Victoria’s Secret scraps annual fashion show

Lydia Koh

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November 25, 2019

Victoria’s Secret scraps annual fashion show

For the past two decades, US lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret has been one of the most popular fashion shows but now the company is axing its annual show due to controversy and weak financial results in the #MeToo era.

After several years of declining TV viewership, the decision reflects a shift towards brands seen as more empowering of women such as singer Rihanna’s.

Victoria’s Secret is often condemned for objectifying women and recently struggling to appeal to the younger generation of lingerie shoppers who prefer simpler and less sexualised designs.

The lingerie brand also received negative publicity surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, its owner who killed himself in prison this year while awaiting trial on charges he trafficked underage girls for sex.

First aired in 1995, the fashion show features models parading around with angels’ wings on their backs.

The venue changes from year to year and it was broadcast around the world.

Since 2014, American viewers have declined by almost a third, from nine million then to 3.3 million in December last year.

Stuart Burgdoerfer, finance director of parent company L Brands confirmed the decision to cancel the show, during a conference call with analysts about the brand’s latest quarterly results.

Highly sought-after supermodels like Gisele Bündchen and Naomi Campbell were attracted to Victoria’s Secret’s glamour.

Despite recent leadership changes, the brand had not been able to achieve a new lease on life even though it was the jewel in L Brands’ crown for many years.

In the last two years, sales have been slipping, weighing on the bottom line of L Brands which reported a net loss of $252 million in the third quarter, against a $43 million loss a year earlier.

The brand’s sales in the third quarter of 2019 were just over $1 billion, down seven per cent from the same period in 2018.

Since February, more than 30 of its stores have closed.

Victoria’s Secret is paying the price for some marketing blunders facing much criticism for having little regard for diversity in its choice of models.

Marketing director Ed Razek ruled out using transgender or plus-size models in future shows days after last year’s show.

As demands for greater diversity on catwalks increases, Razek made ill-judged comments.

On social media that sparked an outcry which he later apologised for.

Disgraced hedge fund manager Epstein who was accused of multiple sexual assaults on young women, many of them teenagers has also been linked with the brand.

Epstein is close to L Brands founder Leslie Wexner. The hedge fund manager was arrested in July.

It was thought that Wexner was Epstein’s biggest financial backer for a while after hiring him as a financial advisor in the 1980s.

In 2008, after Epstein’s conviction for sex crimes with underage girls surfaced, Wexner severed ties with him.

Countless women who accused Epstein of sexual assault said they were recruited to work for him on the false promise that he would get them jobs as Victoria’s Secret models.

Model Alliance, a models’ rights group noted the show’s cancellation, confirmed that 100 models have signed a letter calling on Victoria’s Secret to join its “Respect” programme aimed at preventing sexual assault and fostering fair working conditions.

Rihanna seems to be the new ambassador of the lingerie market with her “Savage X Fenty” while Victoria’s Secret continues to slide.

Rihanna’s brand is about diversity and it hopes to project an image of women as the masters of their own bodies and desires.

Supermodels Cara Delevingne as well as Gigi and Bella Hadid modelled its lingerie at New York Fashion Week in September.

Supermodel Bella Hadid said that it was the first time on the runway where she felt really sexy.-/TISG

Brad Bowyer corrects FB post on Temasek and GIC after govt invokes fake news law

Obbana Rajah

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November 25, 2019

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Brad Bowyer corrects FB post on Temasek and GIC after govt invokes fake news law

Former People’s Action Party (PAP) member and current Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member Brad Bowyer issued a correction to a Facebook post of his after the government invoked the first use of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), aimed at tackling fake news.

In a Facebook post on November 13, Bowyer commented on issues such as investment decisions by Temasek and GIC, and Keppel Corporation’s finances.

A statement made earlier today read that “The Facebook post by Mr Brad Bowyer contains false statements of fact and misleading statements”.

It was clarified that, “Mr Bowyer implies that the Singapore Government controls Temasek’s and GIC’s commercial decisions. This is false.

The Government does not influence, let alone direct, the individual investment decisions made by Temasek and GIC. Which companies they invest in, or divest from, is entirely the responsibility of their respective management teams. The Government likewise does not interfere in the commercial decisions of Temasek’s and GIC’s portfolio companies”.

