It was a diverse group of winners at this year's Architectural Heritage Awards. A former clubhouse for Chinese businessmen, the iconic Sultan Mosque, a 146-year-old Roman Catholic Church and luxury integrated development Capitol Singapore were honoured at a ceremony on Thursday. They were chosen from nine submissions.

Given out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the annual awards, which began in 1995, recognise owners, architects, engineers, conservation specialists and contractors who have restored monuments and conservation buildings well.

Projects were judged by a 13- member assessment committee and awards were given out in two categories.

Restoration is for gazetted heritage buildings that were sensitively restored, carefully repaired and had many of their original features retained.

In the Restoration and Innovation category, the design and build teams were awarded for restoring old buildings and integrating new developments well.

VIEW IT / 2016 ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE AWARDS EXHIBITION

• WHERE: Atrium, The URA Centre, 45 Maxwell Road
• WHEN: Till Nov 30, 9am to 5pm (Monday to Saturday); closed on Sunday and public holiday
• ADMISSION: Free

South Beach, a mixed-use development in Beach Road, received a special mention for work done on its four heritage buildings, including the former Non-Commissioned Officers' Club.

The project team missed out on an award as judges felt the "rich military heritage of the complex of buildings has not been fully recaptured".

A free exhibition showcasing the four winning projects is now on at The URA Centre until Nov 30.

Church of Saints Peter & Paul

As architect Rita Soh sat on a pew in the Church of Saints Peter & Paul to discuss renovation plans, she got a sign from above - literally - of the state the building was in: plaster was flaking from the ceiling.

A corroded ceiling was just one in a long list of problems the design team and contractors had to fix at the 146-year-old national monument.

Originally completed in a tropical Gothic style in 1870, the church in Queen Street underwent numerous extension and renovations over time. A massive overhaul in 1969 - a year before its centennial celebration - saw the church do away with key features of the old architecture and opt for a modern look.

The terracotta roof tiles were replaced with metal sheets, while the floor was hacked and terrazzo slates put in instead. A cast-iron spiral staircase was removed so that a timber loft with a new staircase could be built for the choir.

Over the years, wear and tear got to the facade. When the team took over, the rosette windows were heavily warped due to heat and humidity, and the metal-sheet pitched roof had a termite infestation.

After much research and discussion with the church's building committee and the authorities, a decision was made to restore the building to its pre-1969 look.

Ms Soh, managing director at RDC Architects, worked with Towner Construction on this project. The 57-year-old, also a former Nominated Member of Parliament, says: "We wanted to get back the essence of the church. The modern look was nice for the period it was built in, but it doesn't show the eclectic features of the original church."

The $7-million, year-long restoration gave the ageing church, which won an Architectural Heritage Award on Thursday, a fresh look.

The terrazzo floor slabs were replaced by Peranakan-inspired tiles that mirrored the original look.

The five lance-shaped panels and rosette windows were treated by Italian craftsmen, who fixed cracks and cleaned the glass. A protective glass panel was also installed on the exterior to prevent warping.

The choir loft was taken down, but the architect kept the two timber columns used to support the structure as they were in good condition. The columns became the base for two marble angel sculptures, which now stand among the pews.

There were new additions. Lanterns with the crossed-swords motif of St Paul and St Peter's crossed-keys motif hang above the congregation hall and provide a soft glow.

The piece de resistance is a stunning 200-year-old white carrara marble altar from New York that features a carving of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper at its base. It was made by craftsmen from the Vatican in Rome.

Ms Sohsays parish priest Father John Chua was very hands-on with the restoration project, relating a story of how he climbed the facade to shade the sculptures of the two saints above the church's entrance with paint.

"He found them too clean and wanted to 'dirty' them a little," she adds with a chuckle. "Our passion is multiplied when you have a client like him who is so involved."

The award, given out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, is the fifth for Towner Construction's director, Mr Er Kian Hoo, 56, who says they "worked very hard for it".

Last week, the church won a Design Award in the Special Category at the annual Singapore Institute of Architects Architectural Design Awards, which are the profession's highest recognition of works that show excellence in architecture.

Goh Loo Club

The mural painting on the side of a shophouse in Club Street is a poignant reminder of the colourful history of the Goh Loo Club.

In the artwork, a samsui woman wearing her iconic red headgear peels away the facade to reveal the activity in the shophouse: businessmen gather on the second level; Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen holds court below; and a Japanese soldier stands guard at the door.

The mural is by artists Benny Ong, Zhao Jian Wen and Didier Ng. The 111-year-old club, whose name means My Abode in Hokkien, was formed as a place for the local Chinese community and dignitaries to gather.

Many of Singapore's founding fathers such as Dr Lim Boon Keng, who was also a writer, and prominent businessman and philanthropist Lee Kong Chian were members.

Today, the shophouse looks new. But it was not always this way.

In the last decade, the building, tucked away in an uphill cul-de-sac among hip bars and restaurants, stood in disrepair. The building - once a hotbed of club activity - also housed illegal stayers and was used as a junk warehouse.

Unsightly air-conditioning units jutted out from windows at the second level, while layers of paint hid the ornamental moulding. The French windows with timber louvres had been modernised - aluminium sliding windows were put in.

The club made the news in 2010, when the committee running it sold a Xu Beihong painting without informing its members. The 110cm by 60cm work by the late renowned Chinese artist, titled Standing Horse, was given to the club in 1938 to thank it for raising funds for the anti-Japanese war effort in China.

The derelict state of the building - and its mismanagement and neglect - was a far cry from the building's heyday. The third- and fourth-generation club members took over in 2012 and were determined to rejuvenate the club.

Ms Stephanie Lee, 31, one of its directors whose great-grandfather was a founding member, says: "It was an eyesore. We wanted a space that can have multiple uses, yet relevant to its time while still retaining its charm."

Architect Chua Soo Hoon, 42, founder of Artprentice, had much to do. Renovation work, which cost about $4 million, started in January last year and was completed in April this year.

Major works included changing the roof, which was made of asbestos, and creating a new roof mezzanine level - the original shophouse has three storeys - for an office.

There were also surprising discoveries during the renovation. Two stone slabs with carvings were found and the owners decided to place them in a wall at the end of the club's five-foot way.

Round decorative columns were found concealed by timber panels. Ms Chua says: "You don't see columns in a shophouse, so these werefeatures we wanted to highlight."

Efforts were made to reuse materials. For example, old bricks that were no longer needed to support the building were used for feature walls.

At the back of the premises, a courtyard was put in and decorative features such as old-school green glazed porcelain balustrades line the side of the walls.

The club also has plans to revitalise itself. The first and second levels are planned for dining establishments, while the third level will be kept for club activities.

Ms Lee says: "We still need to create relevant ideas to pave the way for the younger generation to combine their expertise and resources to better deal with the challenges of today. There is no point developing a club without it being meaningful and preserving its legacy."

Capitol Singapore

It has been 16 months since the revamped Capitol Singapore made its debut and architects61's chief executive officer Michael Ngu is breathing easy.

Looking back, he says it was a "difficult" project to work on. Renovations took three years and there were many details to fix.

