the sandwich is said to have been patterned after the English muffin, which is commonly 4 inches (10 cm) round and 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) tall.
Photo: McDonald’s SG website
Netizens commenting on the post agreed that it looked smaller than usual, with one asking if it was a kid’s meal, something that had crossed the post author’s mind.
Another agreed, writing that he had “Paid adult price for kid size portion. Look at Big Mac meat patty. So thin…”
A commenter jokingly called it a “Penyet McMuffin.” Penyet is a Javanese term for “pressed” or “squeezed,” which is how it’s used in the dish “ayam penyet.”
Other netizens said that various McDonald’s items have also decreased in size.
“I had sent feedback to McDonald but no responses or they don’t even want to respond. Last time, eat 1 meal will be full. Now is have to eat 2 Sausage McMuffin then is call full,” wrote another.
The Independent Singapore has reached out to Mr Al Asaraf Omar Chulia, as well as to McDonald’s, for further comments. /TISG
SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Aug 15), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released the application details for cooks in Indian restaurants, which will be able to hire cooks from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
In the past, Singapore employers in services and manufacturing industries have hired work permit holders from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan. The list has since expanded to workers from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, or the Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) with work permits.
This will help address the manpower crunch that has affected certain sectors.
MOM said in a release on Aug 15 that the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS OL) it had announced at the Committee of Supply 2022 will be implemented with effect beginning on Sept 1 of this year.
“The NTS OL is intended to help firms adjust to the S Pass qualifying salary and levy increases by allowing them access to NTS Work Permit holders for occupations with pressing manpower needs, but see low take-up by locals and are harder to automate,” said the Ministry.
Two more job roles have been added to the NTS OL: housekeepers and porters.
In the same release, MOM provided details for applications to work as cooks at Indian restaurants for individuals from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Singapore restaurants are currently allowed to hire Work Permit holders from Malaysia, People’s Republic of China and North Asian Sources.
“We appreciate the Government’s effort in coming up with the NTS OL scheme to allow Indian restaurants to hire cooks at the Work Permit level. This will help us greatly in our mission to serve authentic Indian cuisine and preserve the Indian heritage in Singapore,” MOM quoted Mr S.Mahenthiran, Chief Executive Officer, Catering Solutions and Honorary Secretary of the Indian Restaurants Association of Singapore, as saying.
From Sept 1, Indian restaurants wishing to hire NTS Work Permit Holders may apply via a FormSG link on the MOM website.
“Applications will be assessed on their eligibility by a panel comprising industry and government stakeholders in Indian cuisine. Eligible Indian restaurants may thereafter submit their Work Permit applications via MOM’s Work Permit Online (WPOL),” the Ministry added.
SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party launched a series of videos on public housing on Wednesday (Aug 16), with Sengkang GRC Member of Parliament Louis Chua getting the ball rolling by putting his finger on the crux of the matter: that people want their homes to be affordable, and yet expect them to be an ever-increasing asset.
With over 80 per cent of Singaporeans living in HDB flats, public housing is surely part of the country’s success story. In the first instalment of the WP’s mini-series, The Property Slide, Mr Chua noted that public housing costs have increased by over 30 per cent in the past few years.
But on the other hand, Mr Chua noted that older Singaporeans increasingly rely on their primary property, which they rely on for their retirement, “may find that this valuable retirement will get eroded with the passage of time.”
The two major factors to consider, in other words, are affordability and retirement adequacy.
This is a problem because the model of the public housing market, built on ever-appreciating prices, cannot be sustainable, said Mr Chua.
And while it can be said that HDB flats are an appreciating asset, “there is still the issue of the 99-year-lease,” he added,” where “if all else goes according to plan, the higher the prices go, the harder the fall.
He also mentioned the widening disparity between the value of older HDB flats, whose lease term is approaching, and the newer BTO flats, a problem Singapore will see more of in mature estates.
