Current Affairs

At the Viaduct collapse trial on yesterday (13 Sep), the court heard that soon after the collapse of a PIE viaduct in July 2017, professional engineer Dr Robert Arianto Tjandra texted a WhatsApp message to his then colleague, Liu Xiayu, that the incident had been a result of a “design mistake”. Dr Arianto Tjandra was then working for subcontractor CPG …

It was reported in the media today (13 Sep) that a global head at Standard Chartered Bank, Cristian Alexander Jonsson, 48, was caught for drink driving after midnight last Thu (5 Sep). Apparently, he had downed about seven glasses of wine at a restaurant in Dempsey Road before driving off. The Swede, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was fined …

Inequality measured are biased and play down wealth income, said former Chief Economist of GIC Mr Yeoh Lam Keong at the inaugural Progress Singapore Party’s PSP Talk on poverty in Singapore. When asked, Mr Yeoh agreed that there is a “distortion” in how inequality is measured in Singapore. However, he explained that if given a choice between improved measuring on …

In conjunction with the Istana 150 Commemorative Event, members of the public will be given an opportunity to enter the Istana for the first time at night, the President’s Office revealed on Thursday (12 September). The event, which commemorates the heritage site’s 150th anniversary, will be hosted by President Halimah Yacob and her husband Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee on 6 …

During the Q&A session of the inaugural Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Talk on poverty in Singapore and gaps in the social safety net, veteran economist Yeoh Lam Keong was asked why the 250,000 people living in absolute poverty in the country are not putting more pressure on the PAP for help. Mr Yeoh illustrated that the majority of those living …

Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament (MP) and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh visited Eunos last evening to monitor the rodent situation in the area. In a Facebook post on Thursday (12 September), Mr Singh stated that he visited the area with a bunch of people including his daughter, Town Council staff as well as his pest control contractor. The team …

At the inaugural PSP Speaker Series, moderator Khush Chopra reiterated speaker Yeoh Lam Keong’s message that it was a major policy error that has led the country’s failure in properly addressing poverty. Specifically, the country’s reliance on cheap foreign labour and related immigration policies have been tough on those at the bottom, the absolute poor. In terms of the working …

On Thursday (12 September), Mohammad Nafiz Kamarudin, founder of non-profit organisation Happy People Helping People Foundation, took to his Facebook to slam Yellow Ribbon Project Singapore for asking him to change his runner’s bib as it contains a message that is not in line with the organisation’s cause. Yellow Ribbon Project Singapore is an organisation that seeks to engage community …

On Wednesday (11 September), the housing and Development Board HDB) announced the launch of 4,089 flats for sale comprising of 3,373 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats and 716 re-offered balance flats across various towns and estates. Application for the flats offered in the September 2019 BTO and ROF exercises can be made online on HDB InfoWEB from today, 11 September 2019 (Wednesday) to …

Singapore’s Yip Pin Xiu bagged Singapore’s first medal at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, taking home the gold in the women’s 100m backstroke S2. The 27-year-old finished over 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up, with a time of 2 minutes and 19.61 seconds. Canada’s Van Vyck-Smart came in second with 2 minutes 39.27 seconds while Italy’s Angela …