The Straits Times : Weekly Overseas Edition, 14 March 1998

Total Pages: 24
1 24 The Straits Times : Weekly Overseas Edition
  • 20 1 The Straits Times WEEKLY EDITION SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1998 Price: 551.20 (in Singapore) Elsewhere by subscription only MITA (P) 047/08/97
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  • 551 1  -  Force may be used to thwart human smugglers By Tan Ooi Boon THE Government will not go soft on illegal immigrants and overstavers, and those who smuggle, employ or haroour such immigration offenders, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament yesterday. If necessary,
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  • 61 1 THE raid is over. The police have combed every floor of a disused shophouse opposite Joo Chiat Complex, and have uncovered about 30 suspected illegal immigrants. But one eagle-eyed officer spots this kitchen cabinet, still intact. He swings the door open. Out pops a Myanmar national, looking like
    Picture by FRANCIS ONG.  -  61 words
  • 469 1 WORKERS in the manufacturing sector, especially those in the electrical and electronic clusters, were the hardest hit when companies began retrenching more workers in the fourth quarter of last year. For every 1,000 workers in the manufacturing sector, 23 were retrenched, according to the
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  • NEWS FOCUS
    • 378 2 AS A student in England in the *****. Mr Lee Kuan Yewhad visited the world-famous Madam Tussaud's waxwork museum in London. Little did he imagine then that he would one day join the string of w r orld leaders who were
      Picture by GEORGE GASCON.  -  378 words
    • 980 2  -  New mayor outlines proposals to ensure that park breaks even this year By Mary Kwang China Correspondent BEIJING Chinese officials involved in the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) have tabled several proposals to ensure that the bilateral flagship government project in Suzhou would break
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    • 457 2 AFP. SINGAPORE, Hongkong and Malaysia have the most busi-ness-friendly bureaucrats in Asia, while Indonesia. South Korea and Vietnam have the most inefficient civil service, according to a regional poll. Over 300 businessmen polled in Asia gave Singapore the edge over Hongkong,
      AFP.  -  457 words
    • 619 3  -  Singapore team leaves to conquer world’s highest peak By Braema Mathi AFTER four years of carrying weights, popping vitamin pills, trekking with 20-kg backpacks up and down treacherous slopes and pounding on doors for funds, Singapore's Everest team left on Thursday to scale the world’s highest peak.
      Picture by CHEW SENG KIM.; NOEL HOSAt FS and CHOO BEE VIAN  -  619 words
    • 395 3  -  By Ginnie Teo MOST of Singapore will be light ning-safe in five years, as work begins on a programme to make bus-stops, basketball courts, school assembly areas and beaches safe. In the last two years, 14 people were killed by lightning here. Singapore
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    • 257 3 THE Education Ministry will reduce the bond period from five to four years for A-level holders and teachers who apply for degree courses this year. But the new terms will not apply to those now in the university or serving their bonds, said
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    • 379 3  -  By Chang Ai-Lien ABOUT 12,000 people have filed their tax returns through the Internet or by telephone in the three weeks since this service began. This is almost a third of the taxpayers who have submitted returns so far. The Inland Revenue
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  • PARLIAMENT
    • 627 4 Moral obligation to serve DEPUTY Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday reminded government scholars that they had a duty to serve Singapore and keep up the system, which had given them the opportunities to go to top universities and "made them what they
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    • 300 4 ARE bond-breaking scholars blacklisted and turned down when they seek jobs in govern ment agencies later 0 Nominated MP Simon Tav posed this question to Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday following his ministerial statement on the moral obligations of
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    • 834 4  -  By Sandra Davie THE surprise target of the Bud get debate on Monday was Economic Development Board chairman Philip Yeo, one of Singapore's most powerful civil servants. Several MPs criticised him for presuming to tell MP Chng Hee Kok
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    • 492 4  -  By Sandra Davie THOSE who criticise EDB chief Philip Yeo simply don’t know the man. said two MPs who know the feisty Mr Yeo very well indeed. Mr David Lim (Aljunied GRC) and Mr Lim Swee Say (Taniong Pagar GRC)
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    • 473 5 Country will have enough reserves if regional financial crisis worsens SEVERAL MPs on Tuesday praised Finance Minister Richard Hu for not spending more of the Budget surplus to stimulate the economy in the midst of the regional economic uncertainties.
