www.newzzit.com Issue 11, January 1, 2014, Price S$1

Singapore's 2013 - annus horribilis or annus mirabilis?

Singapore Map, Courtesy: URA What's Inside? Over a Cup of Tea

January This is a special issue of Newzzit, a look back at Politics: By-election defeat leads call to 2013, albeit with a twist. transform February The stories are not Immigration: Population White Paper to arranged chronologically. “fair” treatment of Rather, I have picked an March important event in a particular month. Crime: Todd and Kovan Assigned the topic the event deals with to that month, and woven everything that April happened in Singapore related to that Health: Dengue is still a menace particular topic in the story of that month. May

Corruption: Few aberrations, but system For example, the story of January (month) still works deals with politics (topic) and narrates every June important political event that made news in 2013. Be it the East by-election in Environment: Looking forward to a hazy January, empty ballot boxes found in August June again? or the PAP's Convention in December. July

Sports: Some unexpected results Even though some stories might have been August left out due to paucity of space, I sincerely hope that after reading our 11th issue, you People: Let's build a better Singapore will have a general idea about what together happened in Singapore in the past one year. September Society: Poverty and race issues need to be addressed Readers who want to share more stories, October which they think mattered in 2013, are welcome to do so on Newzzit's website. Economy: Uncertain times November May 2014 be the best for all of us! Cyber world: Hope the master-plan works next year

December Gaurav Labour: Singapore can do better

An e-newspaper from Singapore published on the 1st and 16th of every month at 6am SGT. Newzzit, as a policy is against monopolising knowledge, and thus holds no copyright on any material published in our newspaper. Any article or part of it can be copied, shared and distributed free of charge, and without any permission whatsoever. January

Politics: By-election defeat leads call to transform

The year started with defeat for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in Punggol East Single Member Constituency (SMC) on January 26, and ended with a resolution at party's convention calling to “transform the PAP”. In between, there was also the discovery of empty ballot boxes used in 2011 Presidential Elections.

Punggol East by-election

Michael Palmer, the former speaker of Parliament, resigned from his Punggol East SMC seat, for having an extramarital affair. PAP unveiled a colorectal surgeon, Dr , as its candidate, who was defeated by opposition Workers' Party candidate with a 13.5% voter swing in her favour. This was PAP third electoral set- All nine Workers' Party members of Parliament, back after loosing Aljunied Group Representation Courtesy: Workers' Party Constituency in 2011 general elections, and SMC by-election in 2012.

PAP's Convention

It prompted the ruling PAP to adopt an eight-point resolution, a first since 1988, at the party's convention on December 8. The resolution included the realisation of the need to “transform the PAP” and keep the party “fresh, enthusiastic and relevant”. The party also emphasised on the need to develop a Singaporean model of social welfare, “a Singaporean Singapore”, and “a democracy of deeds”.

PAP's Convention 2013, Courtesy: People's Action Party

Empty ballot boxes

The year also witnesses a controversy when few empty ballot boxes used during the 2011 Presidential Election in the electoral division of Bishan-Toa Payoh were found in August in a secondary school. , minister for social and family development, later assured the Parliament that discovery of boxes “does not constitute a lapse in the election procedures”. February

Immigration: Population White Paper to “fair” treatment of Singaporeans

On February 16, a protest rally was held against the 6.9 million projected population of Singapore in 2030, as indicated in the Population White Paper put forward by the government. Another protest followed up in May. The government reacted by introducing the new Fair Consideration Framework, which requires employers to consider Singaporeans “fairly” before hiring overseas workers.

Population White Paper

It all started when Deputy Prime Minister released the Population White Paper titled, A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore, on January 29, 2013. It was the population policy roadmap to address Singapore’s demographic challenge as illustrated by the city-state's total fertility rate of 1.2 in 2011, which is way below the replacement level of 2.1. Teo emphasised on the Paper's three-pronged objective of - strengthening the Singaporean core by encouraging Singaporeans to procreate, creating good jobs for increasingly Teo addressing a town-hall dialogue, Courtesy: better educated Singaporeans, and ensuring a high National Population and Talent Division, Prime quality living environment for all. “However, to Minister's Office prevent our Singaporean population from ageing and shrinking, we will take in immigrants, but at a measured pace,” he said.

