Former Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan has fallen for untrue news by a website that openly propagates fake news. The retired diplomat shared an article by parody news site, The Tapir Times, this evening.
The article claimed that Bersatu vowed to only accept Umno MPs who have less than 10 pending criminal charges. Unaware that the article is fake news, the academic shared the article on his Facebook page with the caption, “How ironic — ‘less than 10 criminal charges’!”
It is rather curious that the academic did not detect that the article is a work of fiction since the website bears several signs that it is a parody or troll news site.
For example, the website shows on every page, including the page that Bilahari shared, that today’s weather is “Hot Then Rain”. The website also posts fictitious articles with headlines like “MP Who Suffered Minor Stroke Denies Stroking Minor,” or “Dealers Accuse Proton Of Acting Like A Business,” to name a few.
If that wasn’t enough, the Tapir Times features this disclaimer at the bottom of every article, including the one Bilahari shared: “The Tapir Times is a silly work of satire and fiction. It should not be taken seriously by anyone.”
The Malaysian website’s administrators add in their ‘About Us’ page: “If we fooled you for a few seconds we’re sorry, but this website shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone.”
Bilahari’s Facebook share has received over 120 reactions on Facebook in just two hours. Despite the efforts of multiple netizens, who flagged that the Tapir Times as a parody news site, the article remains up on Bilahari’s Facebook page, without a clarification or correction.
It must be noted that Bilahari is the same academic who said that “Singaporeans are naive”about threats like fake news, just three months ago.
The former civil servant went on to call deliberate online falsehoods “a fundamental national security issue” as he concluded that “The best defense is an educated public.”
Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the Crown Prince of Johor waxed diplomatic in a Facebook post on Thursday, December 13, when he called for a solution to the current territorial disputes that would result in wins for both Singapore and Malaysia.
Tunku Ismail, the heir to Johor, chose to provide a very personal example of good relations between the two countries—himself.
He posted a photo of himself flanked by two other men—a Malaysian and a Singaporean. To the right of the Prince stands Prem Singh from the Singapore Special Branch, who, he said, has been watching over him for the past nine years.
To his left stands Leftenan Kolonel Samsyawal Muhamad from the Malaysian Special Forces (Gerak Khas), whom the Prince met from his officer’s course sixteen years ago, but who has worked with him for the past three years.
The post and photo suggest unity, friendship and the ability to work well together.
“On my right is Prem Singh from the Singapore Special Branch. He has been taking care of me for nine years. On my left is Leftenan Kolonel Samsyawal bin Muhamad from the Malaysian Special Forces (Gerak Khas), who was my sniper buddy when I did my Young Officer’s course in PULADA in 2002. He has been working with me for the last three years. I don’t need to introduce myself, I’m from Johor. Here I am in the middle between Singapore and Malaysia. The three of us are good friends, working well in the same organization. I hope the countries can find a solution that is a win-win situation to prosper together and not get entangled in unnecessary issues.
HRH Major General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor”
Netizens applauded the Crown Prince for his post, which sought to unite rather than divide the two nations, at a time of complaints from Singapore over intrusions of Malaysian vessels into territorial waters off Johor Baru, while Malaysia has not been happy with the new flight path of Singapore over Seletar Airport, claiming it encroaches into Malaysia’s airspace.
Members of the People’s Action Party are continuing to conduct walkabouts and community events at Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) after the Worker’s Party won the ward in the 2011 and continues to hold the GRC over 7 years later.
Aljunied GRC was formed in 1988. During the time it was under the control of the PAP, it absorbed several GRCs that the WP might have otherwise won (namely the Eunos and Kaki Bukit wards of the Eunos GRC in 1997, as well as the Punggol East and Punggol South divisions of the Cheng San GRC in 2001).
With PAP high-flyer George Yeo at its helm, the ruling party team won the GRC in the 1988, 1991, 1997, 2001 and 2006 General Elections. The PAP stronghold in the ward was broken and the ruling party MPs, including Yeo and Zainul Abidin, were displaced when the WP team led by Low Thia Khiang won the GRC in the watershed 2011 General Election.