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    • 380 5 DO MORE to help Singaporean workers who are retrenched or face heightened competition from the influx of foreign workers here, several MPs urged the Government on Monday. Among their proposals: the Skills Development Fund could be more generous in helping re
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    • 271 5 OPPOSITION MPs on Monday criticised the Government for unveiling a disappointing Bud get, which failed to offer Singaporeans adequate protection from the full impact of the regional economic crisis. To redress this shortcoming, Workers’ Party MPs Low Thia Khiang and J.B. Jeyaretnam
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    • 427 5 PUZZLING that was how MPs described the reduction of the income tax rebate from 10 per cent to just 5 per cent in this year’s Budget. Several of them on Monday echoed the disappointment of the man in the street when they said that
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    • 596 6  -  Promise of more measures if there is a sudden downturn By Chua Lee Hoong THERE is no recession in sight. Finance Minister Richard Hu declared on Tuesday, when he defended the Government's Budget and said it was adequate for an economy projected
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    • 590 6 BGYeo paints picture of creative community SINGAPORE may never become like California’s Silicon Valley, but it can inch a little closer towards it. and the Government will try to create a total environment that can attract creative people to work here. Second Minister for
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    • 481 6 THE Government is keeping a close watch on the cost of doing business here and will not be caught flat-footed if there is a sudden decline in the economy, said Trade and Industry Minister Lee Yock Suan on Thursday. It did
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    • 568 7  -  Callers of dating lines leave lewd messages Reports by Ho Ai Li COMMERCIAL phone sex is not legal in Singapore, but something close to it has surfaced in the form of phonedating lines which promise "immediate response The Sraits Times checked three
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    • 222 7 MORE Indonesians are expected to try to slip into Singapore illegally as the economic situation there deteriorates, said the Home Affairs Ministry on Monday. Responding to press queries, it said in a statement that the problem of illegal immigrants from Indonesia sneaking into
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    • 405 8 POLICE arrested more than 200 people of various nationalities in a series of island-wide raids on Thursday. About 83 officers from the Ang Mo Kio Division swarmed a coffeeshop and a provision shop along Punggol Hoad at 7 pm. surprising dozens
      Picture by GEORGE GASCON.  -  405 words
    • 260 8 CHINESE sitcoms shown on the Television Corporation of Singapore should mind their alamaks and lobangs, said a committee which advises and provides feed back on TCS' Chinese pro grammes. In a report released last Fri day. it said that while “Singlish Mandarin"
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  • Page 6 Advertisements
    • 208 6 < GAIN A STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING I OF THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION The Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies taught in Singapore, made available to the region via internet... The only course of its kind in Singapore, the MA in Asia Pacific Studies is an internationally recognised Master's level programme
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    • 180 7 Home Delivery weekly! A crisp summary of the week's major happenings in Singapore. Politics, business, the economy, investment opportunities, executives appointments... and highlights on Malaysia and the Asean. A convenient tabloid airmailed to you wherever you may be. Yes! Every week. Subscribe now. And be at home with the ST
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  • Page 8 Miscellaneous
    • 1118 8 RADIO SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL (ENGLISH) PROGRAMME SCHEDULES 1100 1400 Hours (GMT) 6015 KHz (49M BAND) 6055 KHz (49M BAND) MONDAY 1100 News 1109 Business Market Report 1115 Arts Arena 1130 News 1135 The Front Page 1138 E Z Beat 1145 Newsline 1200 News/Weather (Asia-Pacific) 1205 E Z Beat 1220 Business Market
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  • SPORTS
    • 853 9  -  By Tay Cheng Khoon IT WAS 1988. Singapore had just recovered from the recession and there were signs of the good times coming hack. One such indicator was the public outcry in golf clubs and the local newspapers over the allocation of Raffles Country
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    • 558 9  -  SOCCER By S. Murali THE soccer standard between the S-League and Malaysian League is not that different, but where Malaysia scores is in the passion among its fans. So said current Selangor and former Woodlands Wellington coach Steve Wicks, whose team is in