Capitol Singapore in Stamford Road is a mixed-use development that includes a collection of three beloved conservation buildings: the iconic 87-year-old Capitol Theatre; Capitol Building, which was built in 1933; and Stamford House, which was completed in 1904.

The design and concept were helmed by celebrated New York- based architecture practice Richard Meier & Partners Architects, which worked with Singapore firm architects61 on the development.

The architects also had to weave in new developments such as a four- storey mall called Capitol Piazza- Neue, which is connected to City Hall MRT station via an underpass, as well as a luxury apartment project, Eden Residences Capitol.

The conservation buildings were in poor shape when the architects were appointed. For example, they were built on soil, without any proper foundation, which did not comply with modern building codes.

The Capitol Theatre, in particular, needed a lot of work, having been left vacant for more than 10 years. Plaster was falling, ornaments missing and water seeped into its floors.

Mr Ngu, 60, who worked with conservation specialist Studio Lapis, says: "The theatre was in a derelict state for many years. Prior to that, many renovations were done. In a way, we had to go through many discovery phases to find out what was behind it."

They gave the grand dame a majestic makeover and even engaged an artist to recreate the original Persian Zodiac ceiling mural - a familiar icon to patrons of the cinema.

The architects also had to modernise it. Their solution was to install an automated seating system in the theatre that would turn it into a multi- purpose venue. The theatre, which hosted live performances before it became a cinema in 1946, can now host a variety of events.

The Capitol Building now has new shops and restaurants and a part of it, together with Stamford House, houses the yet-to-open six-star hotel, The Patina Capitol.

In its citation, the awards assessment committee wrote: "Overall, the project has revived an important landmark, innovatively creating vibrant new urban spaces, honour(ed) the architecture... and refresh(ed) one of our city's most prominent urban blocks."

The entire project cost about $750 million.

Architects61 has also worked on other historic projects such as the nearby Raffles Hotel and the Fullerton Hotel, a former 1920s government office building and post office.

Now veterans at the Architectural Heritage Awards - the firm won its first award in 1999 and again in 2008 and 2009 - Mr Ngu says: "It has always been very delightful to work with old 'fabric'. It's a good thing that Singapore is catching up to preserve its history and culture. We're glad to be part of it."

Sultan Mosque

The onion domes and minarets topping the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam have undergone various colour changes through the years.

The domes were painted green in 1950, while the minarets were pink at one point.

Today, after a 15-month renovation that was completed last October, the domes are a gleaming gold - an homage to the mosque's royal links in its early years. The mosque won an Architectural Heritage Award on Thursday, given by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Mr Timothy Wong, 58, an associate director of architecture firm Interconsultants, which worked on the project, says: "The mosque was built in a time when a king existed. We knew we had to reinstate that feeling of royalty and make it grand."

The mosque was erected in 1824 and completed two years later for Sultan Hussein Shah, Singapore's first sultan. It was a single-storey building with a double-tiered roof.

But almost a century later, the mosque had to be repaired and expanded to accommodate more worshippers.

Architecture firm Swan & Maclaren rebuilt the mosque in an Indo- Saracenic style. The popular look used by British architects in the late 19th century combined Hindu and Mughal elements with Gothic-tinged arches, domes and spires. The new mosque was completed in 1928.

Over the years, it underwent repairs and renovations when needed.

Considered by many as Singapore's unofficial national mosque, it was gazetted as a national monument in 1975. An annexe was built next to the mosque in 1993 and houses meeting rooms and an auditorium.

Work for the latest spruce-up began in 2014. The last major painting work was done in 2004, says Mr Syed Mohamed Varussai, a member of the board of trustees.

Painting the domes required much work as they were discoloured and had surface bubbles. They had to be sanded down and the bubbles removed for a smooth finish.

Several shades of gold paint were tested to get the right one. Then, four coats of the chosen tone were used to get it to the right sheen such that it shimmered in the sun.

Inside the prayer hall, the dramatic arches were highlighted in green so that they now stand out.

The mimbar, the pulpit from where sermons are delivered, also got a fresh look - the layers of old paint were scraped down to its metal structure and repainted.

Most of the old timber windows and doors were refurbished, while those that were badly damaged were replaced.

To help older folk and the disabled reach the second level, a lift was put in. Previously, they had to take the stairs. The glass walls for the lift have the Arabic mashrabiya latticework pattern etched into them.

Water tanks that were installed in the two ablution areas were removed. New tiles were put in for the walls, while the floor was laid with a pebble wash to prevent slipping.

Mr Syed, 70, says the renovation, which cost $4.6 million, had to be done as the mosque gets a good volume of traffic. It can hold up to 5,000 worshippers and draws 12,000 to 15,000 tourists monthly.

Mr Wong, who worked closely with the mosque's board of trustees and its management, says conservation should not be about "keeping the ashes". He adds: "You have to adapt with the times and give the building new life."

This article was first published on Oct 08, 2016.
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Nearly two years after the HolyCrit street cycling race was stopped for breaching the law, its organisers are making progress in their bid to revive the race.

For a start, they have secured a site in Stadium Drive, with help from the Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF). Details of when the event will be held have not been confirmed yet.

The race's organisers, bicyle business owner Eric Khoo Shui Yan, 29, and freelance project manager Zulkifli Awab, 40, told The Straits Times they are determined to bring the night race back - but with the authorities' full backing this time.

The SCF had helped to secure the Stadium Drive site free of charge.

Said SCF honorary secretary Hing Siong Chen: "They did not have enough funding and were driven to the edge. We want to help them as much as possible so they can run the race legally."

Keen to extend its reach to some 500 fixed-gear cyclists here, the SCF will also offer technical advice on safety and circuit planning.

The HolyCrit race, which was in the news in 2014 after its organisers were hauled up by the police for organising the event without the relevant permits, involved the use of fixed-gear bicycles that come without brakes. The race, which debuted in September 2013, was previously held about once a month at venues such as Stadium Drive and Changi Business Park.

On Tuesday, Khoo and Zulkifli were each jailed for seven days and fined $5,000 for organising and promoting the races without police approval and permits. They were arrested shortly after their last race in November 2014 and are currently serving their sentence.

Khoo, also a freelance driver, said he started the race not for profit, but to bring young people together through sports.

"We didn't want them to go astray or hang out with bad company in their free time, so we tried to get them to cycle with us as a hobby," he said, adding that participants pay $10 to enter the race and the winner takes all the money.

Most riders are aged 12 to 14, with the youngest 10, said Mr Zulkifli, who said the group has grown over the years through word of mouth.

Beyond the sport, the cyclists also support each other by sharing their problems and giving advice.

Khoo's bicycle shop at 71, Sultan Gate was once a gathering spot for about 30 teenagers, who dropped by daily after school to fix their bikes, and also to chat, often till dark. Business at the shop is slow these days.

Mr Kavin Louis, 20, an avid cyclist who works as a sales assistant, said: "We all felt at a loss because HolyCrit, the one thing that we looked forward to or trained for, was no longer there."

However, Khoo and Zulkifli admitted they were wrong to go ahead with the race without a permit, after failing to get sponsors to defray the high costs.

District Judge Carol Ling said on Tuesday that there was a certain level of disregard for the law displayed in holding the races, and public safety was compromised.