Mr Chua’s fellow Sengkang MP, who shared the video, put it this way: “On one hand, we want to have affordable public housing that all Singaporeans can call a home, while on the other, we want this same house to be the main way that we finance our retirement, since we pay for it with our CPF. These goals are hard to reconcile, since in one case we want the flat to be as cheap as possible, but in the other, we want it to fetch as much as possible. #makingyourvotecount” /TISG
SINGAPORE: In an interview with YouTube Max Chernov, Ms Juliet Standard, a Director at CitiProp Property Management, said that rental rates in Singapore have decreased, reversing skyrocketing prices in 2021 and especially 2022.
Ms Stannard, who had lived in Singapore for 30 years, said rental rates had fallen sharply. “They’ve literally fallen off a cliff. Just all of a sudden there’s been a correction with the supply of new properties.”
The UK-born real estate maven noted that these new properties are partially responsible for the drop in rental prices.
A number of properties have been completed after the lull in construction during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has freed up units for rent as HDB flats get occupied.
2022 had been “crazy” for the rental market, Ms Stannard said, which spread even until the beginning of the year.
However, this appears to have abated.
Mr Chernow’s video interview of Ms Stannard was published on Aug 13 (Sunday) and has already racked up over 40,000 views. However, it appears to have been taped a few months ago, perhaps in June, because she made reference to more foreigners being expected to return in July and August,after the summer break of international schools.
She does not expect rental prices to come back all the way down to pre-spike levels, especially in areas such as Sentosa. But areas that are less in demand are more negotiable, and the market is likely to correct even more toward the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.
“But it takes a few months for landlords to start accepting the fact that they’re not getting these peak prices anymore,” she added.
Would-be renters would be wise to look into East Coast, where “there’s more for your dollar,” said Ms Stannard.
She also mentioned River Valley as an area with “a lot of choice”, as well as Pasir Panjang and Keppel.
Interestingly, Ms Stannard said that new properties are more expensive but are smaller, although they may have fancier amenities. She advises people to look at older developments instead. /TISG
Singapore treasury bills (T-bills for short) are short-term debt securities issued by the Singapore Government. They are available in two formats: six months or one year and are issued in tranches several times throughout the year. The minimum investment sum is S$1,000.
Since the Government has never once defaulted, T-bills carry the highest-possible credit ratings of AAA. This makes them one of the lowest-risk investments available.
T-bills are structured a little differently than bonds. Instead of paying out a coupon at set intervals, they are sold to investors at a discount to the par value – with the difference being the return on investment or yield.
For example, if you purchase a 1-year T-bill with a yield of 4% per annum for S$10,000, you’d pay only S$9,600 (96% x S$10,000). At the end of the T-Bill’s tenure, you will receive S$10,000, “earning” S$400 in the process.
Note that the yield on T-bills is only determined at auction, so there’s no way to know beforehand what your exact return on investment will be. However, the historical yields of T-bills can act as a reliable benchmark.
Lastly, T-bills are tradable on the open market, creating an alternative way to turn a profit. This may be difficult to achieve in practice, given the low trading volume and liquidity.
What’s the Difference Between 6-Month and 1-Year T-Bills?
6-month T-bill
1-year T-bill
Tenor
6 months
12 months
Latest yield
3.75%
3.67%
Frequency
Twice a month
Once per quarter
The table above displays the three main differences between 6-month and 1-year T-bills – tenor, yield and frequency.
Tenor is self-explanatory: a 6-month T-bill has a duration for six months, and a 1-year T-bill has a duration of 12 months. This can impact your investing decision, which we will discuss in further detail later on.
The yield offered on both types of T-bills differs. Traditionally, a longer-term T-bill will attract a higher yield compared to its shorter-term counterpart; this is to make up for the opportunity cost incurred in holding an investment for longer.