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    • 439 9  -  HOCKEY By Santokh Singh THE national women’s hockey team has been invited to the Commonwealth Games but it has turned down the offer. Singapore Hockey Federa tion president M. Lukshu mayen said on Tuesday that he would rather the team con centrated on the
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  • MALAYSIA
    • 396 10 Bernama, Reuters. KEPALA BAT AS (Penang) Malaysia wants to discuss with Indonesia the rising influx of illegal Indonesian immigrants. saying that they will be sent home quickly to reduce the cost of detaining them. “The mass exodus of illegal immigrants
      Bernama,; Reuters.  -  396 words
    • 239 10 KUALA LUMPUR Two Ma lavsian Chinese Association politicians who pleaded guilty to a gambling charge at the Klang Magistrates Court last month have been expelled from the party. They were Batu Empat Ka par MCA branch chairman Tan Yoke Chun and vice-chairman Yap Sim
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    • 459 10  -  By Brendan Pereira in Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA’S biggest conglomerate, Sime Darby, recorded its first loss in more than two decades and decided to give up its banking business which put it in unfamiliar territory. Group chief executive Tan Sri Nik
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    • 201 10  -  BRENDAN PEREIRA. HUGE losses at Sime Bank and its securities arm have prompted an internal investigation into how these outfits were run. Tan Sri Nik Mohamed Nik Yaacob, chief executive of parent company Sime Darby, said the probe, being carried out with
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    • 425 10 Bernama. KUALA LUMPUR The Malaysian Cabinet has agreed that the brand new Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang begin commercial operations m June. The actual date will be decided later. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik told reporters here
      Bernama.; AFP picture.  -  425 words

  • SOUTH-EAST ASIA
    • 465 11  -  By Susan Sim Indonesia Correspondent JAKARTA Legislators cheered loudly as they endorsed President Suharto for a seventh consecutive term on Tuesday. But outside, the news was bleak. As Jakarta rushed to send a team to Washington to try to rescue
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    • 188 11 AFP, Reuters. JAKARTA Thousands of students on the campuses of two universities in West Java province demonstrated last Saturday to protest against the government’s handling of the troubled Indonesian economy, witnesses said. Some 1,000 students gathered for two hours at the Bandung Institute
      AFP,; Reuters.; Reuters picture.  -  188 words
    • 686 11  -  By Susan Sim Indonesia Correspondent JAKARTA On the first day of his seventh term in office, President Suharto on Wednesday made it clear that he intended to serve the full five years, as he warned Indonesians of the tough times ahead. In
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    • 472 11 Thailand to set up world’s first Aids colony but victims fear they will be further maginalised AFP BANGKOK The Thai government has said it would set up the world’s first official Aids colony in central Thailand, letting those suffering from the deadly virus lead lives separate from society. Agriculture Permanent
      AFP  -  472 words

  • COMMENT / Pick of the week’s editorials
    • 645 12 MARCH 12, 1998 THE re-election of President Suharto for a seventh five-year term is not the less momentous for having been widely expected. The 76-year-old Indonesian leader embodies the stability, provided by continuity, that has marked the fortunes "of the nation and its neighbours for
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    • 683 12 MARCH 11 1998 REASSURING though it is to learn that Singapore's crime rate fell in 1997 for the ninth consecutive year, a closer examination of the figures does not suggest too much scope for complacency. If the incidence of robbery, housebreaking and vehicle theft declined
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    • 687 12 MARCH 10. 1998 THE deregulation of taxi fares announces last week is, on pa per. a good idea It will allow market forces to prevail in trans actions between commuters and taxi companies, which will be free to use their resources as they see fit
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    • 759 12  -  By Yeong Ah Seng LAST month, a reader wrote to The Straits Times Forum Page lamenting the failure of Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) to provide cable service to his home. He had good reason to be unhappy as, unlike viewers in lessdeveloped
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  • COMMENT/ANALYSIS
    • 1113 13  -  By Koh Buck Song IN ITS task of helping to form the “heartware of the next century, the Singapore 21 committee has been talcing some small steps of late. No giant leaps these, but they are sure strides forward in the evolution of political consultation
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    • 900 13  -  By Helen Chia ON PAPER, it makes perfect sense to make en-bloc sales of private properties easier to go through. Under proposed changes to the law, the requirement that all owners of an apartment block must agree to an en-bloc sale will be removed.