That was the first time an opposition party had ever won a GRC. The WP team continued to hold on to the ward in the 2015 General Election.
After their crushing defeat, the most high-profile members of the PAP team left politics. George Yeo considered running for the presidency in 2011 but was convinced otherwise by Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok who offered him a well-paying job in the private sector.
Zainul Abidin, who suggested that Lee Kuan Yew’s remarks on Malays, Muslims and integration in one of his books may have had some influence over the Malay votes, went on to become Singapore’s non-resident Ambassador to Kuwait and a special envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Middle East.
Besides serving on the boards of other local and international companies, he also serves as chairman of SPH UnionWorks, Director of Mediacorp, Director of Temasek Cares and corporate adviser to Temasek International.
While Yeo, Zainul and the other PAP candidates appear to have moved on from Aljunied GRC, the PAP has been maintaining its presence in the constituency. One of the main members driving the ruling party’s activities in the ward seems to be PAP member Victor Lye Thiam Fatt.
Both Lye’s personal and public Facebook pages are flooded with his activities in Aljunied GRC. His posts suggest that the PAP has been maintaining an active base in the opposition-held ward, organising regular community engagement events and activities.
In one such post, Lye shares photos from a recent walkabout in the area with other PAP members. Lye shared on 2 Dec that the walkabout was intended to “keep in touch with the residents”.
He added: “We continue to walk the ground, stay connected and hope to get the chance to improve the lives of our people.”
Earlier, several netizens poked fun at Lye, opining that he is simply praising himself, after he shared an exchange he had with a young resident at the opposition ward.
Revealing that the resident had asked him how much he was paid for doing community service as he made his rounds in Aljunied GRC, Lye wrote:
“The answer is “not a cent”. I told him we as volunteers even spend our own money doing community work. He was surprised, but appreciated the truth. Seems he was told something different by others. He then asked me when I started volunteering. The answer is “since 1999″ when I wanted to help those who lost jobs in the Asian Financial Crisis.”
Lye then shared that another resident asked him why the PAP Aljunied GRC team did not receive Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seats, even though they “lost by the smallest margin”:
“Later, another resident asked if the best losers in the elections are paid for their unelected seats in Parliament. [For background, Singapore has a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme that ensures up to 9 seats for unelected opposition voices alongside the 89-seat Parliament. This will be increased to 12 at the next election. Plus, NCMPs will be given the same voting rights as elected MPs.]
“I answered, “yes”. Then, he laughed, “but actually, you guys in Aljunied GRC lost by the smallest margin (of less than one percent). Yet, opposition losers gets paid and sit in Parliament while you still walk the ground with no pay and no Parliament seat? Better you join opposition! Le siow ah!” (translated as “are you crazy?”)
“I decided to let him have the last laugh while I focused on resolving problems faced by a resident. Another day in Aljunied GRC…”
Asserting that this is just a “wayang” or an act, netizens opined that Lye appears “proud and arrogant” and that he may just be gunning for the high salaries elected politicians are paid here.
Hackers were very nearly successful when a phishing email was opened by a senior manager of a Singaporean financial services company, infecting his computer with a malware that could have destroyed its reputation and resulted in losses of millions of dollars.
The email the senior manager opened looked perfectly legitimate, and included detailed he was familiar with, including people, appointments, and travel plans.
Fortunately, an artificial intelligence (AI) self-learning software prevented the cyber attack from prospering.
Darktrace, a cybersecurity company, developed the AI used to stop the attack. The software contains a self-learning algorithm created by mathematicians. It registers the typical patterns of usage of an organization and when it detects it, springs into action and counters the unusual activity, reported Business Insider.
According to Darktrace, the hackers are based in South Korea and had studied and targeted the finance company’s senior manager with the phishing email. As soon as he clicked on the mail, the hackers were able to access the not only his computer but also those of the company.