In a statement on his own social media page today, Bowyer wrote that he amended his post “regarding Bharti Airtel, Salt Bae and various recent policy decisions with a correction notice which links to the government’s position”, adding that he had “no problem in following that request (for correction) as I feel it is fair to have both points of view and clarifications and corrections of fact when necessary”.

However, Bowyer wrote that he still personally felt that POFMA was “rushed through”.

Pofma was passed in Parliament in May, and enforced from Oct 2. It gives ministers the power to order removal or corrections of online falsehoods, as well as the blocking of accounts or sites that spread untruths. A person who disagrees with a minister’s decision can have his appeal heard in the High Court as early as nine days after initiating a challenge to the minister, although the minister can decide whether to allow the appeal against his decision to reach the court.

The appeal will cost the defendant S$200, with no charge for the first three days of court hearing.

Also read: Ex-Briton disappointed at not being inducted to PAP CEC switches to NSP

The government’s full statement:

Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehoods posted by Mr Brad Bowyer

1. The Facebook post by Mr Brad Bowyer contains false statements of fact and misleading statements.

Falsehoods

I. Singapore Government’s involvement in investment decisions by Temasek and GIC

2. Mr Bowyer implies that the Singapore Government controls Temasek’s and GIC’s commercial decisions. This is false.

3. The Government does not influence, let alone direct, the individual investment decisions made by Temasek and GIC. Which companies they invest in, or divest from, is entirely the responsibility of their respective management teams. The Government likewise does not interfere in the commercial decisions of Temasek’s and GIC’s portfolio companies.

4. Temasek and GIC are run on market principles, independent of the Government. Many of their portfolio companies are publicly listed. The Government’s role is to ensure that Temasek and GIC have competent boards, which ensure that their respective mandates are met. The Government also holds the boards of Temasek and GIC accountable for their respective overall performances.

II. Amaravati Project

5. Mr Bowyer says “…we also saw the recent canning of the Amaravati city project part of the S$4 billion already dumped into Andhra Pradesh by GLCs and related parties so India has not been so good an investment choice after all…”. There are implicit factual assertions that (1) a substantial part of S$4 billion invested in Andhra Pradesh was put into the Amaravati project; and (2) S$4 billion has been poorly invested (“dumped”) by Government-linked companies (“GLCs”) and related parties in Andhra Pradesh. These are false.

6. First, the Singapore Consortium (comprising Ascendas Singbridge Pte Ltd (now part of CapitaLand Group) and Sembcorp Development Ltd) in the Amaravati project has stated publicly that the costs incurred have been limited to design services prior to commencement of execution works on the ground, amounting to a few million dollars. There are no billions of dollars involved.

7. Second, not only GLCs and related parties have invested in Andhra Pradesh. Several other Singaporean companies have also done so. An example of a non-GLC investment in Andhra Pradesh is Indus Coffee Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of a listed company in Singapore.

III. Salt Bae

8. Mr Bowyer asserts that Temasek invested in the debt-ridden parent company which owns Salt Bae. This is false.

9. The Salt Bae chain of restaurants is owned by a company called D.ream International BV, which operates 60 restaurants throughout the world via four operating subsidiaries. Temasek invested in D.ream International BV, and not in one of D.ream International BV’s shareholders called Doğuş Holding A.Ş. The company that is reportedly in difficulties according to the article cited by Mr Bowyer, is Doğuş Holding A.Ş., and not D.ream International BV.

Additional Clarifications

10. Additional clarifications on the points Mr Bowyer has raised are set out below.

Temasek, GIC and public funds

11. Mr Bowyer uses false and misleading statements to smear the reputation of Temasek and GIC:

a. Over the past 20 years, Temasek’s total shareholder return has been 7% (annualised, in SGD terms). Temasek’s overall portfolio has grown from less than S$100 billion in 2002 to over S$300 billion today.

b. Temasek is subject to market scrutiny and discipline. Since 2004, Temasek has published its financial information annually. Temasek also issues Bonds and Eurocommercial Paper to retail, institutional, accredited and other specified investors as part of its financial discipline. Additionally, Temasek has been rated Aaa by Moody’s Investors Service and AAA by S&P Global Ratings, ever since its inaugural ratings in 2004.