And this “pace” as indicated in the Paper would mean that “Singapore’s total population could reach between 6.5 and 6.9 million by 2030. The resident population (comprising citizens and PRs) is projected to be 4.2 to 4.4 million, of which citizens alone will make up 3.6 to 3.8 million, as the growth in the citizen population slows.”

Suddenly, the figure of “6.9 million by 2030” in a country where immigration has been a hot topic since the general elections of 2011, took over the public discourse by storm. The Parliament too hotly debated the issue for five days – the longest in recent history, and passed an amended motion voting along the party lines with 77 People's Action Party (PAP) votes against the rest. The amended motion put forward by PAP's member of parliament from Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency recognised “that the population projections beyond 2020 are for the purpose of land use and infrastructure planning, and not a population target”.

Even after that, a section of the public, led by non-profit society, Transitioning – Unemployment Support Service (TUSS), remained unconvinced. It organised the first protest rally in February and followed it up with another in May. The main opposition Workers' Party also joined the discourse with its own population paper with “a projected population of 5.6 to 5.8 million in 2030, of which 3.4 to 3.5 million would be Singapore citizens”.

Fair Consideration Framework

To further quail any fears on immigration, the government introduced a set of new rules - Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) – in September, which requires employers to consider Singaporeans “fairly” before hiring overseas workers. The ministry of manpower (MOM) emphasised that the framework, which will come into effect on August 1, 2014, is not about “Hire Singaporeans First, or Hire Singaporeans Only”. Rather it is to help Singaporeans get a “fair” opportunity at “good jobs and fulfil their career aspirations”.

According to the FCF, firms must advertise their vacancies on a new job bank (website) administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) for at least 14 days before submitting the Employment Pass (EP) applications to MOM. March

Crime: Todd and Kovan

The death of a young American engineer, Shane Todd, which occurred in 2012 came into spotlight again, when Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a Singapore government research agency, rebutted in March an article published in the Financial Times (FT) a month earlier. A coroner's inquest was held and the death was ruled a suicide. Later in the year, the police department was shaken when Iskandar Rahmat, one of their own, was accused of double- on July 10 in the Kovan area.

Shane Todd: a suicide

The curious case of Shane Todd, which had generated much international attention ever-since FT's article, Death in Singapore, was published, came to a conclusion on July 8. On that day, a coroner ruled Todd's death as a result of suicide, contrary to his family's claims of him being murdered.

Before his death, Todd, was working at IME. He was found hanging in his bathroom after he had left his job to return to the US. While the initial police investigations pointed towards a suicide, the Todd family gathered support from few US senators and launched a campaign claiming his death was a linked to his work at IME. Initially, Shane Todd, Courtesy: the family attended the coroner's inquiry but quit mid-way http://www.justice4shanetodd. unexpectedly and returned to US. com/ After, Chay Yuen Fatt, the state corner, said that he was “satisfied that there was no foul play involved in the deceased’s death”, the US embassy in Singapore too issued a statement praising the inquest as “comprehensive, fair and transparent”.

Kovan double-murders

While Shane Todd's death was big international news, the crime story that hogged the limelight at home was the double-murders at Hillside Drive in Kovan.

Tan Boon Sin, 66, and Tan Chee Heong, 42, a father-and-son pair, were found murdered with a blood trail one km apart linking their bodies. Disturbingly, the accused was a senior staff sergeant in , Iskandar Rahmat, who was arrested in Bahru after a 54-hour manhunt. The murder trial will start in March 2014.

Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee called it “a sad day for the police”. “Officer Iskandar's fall from grace has also brought dishonour to the 10,000 other police officers who dedicate themselves every day to protecting others, and who routinely risk their own safety to preserve those of others,” he said. April

Health: Dengue is still a menace

The PM launched a National Dengue Campaign (NDC) with the slogan “Do the Mozzie Wipe Out” on April 28, as the country witnessed a rise in the number of dengue cases and dengue clusters. By the year-end over 22,000 cases were reported with seven patients loosing their lives.