However, T-bill yields are determined via auction. According to the latest yields at the time of writing, 6-month T-bills have a slightly higher yield – 3.75% over 3.67%. Although not significant, this reflects greater demand among investors for the shorter-term yield, which may be prompted by expectations of a pause (or reversal, even) in US Fed rate hikes.
The third difference between 6-month and 1-year T-bills is the frequency of issuance. 6-month T-bills are issued twice a month, so they may be considered more flexible and convenient. Meanwhile, 1-year T-bills are issued once every quarter, and may demand a tighter grasp on timing.
Which T-Bill Should You Choose – 6-Month or 1-Year?
Recall that while T-bills are tradeable on the open market, a favourable trade may be difficult to attain, given the low liquidity and volume. This means that when you invest in T-bills, you should expect to hold them for the entire duration in order to receive the yield in full.
Accordingly, you should choose carefully whether to purchase a 6-month or a 1-year T-bill.
You may wish to consider:
Your investment timeline. If you need your money back within a few months, choosing the 6-month T-bill will prove more suitable. Only choose the 1-year T-bill if you can remain invested for 12 months or more.
Your perspective on the market. If you believe the stock market will soon offer a better yield than T-bills, choosing a shorter tenor will give you greater flexibility to respond accordingly. However, if you feel the market will remain depressed, you may want to lock in your returns by choosing a T-bill with a longer tenor.
Availability of T-bill. The timing of your investment may also determine which you may choose. If you are looking to invest in T-bills right now but don’t want to wait another three months for the next tranche of 1-year T-bills, your only option would be to invest in a 6-month T-bill instead.
To be sure, the differences between 6-month and 1-year T-bills are really quite minor – and may be negligible over time. The main consideration really is how soon you may need your money back.
To start investing in T-bills, here’s what you’ll need.
A bank account with DBS/POSB, UOB or OCBC
A Central Depository Account (CDP) linked to the bank account you want to invest with
If investing using your CPF Ordinary Account or Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)
A CPF Investment Account or SRS Account with DBS/POSB, UOB or OCBC
Bidding for T-Bills
Once you have set up the appropriate account, you can start applying for the latest available T-bills. As mentioned earlier, T-bills are sold via auction. During application, you will be asked to choose between competitive and non-competitive bids.
Competitive bids for T-bills
A competitive bid allows you to specify the minimum yield you are willing to accept for investing in the T-bill. This is expressed in percentage terms, up to two decimal places.
If your bid is too high, it will be rejected. Hence, the lower the yield, the more competitive your bid will be. Note that you can submit multiple competitive bids.
Non-competitive bids for T-bills
In a non-competitive bid, you only need to specify your investment amount. You are willing to accept the cut-off yield, which is the highest accepted yield of successful competitive bids.
Non-competitive bids will be allotted first, up to 40% of the total issuance amount. If the amount of non-competitive bids exceeds 40%, the bond will be allocated to you on a prorated basis.
The balance of the issue amount will be awarded to competitive bids from the lowest to highest yields.
Source: iStock
Besides T-Bills, What Are Some Similar Securities You Can Invest In?
If T-bills don’t exactly suit your requirements, consider these other securities issued by the Singapore government.
SGS Bonds
Singapore Government Securities (SGS) bonds pay a fixed interest rate, and are available in a wide range of tenors – from two years to 50 years.
At present, there are three categories of SGS bonds as follows:
SGS (Market Development): to develop the domestic debt market
SGS (Infrastructure): to finance major, long-term infrastructure
Green SGS (Infrastructure): to finance major, long-term green infrastructure developments
SGS bonds are issued every month, and require a minimum investment amount of S$1,000. Once bought, you can expect a payout from your SGS bond once every six months. Historically, SGS bonds have yielded between 2.67% to 3.5%.
Singapore Savings Bonds
Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) are fully-backed debt instruments with 100% capital guarantee. That means you can redeem your bonds at any time with no penalty, to receive your principal amount and any accrued interest.