c. Under the Net Investment Returns (NIR) framework, the expected returns of Temasek, GIC and MAS together, contribute around 20% of Government revenue currently. The Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC) is the single largest contributor to Government revenue, exceeding GST.

d. This contrasts starkly with most other countries. In the United States, 1 out of every 10 dollars of US federal government revenue goes towards servicing interest payments on the federal debt. In Singapore, 1 out of every 5 dollars of revenue spent comes from the returns on our reserves. In other words, instead of having to tax citizens to service interest on government debt, Singapore has managed to increase social and other spending through NIRC from Temasek, GIC and MAS, while keeping taxes low.

e. Temasek and GIC are managed prudently and competently. No other sovereign wealth funds have contributed so significantly to national budgets and the economy, without relying on natural resources or a large domestic economy.

Keppel

12. Mr Bowyer suggests Keppel Corporation or its subsidiary has suffered losses due to the $0.5 billion fine imposed. This is misleading.

13. In the last 33 years, Keppel has made profits every year. In the last 4 years, Keppel has made profits of S$3.4 billion, including a S$196 million net profit in the year when the Brazilian fine was imposed. Keppel has been declaring dividends regularly as a listed company to all its shareholders, including Temasek.

Bharti Airtel

14. Mr Bowyer refers to Singtel’s investment in Bharti Airtel. Singtel’s shareholding today is valued at S$13 billion, which is more than double its investment to date of S$5.1 billion. Bharti Airtel faces a number of recent regulatory and Indian Supreme Court decisions. These are matters for Bharti Airtel and Singtel to address.

Amaravati Project

15. Mr Bowyer suggests that S$4 billion in investments by GLCs and related parties in Andhra Pradesh have all been doing poorly. Mr Bowyer makes this sweeping statement, but gives no basis for it.

/TISG

LKY’s policies for quashing student protests may not be effective for demonstrations in HK today —analyst

Anna Maria Romero

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November 25, 2019

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LKY’s policies for quashing student protests may not be effective for demonstrations in HK today —analyst

Hong Kong— The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that while demonstrators have faced off against the police in different universities in Hong Kong since earlier this month, quotes from Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew have been circulating on Whats App, with some speculating on what Mr Lee would have done concerning the increasingly violent demonstrations.

SCMP reports that in 2005, Mr Lee had said to Time magazine what he told Li Peng, the former premier of China who had earned the moniker “Butcher of Beijing” for his crackdown on student protests, moves that included declaring martial law.

When he was relatively new at governing Singapore and was faced with student protests in the 1950s and ‘60s, Lee Kuan Yew had depended largely on the protesting students’ own parents.

He told Time, “When I had trouble with my sit-in communist students, squatting in school premises and keeping their teachers captive, I cordoned off the whole area around the schools, shut off the water and electricity, and just waited.

I told their parents that health conditions were deteriorating, dysentery was going to spread. And they broke it up without any difficulty.

I said to Li Peng, you had the world’s television cameras there waiting for the meeting with [then Soviet Union leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, and you stage this grand show. His answer was: ‘We are completely inexperienced in these matters’.”

In 1961, the student union and Chinese middle-school students at then-Nanyang University, staged a boycott of yearend exams, with masked students picketing schools and preventing other students from entering.

Mr Lee continued, “This was part of the general turmoil the communists sought to create. They wanted the Chinese school students into the act … but we refused to use the police to break up their picket.”

The government spoke to the parents instead, with Yong Nyuk Lin, who was the education minister at that time, telling parents to “assert their parental authority by going to the picket lines and taking their children home. It is not the government’s intention to give communists an excuse to say that police are manhandling students”.

This resulted in parents helping children gain access to where the exams were held, with almost two-thirds of the students completing their exams.

In the years that followed, Singaporean authorities successfully quelled other expressions of student activism, even amending the University of Singapore Act in 1975, which annulled the autonomy of student unions in universities.

But student protests in other Asian countries such as South Korea and the Philippines over the decades have been very different, with university campuses being “highly politicised,” SCMP quotes Nanyang Technological University Alan Chong as saying.

In Hong Kong, Mr Chong says, “you are dealing with intellectuals here and Beijing cannot say these are hoodlums, gangsters or troublemakers”.

Therefore Mr Lee’s practices in quelling student protests may not work in Hong Kong today, since there are a number of social ills that have left many in the city deeply dissatisfied, Mr Chong says.

