Publication: The Straits Times, p A36-A37 Date: 25 December 201 0 Headline: Do you hear what I hear?

Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum,..if t year's controversial issues can sung as Christmas carols, how they sound? insight reporter Lin hums along to the tune of ... Do you ~~~~~~$ h&& ,-:Y;'~& 2 e

0 come, all ye foreign,.

Faithful Mends who are near to us...

... are dear to us once more. It may have taken two decades, but this year saw the final ironing-out of the Points of Agree- ment over Malayan Railway land.

The prime ministers of S i p o r e and Malay* reached a breakthrough on the land negotiations dwhg a retreat in May.

UndeI the agreement. Malaysia would move the Tanjong Pagar railway station to Woodlands by July next year.

A land mop deal was wduded in Sep- tember: Six parcels of land vacatedby the railway wouM be exchanged for six par- cels in the Marina South and Ophir-Ro- chor areas. They would be M o p e d by a joint venture company, M-S Pte Ltd, which is 60 per cent owned by Malaysia's Khaeanah Nasional Berhad and 40 per cent by Temasek Holdings. History, too, wouldnot be lost. The Tmjong Pagar rail- way station will be preserved and, possi- bly, the Buldt Timah station.

The Malaysia-Singapore Joint Imple- . mentation Team should complete its work by the end of this month. One out- standing issue over development charges for the three parcels in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands will be referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The railwav land bieaktbrovgh sig-

We three kings of Orlent are...

If the gift-bearers from efar were to dis- mount from their camels and travel by bus and MRT here earlier this year, they would be hit by distance-based fares.

The scheme starting in July charges commuters bv the distance thev travel re-

That sums up the blistering ewnomic re- bound this year after Lest year's refes- sion. Singapore's economy is set to grow around 15 per cent this year, maLjng the Republic one of the fastest-growmg econ- omies worldwide. This will enter the record books as its highest-ever annusl growth rate.

Donned he now his gay apparel,

Rudolph the red-faced reindew-

Chestnuts r o d n g on an open fire., The Ughts went out for several past and

present political leaders and an inspira- - -

The ~overnment's open-door policy may make the economy triumphant but it does not bring joy to Singaporeans unhappy we^ job competition and overcrowding.

Thev behold oooulption statistics not

No question what the burning issue is this year - sonring properly prices.

Going by unending complaints over the nffordabiiity of public housing, some folks may really feel like &sing up like eskimos and living in iglm instead.

In February, to douse the sixling prop- ertv market. the Government Levied a

- - - - ...and fa-la-la-ed his way to freedom. At bast that was what Mas Selamat Kastad

... So were the faces of some top Singa- pore offieisls when they saw their W a r -

tional figure this year. Dr Goh Keng Swee, prominent Old

Guard minister and architect of Singa- pore's economic, defence and education policies, died,in May at the age of 91, ef- ter a long wnod of ill health. He was giv-

did, Minister for Home Affairs and Law IL Shanmugam told Parliament in No--

-pging comments about other couniries and their laden in cold hnrd print follow- ing the leaking of divlomatic "cocktail with a& but wiih-~ngst. One finding re-

corded at the end of June showed that of the 5.08 million people on the island, 1.31 million are nan-residents.

ber. Investigations revealed that, after his

escape in February 2008, the terrorist sus- pect fled to the Tampines home of his family members. They provided him with shelter, food, money and clothes - which resulted in three of them later being im- prisoned for it.

What captured the public's imagina- tion was how Mas Mamat disguised him- self as a woman when he left his relatives' &at in Mnrch 2008. Information about his subsequent movements, including his ~tualeseapet~Mplaysia,hasyett~be released.

The sensational coverage prompted public soul-searching over whether it was right for a family to help a fugitive member hide from the law.

Almost overlooked was the move that made all the investigations posmile in the first v1Pce: Mss Selamat's return from Ma-

=s gtrtr;msters, andpu&rts to be a fairer system for all.

It unleashed a s t o m of unhappiness among commuters who said that they

- . t aw.

According to WikiLeaks, a whistle- blowiug diplomatic w e w e cables, which Mr Bilahari released Kausllran, seuet US

Mr Peter Ho and Professor Tommy Koh were quoted making spme negative re- marks a b u t n countdu.

Malaysia S u m m ~ n g a p o r e ' s High Commissioner T. Jasudasen and handed him a protest note expressing "displeas- we" o m Singapore's criticism of Malay-

en a state-funeral. Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of

State for Foreign Affairs, died in Seutem- IJnmalovment is also forecast to be .- -- - - -. - . . . . -. -. .

To allay conwms, the Economic Strat- egies Committee (ESC) recommended in February that Singapore moderate its de- pendence on foreign workers, raise for-

--.-.-..,- .-~ -. -

low, ~eve~ing out at 2.1 per cent. Raising pductivlty became the

st&p duty of about 3 per cent on home- owners if they sold their properties with- i n a w a f o f ~ t k m . T k ~ ' m a d -

were ;nade to pay more. It was later re- vealed that not just the distance, but also travel time was taken into account when the fares were calcuIated.