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  • INSIGHT
    • 2044 14 Who should have the final say the state or the courts? Official secrets The Court of Appeal has ruled that the courts have the final say on whether a piece of information constitutes an official secret. But the Government fears that the ruling will make it more difficult for it
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    • 1351 15  -  Thinking Aloud Warren Fernandez MEET Johnny Yong, 16. He comes from a typical Singapore family, lives in a Housing Board flat, attends a school nearby, and hangs out with his friends every day after class. When he has a problem, he seeks out his friends,
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    • 1090 15 The National Wages Council has been issuing annual guidelines for wage increases since 1972. But not much is known about the tripartite deliberations. Ahmad Osman gives some glimpses culled from three essays by NWC chairman Professor Lim Chong Yah in a
      Picture by WONG POK SEE.  -  1,090 words


  • MONEY
    • 422 16  -  Market review PATRICK TAN. SINGAPORE shares closed mixed for the week as investors turned cautious pending further developments in Indonesia and the local corporate scene. The week opened on a nervous note as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delayed its US$3 billion disbursement to
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    • 78 16 ST Industrials Index The Straits Times Industrials Index rose 27.48 points on the week to 1598.63. DAY CLOSE TURNOVER Monday 1538.66 (-32.49) 231.830 ($275.529m) Tuesday 1546.051+ 7.39) 319.266 ($341.656m) Wednesday 1577.84 1+31.79) 318.138 ($385.508m) Thursday 1580.84 3.00) 177.587 ($316.313m) Friday 1598.63 (+17.79) 166.226 ($261.481m) BT— MGA Index
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    • 1648 16 Nat earn EPS Data TV LV TV LV Company •nn <$m) ($m) (Cti) lets) Asiamatrm SO; Too 24 P 2.185L 3.233L 8.1L I3L BMT Jan 22 1 0.508 0.834 93.0 152 BAT Fab 27 P ***** 31.846 32 3 35.4 Berjaya Grp* Dec 19 1 41.001 ***** 4.7
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    • 173 16 RIGHTS ISSUE Company Ratio Exdate Books close Ace Paymt Casykmt Three-for-Two(PHK10C Oac 31 Jan 7 feb 4 BONUS ISSUE Company Ratio Exdate Books close Hup Sang Eng Wan Huat One-for-five One-for-two feb 2 feb 13 feb 9 feb 20 Feb 19 NA OTHERS Company Ratio Exdate Books close
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    • 82 16 Company Rlqhts issue AIS8 Inno-Pac Material H PMI Three-for-five M$5.50 One-for-one $0.30 0ne-for-one<?$0.20 Three-for-two M$1.00 Company Bonus Issue M Royal Two-for-three H Seng Huat One-for-tive Kemayan Corp One-for-three Lum Cnang One-tor-five NBT One-for-tive PMI One-for-four Company Others Inno-Pac Proposes issue of one wrt tor every four ordinary shares.
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    • 92 16 Cerebos A Hilton, S'pore Room Mar 16 12.00n Pacific 581 Orchard Rd 5th Level (*****3) AfSL Corpn t 65 Chulia St «50 00 Mar 16 10 45am oeec Cantra (*****3) Mttf E Board Room 6th Floor Fab 26 10 00am Sf.a Campbell Complex 98 J» Danq WangOlL a'Uv»
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    • 561 16 Payment Cx Books Pay date close date Asia Pac Brew F UN Feb 27 Mar 6 Mar 17 Avimo 20C F 16.25N Mar 11 Mar 18 Apr 3 Australand SOc F 6 4N Mar 2 Mar 9 Mar 20 Beriaya Grp 1 2.0 Feb 11 Feb 18 Mar
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    • 411 17 THE Government's finances are in the pink of health with a surplus of nearly $5 billion generated last year. And that tidy surplus was generated after a huge 55 per cent increase in development spending during the year. An excess of 54.74 billion was
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    • 367 17  -  By Tammy Tan AZTECH Systems on Monday refiorted poorer-than-expected ull-year net earnings of $2.3 million* citing price erosion and its discontinued CD-ROM product line. Its performance was below analysts’ expectations of $7.8 million but was still
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    • 176 17 COUNTER RATES Singapore dollars to one unit of foreign currency Selling Buying OD US dollar 1 6000 1 6370 Sterling pound ***** ***** Australian dollar ***** 1 1104 Canadian dollar 1 1276 1 1667 NZ dollar 0 9199 0 9629 EC unit 1.7847 Singapore dollars to 100 units of
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    • 110 17 Contract date: March 13 1998 UNIT ONE MTH 3 MTH 6 MTH 9 MTH 12 MTH CALL VALUE DATE uss 5 57.. 5 57., 54 44 17/3/98 AS 4'/. «’4 47. 47. 4V„ 3”/., 17/3/98 NZS n n 7% TV. 77, 77, 17/3/98 S T G 6%
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    • 467 17 March 13.1998 HKS ASM Pacific 5 70 unch Allied ind Int i 0 24 -0.01 Allied Oversea 054 unch Asia Sec Inf 0 70 unch Bank of EA 14 85 unch C P Pokphand 1 35 •0 05 CDl Hofei 285 unch Cafe Oe Coral 1 86 -0 03
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    • 612 17 Ana' Mqt Al l Ltd Atte'deen S po'e G’*und 0 96'—t Of" Ab«rd»*n S*l*ct Portfolio (at NAV) Ash'! Fyed ’neon* Fund Pact* Eoui\ Puna Indonesian Equity Fuad 0 920" 0 968" 0 730" Va'aysan Ed’.'v Fund 043" Ptwppme Equity Fund 0934" Sngapote Equity Fund 0 9’9" fnariand Equity