Zulkifli said that while cyclists were racing at high speeds shoulder to shoulder, they had been briefed on safety thoroughly prior to each race. There were also at least four first-aid helpers and about 20 road marshalls on site, he said.

In any case, the duo are hoping to rope in sponsors to help defray the costs of staging the race again. For instance, to fulfil permit requirements, Khoo said they would need at least $25,000 for things such as hiring marshals and insurance for riders and spectators.

Without sponsors, participants would have to pay at least $50 each, he said. There are between 40 and 50 participants in each race.

Meanwhile, Khoo has also asked his lawyer Josephus Tan, who represented him pro bono, to be HolyCrit's legal adviser.

Zulkifli said: "Moving on is important for us and we want HolyCrit to be an event that people will not forget."

This article was first published on Oct 08, 2016.
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Mr Kelvin Khaw is 26 and a psychology graduate from the Singapore Institute of Management.

He is also a part-time auxiliary police officer (APO).

It may not have been a career he had planned for but Mr Khaw, who started working with Certis Cisco in 2013 as a student, said he was attracted to the flexible hours and high salary, compared with other part-time jobs.

"I am earning much more than my peers," said Mr Khaw, who in April became the first part-timer to win the Commander's Award, which recognises good work by APOs.

Although he graduated in June, he has continued working as a part-time APO and is able to earn $3,000 a month. Part-time officers are paid $12 an hour, which increases to $18 an hour if the officer works more than eight hours a day. They enjoy health insurance or other benefits. Students are eligible for study grants of up to $2,500 if they manage to clock 700 hours of work within six months.

Mr Khaw is one of almost 200 tertiary students or graduates working with Certis Cisco as part-time APOs.

The firm is actively recruiting such students amid "increasing security demands" here, said its spokesman.

It has gone out, including into schools, to recruit students, and conducted marketing campaigns targeted at youth, who must be at least 18 years old. It has also partnered Republic Polytechnic in offering APOs fully sponsored courses.

The efforts have paid off. The security firm has seen a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of university and polytechnic students working as APOs since 2014. They make up about 60 per cent of its 300 part-time APOs.

In all, there are around 7,000 APOs in Singapore, whose work includes protecting sensitive installations. They also support police deployment at major events, for instance, the annual Laneway music festival in January.

Of the other two major employers of APOs here, SATS Security Services said it did not have any students working part-time as APOs, while Aetos declined comment.

Although APOs are trained in areas such as handling arms and counter-terrorism, there are still misconceptions about the job.

"When I told my parents I was going to work for Certis Cisco, they asked if I was going to stand in front of a bank," said 28-year-old Damien Chew, who is studying biomedical engineering at SIM University.

Mr Muhd Irfan, 24, who studies history at Nanyang Technological University, said despite the flexible working hours, it could be difficult balancing work and studies.

The part-timers said they would consider their options before deciding whether to continue as auxiliary officers after graduating.

Mr Khaw said he does not mind staying on in the role, especially given the demand for security services because of terror threats. "I like working in uniform," he said.

This article was first published on Oct 08, 2016.
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Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has invested US$18 million (S$24.7 million) to expand its Singapore manufacturing facility.

The expansion involved installing a third production line, a chocolate chips/drops moulding line and a warehouse.

The new facilities were built within six months.

"This expansion is a strong sign of our commitment to Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region," said Barry Callebaut Group chief executive Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

"We have a growing customer base in Asia-Pacific and we are committed to serving these customers with an always greater level of efficiency."

The new chocolate chips/drops moulding line allows for the production of different recipes and products of various shapes.

The facility now also houses 2,600 sq m of warehouse space. This will help the firm deliver its chocolate products more quickly due to greater flexibility with stock-holdings.

Most of the chocolate produced in the factory is exported to global and local food manufacturers across the region.

The manufacturing plant sits on a 1.2ha site in Senoko South Road near Woodlands and is also the first industrial chocolate factory built here.

Besides the three lines for chocolate manufacturing, it houses a chocolate academy to test and develop new products and recipes as well as rooms for training sessions for chocolate artisans, pastry chefs, confectioners, bakers and caterers.

The company set up here in 1997, making Singapore its regional headquarters.

It now has more than 200 employees in Singapore and its sales office at Millenia Tower also houses its regional sales, supply chain management and corporate functions teams.

This article was first published on Oct 08, 2016.
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Blood flows in a World Cup qualifier, and Brazil's new coach tells the victim - Neymar - that he must learn to turn the other cheek.

A new England manager, Gareth Southgate, is ordained, and starts off with a statement of such studied calm that others rush to remind us that Southgate can also be as nasty as it takes to succeed.

Football, we know, is between the devil and the deep. It will remain so until someone, somehow finds ways to temper its license to print money without breaking every rule in the book.

First, it's pleasing to report that Brazil is closer now to "The Beautiful Game" than at any time since Tele Santana led the national team back in 1982.

Santana's "Selecao" did not then possess a Pele, but it has someone now, from the same Santos club where Pele began.

Alas, Neymar Jr, aged 24, is not as grown up as Pele had to be to win his first World Cup at 17.

The Neymar we see is too quick to showboat, and too quick- tempered, too petulant, which makes him susceptible to self- punishment through yellow cards.

Neymar on Thursday scored his 49th Brazil goal, putting him fourth on the country's all-time list below Pele (77 goals), Ronaldo (62) and Romario (55).

He is one ahead of Zico, from a comparative number of starts in the Brazil shirt - Zico finished on 71 caps, Neymar has 73.

But Neymar, having led Brazil to the Olympic title in August, now needs to stand tall for Barcelona when Lionel Messi is injured, and needs to finish more games than he does for his country.

He is targeted by ruthless opponents, as all the great players tended to be. On Thursday, as Brazil hammered Bolivia 5-0, Neymar was the first scorer, he set up two others, and he had to be substituted after an hour when an opponent, Yasmani Duk, used an elbow to blood his face above the right eye.

Duk is not in Neymar's class as a player, and never will be. The Bolivian, now 28, is on loan with New York Cosmos. Neymar plays for Barcelona.

But even before Neymar ran into Duk's deliberately raised elbow, he was body checked by another Bolivian Edward Zenteno, Neymar was booked for belligerence.

The Colombian referee afforded him no protection whatsoever, indeed did not even blow for fouls on either of the martial arts blows perpetrated upon him.

Yet Neymar is now banned from the next qualifier, away to Venezuela.

This means that Neymar will miss four of Brazil's 10 qualifiers in the process.

Tite, the sensible fellow who has taken over from the dull Dunga as Brazil's head coach, has liberated attacking instincts that Dunga smothered in negativity. And Tite acknowledges that pandering to Neymar is no way to control him.

Dunga made Neymar captain and saviour, his only concession to star play.

Tite took the captaincy away, or at least the certainty of it. And, after three games, three wins and a great deal of uplift to the fans who despaired of Dunga's Brazil, the new coach did not duck the issue of discipline.

"There were mistakes from the referee," Tite said. "There was an excess of fouls derived from a lack of punishment. We - Neymar and me - need maturity to understand that we'll have to bear these kinds of situations."

Bolivia fouled to provoke Neymar, to get inside his skin. He reacted and was booked.