He believes that the founding Prime Minister of Singapore would have asked for a national dialogue. Mr Chong told SCMP, “if parents, grandparents and pro-democracy legislators are quietly supporting the protests, protesters are not going to be terminated by the use of force. You have to use the soft-power approach.” -/TISG

Founders Memorial: Reminder of the huge vacuum left behind by 1G leaders

PM Lee says similarities in histories and dispositions reason for stronger ties between Singapore, Mexico

Anna Maria Romero

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November 25, 2019

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PM Lee says similarities in histories and dispositions reason for stronger ties between Singapore, Mexico

Singapore—In his recent trip to Mexico, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hailed the growing relations between the two countries, noting that Singapore and Mexico have similar “histories and dispositions,” and saying that this is one of the reasons for the stronger ties.

Addressing Mexico’s Senate on Tuesday, November 19, he said, of Mexico and Singapore,

“We are both former colonies. Singapore was a British settlement, while Mexico was colonised by the Spanish for 300 years. Both were the centres of trade for our respective regions, Asia and the Americas. So our natural instinct is to be outward-looking and to connect to others in the world.”

He added that Mexico’s part in the trade between Acapulco and Manila, Philippines, what he called a” highly profitable venture” that made “fortunes on both sides of the Pacific,” could have been “the first era of globalisation.”

PM Lee added that money from Mexico had “played a small but significant role in Singapore’s own history,” since two hundred years ago, Sir Stamford Raffles, paid the Sultan of Johor in Spanish dollars, which had been made of silver from Mexico.

“Spanish dollars circulated widely in our part of the world as a customary currency, and was one of the world’s first globalised currencies,” the Prime Minister said.

PM Lee also highlighted the similarity of Mexico and Singapore in how both countries are both “strategically located near the centres of our respective regions” which make them not only “gateways to the countries around us,” but also “we can be pathfinders for trade and commerce.”

This, he said, is mutually beneficial.

“A more integrated Asia Pacific, with strong links between the two sides of the Pacific Ocean, gives countries an interest in each other’s economic success. This fosters peace and prosperity, and benefits all countries.”

The Prime Minister went on to say that a business delegation had accompanied him on this trip, since there is at present “significant interest” among companies in Singapore to collaborate with Mexico’s private sector, which include what Mexican President Lopes Obrador has called “artisanal microbusinesses, or small and medium enterprises.”

According to the Prime Minister, the businessmen accompanying him are from “various sectors including infrastructure, logistics, and technology.”

He added that Singapore’s investments in Mexico have been on the increase every year in the last five years, and added, “I am confident that with the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) in effect, our economic ties can only grow further.”

He ended his speech by saying that he looked forward to even stronger ties between the two countries.

“Yet there is much more potential waiting to be developed. Beyond an alignment of economic interest, our two countries and our leaders enjoy good relations, because of our compatible outlooks and approaches to the world. In foreign relations, countries cannot choose our neighbours, but we can certainly choose our friends and partners, however far away they may be. And I am happy that despite our geographical separation, Singapore and Mexico have chosen to be friends and partners with each other. Long may our friendship grow and prosper!”

-/TISG

The Lee brothers share conflicting views on whether their father’s party has changed

Interactive brain-training game on pilot run for children with ADHD

Miren Gonzalez

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November 25, 2019

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Interactive brain-training game on pilot run for children with ADHD

CogoLand is a personalised and interactive brain-training game for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—it’s the first of its kind. The game, which was launched on a pilot run last month with 20 children receiving treatment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), is controlled by analysing the child’s brainwaves to detect their attention level aims to help improve their concentration and focus.

To play CogoLand, which was specifically designed for children with ADHD, the kids are given a headband that tracks and studies their brainwaves. Wearing the headband, they can go through mazes and control their avatar with their minds. Focusing on the character makes it move forward. Losing focus makes the avatar slow down or not move at all.

Photo: Children have to control their avatar with their minds to make it move forward/Neeuro

The aim is for them to finish as many laps as they possibly can in ten minutes. When kids finish each game, they receive results or their “brain score”, which gives them points on categories such as attention and relaxation.