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    • 9186 18 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL Transaction Date: March 13.1998 J 1997 98 Curr Last Vol Day Grs Net M Cap Wt Avg High Low Company Traded Sale ♦or000 High Low Div P/E Smil Price 157 185 e ACE Dynamics60c 36 -1 24 36 34 29 5 36 ASE NTS10
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    • 857 20  -  It loses position as most profitable bank to OCBC 3y Tan Li Eng UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) on Monday reported a 29.8 per cent slump in 1997 net profit to $502 million, dragged down by the poor performances of subsidiaries. The last
      Picture by GEORGE GASCON.  -  857 words
    • 629 20  -  By Tan Li Eng TREASURY operations and overseas earnings were the key contributors to Overseas Union Bank’s (OUB) profit last year, said president Peter Seah. Although group profit slid by 17.9 per cent to $254.8 million, the bank managed to achieve a
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    • 403 20  -  By Edna Koh IN A bid to attract big depositors, POSBank has introduced higher interest rates for clients who maintain larger balances in their savings accounts. From Wednesday, balances of $lOO,OOO and more started earning interest of 4.125 per cent, up from 3.5
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  • Page 21 Advertisements
    • 988 21 Singapore International Foundation EXECUTIVES Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is a non-profit organisation established in 1991 to further Singapore's efforts to go global. As a growing organisation, we have positions for energetic and enthusiastic individuals w ho can help develop, plan and implement SlF's programmes. Executive I The job: You will
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  • Page 22 Advertisements
    • 956 22 rnui U 44 SHANGRI-LA HOTELS AND RESORTS is an expanding group of Deluxe Hotels and Resorts in the Asia-Pacific region, consistently recognised as one of the world’s leading hotel groups. SHANGRI-LA HOTEL. SINGAPORE has over 800 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites, 15 function rooms, 2 ballrooms and 10 outlets, all
      956 words

  • FORUM
    • EDB chief vs MPs: Is there room for different views?
      • 176 23 I FEEL that how the Government handles this surprising saga of the EDB chief versus the MP has wide implications, and repercussions, on the climate of free exchange of views on political and social matters here. Allegations such as subtle “intimidation” in the form
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      • 218 23 IT IS worrying when we see two Members of Parliament, Mr Chng Hee Kok and Dr Tan Cheng Bock, disagreeing with the Economic Development Board’s approach of making public the names of three scholars who broke their bonds. One would have thought that elected MPs would
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    • 233 23 A RECENT report in The Straits Times stated that the Singapore and Malaysian governments are considering steps to cope with illegal Indonesian economic refugees. The Singapore coastline is vulnerable but since it is small, we can implement simple measures to protect it. One
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    • 228 23 Air safety I REFER to Mr Goh Jong Hou’s letter “Mobile phones and air safety: Rules needed” (ST Weekly, March 7). We wish to thank him for his interest and concern on the use of handphones on flights. Safety is of paramount
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    • 216 23 IT IS true children today are heavily tied down with their schoofwork, enrichment classes, tuition and more tuition. What is the cause of it? Our present education system! While a minority of students may be able to cope with the present school
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    • 663 23 LAST week, Singapore lost out, thanks to poor customer service. This is a pity. I would like to recount the situation so that other Singaporeans can think how customer service applies to their jobs and how it can be improved across
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  • Page 23 Advertisements
    • 123 23 Dear Readers, THE Straits Times welcomes letters from you. Your letters must include your signature, full name, address and home and office telephone numbers. We do not accept for publication letters from writers who decline to give their names. This rule will be waived only in very exceptional circumstances, such
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  • 682 24  -  Amount is CNB’s biggest haul ever of the drug from one syndicate By Wee Kek Koon ABOUT 48 kg of heroin worth more than $2 million have been seized in a series of non stop stake outs and drug raids conducted by Central Narcotics
    Picture by CHEW SENG KIM.  -  682 words
  • 478 24 Motorists using tteSecond Link will have to pay the same rate four times far a round trip. They pay twice for a round trip using the Causeway. SINGAPORE is matching the tolls which Malaysia will charge for the use of the Sec- ond Link
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