"You can say the fouls are from them and it's the referee's problem," Tite told reporters. "It's my responsibility as a manager to guide the player. It is inhumane to put everything on Neymar."

Well said, Tite, and well managed. We have a chance now to enjoy Brazil again.

And England? Southgate has four games to impress the FA to give him the role they so ineptly and so hastily gave to Sam Allardyce.

Martin Glenn, the new FA chief executive, should have learnt that appointing an England manager requires rather more savvy than selling a packet of crisps, which was one of Glenn's former roles as a marketing man.

Maybe, just maybe, the solution will be found in-house. Southgate was there anyway, coaching the Under-21s, some of whom like Tottenham's Dele Alli were stepping up anyway to the seniors.

But while Alli, Marcus Rashford, John Stones et al are decent prospects, none of them has the God-given talents of Neymar. Nor, hopefully, the errant gene that sometimes persuades him to attempt to get his retaliation in first.

We can imagine what Southgate had in mind when he said last week: "There are lots about the industry of football that I don't like, but it's a sport that I love."

He had the good sense not to elaborate on that. The implosion of Allardyce has yet to unravel, and we cannot yet judge whether he was an idiot engaging his mouth without using his head, or in fact open to corruption.

Southgate was appointed because he was "Johnny on the Spot", possibly the only man on the FA payroll able to step into the breach. Also because of his reputation for being squeaky clean, for preferring the game to industry that permeates it. No sooner had Southgate spoken than a player from his past chimed in.

"Gareth's a good guy," said Roy Keane, the former Manchester United hard man. "I remember he tried to break my leg in a Cup semi-final."

Keane settled that score on the field in 1995 by stamping down with his studs into Southgate's chest as he lay grounded - for which Keane was red-carded.

"To be around the game for as long as he has been," Keane said this week, "he must have that streak in him."

He paused, smiled, then added: "Obviously not as nasty as me!"

In a curious way, Southgate might almost welcome the "nasty streak" connotation.

Why? Because the game, the industry, is so riddled with doubt that "nice guys" can manage in it.

This article was first published on October 08, 2016.
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You can call Greater Bukit Brown Cemetery a social and cultural repository of early Singapore. In recent years, researchers have slowly unearthed the stories of many pioneering Chinese immigrants who rest there.

But it was only last month that the 1888 grave of a key personality, a merchant who was one of the original land donors of the cemetery itself, was found.

Mr Raymond Goh, a "tomb hunter" famous in the heritage scene here, had often passed by the tomb of Mr Ong Chong Chew without realising it was what he had been looking for. It was only on Sept 17, on one of his tomb-hunting walks in the grounds of Seh Ong Cemetery, that Mr Goh found the tomb.

"It had escaped my radar all this time because I was expecting a tomb from the Qing dynasty era to have a more elaborate design."

The tomb is in a forested part of the cemetery slanting downwards. It had been nudged into that position by the roots of an old tree.

On closer inspection, Mr Goh saw it bore the posthumous name of Mr Ong as "Ting Ying", and listed the names of his four sons. This corroborated with research by his great-great granddaughter, retired librarian Ong Chwee Im, 75, who had written a book about her ancestor in 2006.

The inscribed 1888 date in Chinese was another telltale sign.

Mr Goh had been trying to track down the tomb after descendants of the late pioneer asked him for help in doing so in 2011.

He told The Sunday Times his search was especially intense in the first year, and he spent many weekends combing through different parcels of Greater Bukit Brown, which includes Seh Ong and the Hokkien Huay Kuan cemeteries. "His descendants and I had looked through old records from the Ong Clan but we couldn't find any paper trail... It was very challenging locating the tomb."

It turns out that Mr Goh had been looking in the wrong area - bashing through overgrowth at the Sime Road section of Seh Ong Cemetery after a false lead.

Mr Goh was elated when he finally found Mr Ong's tomb. "I realised that the long-lost grave I had been looking for over the past five years had finally been found."

The late Mr Ong had come to Singapore from "dirt poor conditions" in Bai Qiao village in Fujian province as a young man in the 1850s.

He did well, setting up a lumber and shipping company called Teck Cheang located along Rochor River.

By 1864, he began buying land, and came to own parcels in Toa Payoh, Amoy Street, Bugis Street, Telok Ayer, Hylam Street, Victoria Street and Cecil Street.

Ms Ong had learnt about her ancestor's role in Bukit Brown Cemetery only in the 1980s. She had read about him in a 1923 tome called One Hundred Years' History Of The Chinese In Singapore, which listed the late Mr Ong, as well as Mr Ong Ewe Hai and Mr Ong Kew Ho, both of whom can also be traced back to Bai Qiao, as having donated 500 yuan (S$103) to buy 85ha of Bukit Timah land. The trio had decided to give back to the community in 1872.

Their original plan was to build a village for newly arrived immigrants from China. "The three Ongs left a worthwhile, noble and pragmatic gift to the people of Singapore," said Ms Ong.

But eventually the area was used as a cemetery and came to be known as Seh Ong Cemetery.

As the area was under-utilised, the colonial authorities converted 39ha of it into a burial ground for the Chinese around 1919, before officially opening it as the Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery in 1922.

Mr Goh said the remains of the late Ong Ewe Hai either rest in Bukit Brown or have been transferred to a temple. Ms Ong said Mr Ong Kew Ho is likely to be buried in Malacca.

Her research also points to why the late Mr Ong's grave was not as elaborate as those of his contemporaries - it had likely been remade in the 1950s following its reinterment from the family's estate in Telok Blangah to Kheam Hock Road where Seh Ong Cemetery is today.

Man discovers final resting places of Lee Kuan Yew's maternal ancestors

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The New Paper, Raymond Goh

Last week, Mr Goh took The Sunday Times and Ms Ong's brother, Mr Ong Chin Leong, 69, a retired businessman, and her son, businessman Yeo Han Yong, 47, to the site.

There, they also got to see the graves of Mr Ong Chong Chew's eldest son Ong Kim Cheow, a founding member of the Straits Chinese Recreation Club who died in 1909, along with his wife "Tan Kim Tay Neo", as was written on the tombstone.

Mr Ong hopes to show the graves of their forefathers to the rest of his family.

"This find is important to us because I get to tell them that our line goes back this far."

Meanwhile, work goes on for Mr Goh. While he has helped to reconnect more than 100 families with their ancestors, he still has another 50 or so outstanding requests.

"New discoveries await. The search must go on," he said.

melodyz@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 9, 2016.
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First-time Singaporean comic book writer Shaun Kang's graphic novel Flesh & Steel took four years to hit the shelves here. But the 160-page fantasy comic, which was released here in April, has already been picked up by a foreign publisher.

American publisher Caliber Comics will release it for the Western market next year.

It is a dream come true for Kang, who was gunning to have his first book travel beyond Singapore.

"It's not a localised story with Singaporean elements driving it. I wanted to create something that could be appreciated without the context of our local culture. I wanted to create fantasy. And maybe see it made into a Hollywood movie," says the 31-year-old.

At the heart of the black-and-white comic is Golem, a humanoid weapon forged from steel. Living and battling in a time of war, among knights and cavaliers armed with guns and swords, he struggles to find acceptance while trying to live with the fact that he was brought to life to kill.