Finding old security software, the hackers got past it and took administrative control remotely, and had it not been for the AI software, the hackers would have had access to perform bank transactions, confidential company details, and even send malicious mail to the company’s clients.
But the AI software was able to find unusual traffic to the hackers in South Korea, and so the activity was halted before any serious harm could be accomplished.
Darktrace has also been able to prevent data breaches in other fintech companies through stopping cyber-attacks that traditional security measures could not stop. And since AI robots can move at lightning speed, companies’ security officers have had the opportunity to catch up with the scams, and not have the companies be taken advantage of.
Darktrace said, “As we move into an era of machine-on-machine battles, autonomous response will be vital in averting a headline-grabbing crisis.”
It only takes seconds for a company to sustain major damage, or ‘sleeper’ attacks could lie dormant for a while and then activated later on. In this day and age, traditional cybersecurity approaches can no longer protect companies as well as AI software can.
The Ministry of Manpower has drawn sharp criticism after it released a report yesterday that claimed that the number of hours Singapore resident works has been declining since a peak in 2010.
The report said that each employee worked an average of 44.9 hours (comprising of standard work hours and paid overtime) weekly, this September. This translates to an average of 8.98 hours a day for a five-day work week. In Sept 2010, each employee worked an average of 46.3 hours or 9.26 hours a day for a five-day work week.
MOM claimed that unpaid overtime, hours spent checking work emails or carrying out other regular tasks at home, and all other forms of overtime also show a steady decline over time.
Many have taken the MOM report to be a positive sign for the labour market. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife and Singapore sovereign wealth fund chief executive Ho Ching even shared a news article covering the report on her Facebook wall:
Many others, however, have opined that the trends captured in the MOM report may not accurately capture the realities on the ground.
Blasting the Ministry and asking where they got their statistics, several netizens have expressed that their relatives and coworkers work far longer than the average hours MOM says Singapore residents work:
There has been much buzz about 20 year-old Amos Yee, a Singaporean blogger, former YouTube personality and former child actor. After Yee’s social media accounts were recently taken down because of its pro-pedophilia content, one of his supporters Melissa Chen, the very woman who helped Yee seek asylum in the United States now wants him deported.
To dig deeper, we at TISG decided to go right to the source of Amos Yee – his mother, Mary Toh.
TISG: Do you want Amos to come back to Singapore? Why / Why not?
Mary Toh: Nope. He seems happier in the US, he also won’t go to prison for criticising any governments or religion (that’s a big one).
TISG: What is the next course of action if your son gets deported from the US?
MT: We’ll figure it out if it ever happens.
TISG: Melissa Chen blames Amos’ environment for his pro-pedophilia tendencies, do you agree with this?
MT: Amos started defending pedophiles while he was in Singapore.
TISG: Why do you think Amos has gone down this path?
MT: He said that Singapore politics affects only 6 million Singaporeans, however there are 100s of millions of pedophiles all around the world. Boy wants more power.
TISG: From your knowledge, is Amos involved with minors or does he intend to be involved with them? Or does he just provide a platform for those who are pro-pedophilia?
MT: Nah Amos isn’t sexually attracted to minors himself, and won’t do anything illegal because unlike in Singapore (where you get a lot of media attention and recognition for the small amount of jail-time you serve), doing anything illegal in the US probably isn’t worth it.
TISG: Can you tell us a bit more about the private meeting that Amos requested with Melissa?
These first investments come after 500 TukTuks II bagged investment from Thai giant corporates
500 TukTuks II, 500 Startups’ Thailand-focused seed fund, has revealed the first six investments it has made. The investments are made right after 500 TukTuks II secures funding from several Thai giant corporates like Central Group, Southeast Group, Saha Pathana Inter-Holding, TC Pharmaceuticals, The Vacharaphol, and Sermsang Power.
The newest portfolios have a variety of backgrounds that include:
EnerGaia
EnerGaia is a biotech and deeptech company and recipient of Bill & Melinda Gates Grant in 2018. The company has developed a proprietary algae production system that balances the costs of system installation, maintenance, and operation.