Critics blasted distance-based fares as a "fare hike in disguise". Some said the new scheme was too complicated and opaque. Others cried foul because some senior citizens and students had to pay

ber, aged 55.01 wlon csncer. -

MI Low Por Tuck was one of 13 former PAP legislative assemblyman who broke away to form Barisan Sosialis in 1961. He died in Apd of heart failwe, aged 80.

MI Soon Loh Boon was a Chinese mid- dle school student leader who led a le£tist movement against British colonialists in the 1950s. He died in August, aged 76.

The death which moved many was that of Madam Kwa Geok Cboo, wife of MM Lee Kuan Yew, in October. Thou- sands tumedup at her wake in the Istana, inspired by her life and touched by her dedication to MM Lee. The poignant scene seen on TV and in the media of MM Lee reacbing out and planting a kiss on his wife's face is now seared into the wl- lective memory of Singaporeans.

May they sleep in heavenly peace.

on call when the ESC released its report in February. The Pim: to grow productivi- mu& lendingii6it fm housing loans was

cut to 80 per cent of a home's value. Still not cod enou&, in Anmmt the

$ i worker levies and keep the propor- tion of foreigners in ttie workforce to

ty by 2 to 3 per cent p k ye& over the next 10 vears. This would allow incomes

one-third. The recommendations are be- to rise. Government extended the mininn& occu- pation period for resale flats, lowered bank loan limits for second properties, and prevented home-bnye~s from 0- both a private home and an HDB flat mth- in the minirmun occupancy period.

Later, it announced that more land will be released for residential use next

ing implemented. In his National Day Rally speech,

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ex- plained that S i p o r e needed foreigners to top up its talent pool, labour force and population. He also announced the estab- lishment of the National Population and Talent Division to look after M a t i o n

~~ ---

Its recommendations w e ~ woven iuto . . . . . - - -

Budget 2010. Some $2.5 billion was set aside for continuing educabn and train- ing and $2 WLion for the National Produc-

sia. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's

WikiLeaks allegations about Datnk Sen Anm lbrahim's sodomy case drew flak from The the Ministq Malaysiau of Foreign opposition Affairs leader. has de-

clined to comment on the content of the leaks, maintaining that the revelations will not harm diplomatic relations.

Like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer guiding Santa's sleigh, will this episode go down in history? Or will i t be a non-event?

more. The Goverbent, however, stuck to

its e m . notine that the new fare stnrc- tivity Fund.

The Productivity and Innovation Cred- it scheme would provide an unprecedmt- edtar deduction of R&D erpenditure. For- eign worker levies were inwased.

Tourism receipts were spell-binding. It also helped that the casinos in the inte- grated resorts, which opened this year, hit the jackpot. Resorts World Sentosa saw $732 -on in r m n e for the third quarter of this year, while Marina Bay Sands reported revenues of $631 million fm the quarter ended Sept 30.

The economic weathex in America and Europe may be frihtful but over here growth does not show signs of stopping.

turl wo& w 2 public transport opera- tors $88 million a year. The Public Trans- port Council's analysis of24 rmllion jour- neys in ruly found that only 30 per cent of commuters saw a fare increase. A total of 68 per cent enjoyed average weekly

year. The moves are wmking, says the Gov-

ernment, noting that median cash over valuation payments in October feu to $25,000, from $30,000 in the previous , quarter.

But house-buyers will still find it hard to sleep tonight, given the latest w o r t about the record-breaking number of new private homes sold by N o d .

IfSantaisontheway,theyarehoping that he will bring lots of goodies to help pay for the mortgage.

matters. But mblings on the ground wntirme.

Surveys by government feedback unit Rench and the Institute of Policy Studies show that many S i r e a m still do not adore the foreigners in their midst.

laysia. He was recaptured in lohor in April

Last yea^. It was reported that he d d be detained for two years under Malay- A's Intemal Security Act. However, the Malaysian authorities r a t e d him ea~- ly. in late September.

Coming on the heels of the railway land swap deal, Mas S h t ' s retwn was

fare sa&gs. But the system continued to experi-

ence glitches. Most mxutly, it was.dis- coverid that bns commuters had been ovewhmged by $306,000 since July.

Pollowine vonder s k ? Westwardlead- ing, stlll Gzeeding? Commuters are ad- vised to check the fm @em swupulw-

lakamh Malaysia. Does it hean that "from now on, ow

troubles will be out of sight"? seen as yit a n o h sign.of a new phase in bilateral cooperation. Tis the season to be jolly on both sides of the Causeway?

Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Publication: The Straits Times, p A36-A37 Date: 25 December 201 0 Headline: Do you hear what I hear?

breakthrough rignalled a neur warmth in bilateral ddions. Both wunties also agwd to noperate on pmjects such as a rapid 'mnsit svstem link between fohor Bam znd ~&apore, and an iwnk weUness mject in Iskanah Malaysia.

Gonna find out who's naughty or nice ...

A divergent reality emerged in the after- math of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August: Officials praised it as a mile- stone event putting Singapore on the sporting map, while dissenting voices cast it as a budget-buster dogged by one hiccup after another.