It is Kang's spin on the tale of Golem of Prague, a creature fashioned from clay and brought to life to defend a Jewish community from their enemies.

The concept for it had been stewing in his head for years - one of the earlier story ideas he had been nursing since he started making up his own tales at age 15.

"But it took 15 years more before I finally had the time, determination and money to turn my book into reality. Aside from interest, you need those three things at the very least to get your work published," says the investment adviser at a private bank.

Kang finished his script in 2012, but was initially unsure whom he could send it to for consideration.

He decided to float it by comic artist Jerry Hinds, the president of the Association of Comic Artists (Singapore). Their first encounter was in 2009, when Kang submitted an entry for a comics anthology Hinds was putting together.

"My work didn't get selected, but we still kept in touch which, in hindsight, has been a great blessing," says Kang.

"I ended up getting in touch with Jerry because he seemed like the only guy in Singapore who would even bother to give my submission a read. And I know that he's published his own comics before, so if anyone could help, it would be him."

Hinds, a Briton who moved to Singapore in 1997, loved it. It was, he says, an easy read and a solid story - and he enjoyed that it was high fantasy, a different concept from what most comic offerings from Singapore were.

Flesh & Steel was produced with the support of the Association of Comic Artists (Singapore) and the National Arts Council, and published by Nice One Entertainment.

Hinds, 52, started Nice One Entertainment in 2002 as a vehicle to publish his own concept, Get Carter! The Last Dragon Scout. It is slowly growing its stable and has since put out 11 comics.

"I set it up not to make money, but rather to further a cause," says Hinds. "Local publishers of comics, graphic novels and manga tend to produce books that are either reprints from foreign territories, stories closely based on Singapore society, or educational."

But Nice One Entertainment, he says, looks for works that may not fit neatly in those boxes - stories that are "distinctly escapist" or that deal with the "extraordinary".

Another graphic novel it published here this year, Return, has also caught the eye of Caliber Comics, which has put out works by creators such as critically acclaimed comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis.

Caliber founder Gary Reed said that when he looked through Flesh & Steel, he was impressed by the quality and professionalism of the package.

He said: "Everything resonated - from the story to the artwork - into an exciting story that was well-told, well-drawn and well-executed."

He died of a heart attack last Sunday.

For Kang, a lifelong comic fan, creating a comic was an eye-opening experience he describes as "on-the-job training".

Conceptualising and writing the script was the easy part because he had full control of the story, but then came the real slog: cobbling it together with the artists.

"As a writer, it's not always easy to effectively communicate what you envision to the artist and that creates the need for a lot of back-and-forth and redrafts to get it in shape," he says.

"After a while, you learn the importance of specificity when describing a panel to the artist, from the angle to how 'clean' you want the panel to be. It's a lot like being a film director, I suppose."

While the script took him about three months to write, the actual production work took years.

Partway through the project, the book lost its original artist, Filipino Ernani Faraon - an Association of Comic Artists (Singapore) member - when he migrated to Australia.

The book was then continued by a group of artists from Indonesia's Madougar Studios and a team from HMT Studios - which is co- founded by comic artist Harvey M. Tolibao, who works for comic giants such as Marvel and DC - in the Philippines.

Another obstacle was production costs. More than $10,000 - cobbled together by the Association of Comic Artists (Singapore), Nice One Entertainment, Kang and the National Arts Council - was sunk into producing 1,000 copies for the first print run.

Hinds says they are still waiting for updates on sales figures, which will be released next month.

Kang has more yarns up his sleeve. He completed a magical realism short story collection earlier this year and has submitted the manuscript to local publishers.

And he already has an idea for his next graphic novel, which he says will be in the vein of manga rather than a Western comic like Flesh & Steel.

"I still have a lot of stories to tell. I easily have 30 or so story concepts that I'd like to turn into graphic novels, but I'd probably die before fulfilling them all," he says with a laugh.

•Flesh & Steel is available from major bookstores and selected comic stores at $18.95.

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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Doctors in Singapore are not leaving it to chance in the war against diabetes, with a bid to prevent the illness even before a baby is conceived.

Researchers here are conducting a study to see if a special drink taken by women before they conceive and throughout their pregnancy could help them maintain healthy sugar levels.

This could potentially prevent pregnant women from developing gestational diabetes, and lower the risk of their babies becoming obese or diabetic later in life.

The study, which is also being done in New Zealand and Britain, was started at the National University Hospital (NUH) in July last year. Called Nipper - short for Nutritional Intervention Preconception And During Pregnancy To Maintain Healthy Glucose Levels And Offspring Health - the study has recruited more than 400 out of its target of 600 participants so far.

The Singapore team is comprised of researchers from the National University Health System, National University of Singapore, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Diabetes is a growing global issue, said Associate Professor Chan Shiao-Yng, a consultant at NUH's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and co-investigator of the local study.

Particularly worrying is that the disease affects many women of childbearing age, she said.

About 2.8 per cent of women in their 30s in Singapore are already diabetic, and 13.9 per cent are prediabetic, which puts them at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Women who are prediabetic are also at risk of developing gestational diabetes, which affects one in five pregnancies here - among the highest in the world.

Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing childhood obesity.

They are also four to five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and have double the chances of being obese as an adult, according to previous studies.

"If they are female, they can pass this on to the next generation when they get pregnant. We want to break this cycle of disease," said Prof Chan.

According to another local study, around 10 per cent of women who suffer from gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within five years, compared with 1 per cent of women without the condition.

The encouraging thing is that researchers from the three participating countries believe they might have developed a prized formula.

The special drink contains myo-inositol, a compound found in vegetables and beans, on top of what is routinely recommended for pregnancy. Myo-inositol is linked to improvements in sugar metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

Sugar metabolism is the process of breaking down sugar and glucose into energy. This is something that diabetic people have problems with, either because they do not produce enough insulin to lower blood glucose levels, or cannot use insulin effectively.

In the local study, half of the participants will be given the special drink, which has to be taken twice a day; the other half will be given a formula with ingredients such as vitamins and minerals that pregnant women are encouraged to take.

They will be chosen at random.

Associate Professor Chong Yap Seng, senior consultant at NUH's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and principal investigator of the local study, noted that some people may have worries about the myo-inositol in the special drink, as it is something that they are unfamiliar with.

But he said this compound will not have adverse effects on healthy pregnant women.

It is not synthetic but found naturally in foods, he added.

During the study, mothers will be screened for diabetes during pregnancy. Their babies' growth will be monitored throughout the pregnancy and for a year after birth, with their nutrition also tracked.

The team expects the results of the study to be ready in 2020.

There are currently two other ongoing studies that look at the impact of a mother's health on her baby.

Madam Wong Xue Yun, 29, said she was motivated to join the Singapore Nipper study after suffering from gestational diabetes during her first pregnancy.

"I hope that by participating in this study, I will help future mothers avoid gestational diabetes and lower the risk of their children being obese or diabetic," said the case management officer.

•For more information, visit www.nipperstudy.com or contact the research team on 1800-7647737 or nipper@nuhs.edu.sg

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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At the Tan Boon Liat Building off Outram Road is an office about half the size of a basketball court with just over 40 computer screens.