Photo: CogoLand gives each child a “brain score” after each game/Neeuro

ADHD is a neuro-developmental disorder which is characterised by hyperactive behaviour, impulsivity and inattentiveness. CogoLand is good for children with ADHD as it encourages concentration and focus.

“This game is controlled by analysing the child’s brainwaves to detect their attention level. The higher their attention (or concentration), the faster the avatar moves,” said Dr Lim Choon Guan, senior consultant and deputy chief in the Department of Developmental Psychiatry at IMH.

The technology behind it

The use of CogoLand to complement ADHD treatment is the result of a collaboration between IMH, Duke-NUS Medical School and A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research. Neeuro Pte Ltd, a local tech startup and spinoff from A*STAR, is the current sole licensee of the technology.

According to a statement released by Neeuro, “CogoLand was developed through a decade’s worth of extensive research, utilising Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology that incorporates machine learning algorithms to personalise attention training, with the hope of complementing mainstay ADHD treatment.”

Professor Guan Cuntai, technical lead of the system and scientific advisor to Neeuro, spoke of the patented technology—“Our technology can accurately quantify a person’s attention level in real-time using a machine learning algorithm and, from there, develop a unique patented personalised training programme using a feed-forward concept for cognitive training. Further improvements have been made in recent iterations by capitalising on the latest deep learning approaches with our large dataset.”

Dr Lim also noted that “while medication and behavioural therapy are effective in treating symptoms of ADHD in children, some parents are also keen to explore other approaches that can help their children to improve their concentration”.

Pilot run

Last month, 20 children from the ages of six to 12 who are receiving treatment for ADHD at IMH were selected for the pilot run of CogoLand, which is expected to last for the duration of at least one year.

Dr Lim said that the programme would help evaluate if Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology used in the game could relieve or lessen ADHD symptoms.

For the pilot run, each of the 20 children were given a kit to take home and use containing Neeuro’s brainwave-reading headband, the SenzeBand, and a Samsung tablet with the CogoLand game. The kit also comes with a schedule and regimen to follow for the entire programme.

Photo: The SenzeBand, a brainwave-reading headband used to play CogoLand/Neeuro

Kids with ADHD can learn from and take part in the programme from their own homes, with their parents guiding them. CogoLand is meant to be used as a complement to conventional treatment for ADHD and not as the sole treatment.

Clinical trials

Before the pilot run, a randomised clinical trial for CogoLand was conducted, with 172 Singaporean with ADHD as participants.

Principal investigator Associate Professor Lee Tih Shih from Duke-NUS Medical School reported that the results of the clinical trial were “very promising and robust”.

Another analysis of the results led by Duke-NUS also showed positive post-training effects detected in areas of the brain associated with attention, task-orientation and concentration.

“We hope it [the programme] can benefit many children with ADHD in the future,”Assoc Prof Lee said. /TISG

Nigerian senator accused of plagiarising Singapore’s POFMA says similarities only due to common subject matter

Anna Maria Romero

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November 25, 2019

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Nigerian senator accused of plagiarising Singapore’s POFMA says similarities only due to common subject matter

A Nigerian senator who allegedly plagiarized Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) has said that the similarities between his draft bill and POFMA, which took effect on October 2, is because the two bills have a common subject matter.

Accusations that Senator Sani Musa had copied Singapore’s law against online falsehoods made the rounds on Nigeria’s social media platforms on Saturday, November 23, with copies of POFMA shared on these platforms showing that the title and contents of Mr Musa’s bill were very similar to its Singaporean predecessor.

Mr Musa’s bill, entitled the Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations Bill and also known as the anti-social media bill, is undergoing debate in Nigeria’s National Assembly at present.

One criticism came from Frederick Odorige of the Global Coalition for Security Democracy, who said that Mr Musa had “ingeniously substituted the word ‘online’ as used by the Parliament of Singapore for ‘Internet.’”

The senator took to Twitter to defend himself, and his media unit also issued a statement concerning the matter.

Mr Musa wrote,

“The similarity between our draft Bill to make provisions for protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations and for other related matters with the Singaporean Statute on the same subject.

A thread.

It is posterous (sic) that this is said to be an instance of plagiarism. All over the world, Legislation in other Jurisdictions do influence the form and substances in other jurisdictions, particularly and Present the same or similar challenges of regulation.

It is therefore INEVITABLE THAT LESSONS BE DRAWN FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS IN FASHIONING OUT WORKABLE SOLUTIONS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY.