Dengue headcount: 22318 cases between January 1 and December 31, and seven deaths. The first death occurred in May and seventh in November. To counter the menace, Prime Minister launched the NDC.

Under NDC, over 2000 Dengue Prevention Volunteer Group (DPVG) members have been recruited till now, who have organised more than 1000 events to promote dengue awareness in the community. Together with National Environment Agency officers, DPVG members explained to the public dengue-associated risks and precautionary measures through the use of exhibits, educational materials and collaterals.

“To further reinforce the campaign message, a dengue prevention skit was conceptualised and rolled out in July 2013 to engage the public through light-hearted performances. The Dengue Information Push Carts, a creativity-infused project involving multi-purpose booths, was subsequently produced and roved to the community. Each of these push carts takes on an all-in-one concept as it showcases the live mosquito exhibit, acts as a game station, screens dengue prevention videos and publicizes relevant social media channels such as the Stop Dengue Now Facebook page,” informs the government's official dengue website. May

Corruption: Few aberrations, but system still works

Three cases hit the headlines this year. The trial against the six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders accused of embezzling more than S$50 million began on May 15. On May 29, former National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang was found guilty of corruption in the “sex-for-grades” case. Two days later, on May 31, former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) chief Peter Lim was also found guilty in “sex-for- contracts” corruption case. Earlier on February 14, former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay was acquitted of all corruption charges by the District Court.

City Harvest Church embezzling case

Between 2010 and 2012, the Commissioner of Charities (COC) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigated suspected financial irregularities at CHC and claimed finding “misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity”, particularly in its building fund. On June 27, 2012, the CAD arrested CHC founder Kong Hee and five senior members of his church - Tan Ye Peng, Sharon Tan, Chew Eng Han, Serina Wee and John Lam Leng Hung. They were also suspended from all their CHC posts alongside Ho Sun [Kong Hee's wife], Kelvin Teo, and Jacqueline Tan. Later, all were granted bail and their passports were impounded.

All accused were charged with varying counts of Criminal Breach of Trust. But essentially, the case deals with charges of funnelling S$24 million into sham bond investments to further Ho Sun's music career in 2007-08, and misappropriating another S$26.6 million in 2009 to cover up their tracks.

The trial which began in May is expected to last till the second half of 2014. As of now, the prosecution, in the first two legs of the trial, has questioned over 10 witnesses including accountants and directors of CHC-linked companies. The third and final leg will be spread till August 29, 2014, making it one of the longest trial in recent history in Singapore.

Sex-for-grades case

After serving five months jail term, with the last few weeks on home detention, former National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang, became a free man again on October 5. Tey was found guilty of obtaining gifts and sex from former student Darinne Ko in exchange of better grades, in May earlier this year.

Sex-for-contracts cases

Two senior civil servants, Ng Boon Gay, former Central Narcotics Bureau chief, and Peter Lim, former Singapore Civil Defence Force chief, were on trial this year for giving government contracts in return of sexual favours from several women. But the verdicts in both the cases turned out to be very different.

Ng was acquitted of all four charges in February, with the District Judge Siva Shanmugam calling the prosecution star witness Cecilia Sue “unconvincing, inconsistent and a disturbing propensity to be untruthful when her own interests are called into question”. The Attorney-General's Chambers decided against filing an appeal in June giving a closure to the high-profile case, even though Ng still faces a Civil Service disciplinary process. He would later describe the 19-month-long investigation and trial as “the darkest and lowest point” of his life.

Contrarily, Lim began serving his six-months jail term on June 26, which was later turned to home detention from September 27. Lim was found guilty of obtaining sexual services in 2010 from 49- year-old Pang Chor Mui, a former general manager at Nimrod Engineering, in return for favouring her employer in awarding government contracts. During the trial, Lim also admitted to having sexual trysts with two other women from firms which were also the vendors for SCDF. Lim was also officially dismissed from public service following conclusion of civil services disciplinary proceedings against him, informed the Ministry of Home Affairs in September.

CPIB officer in the dock

In July, Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, a 39-year-old assistant director in the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), was charged with 21 offences committed between 2008 and 2012 including misappropriating more than S$1.7 million and forgery. In December, Yeo, decided to plead guilty. His case will be brought up in the Subordinate Court on January 21, 2014. June

Environment: Looking forward to a hazy June again?