In it, more than half a dozen people remotely monitor over 6,000 locations in Singapore.

This is the central monitoring station of the Ademco Security Group, and the nerve centre of surveillance for the company's clients in the public and private sectors.

Instead of having their own security guards monitor their premises, these companies rely on Ademco to do everything from monitoring their carparks to looking out for medical emergencies and preventing would-be intruders from trying to break in.

Security companies told The Sunday Times this is what surveillance and security will increasingly look like - with monitoring done off-site, reducing the need for security guards on the ground.

There are about a dozen such remote monitoring sites operated by different companies here.

While security companies estimate that as little as 5 per cent of buildings here have their security monitored in such a way, this is increasing as building owners start taking security more seriously. This is due in part to the increased threat of a terror attack, which is at its highest level in recent times.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam has said boosting surveillance is a key part of Singapore's counter-terrorism strategy.

On its part, the police have been installing tens of thousands of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in public areas.

In August, during a counter-terrorism seminar held by the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force for the finance industry, companies were told to enhance security measures such as CCTV and access control systems.

But traditional methods of surveillance - with guards sitting in a building's security room watching CCTV screens - are not going to cut it, said Ademco's group managing director Toby Koh. Modern CCTV systems have video analysis capabilities that can pick out people who have been loitering in an area, for instance, said Mr Koh.

"Now, which security guard would be able to monitor... a person who has been loitering there for more than two minutes? (It's) impossible, but technology can do it," he said, adding that human operators are still needed to verify incidents flagged by machines.

Such systems can also be programmed to play loud recorded warnings and shine blinding lights when there are breaches, said Mr Jeffrey Seah, director of the Security Industry Institute.

"The obvious advantage is that of saving labour and greater 24/7 coverage, especially in remote and expansive locations," he said.

Modern surveillance relies heavily on such systems, which can alert security operators to incidents, reducing the need for "warm bodies" to physically patrol premises, said Mr Ong Kok Leong, group director of business development and operations at Secura Group.

He added that these systems can detect threats faster, allowing security guards to alert the police more quickly. "The sooner you realise something is wrong and call the police, the faster they can react. That is a big change compared to last time," said Mr Ong.

These systems would result in significant costs savings over the long term, he added.

This month, developer CapitaLand started using smart CCTV cameras to monitor its drop-off points at three of its malls, eliminating the need for security guards there.

Certis Cisco, which is handling security for these malls, said security manpower needs for these malls have been reduced by one-fifth.

"An officer will be deployed only during peak periods or when congestion is detected. This frees up the officer to perform other duties like patrolling the mall, managing incidents and doing crowd control," said a Certis Cisco spokesman.

Security companies say this is one way they can deal with the manpower crunch in the sector.

Manpower Ministry data shows that last year, there were 2,010 vacancies for security guards, and 1,440 stayed unfilled after six months.

Mr Koh said the cost savings from reducing manpower are considerable. He added: "I'm not saying eliminate guards, but reduce them... and invest that money into systems that will perform 24/7."

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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Three days before he was to fly home for his wedding, Mr Mohan Suresh fell 14 storeys to his death.

On the morning of March 31, the 29-year-old plumber from India decided to check on some pipes on the roof of an HDB block in Jalan Damai, which he had fixed the day before.

He did not put on the safety harness and helmet lying in a storeroom 12 minutes' walk away, a coroner's finding on Sept 23 noted.

Perhaps he thought they were too far away. Perhaps it never crossed his mind to put them on. He had gone without them before. It had been fine. An hour later, his sandals lay empty on a ledge, next to a pipe which he had perhaps stretched a little too far to reach. He was found on the ground 45m below.

Mr Mohan never got to be a husband. He became a statistic.

He was one of the 55 people who died at work this year so far.

The rise in workplace deaths saw Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say warn last month that the fatality rate is likely to hit 2.2 per 100,000 workers this year.

Singapore had some success in bringing this down from 2.8 in 2008, when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for it to be pared to 1.8 within 10 years. In 2004, it had been a dire 4.9.

Singapore met the goal of 1.8 four years early in 2014, but this was short-lived. The rate crept up again to 1.9 last year, with 66 fatalities.

Compared to other countries, Singapore fared better than the United States, which had a rate of 3.3 in 2014. However, it lagged behind Australia at 1.61 in 2014, and the United Kingdom, which had a rate of 0.46 from April 2014 to March last year.

The construction sector had the highest casualty rate with 20 deaths.

Of the others, five occurred in marine, six in manufacturing, nine in the transport and storage sector, and 15 in other workplaces.

The total number of accidents at work also rose in the first half of the year to 6,149 injuries, up from 6,009 in the same period last year.

Said a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman: "Our analysis of the construction workplace fatalities indicates systemic lapses, workers' competency and absence of ownership as key drivers of the deteriorating situation in the construction sector."

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT

Walk through a construction site and a barrage of hazards stands out even to the untrained eye.

Sharp lengths of metal protrude across paths. Workers pick their way among them, some in slippers, some checking their phones. Overhead, their colleagues clamber up and down scaffolding. Not all wear harnesses. Not all of those with harnesses have lifelines to hook onto.

Falls from height remain the most common cause of workplace death here, with 11 such deaths in the first half of the year.

• Report a lapse via MOM's app

  Spot a workplace safety lapse? Snap a photo and send it to free mobile app Snap@MOM.

  The app by the Ministry of Manpower will send your feedback to the company occupying the site if it has subscribed to the service, so it can then take action. Companies which have not subscribed will be alerted to follow up on the issue. You will get an acknowledgement through the app when the workplace occupier has acted on your report.

Workers have died from other factors too - struck by falling objects, rolled into by trucks and forklifts.

The most recent death at work was unusual. Underwater World Singapore head diver Philip Chan, 62, died last Tuesday when a stingray he was handling pierced his lung with its tail. It is believed to be the first incident of its kind here.

The one thing all these deaths have in common, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay, is that they were preventable.

Mr Tay, an MP for West Coast GRC, said top-down enforcement can go only so far: "Everyone along the value chain has to play his part. Leaders of organisations need to take ownership. Supervisors need to lead by example. And workers on the ground cannot be complacent, they must be proactive."

The Workplace Safety and Health Institute (WSHI) last month released a study on the beleaguered construction sector. It found that of 33 construction deaths between June last year and this May, nine in 10 deaths were due to unsafe behaviour by workers - such as not wearing protective gear, for instance.

Singapore Institution of Safety Officers president Bernard Soh said there are workers who cut corners with safety because it is convenient or they are distracted, especially given the prevalence of smartphones in the workplace.

But he is more worried about foreign workers for whom English is not a first language, who may not understand safety requirements. He said: "They will listen to what the supervisor wants them to do. I am concerned the supervisor may ask them to do something that is risky, and they may not realise it."

The Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC) this June launched an Awareness Booster Campaign, with pictogram posters teaching workers how to prevent injuries.

They are translated into Chinese, Tamil and Bengali, and distributed through channels such as dormitories, worksites and roadshows.

Older workers are another group the WSHC wants employers to pay attention to, with 18 per cent of accidents in the first half of the year happening to those aged 55 and above.