For that reason, SSBs are highly flexible, and do not require you to decide on a specific investment period at the start.
Each SSB has a tenor of 10 years, with coupon payments twice a year. The annual interest paid gradually increases, hitting its highest levels towards the final few years of the bond. Hene, it is preferable to hold your SSB for the full duration in order to receive the highest returns.
The August 2023 tranche of SSB pays an interest of between 2.97% to 3.04% per annum.
Interested in investing to grow your wealth? Start off on the right foot with our reviews of the best online brokerages in 2023.
The article originally appeared on ValueChampion.
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SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old maid took to social media after she went back home for her father’s funeral but found out that her employer had cancelled her Work Permit (WP) despite agreeing not to.
In a post to a Facebook support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the maid wrote that she was from the Philippines and had been working in Singapore for almost 11 months. She wrote that her father suddenly passed away and she asked her employer for three weeks of leave, after which she will come back. Her employers agreed and so she left all of her belongings in their house.
A week after she returned to the Philippines, her employer told her that she did not need to come back to work for them. They also cancelled her Work Permit without informing her. She added that it put her in a very difficult situation as all her belongings, clothes and documents were left in their house.
When the maid asked her employer to send her things back to her, the woman informed her to arrange for it herself and pay for it. “I don’t know what to do now . I work hard and do my job and I also take good care of their 2 years old son and house chores. What should I do can someone advice or help me” the maid wrote.
Here’s what netizens who commented on the post said:
On the flip side, another employer who sent her maid on “emergency leave” found out that the helper did not want to come back to return to work for her.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, the woman explained that her domestic helper went on leave and told her she needed to go as it was an emergency. Trying to be kind, the family sent her back for a month. The woman added that after returning home, the maid asked her to cancel her Work Permit (WP) as “she wants to join another family where she used to work on her off days”.
‘This place does not deserve 1.8 stars’ — TikToker says after tasting $16 fried rice at the ‘worst-rated restaurant’ in Singapore
Photo: TikTok screengrab/drigmo
SINGAPORE: In a country of people unafraid to give their opinions on food, one TikTok user bravely set out to try Singapore’s “worst-rated restaurant” but came away saying he would add it to his favourites.
TikTok user @drigmo went over to the Forum Seafood Village Restaurant at Boat Quay to sample the dishes that have earned the eatery an average of 1.8 stars on Google. Trip Advisor and sethlui.com have also been less than friendly.
Tharman draws attention to climate change, calls it Singapore’s biggest challenge
SINGAPORE: When asked recently, presidential aspirant Tharman Shanmugaratnam identified climate change as the biggest challenge is climate change.
Earlier this week, in an Aug 15 article published in The Straits Times, Mr Tharman called climate change the “biggest long-term crisis” the country faces, adding that adapting to the phenomena means infrastructural investments.
‘I just feel worse with each passing day’ says NUS biz grad who’s been job hunting since January
Photo: Freepik (for illustration purposes only)
SINGAPORE: A fresh graduate took to Reddit to crowdsource ideas for job hunting, saying he’s been looking for employment since the beginning of the year and is starting to feel hopeless.
u/Ill-Cry-825 wrote on r/askSingapore on Monday (Aug 14) that he graduated from NUS Business School last May. His credentials are pretty good: “I was a marketing & ops student, and I’ve done 3 marketing internships. I have leadership experience and I’ve taken various certs/courses.”
Shanmugam shuts down rumours of an affair with fellow MP, says someone impersonating his ex-wife also put up a “nasty, false post”
Photo: YouTube screengrab / K Shanmugam
SINGAPORE: K Shanmugam was quick to shut down circulating rumours on Wednesday (Aug 16) night after an old blog post was shared claiming that he had an affair with fellow PAP MP.
Mr Shanmugam also said there was another post allegedly by his ex-wife Jothie Rajah, which was also false.