Legislations across the globe are PUBLIC DOCUMENTS and National LEGISLATIONS DO NOT CLAIM RIGHT OVER THEM AS TO FORM THE BASIS FOR PLAGIARISM OVER THEM, their effectiveness being limited to the territorial jurisdiction of each sovereignty. – Sen. Sani Musa 313”

The statement from Mr Musa’s media unit reiterated his points on Twitter, and added, “The general public are therefore kindly advised not to heed to the jejune attempt by uninformed mischief-makers going round distorting what is clearly a no issue. Laws are universal templates adopted and domesticated to fit pecularities (sic).”

However, according to Mr Odorige, the country already has such a bill in place, and Mr Musa’s proposed bill is not needed. He added, “It is unnecessary to duplicate a law which is already under an existing cyber crime (prohibition, prevention, etc.) law passed during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2015.”

Furthermore, a news report from Sahara Reporters says that the Nigerian Senate is actually working on yet another law, one that is against hate speech and a commission that will be known as the “National Commission for the Prohibition of hate Speeches,” to be sponsored by Niger State’s Abdullah Ali Sabi, who is the current Deputy Child Whip of the Senate. -/TISG

Jurong-Clementi TC clears hose reel cabinet one day after Lianhe Wanbao reports on it

Singapore News

Anna Maria Romero

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November 25, 2019

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Jurong-Clementi TC clears hose reel cabinet one day after Lianhe Wanbao reports on it

Singapore—Just one day after Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that mattresses, ladders, and other things that households normally used were being stored in hose reel cabinets at three Housing Board blocks, the Jurong-Clementi Town Council immediately went into action and cleared these cabinets, also informing residents that they cannot keep their household items there. They also promised to continue with their inspections.

The town council informed residents that the cabinets are not allowed as storage spaces because in an emergency, the presence of these items would prevent people from access to the hose.

On Friday, November 22, Lianhe Wanbao reported that residents had “stuffed” mattresses, full-length mirrors, suitcases, ladders and other items both inside the cabinets at three HDB flats at Clementi Road 1, namely 422 HDB and 423 HDB, as well as the car park of 419 HDB.

Furthermore, the outside of the hose reel cabinet on the 19th story of Block 422 also had paint buckets, chairs, electric fans and pots.

According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), an inspection of the blocks was carried out by them on Saturday, November 23. The SCDF added that it would investigate the alleged non-compliance and work with the Town Council to ensure that this would not happen again.

According to the article from Lianhe Wanbao, residents from the blocks say they did not have enough space in their flats, which is why they put items inside and outside the cabinets.

The Straits Times (ST) reports a spokesman from the Jurong-Clementi Town Council as saying,

“We will continue our ongoing inspections at these and other blocks, while reminding residents that storing items in fire hose compartments is not advisable.”

This is the second time this month that the Jurong-Clementi Town Council has been in the news. On November 11, The Independent SG reported that the SCDF released a statement and a warning to the TC following reported malfunctioning of water hose reels.

The SCDF responded to a fire alert at a flat in Bukit Batok on Nov 1.

The fire broke out on the 13th floor of Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 at around 4:30 in the morning.

Three people were rushed to Singapore General Hospital to be treated for burn injuries and smoke inhalation. The SCDF extinguished the fire using emergency vehicles. The fire continued for around half an hour before firefighters extinguished it after 5:30 in the morning.

In their statement, the SCDF revealed that several hose reel cabinets were padlocked and the hose reels had no water supply. “Town Councils are responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of their estates’ fire safety measures,” SCDF said.

They conducted an inspection at the premises and issued the Town Council with a Fire Hazard Abatement Notice due to the non-functioning and padlocked water hose reel.

The Town Council must be responsible for proper compliance. Failure to do so upon the SCDF’s reinspection may warrant a fine or prosecution. -/TISG

SCDF warns Jurong-Clementi Town Council following malfunctioning hose reel

Court documents: Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Khiang disagree they are liable for losses incurred by AHTC

Anna Maria Romero

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November 25, 2019

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Court documents: Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Khiang disagree they are liable for losses incurred by AHTC

Singapore—According to court documents, Members of Parliament (MP) from opposition party The Workers’ Party (WP) Sylvia Lim and Low Thia Khiang disagree that they are legally answerable for the losses incurred by the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC) while under their purview, nor do they owe the AHTC a special duty of care, the Straits Times (ST) reports.