On Jan 14, an elderly cleaner sweeping leaves fell off a 1m-high planter wall and hit his head. He later died from his injuries.

Risks to older workers' health could be avoided, the WSHC said, if employers redesign tasks and equipment - like better lighting for visual tasks, or reducing physical workloads through mechanical aids.

WHY MESSAGE ISN'T HEEDED

But whether companies heed the call for safety is another matter.

The WSHI study on construction deaths also showed that nearly nine in 10 were due to companies failing to adequately manage risks. Some cut corners by neglecting to do risk assessments or withholding lifelines for workers' safety harnesses.

Contractors said it is tough to keep up standards in a cut-throat industry, where they have to undercut tender bids and rush to meet project deadlines in order to get by.

Singapore Contractors Association president Kenneth Loo said: "The economic situation is very challenging. Having gone through a period when growth in the industry was unprecedented, we are now having the reverse. Since the property market slowed down about two years ago, a lot of firms have been fighting for survival."

Struggling firms have been strapped ever since the MOM stiffened penalties in May by raising the minimum duration of a stop-work order from two to three weeks.

During such an order, companies cannot do any work until safety issues are rectified.

This drives up costs as they continue to pay workers and may face fines from developers if they miss deadlines.

Since May, 52 extended stop- work orders have been issued, each lasting an average of four weeks as companies also had to send their workers for refresher training.

Also in May, the MOM introduced the Safety Compliance Assistance Visits Plus (SCAV+). The programme offers free site assessments by certified WSH professionals to identify safety lapses, and 142 companies have made use of it.

The Government is also incentivising employers who put safety first. From this month, those who hire foreign construction workers trained in specific safety standards will have levies reduced from $650 to $300, and get to keep these workers for up to 22 years, up from 10 previously.

Contractors wonder if more can be done to support those who put in extra effort. Wee Chwee Huat Scaffolding and Construction operations manager V. Manimaran suggests making it compulsory for a chunk of each project budget - at least 5 per cent - to be set aside for safety. "This would even the playing field for companies which already invest in safety," he said.

The MOM noted that the number of construction fatalities per month has declined from an average of three between January and May to two between June and September. Its spokesman said: "While the drop in fatalities for the third quarter does indicate that our enforcement and outreach activities are taking effect, nonetheless, every fatality is still one too many."

MORE MUST BE DONE

Those who die at work include Singaporeans and foreigners alike. But the bulk of the workforce in high-risk sectors such as construction and marine are foreigners from countries such as China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The MOM does not release information on the nationalities of individual victims, but has said that on average, two-thirds of workers who have died in fatal workplace accidents are foreigners.

SIM University labour economist Walter Theseira said this predominantly migrant workforce upends the economic theory that an employer has to pay workers more to get them to take up an undesirable job with higher risk.

"Here, these dangerous jobs are held mostly by foreigners who are not paid a lot and come from countries where workplace standards are significantly lower," he said.

"The economic incentives for employers to enforce safety are not there. So we have categories of workers in Singapore where the value of their lives is not as high as it should be. Is this because they come from countries where the value of their lives is lower, or because we, as a society, don't treat them the way we would if they were Singaporean?"

Migrant worker groups have called for more to be done to address what they view as the root causes of unsafe worker behaviour - low wages, high debts, a fear of speaking out against employers who could send them home at the drop of a hat.

Transient Workers Count Too committee member Debbie Fordyce said workers are often in debt because of high recruitment fees they pay to agents before they even come to Singapore and "we have to get rid of these".

Another problem is the amount of overtime some workers do, to earn more or due to employers rushing to meet deadlines. Ms Fordyce has heard of men working 15 hours a day, seven days a week, that "causes chronic fatigue, which leads to impairment of judgment and inattention to detail".

Under the Employment Act, workers commonly work up to nine hours a day. They should not work more than 12 hours except in emergency circumstances.

Social work executive Jevon Ng of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics said he often hears from workers that they are not given proper equipment, and cables are the wrong length for the height they must work at. Some even have to buy their own safety equipment. But workers are reluctant to voice concerns about safety hazards and near misses, as they fear being repatriated for doing so.

One way for the public to help out is the mobile app Snap@ MOM, through which anyone can anonymously report safety lapses. Since April, the MOM has seen a 40 per cent rise in reports on lapses via the app, with an average of 70 reports a month.

In one case, a photo taken of an unsafe worksite landed the contractor in question with a stop-work order for work at height and scaffolding activities, and fines of $7,500. The photo showed open edges at height not guarded by effective guard-rails or barriers to prevent falls.

Singapore's workplace safety will be in the spotlight when it hosts the 21st World Congress on Safety and Health at Work next September. It remains to be seen whether the workplace fatality rate will fall before then.

Said NTUC's Mr Tay: "When it comes to safety, it's not a matter of trying, but doing. There can be no compromise."

Injured workers stuck in limbo

Carpenter Zhao Lian Wei had no idea what a spleen was until he fell three storeys at work and ruptured his own.

The 42-year-old from China had been working on scaffolding at a construction site in June when a plank above him came loose and struck him.

Mr Zhao lost his balance and fell, breaking his left wrist and rupturing his spleen, which caused internal bleeding.

What happened next was a haze of pain and nausea, he says. His supervisor took him to three different hospitals. He kept passing out in the toilet. He was parched, but every time he tried to drink water, he vomited.

"They told me I had to go for surgery," he says in Mandarin. "I was terrified. I had never had surgery before. They said, 'we need to take out your spleen.' I didn't even know what a spleen was."

He was eventually operated on and warded for eight days at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Since then, he has been unable to work and still has difficulty moving around.

According to Mr Zhao, the scaffolding structure where he worked was shoddily built.

"We did not have lifelines," he adds. "We brought this up to our bosses, but they just told us to be more careful."

He is now stuck in Singapore in limbo on a Special Pass, which is given to foreign workers who have to stay here for an injury compensation claim or salary dispute.

Community clinic HealthServe is helping him with free meals and following up on his case, but Mr Zhao has no idea how much longer he will be in this situation.

Such cases usually take three to six months to process, but can sometimes stretch past a year. Those on Special Passes are not allowed to work, and many depend on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for food and support.

Mr Zhao has told his family back home about his broken wrist, but not about the missing spleen. "I don't want to stress them out," he says.

A report by the Workplace Safety and Health Institute two weeks ago said there were 284 major injuries in the first half of this year, 4 per cent less than in the same period last year. Major injuries are non-fatal but severe. They include injuries that result in amputation, blindness, or burns with more than 20 days' medical leave.

But Mr Jevon Ng, a social work executive at NGO Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), is concerned the number of injuries could be higher as some employers might not report them to the Manpower Ministry (MOM) to avoid investigations or higher insurance premiums.

Last year, Home saw 170 workers whose injuries went unreported by their employers. These ranged from a cut on the thumb to a neck fracture, which would constitute a major injury.

HealthServe communications manager Nhaca Le Schulze says: "The economy has gone sour this year, and workplace safety can be expensive. So companies trying to finish their projects quickly will cut corners."

Construction worker Qiu Lin Min, 42, broke his left leg in February after the contractor he was working for pushed him to meet a deadline. Mr Qiu, who is from China, was removing formwork panels used to create concrete walls when one of the panels fell on him.