June 21, 2013, was immortalised in Singapore's environmental history as the date when Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 401 – the highest in country's history, beating the previous highest PSI reading of 226 witnessed in 1997 by a comfortable margin. The reason was the fires caused by illegal slash-and-burn land clearance method adopted by poor farmers in Riau province, Sumatra Island, Indonesia. Palm Oil companies in the region came into controversy as a result.

Not only Singapore, also declared a state of emergency in some of its southern provinces, as the PSI hit record levels across the region. With haze becoming almost an annual affair in South-east Asia, governments blamed their counter-part in Indonesia for not doing enough to stop the disaster in- spite of having at least three laws prohibiting the burning of forests. Incidentally, Indonesia is the only ASEAN member not to have ratified the 2002 Agreement on Trans-boundary A palm oil factory in the Riau province, Indonesia, Courtesy: Haze Pollution. Greenpeace International

The Indonesian government in turn blamed the slash-and-burn farming [cheapest method of clearing forests] prevalent in Riau on the east coast of Sumatra, which is the country's largest producer of palm-oil, and thus a huge revenue-generator.

UK-based media giant The Economist, in its commentary, Hard to deal with, published in July noted, “About half of the land on which the fires are burning in Sumatra belongs to big palm-oil conglomerates, many of them Malaysian-owned. Most have strict no-burning policies, but have been accused of starting fires (or paying others to light them on their behalf) in the past, in order to clear more of their concessions for palm oil.”

Indonesia also blamed eight companies, including Singapore-based Sinar Mas and Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL) for much of the fires in Sumatra. As a precautionary measure and to prevent any harmful effects of haze, the sale of N95 masks shot through the roof in Singapore, with many major stores and pharmacies running a stock shortage.

To be sure, three Singapore-based palm-oil producers – Wilmar International, Olam International and Unilever Asia, maintained “innocence over haze crisis” in September in a seminar at the Singapore Institute of International affairs, the Strait Times reported.

With no major governmental action in sight and complete denial by palm-oil companies, many are wondering whether things will be any different this time around, come June? July

Sports: Some unexpected results

July brought the best sports news of the year. On July 2, Singapore's LionsXII won the Malaysian Super League (MSL) title at Jalan Besar with no less than the PM in attendance. Later, in September, Ng Ser Miang made an unsuccessful bid at the coveted presidency of the International Olympic Committee, followed by National Service (NS) deferment to Singapore's top swimmer Joseph Schooling in October. Schooling later shone for the city- state at SEA Games held in Myanmar in December. Singapore also remained in news throughout the year for allegedly being the base of an international football match-fixing syndicate.

LionsXII triumph

A convincing 4-0 demolition of KL Felda United on home ground and LionsXII became the first Singapore team to win a Malaysian title since 1994. After a goal-less first-half, the match came to life in the second, when Felda's Azrul Ahmad scored an own goal. Lions XII's skipper scored the second goal at 57th minute and set-up one for Fazrul Nawaz in the 60th minute. With just six minutes remaining, substitute Shahfiq Ghani sealed the win for the home team.

Later, in November, Lions XII coach, V Sundramoorthy, who led the team to MSL title, moved across the Causeway and took over the Malaysian club Negeri Sembilan. Three key Lions XII players was moved. Captain Shahril Ishak to Johor FA, and vice-captain and Baihakki Khaizan to Johor Darul Takzim.

In December, just before the SEA Games, Football Association of Singapore (FAS) ended months of speculations and confirmed the appointment of former Singapore international as Lions XII's new coach. The team will begin its 2014 MSL campaign against champions Pahang in Kuantan on January 17.

SEA Games

The sports highlight of the year for the region were the three weeks long 27th SEA (South-east Asian) Games held in Myanmar in December. Particularly, as Singapore is due to host Closing ceremony at 27th SEA Games, Courtesy: the next edition in 2015. http://www.27seagames2013.com/ Ng Ser Miang, Singapore's International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, congratulated the Myanmar SEA Games organising committee for successfully hosting the Games after a 44-year hiatus and handed them the IOC Trophy. Ng, earlier in the year, had made an unsuccessful attempt at IOC presidency.