In connection with the AHTC case, last month, High Court Judge Kannan Ramesh delivered a verdict, wherein he called out Ms Lim and Mr Low for improper and dishonest conduct.

The Judge said that the WP MPs “acted dishonestly” and were “in breach of their fiduciary duties.”

According to the Judge, “Their conduct was improper and the attempt to cloak the same with a veneer of truth and credibility collectively leads to the conclusion that they had not acted honestly and therefore breached their duty of unflinching loyalty to AHTC as fiduciaries.”

However, on November 11, Ms Lim and Mr Low, together with WP Secretary-General Pritam Singh, filed a notice to appeal in the case of misuse of funds by Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC). Two Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC), Kenneth Foo Sek Guan and Chua Zhi Hon, also joined WP leaders in filing the appeal.

Ms Lim said that the court had accepted the notice to appeal.

Here are the points of contention in their appeal—that they owe fiduciary duties to the TC, are legally answerable for compensation over particular amounts paid by the TC, that they aren’t protected from personal liability under the Town Councils Act; and that they’ve breached Rule 74 of the Town Councils Financial Rules regarding tender processes.

When the hearing of their case at the Court of Appeal will be has yet to be announced.

Ms Lim and Mr Low maintain positions in the AHTC, with Mr Low being an elected member of the town council and Ms Lim its Vice-Chairperson.

The town council was found to have paid millions in improper payments under the WP MP’s oversight.

On October 11, the High Court Judge said that Ms Lim and Mr Low had placed their own political interests over the interest of their constituents when they awarded contracts to FM Solutions & Services and FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI) without calling a tender.

Between July 2011 to July 2015, AHTC had paid at least S$33.7 million to their town council managing agent FM Solutions & Services (FMSS), which was appointed without tender. Mr Low was the secretary-general of the WP at that time while Ms Lim had chaired AHTC, with Mr Pritam serving as a member of the town council’s committee for tenders and contracts.

On November 5, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat introduced a motion in Parliament calling on AHTC to require Ms Lim and Mr Low to “recuse themselves” from all financial matters related to the town council.

The motion was passed with 52 MPs supporting it, nine opposing it and two abstentions. /TISG

Workers’ Party leaders and town councilors file appeal in AHTC case

Camila Cabello had feelings for Shawn Mendes since 2015

Lydia Koh

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November 25, 2019

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Camila Cabello had feelings for Shawn Mendes since 2015

Pop singer Camila Cabello have been dating boyfriend Shawn Mendes since earlier this year but she just admitted that she had feelings for him since 2015.

The singer who is popular for the song Havana was photographed looking relaxed in gym outfit as she arrived at her vocal coach studio and she said that she bonded with Shawn when they collaborated on their song I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The 22-year-old said that during the creation of the song, she bonded with him as more than a friend.

Camila said that she feels that he did too but since they were both really young, he was also going through pressures of his career.

She told Rolling Stone that they didn’t know what to do with those feelings and it was an awkward thing where they both liked each other but weren’t together and it was ‘weird’.

In 2019, the duo collaborated again for their hit Senorita and then all the feelings started coming back.

Camila shared that their paths didn’t cross in that way romantically until they started hanging out again and writing.

She shared that her Canadian beau feels like home to her and that melted everyone’s hearts.

The couple only started dating since July this year but things are getting serious between the two.

They got tattoos together, with Camila opting for a quote from Shakespeare In Love along the inside of her little finger and boyfriend Shawn opting for the letter A behind his ear.

The two of them are fond of PDA with a recent date seeing them making out with each other at a basketball game.

Camila and Shawn were spotted snuggling up, holding hands and kissing while sitting in the audience at the big game.

In a recent interview in Kuala Lumpur, Shawn shared that the two of them will basically wake up and find the nearest coffee they can find.

The couple will then enjoy food, random conversations and end up watching the movie Tangled.