DeepSparks
DeepSparks is a fintech startup that implements AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology in the credit scoring in the loan approval process by analyzing data, enabling the financial institutions and the microlendersto serve the customers in the underbanked sector.
InstaWash
InstaWash is a location-based on-demand car detailing premium service that can easily pin customer’s location, request instantly, or schedule a time that fits the customer’s needs for car grooming.
Kinkao
Kinkao is a B2B online platform that helps companies to serve food to their employees effortlessly, for a meeting, event, or as an employee benefit.
JuiceInnov8
JuiceInnov8 is a food biotechnology deep tech startups that develop a proprietary sugar reduction technology that can make any type of juice healthier and better with a customized range of natural sugar reduction from mildly sweet – less sugar to sugar-free- zero calories on the platform.
Neuron Mobility
Neuron Mobility is a Singapore-based mobility solutions platform targeting last-mile transportation in cities through their e-scooter platform (shared e-scooter service) with services in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Through these investments, 500 TukTuks II also reflects its commitment to support DeepTech as well as other areas.
500 TukTuks was first introduced in July 2015 by Krating Poonpol and Moo Natavudh. They have scored success in 500 TukTuks I with a total of 51 Seed and Pre-Series A investments and more than 50% of the portfolio companies successfully raised the follow-on fundings.
500 TukTuks II was then set up with the purpose to explore further beyond Thailand especially in CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam) and beyond traditional e-commerce.
500 TukTuks II believe that technologies like AI, deeptech, and biotech are the force to move forward as seen in the first six investments it has made.
–
According to academic Serina Abdul Rahman, the ruling coalition in Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan (PH), may face some difficulty in the next General Elections, if they do not start reaching out to Malays in rural areas, specifically the fishing community in Johor, in order to gain greater support for the future.
Serina, who is a visiting fellow from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, lives with the fishing community in Johor. According to the academic, the community does not know that financial assistance has been made available for the bottom 40 percent of wage earners in Malaysia. Neither are they aware that they’re qualified for discounted housing plans, or even where to turn to for help.
More importantly, Serina emphasized that disgruntled voices within the community have expressed regrets concerning voting for PH in the elections earlier this year.
The Malay Mail reported that at a seminar organized on Thursday, December 13, by the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs, a think tank, Serina said, “The rural Malays need someone based at a local level to inform them of the benefits given by the government. Otherwise, they will remain unaware of what forms of assistance are available to them.”
According to Serina, the fishing community traditionally received assistance from their ketua kampung, or village heads, who had been appointed by then ruling-party UMNO.
UMNO has its roots in Johor, which had been the party’s bailiwick until this year’s elections.
This year, much of Johor voted for PH, which meant the loss of power for local UMNO leaders, leaving the fishermen and their families at a loss, since these leaders and ketua kampung used to help the fishing community by showing them where they could get financial aid on the state or federal level when needed.
Serina expressed concerns for the remote fishing community, implying that PH’s power was centered too much in urban areas.
“Now under the new PH rule they are lost, they feel despair. Many now can’t put food on the table and they don’t know where to go.
The PH government needs to place someone at a more local level where these people have direct access.”
The academic recounted that after the May elections, the fishing community was concerned about where they could access financial aid.
“Back then, those in power wanted them to remain dependent to obtain votes but despite everything, they still helped these fishermen.
Now, six months later their worry has translated into reality as they have no idea where to go for help. Some of them still don’t know who their ketua kampung is because the old ones were changed with the change of government.”
In the village where Serina lives, the community only recently discovered who their ketua kampung is—half a year after the elections.
She mentioned feelings of ‘buyer’s regret’ within the community. “Now some of the villagers are wondering and regretting their decision to vote for Pakatan Harapan.
They knew when they voted Pakatan Harapan it was to teach the political elite a lesson. Now the younger ones are wondering if they should have listened to their parents and voted for BN.”
It is important, Serina emphasized, for the PH government to do more for the rural Malays in these communities. “The Pakatan Harapan government needs to do more to engage with these people. They need someone at a local level where these people will have direct access to assist, otherwise they will be left behind.”