Overall, the city-state stood sixth in the 11 nations meet with 34 golds, 29 silvers and 45 bronzes. The first-placed got 107 golds, 94 silvers and 81 bronzes.

Few performances brought back memories of old times. These included Saiyidah Aisyah's gold in rowing since 1997, Ho Han Boon's gold in Judo in 24 years, Janine Khoo's gold in equestrian since 1995, and Chan Jing Ru's archery gold in 30 years. Moreover, there were few firsts for Singapore during the Games as well including Mok Ying Ren's gold in men's marathon and Dinah Chan's gold in women cycling.

Sailing (five golds), table-tennis (four golds) and swimming (11 golds), produced great results for Singapore as expected.

Notably, for Singapore, the star performer was 18-year-old Joseph Schooling, who came back with a haul of five golds and one silver, and was the event's most decorated swimmer. With this performance, Schooling has taken steps towards proving that the decision by the Ministry of Defence to grant him long-term deferment from National Service till 2016 Summer Olympics may indeed be the correct one.

Football match-fixing syndicate

It all started when in February the European anti-crime agency Europol said that a Singapore-based syndicate is involved in fixing at least 380 football matches in Europe, including Champions League ties and World Cup qualifiers. Investigations followed, and later in September, Singapore Police Force and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau arrested 14 suspected members of the organised football match-fixing crime ring.

Also, in April, three Lebanese referees were barred from officiating in an AFC Cup match in Singapore on suspicions of match-fixing. Later, referees Ali Sabbagh, Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleh were jailed for six, three and three months respectively, for fixing a game between Singapore's Tampines Rovers and India's East Bengal in return for sexual favours. August

People: Let's build a better Singapore together

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave, what some have called his most impressive National Day Rally (NDR) speech over the last decade, on August 18. While announcing few “strategic shifts”, he also drew curtains to the fourth year-long Singapore conversation in just over 20 years.

NDR 2013

What PM announced were the “shifts” in the government's policies relating to housing, health and education. It included the extension of the Step-up Housing Grants to middle-income households vying to buy a 4-room flat and stepping up supply of BTO flats so that an HDB flat is within reach of all Singaporeans. In healthcare sector, the PM Lee at NDR 2013, Courtesy: PMO shift was extending Medisave funds to be used for outpatient treatments as well as relaunching MediShield as MediShield Life providing universal coverage to all Singaporeans even for chronic illnesses. PM Lee also re-emphasised his government's commitment for ensuring that every school in Singapore is a good school.

As regards to housing, about 77,000 build-to-order (BTO) flats launched by HDB in the last three years of ramped-up supply period, tougher loan rules, as well as barring newly-minted Permanent Residents from buying HDB resale flats for three years, have already started taking effect. So much so, that analysts are claiming that home prices could dip a further 20 percent by end-2015.

But existential questions of healthcare affordability, especially for low-income Singaporeans, and the society's fascination with Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) T-scores that has led to preferential treatment of schools by parents in Singapore, have remained unanswered. Taking clue from the PM [who said during his NDR that the PSLE aggregate scores will be replaced by wider grade bands, similar to those used in the O- and A-level examinations], the Ministry of Education didn't include the highest and lowest aggregate scores in the results slips of students in this year's PSLE. Our SG Conversation

During his NDR 2012, PM Lee announced the decision to start a national conversation on all issues concerning Singaporeans, to be called Our Singapore Conversation (OSC). In the year-long exercise, close to 47,000 people participated in over 660 sessions, and housing, healthcare and job security emerged as the top areas of priority for Singaporeans.

Courtesy: Our Singapore Conversation September

Society: Poverty and race issues need to be addressed

This month drew attention to the fact that while Singapore has come a long way forward in terms of racial harmony, there is still some work that needs to be done in this regard. The Suara Musyawarah report and survey findings published by the Institute of Policy Studies in September were a testimony to that. Moreover, the issue of poverty and how the “bottom-fifth” low-income Singaporeans are struggling to survive amidst growing inflation was a persistent discourse all through out the year. Interestingly, a study by the National Institute of Education of over 3,000 students from 18 secondary schools across the Island revealed that they don't have a strong grasp of democracy and its principles.