SINGAPORE: Leong Mun Wai filed a formal complaint with Seah Kian Peng on Wednesday (Aug 16) over statements made by Murali Pillai in Parliament earlier in the month.
Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Mr Leong said that the Hansard for the debate on the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Bill during the parliamentary sitting on 3 August 2023 shows that Mr Murali appears to have said that “[t]he hon Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Mr Leong Mun Wai had advocated some form of low-rent control”.
“This statement imputed improper motives to me as he had claimed I was advocating for rent control when I had not made any such statement during the debate.
Subsequently, when I rose to clarify this statement with Mr Murali, he appears to have stated three times that he did not assert that I had advocated “some form of low-rent control” in my speech, despite expressly doing so earlier in his statement, and refused to retract said statement”, Mr Leong wrote.
He added that Mr Murali’s clarifications “confused the public and created the misleading impression that I was accusing Mr Murali of claiming that I was advocating for rent control when he did not”.
“If the Speaker finds that Mr Murali has said words that were at odds with my speech and imputed improper motives to me, I have also requested that Mr Murali make a statement to the House to retract his original statement and apologise for the misleading impression that was created”, Mr Leong added in his Facebook post.
Mr Leong’s full letter:
In Parliament, Mr Leong said he did not like the inference that Mr Murali had made, which was that he was trying to recommend pushing down rents “and toward the direction of rent control”. The NCMP then said this was “the same pattern” used by the Government to label him – of trying to raid the reserves when he spoke on lowering home prices. In making this point, Mr Leong brought his fist down to hit the rostrum.
Mr Murali then reiterated that he was not making any specific insinuation about rent control on Mr Leong. Mr Seah then stepped in, noting that what both MPs had said would be recorded clearly in the Hansard.
Shanmugam shuts down rumours of an affair with fellow MP, says someone impersonating his ex-wife also put up a “nasty, false post”
Photo: YouTube screengrab / K Shanmugam
SINGAPORE: K Shanmugam was quick to shut down circulating rumours on Wednesday (Aug 16) night after an old blog post was shared claiming that he had an affair with fellow PAP MP.
Mr Shanmugam also said there was another post allegedly by his ex-wife Jothie Rajah, which was also false.
‘I just feel worse with each passing day’ says NUS biz grad who’s been job hunting since January
Photo: Freepik (for illustration purposes only)
SINGAPORE: A fresh graduate took to Reddit to crowdsource ideas for job hunting, saying he’s been looking for employment since the beginning of the year and is starting to feel hopeless.
u/Ill-Cry-825 wrote on r/askSingapore on Monday (Aug 14) that he graduated from NUS Business School last May. His credentials are pretty good: “I was a marketing & ops student, and I’ve done 3 marketing internships. I have leadership experience and I’ve taken various certs/courses.”
Ex WP NCMP Yee Jenn Jong calls timeline for Presidential Election ‘impossible’ and says that only candidates sure of eligibility have time to prepare
Yee Jenn Jong FB
SINGAPORE: Former Workers’ Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong expressed concerns over the tight schedule for the upcoming Presidential Election, writing in an Aug 14 (Monday) Facebook post, “If we think about the timeline, you will realise how seriously it is making a mockery of the system.”
He underlines the amount of work and logistics that go into a “proper campaign at the national level,” which include “printing of posters, banners, hanging them up, plus preparing manifesto, visits, media campaigns etc.,” and adding that some of these activities may only be done when a candidate’s eligibility is confirmed.
Man shocked at being charged $50 fee for parking only 14 minutes at Golden Mile Tower
Photo: FB screengrab/Complaint Singapore
SINGAPORE: A netizen took to social media after he was shocked to experience a parking charge of $50 he had to pay even for parking less than a quarter of an hour.
“Most expensive parking in Singapore. $50 for 14 minutes in golden mile tower. #LHN,” wrote Mr Frank Ly on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page on Aug 14 (Sunday).