FORUM: Josephine Teo proposes damage control measures on Singaporeans losing jobs to Foreign Talents

The Independent

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November 25, 2019

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FORUM: Josephine Teo proposes damage control measures on Singaporeans losing jobs to Foreign Talents

By Roger Kok

After Singapore signed the infamous CECA back in 2005, many Singaporean PMETs have been filing complaints of discrimination to the Manpower Ministry through the Fair Consideration Framework. Much damage has been done since, as thousands of FTs have been converted become into Permanent Residents and Citizens.

As a snap General Election is in the cards for PAP in coming months, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo is not taking any chances by reaching out to Employers to help to push back against “negative forces” that lead to anxieties among locals about losing out to foreigners.

Josephine Teo tries to play down the job loss to Singaporean PMETs by saying it is causing anxiety, rather than admitting hardship facing us Singaporeans, who are now becoming Grab drivers to support their families.

After nearly 14 years into CECA, it is an undisputed fact that many Singaporean PMETs have their jobs to Foreign Talents. Under the CECA, visa regulations for Indian professionals in medicine, engineering, finance and information technology were relaxed, making it easier for them to work and migrate to Singapore. CECA also enable movement of persons between both countries, in particular, professionals employed in 127 specific occupations. Many Indian IT companies set-up in Singapore and exploited the “intra-corporate transferee” loophole so as to get more Indian IT workers to work here. They would hire them in India and then “transfer” them to their Singapore subsidiaries to work, without the need to hire any Singaporeans.

Singaporeans have just started to wake up, as their lunches are being taken away. Thousands of Civil Servants, who have supported PAP all these years, are watching their children and grandchildren struggling to secure a decent paying job or are reporting to Managers who are all Foreigners; a grim reminder of how our forefathers were working under their colonial masters to bring food to the table.

In the pretext of CECA, PAP government has converted thousands of FTs into Singapore citizens to win votes in the coming election, as more native Singaporeans are now openly seen supporting Opposition parties.

The writing is already on the wall that PAP is expected to lose much votes as PM Lee himself mentioned that “the upcoming General Election is a high-stakes one and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) must be prepared for a tough fight ahead “.

In the upcoming GE, Singaporeans will be now looking up to Dr Chee, Dr Tan Cheng Bok, Pritam Singh and other Singapore sons to save our children from the damage caused by CECA and PAP’s liberal FT policy.

The views expressed in this letter do not represent the views of the editorial. Please send in your views to news@theindependent.sg

He told Time, “When I had trouble with my sit-in communist students, squatting in school premises and keeping their teachers captive, I cordoned off the whole area around the schools, shut off the water and electricity, and just waited.

I told their parents that health conditions were deteriorating, dysentery was going to spread. And they broke it up without any difficulty.

I said to Li Peng, you had the world’s television cameras there waiting for the meeting with [then Soviet Union leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, and you stage this grand show. His answer was: ‘We are completely inexperienced in these matters’.”

In 1961, the student union and Chinese middle-school students at then-Nanyang University, staged a boycott of yearend exams, with masked students picketing schools and preventing other students from entering.

“We are both former colonies. Singapore was a British settlement, while Mexico was colonised by the Spanish for 300 years. Both were the centres of trade for our respective regions, Asia and the Americas. So our natural instinct is to be outward-looking and to connect to others in the world.”

The technology behind it

Pilot run

Clinical trials

“The similarity between our draft Bill to make provisions for protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations and for other related matters with the Singaporean Statute on the same subject.

A thread.

It is posterous (sic) that this is said to be an instance of plagiarism. All over the world, Legislation in other Jurisdictions do influence the form and substances in other jurisdictions, particularly and Present the same or similar challenges of regulation.

It is therefore INEVITABLE THAT LESSONS BE DRAWN FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS IN FASHIONING OUT WORKABLE SOLUTIONS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY.

Legislations across the globe are PUBLIC DOCUMENTS and National LEGISLATIONS DO NOT CLAIM RIGHT OVER THEM AS TO FORM THE BASIS FOR PLAGIARISM OVER THEM, their effectiveness being limited to the territorial jurisdiction of each sovereignty. – Sen. Sani Musa 313”

“We will continue our ongoing inspections at these and other blocks, while reminding residents that storing items in fire hose compartments is not advisable.”

According to the Judge, “Their conduct was improper and the attempt to cloak the same with a veneer of truth and credibility collectively leads to the conclusion that they had not acted honestly and therefore breached their duty of unflinching loyalty to AHTC as fiduciaries.”

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