Suara Musyawarah

Three separate events highlighted the issue of race in Singapore this year.

During the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities last year, , the minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs, announced the setting up of an independent, non-partisan committee to engage the Malay/Muslim community and gather feedback on the community's thoughts, concerns and aspirations. The committee met over 500 individuals as well as representatives of groups and organisations from the Malay/Muslim community and conducted 35 focus group discussions. It then submitted its report to the minister titled,‘Suara Musyawarah: Conversations with the Community’, which highlighted that while the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore “identifies itself as part of and belonging to the broader Singapore community”, there also exists a “perception of unequal opportunities” among the community.

Narpani dialogue

Similarly, at a dialogue with about 300 grass-root leaders and residents organised by Narpani Pearavai, or “Good Activity Council”, which is an umbrella organisation of People's Association 94 Indian Activity Executive Committees spread all over Singapore, the Indian community in Singapore raised its concerns. The minister for environment and water resources and People's Action Party (PAP) MPs , and , attended the dialogue. While general concerns such as high immigration, healthcare affordability and PSLE were mentioned, specific concerns such as job discrimination, housing issues due to HDB's ethnic quota policy and educational under-performance were also brought-up. IPS study

Finally, in a survey published by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), National University of Singapore (NUS), and OnePeople.sg, an organisation to promote racial harmony and bring different communities together in Singapore, it emerged that 2 in 3 and 3 in 5 Indians have faced discrimination at least at some point while applying for jobs in Singapore. Additionally, the findings revealed that about 17.6% Singaporean Indian respondents and 19.6% Singaporean Malays believed that Indians and Malays had to work harder compared to other races to have a basic, decent life in Singapore.

Poverty

The issue was brought into focus in September, during a forum organised by the faculty of arts and social sciences at National University of Singapore (NUS) titled, Building an inclusive society: understanding and empowering the poor in Singapore. , associate professor at NUS, presented her survey of 383 Singaporeans on their attitudes towards poverty.

In 2012, One Singapore - an organisation working to raise public awareness on how to make poverty history, civil society activists, journalists and other voluntary organisations debated the same issue in a forum organised by the Singapore Management University’s Wee Kim Wee Centre. Participants alluded to the fact that based on the most recent 2007/2008 household expenditure survey, the average monthly income of the bottom 20% of households in Singapore is only S$1,274, which is far less than their average monthly expenditure of S$1,760. In 2011, Jacqueline Loh of Lien Centre for Social Innovation, Singapore Management University, published a study, Bottom fifth in Singapore, in which she indicated that “a family of four would need S$1,700 to cover basic costs of living, but S$2,500-3,000/month to meet a 'social inclusion' level of income”.

Cleaning industry

Attention also turned to the low-paying cleaning industry this year. The industry hires almost 70,000 workers across more than 900 companies, of which two-thirds – or 51,000 are locals. These form the bottom-most part of Singaporean society with the median monthly wage being S$815. As cleaning services are mostly outsourced, with emphasises on low-price contracts, the cleaners bear the brunt with lowest-possible wages. Taking note of this, and other challenges faced by the cleaning industry such as cheap-sourcing, manpower shortage, low-wages, unattractive working conditions, and poor perception, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) initiated a Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC) and made recommendations for a Progressive Wage Model for the cleaners in Singapore. “S$1,000 as the entry-level basic wage for cleaning jobs in offices and commercial buildings, as well as the F&B establishment sector; and S$1,200 in the conservancy sector. In addition to the entry-level wage point, each ladder comprises additional wage points to provide a pathway for cleaners to progress to higher wages as they become better skilled, more productive or take on higher responsibilities,” recommended the TCC. October

Economy: Uncertain times

Declining tourism, rising inflation, fluctuating exports, dropping property prices, unsure COE prices, and allegations of being a tax-haven. These dominated the business headlines in Singapore this year. Singapore Airlines, one of country's success stories, went for an business overhaul and entered into a joint venture with India's big business house Tata. Finally, when on October 22, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the Chinese decision to extend its prized offshore renminbi scheme to the city-state, it highlighted Singapore's success in balancing its economic relationships with China and Taiwan. Singapore-Taiwan free-trade agreement was signed two weeks later.