Serina’s assessment of PH’s lack seems to echo the sentiments of other critics, including retired Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan, who has expressed his concern at the “intrinsically unstable” new governing coalition.
Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo are choice spots for legal services firms in Asia.
Singapore has emerged as one of the top destinations for legal services firms, owing in part to its strong rule of law, as well as excellent human factors. The city state was ranked second – after Hong Kong and ahead of Tokyo – in Colliers International’s Top Locations in Asia: Law study, which identifies the best locations in Asia for the legal sector occupiers.
This is the third instalment of Colliers Research’s Top Locations series which also covered the Technology and Finance sectors.
The latest law sector study which placed Singapore among the top destinations for legal services firms, examined around 50 criteria for 10 cities in developed and emerging markets under three headings: socio-economic factors; property factors; and human factors.
Colliers’ analysis suggests that law sector occupiers pay particular attention to the following considerations when making decisions about operating in a new location in Asia: economic scale and growth potential of the city, proximity to clients, availability of talent, level of privacy and security, quality of office stock, and city safety.
Singapore in focus
Singapore scored 66.4% in Colliers’ ranking and was rated second overall to emerge among the top destinations for legal services firms. The country is becoming a pivotal legal centre in Asia. The strong rule of law and high quality of legal services in Singapore provide additional impetus to the country’s economic growth, and enhance the confidence of foreign enterprises about investment in Singapore.
Socio-economic factors
Under socio-economic factors, Singapore does not score highly on measures of growth potential or economic output since it is a small country with a population of just 5.6 million. However, it ranks highest in Asia on employment criteria and availability of talent.
The country’s strength in employment criteria reflects high scores on political stability, ease of doing business, corporate tax rate, city infrastructure, and English language capability. The excellence of the country’s educational and research facilities is indicated by the leading position that its flagship academic institutions enjoy in rankings of Asian universities – with particular strength in Law.
Singapore’s scores on the sub-category of law-related factors are not as high as those of certain other major legal centres. Like Hong Kong, Singapore’s legal system is based on common law.
However, Colliers’ interviews with legal services firms suggest that many participants regard the legal services market in Hong Kong as more flexible and more open than the market in Singapore.
Colliers noted that the growth in exports of legal services indicates the scope for Singapore lawyers and law practices to venture out of Singapore to meet and capture a greater share of international demand for legal services. The Singapore government has promoted the local legal profession and motivated its legal services firms to expand into overseas jurisdictions such as Myanmar.
In addition, Singapore has built a well-respected dispute resolution support system featuring the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), which is now one of the most prominent in the world.
Property factors
Colliers said that Singapore does not score highly on property factors. On the positive side, average net effective rent for prime grade office space of USD55 per sq metre per month is only about one-half of the citywide average for Hong Kong. Based on Colliers’ estimate, typical real estate costs for law firms in Singapore are 8-15% of monthly outgoings, versus 12-20% for Hong Kong. On the negative side, Singapore’s total prime grade office stock of 24.9 million sq ft (2.3 million sq metres) is only about one-third of the level of Hong Kong and 13% of the level of Tokyo.
Human factors
As in Technology and as in Finance, Singapore ranks first in Asia on human factors. In particular, scores are high for personal tax rate, low air pollution, and the high-tech city index included in Colliers’ list of criteria. Furthermore, the country is ranked first for city safety and quality of living. These factors provide strong attractions for international law firms to locate operations in Singapore.
Commenting on the Colliers’ report, Paul Ho, chief mortgage consultant at iCompareLoan said, “with almost half of the Global 100 law firms having a presence in Singapore, established legal services firms will be among the top occupiers of premium office space here.”
“But to better understand the complexities of the office space leasing process and the choice of space available for their expansion, they should work with established and trusted sources,” he added.
Are you planning to lease office spaces for your legal services firm but unsure of funding? Don’t worry because iCompareLoan mortgage brokers can set you up on a path that can get you a commercial loan in a quick and seamless manner.