So, which was it? A white elephant or Singapore's place in the sporting sun?

The answer probably lies in between. Sure, the YOG was hit by problems, not least whenit overshot its budget from the original $104 million to $387 million.

That was not all. Photographs on the Internet showed YOG concerts with few viewers. A ticketing snafu resulted in ath- letes competing in half-empty venues, even as people were turned away at the gates. Volunteers came down with food poisoning. Certificates of appreciation for volunteers carried the wrong signa- tures. Some who signed up for free For- mula One tickets received them only a£ter the race was over.

Still, it had its payoff. The YOG was watched by more than two billion viewers worldwide, according to the Ix&ernational Olympic Committee. Videos on the YOG's YouTube channel were viewed more than five million times.

Local companies received $260 million worth of YOG contracts, while Visa Inter- national said spending on foreign Visa cards went up by $154 million during the YOG period. Team Singapore athletes won two silver and four bronze medals.

YOG lesson: Making a list and check- ing it twice.

It's not the most wonderful time

of the year ... It was hard to k l l the retailers and shop- pers of Orchard Road to be of good cheer when the rain came and flooded Singa- pore's most famous street.

Drimatic images of a waterlogged shopping district found their way onto the Internet and the newspapers in June, raising questions about Singapore's infra- structure maintenance and triggering a blame game.

Did the Marina barrage contribute to the flooding? Or did new developments, such as Ion Orchard, make things worse?

In the end, Minister for the Environ- ment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibra- him told Parliament in July that the capac- ity of the 4 km-long Stamford Canal was to blame. It was simply unable to cope with the big gush of water from two in- tense bouts of rain over two hours.

A $26 million project began in Novem- ber to raise a 1.4km stretch of Orchard Road. Sixty sensors have been added to the 32 already in operation to improve wa- ter-level monitoring in canals and drains.

Improvement works have been planned for various drains and water- ways. Tenders will be put out for the up- grading of aains in flood-prone areas.

Nevertheless, this festive season looks set to be wet, wet, wet. No Winter Won- derland, no Rainy Wonderland please, what Singaporeans want for Christmas is a Sunny Wonderland.

Jingle, jingle, jingle But where is the money? As the income gap widens, a debate broke out over whe- ther there should be a minimum wage. Weighing in on the subject were econo- mists, academics, corporate chieftains, politicians and former policy-makers.

Former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow dismissed calls for a minimum wage as "namby-pamby thinking", saying that better skills, not legislation, would in- crease wages. Singapore Management University economics professor Augus- tine Tan argued that a minimum wage would distract from the main issue: rais- ing skills and productivity.

On the other side of the fence, busi- nessman Ho Kwon Ping suggested that a minimum wage could potentially attract more Singaporeans to the low-cost, low-skills service sector and reduce de- pendence on foreigners. Professor Tom- my Koh, citing the experience in rapan, South Korea and Taiwan, said he found no evidence that the &um wage had caused an increase in unemployment, re- duced foreign investment or reduced com- petitiveness in those economies.

Opposition parties signalled that they will make it a hot issue in the polls.

Speaking on the issue in November, hime Minister bee noted that Singapore did have a m i n i m wage in the form of Workfare. Workfare is more effective at helping low-income Singaporeans, he said, as it is more targeted, and is funded by the Government, not by the employer.

But handouts are a no-no. Yes, Virgin- ia, there is a Santa Claus but he is not the Singapore Government.

I believe In Santa C l a l l r

... and mother tongue weighting. A contro- versy erupted in April when Education Minister Ng Eng Hen implied that the weighting of mother tongue in the hima- ry School Leaving Exammation could be cut.

Letters to the press arrived in a tor- rent, arguing for or against the cut.

The Singapore Chinese Teachers' Un- ion met Dr Ng to express its concerns, while leaders of the Chinese Clan Associa- tions called on the Government to recon- sider.

Officials from the Singapore Malay Teachers' Union and the Malay Language Teachers' Association voiced their &I@- et over any mlt in weighting.

All these culminated in a petition on Mother's Day, May 6, when more than 2,500 people showedup at Speakers' Cor- ner to sign.a petition against any cut in weighting.

Commentators saw this as the emer- gence of a new Chinese ground. The charge was led by post-65 bilingual pro- fessionals, not the usual older community leaders M the Chinese-educated.

On May 11, PM Lee and Dr Ng ma& it clear that there would be no reduction in weighting for mother tongue.

As the rest of the lyrics go, I believe there's always hope when all seems lost.

- T O ~ # . Z me4 -3 were spel-biding It also h e h d that the casinos in the itltegmed morts, which opened this year, hit the jachpot. Resorts World Sentosa saw $73;2 million in evem me for the t k l quarter of thk year, while Marina Bay Sands reported n e v e w bf $631 million for the quurter ended Sept 30.

I r

The moues rn working says the Gomrnnie* noting that median cash over v a h t b n payments in Octoberfell to S,O00, &rn $30,000 in the pmviom* quarter. But house-buyers will stilljhd it hard to sleep tonight given the latest q o r t about the record-breaking number of new private homes sold by November.

Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.