Tourism

The tourism sector in Singapore is reeling under pressure from a changing landscape. The Monetary Authority of Singapore figures for the second quarter registered a decline in tourism-related activities. Air passenger arrivals declined by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter seasonally- adjusted annualised rate in this period, largely due to fewer tourists from China and the EU. Consequently, demand for accommodation services also moderated slightly, with hotel occupancy rates dipping to 86.3%. Even the newer attractions such as Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) saw a decline in local patronage due to the novelty factor wearing off and other safeguards such as entry levies, exclusion orders and visit limits.

Tax-haven

Amid growing concern internationally on the use of financial centres to hide illicit funds or evade taxes, the Singapore government initiated stringent efforts this year to ensure that the country remains a clean and trusted financial centre. These included making laundering proceeds of tax evasion and tax fraud a crime in Singapore; signing the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in order to enhance the international cooperation on the exchange of tax related information; and introducing a proposal to amend the Income Tax Act so as to allow the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) to obtain bank and trust information from financial institutions without having to seek a Court Order.

The city-state also concluded with US an inter-governmental agreement that will facilitate financial institutions in Singapore to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a US law which requires all financial institutions outside of the US to pass information about financial accounts held by US persons to the US Inland Revenue Service on a regular basis. Indicators

According to the MAS, the growth forecast for 2013, as indicated in its latest survey of economists have been revised from 2.9% to 3.8%. Going into 2014, economists have also raised the GDP forecast from 3.5% to 3.9%. Meanwhile, Consumer Price Index-All Items inflation and MAS Core Inflation are expected to come in at 2.4% and 1.7% respectively in 2013.

Also, as compared to 2012, non-oil domestic exports for 2013 registered a decline of 3.9%. Other key macroeconomic indicators [compared to the previous year] include manufacturing – 1.4%, finance services – 10.7%, construction – 5.6%, accommodation & food services – 2.9%, wholesale & retail – 5.3%, and private consumption – 2.5%.

Off-shore renminbi hub

Singapore's development as an offshore Yuan hub was kick-started in May, when the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China started its Yuan-clearing services in the city-state. In October, the pact was signed under which China agreed to allow Singapore-based investors to buy renminbi- denominated securities, thus paving the way for direct trading between the two countries’ currencies.

Other bilateral projects between the two countries such as China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, are also on track and progressing well.

Taiwan pact

Singapore also signed a trade pact with Taiwan in November to be called the Agreement between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Partnership (ASTEP). It contains 17 chapters including market access conditions for trade in goods, cross-border trade in services, government procurement and e-commerce, issues related to trade rules, cooperation in intellectual property protection, and dispute settlement provisions.

SIA-Tata JV

The national carrier, Singapore Airlines, announced a joint-venture (JV) airline with India's Tata Group in a 49:51 stake deal. With the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India clearing the JV in October, the new carrier is expected to take to the skies by mid-2014.

To be fitted on new long-haul aircraft entering the SIA fleet, Courtesy SIA November

Cyber world: Hope the master-plan works next year

In a irony of sorts, the same year government launched a five-year National Cyber Security Master-plan 2018 “to further secure Singapore's cyber environment”, the country faced it's biggest-ever hacker attack in November, where government, town council and media websites were compromised within days. Even school websites were not spared. Reports of sensitive financial data belonging to Standard Chartered bank being stolen also surfaced. The Edward Snowden saga reached Singapore's shores as well when leaked NSA maps published by few international media organisations in November alleged that Singapore is a key “third player” supporting the United States “Five Eyes” surveillance network; which the Singapore government denied. Also, the government's new licensing regime for online “news” websites announced in May remained controversial throughout the year.

National Cyber Security Masterplan (NCSM) 2018

On July 24, the government launched a five-year NCSM to “further secure Singapore's cyber environment. Developed through a multi-agency effort led by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) under the guidance of the National Infocomm Security Committee (NISC), the Masterplan provides an overarching strategic direction to help Government and organisations in strengthening resilience against cyber threats”. IDA said that the plan is intended to focus on developing Singapore as a trusted and robust infocomm hub by 2018. Earlier in March, the government had set up a cyber security lab to help law enforcers hone their ability to counter attacks.