Alternatively you can read more about the Best Commercial Loans in Singapore before deciding on your purchase. Our brokers have close links with the best lenders in town and can help you compare Singapore commercial loans and settle for a package that best suits your commercial purchase needs. Our services are also very personalised and tailored to the unique needs of the buyers.
Whether you are looking for a new commercial loan or to refinance and existing one, our brokers can help you get everything right from calculating mortgage repayments, comparing interest rates, all through to securing the final loan. And the good thing is that all our services are free of charge. So it’s all worth it to secure a loan through us for your next purchase.
Citing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s inaction in suing his siblings for defamation last year, award-winning cartoonist Sonny Liew has urged the head of government to extend the same leeway to The Online Citizen editor Terry Xu and blogger Leong Sze Hian.
Xu was charged with criminal defamation yesterday after publishing an article, that made allegations of corruption against prominent politicians, on the socio-political website he runs. Leong is being sued by PM Lee for sharing an article on Facebook that linked PM Lee to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
In a Facebook note he published yesterday, Sonny Liew noted that the action that has been taken against Xu and Leong stands in sharp contrast to PM Lee’s decision to refrain from suing his siblings, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang, for defamation.
Last July, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s younger children Dr Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang accused their elder brother of abusing his power to preserve their family home against their father’s willed desire to demolish the house.
Accusing PM Lee of convening a secret committee to make a decision on the house, the younger Lee siblings further claimed that state organs were being used against them. The younger Lees asserted that their elder brother “misused his power as prime minister, and that he hijacked the organs of state to pursue his personal goals”.
PM Lee addressed the allegations against him in a Parliamentary debate where he declared that he has been cleared of all charges. Expressing that he “deeply regret[ed] that this dispute has affected Singapore’s reputation and Singaporeans’ confidence in the Government,” PM Lee added that he does not intend to sue his siblings.
Liew has pointed out that “as a lay person following the news, it would seem that the actions of Xu and Leong would likely not be any more damaging to anyone’s reputations than the statements made by Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling back in 2017.”
The cartoonist further noted that PM Lee’s decision to not take legal action against his siblings is a “a curious development, since the Singapore government has always taken a strong stance against any accusations of impropriety – from JBJ to Tang Liang Hong and Roy Ngerng, legal action has always been a stick the authorities have been willing to use”.
Comparing Singapore’s second PM Goh Chok Tong’s 1999 statement that “We (the government) have an understanding that if a minister is defamed and he does not sue, he must leave Cabinet. By defamation, I mean if somebody says the minister is on the take or is less than honest,” to his sympathy for the Lee siblings in the Oxley Road case, Liew said:
“Mr Goh was however, sympathetic to the fact that in the Oxley Road case, these were family members involved, going so far as to tell Low Thia Khiang in parliament when the latter raised concerns about differential treatment of Lee’s siblings with the fate of Tang Liang Hong, whom Mr.Goh had sued in 1991, that Tang was “not my brother” and that it was “political sophistry” to compare the two cases.
“Except… it’s not quite clear where the sophistry lies.”
Pointing out that there “was hope that the Oxley Road saga represented a new benchmark for Singapore’s political scene,” Liew concluded that hopefully all Singaporeans are deserving of the “same empathy and kindness the Prime Minister showed towards his brother and sister.”
“There was hope that the Oxley Road saga represented a new benchmark for Singapore’s political scene – if Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling could avoid legal action despite their statements, it seemed to follow that their fellow Singaporeans might also be extended the same consideration and leeway (pun not really intended) for expressing their views. Or in Xu and Leong’s case, sharing online the views expressed by others.
“Everyone is someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother, after all. And though few of us would be joined by ties of blood, we are still bound by our common nationality and humanity. Snide to each other at times, for sure. Boisterous, argumentative, contrary, perhaps – but ultimately all human beings who have variously by fate, choice or circumstance found ourselves on this island, hopefully all deserving of the the same empathy and kindness the Prime Minister showed towards his brother and sister.”