The attacks

In October, November and December, the country faced a series of hack attacks allegedly by the hacktivist organisation, Anonymous, represented by a member who went by the online handle, The Messiah. In all, websites of the Prime Minister's Office, the Istana, City Harvest Church, Strait Times, Seletar Airport, few town councils, 13 schools and several others, were compromised. A certain James Raj Arokiasamy and few others have been arrested and investigations are on.

New licensing rules

The Messiah claimed that the hack attacks were in protests against the new licensing rules introduced in June by the Media Development Authority (MDA). According to the new rules, online news sites that report at least one article a week on news related to Singapore over a period of two months, and have at least 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore each month over a period of two months, will require individual licenses to be issued by the MDA. Additionally, these sites will need to put out a performance bond of S$50,000 to acquire the license, and licensees will be required to remove "prohibited content" within 24 hours of being notified to do so. Several socio-political websites and bloggers calling themselves- Free My Internet – organised protests, both online and offline, in June and called on the MDA to roll-back the new licensing regime. December

Labour: Singapore can do better The year ended with a bang, quite literally, as Singapore witnessed its first riot in over 40 years, bringing the issue of foreign workers conditions in the city-state to the forefront again. Amid reports that not many in Singapore are giving a weekly rest day to their maids, the traditional sources to bring maids in the city-state such as the Philippines and Indonesia dried up, which lead to maid recruitment agencies turning to new sources including Myanmar and . For construction workers too, new countries such as Sri Lanka were being explored. In a positive development, about 7,500 Marina Bay Sands employees were offered union membership in October after two-year-long lengthy negotiations.

Little India Riot

A Committee of Inquiry (COI) has been appointed by the home affairs ministry to establish the factors and circumstances that led to the riot in Little India on December 8. It will also look into how the riot unfolded and how well the authorities responded. Moreover, the COI will also “consider whether current measures to manage such incidents in areas where foreign workers congregate such as Little India are adequate, and recommend any further measures to improve their management and reduce the risk of such incidents”. It all started when Sakthivel Kumaravelu, a 33-year- old construction worker from Tamil Nadu, India, was run over by a private bus. A crowd of around 400 gathered and a riot ensued. 25 vehicles were damaged, and over 40 officers sustained injuries.

Investigations started the next day, followed all through the month of December and are still on. Around 25 arrests were made, 53 workers were repatriated back to India and 200 more were issued formal police advisories. Restriction orders on the sale and consumption of alcohol in the Little India area were also put in place, though much to the dismay of businesses there.

Day-off for maids

The year started with a good news for the over 2,00,000 maids [or foreign domestic workers] in Singapore. It was a directive by the Ministry of Manpower for a weekly rest day to be given to maids in Singapore from January 1, 2013. But as the year went by, it seemed that the situation hadn't improved by much. Clarissa Oon, in her commentary in the Strait Times noted that checks “with six maid agencies in January showed that 70 percent of their 400 or so new customers employing maids were not likely to give them rest days at all until they had proven themselves to be trustworthy”. John Gee, immediate past president of the advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too quoted similar figures in his article published in July. From Myanmar and Cambodia

In another development, -based Association of Licensed Recruitment Agencies decided to stop sending Filipino domestic workers to Singapore from September 2 this year in a dispute over who is to pay the placement fees for the maids – employer or the maid. This led to maid recruitment agencies in Singapore turning to new sources of domestic workers such as Myanmar and Cambodia.

But how far this will succeed is not clear, as parallel news reports of a rising numbers of maids from Myanmar running away from their Singapore employers surfaced in April.

In September, the pilot programme by the Ministry of Manpower for six selected employment agencies to bring in 400 maids from Cambodia, was also reported progressing very slowly due to problems in recruiting women back home.

From Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, in August, the first batch of construction workers from Sri Lanka arrived in Singapore. These workers were trained in a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) approved training centre in Colombo. As majority of over 300,000 construction workers in Singapore are from China and India [who are preferring to stay home due to booming economies], BCA is exploring new sources such as Sri Lanka to ease the shortfall.

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