It required more than one person to support the heavy panels, he says, but the rest of his team were too busy with other tasks to help.

"The boss kept rushing us, saying it was very urgent. That was why we had to work even on Sunday, our day off. There was not enough manpower and not enough time."

Mr Qiu, who is also on a Special Pass, has been waiting for seven months for his claim to be processed. "I've already been here too long," he says.

Doctors told him he needs to undergo another operation on his leg. It would cost $9,000, which he cannot afford.

He is worried about his wife and three school-going children, aged 11 to 15, who no longer have a source of income now that he cannot work. "I want to be with my family. I want to go home."

Local supervisors must speak up

When he was 14, Mr Han Wenqi saw a man fall to his death.

He was on his way home from school when he witnessed a construction worker topple over the guard rails of a gondola in the air.

Shaken, he wondered: "How did this happen? Why didn't he anchor his harness? Where was the supervisor?"

The incident spurred him to pursue a career in workplace safety and health. He has spent 10 years in the construction industry, starting as a site supervisor and later becoming a safety officer.

Today, the 31-year-old is the principal trainer at centre Achieve Safety Training, conducting classes for several thousand workers a year.

Mr Han, who has worked on projects such as shopping centres, Build-To-Order flats and multi-storey carparks during his career, says safety professionals must tread a fine line between the cost concerns of their employers and the preservation of life and limb.

"Inadvertently, you will offend a lot of people," he says. "You could even risk losing your rice bowl."

Once, during the building of a major hotel, he upset colleagues when he delayed construction on a Sunday because a tower crane did not have a valid permit to be used at work. Some threatened to get him fired, although he was eventually able to make the upper management see sense.

Mr Han believes safety officers should be empowered to order work to stop at once when they see something dangerous on site.

"A two-hour internal stop-work order is better than a three-week one imposed by the Ministry of Manpower," he says.

He also feels that local supervisors have a responsibility to speak up as foreign workers are often hesitant to raise safety issues because they fear being sent back home.

"I'm Singaporean," he says. "If I lose my livelihood, at least I can go on JobStreet.com and look for something else. These guys, they can lose everything."

Mr Han has dealt first-hand with the consequences of such oversight. When workers died, he would sometimes have to pick up their next-of-kin from the airport and take them to the mortuary to identify the bodies.

"This is never an easy process," he says. "The first thing the family asks is, 'How did he die? Why couldn't you do something to protect him?'"

He asks workers to put up photos of their families around their workplaces.

"Many take safety for granted. They think it won't happen to them. I want to remind them of the reason they work, which is to send money home to their families. Every worker is someone's husband, son or father."

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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Thanks to online shopping, you never have to leave the house to buy what you need.

But some e-commerce retailers are trying to make sure that once you hit their website, you do not leave it, too.

These are online marketplaces that bring together different sellers in one place, offering consumers many products and brands all in one website.

Think one-stop-shop behemoths eBay and Amazon, which are global examples of such marketplaces.

And locally, there are the niche marketplaces which have cropped up in the last few years.

There is, for example, furnishings and decor platform HipVan, which carries products from more than 100 brands on its online marketplace.

Then there is grocery delivery platform Honestbee, which delivers groceries from 30 partner companies such as FairPrice and Cold Storage.

EVERYONE BENEFITS

On paper, the online marketplace concept benefits both sellers and consumers.

Customers enjoy a shopping experience like in a brick- and-mortar store in which they can browse a variety of products and brands before checking out.

Also, consumers are protected against bad sellers as many of the platforms rely on buyers to rate and review sellers so bad sellers are quickly weeded out of the system.

Some platforms also hold on to payment from buyers and release the money to sellers only after the buyer confirms he has the goods. This results in fewer fraudulent transactions.

Mobile phone-enabled marketplace Shopee, for example, holds payments in a third-party escrow account until the buyer receives the goods.

And for sellers, listing their goods on an online marketplace gives them access to a steady stream of customers.

Sellers can also outsource expensive business functions such as marketing, payments and product delivery to the platform for a commission. And being listed on a reputed marketplace gives sellers more credibility.

The businesses that are most likely to list their products on online marketplaces are micro businesses which are usually run by one or two entrepreneurs.

For example, full-time entrepreneurs Tan Hui Hao, 25, and Isabel Sim, 24, who sell imported Korean snacks, list their products on Shopee, Redmart and Qoo10 under the brandname Hi Trading Supplies.

Mr Tan says: "It can be very daunting trying to drive traffic to an independent site as there are numerous online businesses gunning for the same small pool of online customers."

In contrast, he says "marketplaces do a lot of expensive marketing on the sellers' behalf".

Ms Celeste Tan, 40, who sells children's books, gifts and home decor items through her company Trinks.sg, lists her products on Shopee, Carousell, Trezo and Lazada.

She likes the support some of these sites provide, such as inventory-tracking tools and free masterclasses on marketing and product photography. "These insights can be instrumental in helping local online businesses succeed," she says.

Sites such as online grocer RedMart, marketplaces Qoo10 and HipVan also take over the logistics of pick-up and delivery for sellers, which can help businesses cut down on a huge chunk of their operating costs.

Unsurprisingly then, more established brands such as L'Oreal Group, Phillips, GNC, Eu Yan Sang, Cold Storage, FairPrice and home-grown gourmet restaurant Da Paolo are also selling their products on such marketplaces.

Da Paolo, which specialises in fresh and packaged Italian gourmet fare, lists on RedMart and Honestbee.

It does not have its own e-commerce site.

Da Paolo group chief, Mr Guillaume Pichoir, 42, says: "These sites have a lot of traction and right now, it makes sense for us to outsource these functions to established players who specialise in ecommerce and logistics, instead of spending the money to build our own independent site."

Meanwhile, FairPrice, which has its own e-commerce site, still lists products on delivery website Honestbee.

Its chief strategic officer Elvin Too especially appreciates the personal shopper service offered by Honestbee. "This provides shoppers with greater convenience."

But online marketplaces also win.

They earn a commission from sales, which can vary from seller to seller depending on various factors such as the prices of the products and the brand reputation.

The platforms in turn can expand more quickly as more buyers attract more sellers and vice versa.

Associate professor Thompson Teo from the National University of Singapore Business School says: "The operator of the marketplace gains through transaction fees from sellers and can scale the business while building a valuable database of customer information and best-selling products."

THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Some marketplaces are getting glowing reviews from buyers and sellers.

But the fact is, not all marketplaces - or vendors - will succeed.

Even though vendors are promised customer traffic in return for commission, some still end up making little to no sales on the sites.

Ms Cynthia Tan, 28, ran a business selling women's clothing and accessories through Qoo10 and Rakuten, but she had to close it last year.

She ended up selling excess stock at flea markets at cost price.

She says: "It can be very discouraging to compete in a crowded marketplace, more so if the traffic on the site is a lot less than promised."

And for sellers, the competition could come not from other sellers but from the marketplace itself.

Some marketplaces, such as Redmart and HipVan, also sell their own products.

Prof Teo says: "Marketplaces have all the sales information which can give them an unfair advantage if they decide to also sell the popular items themselves - often at a lower price."

Sellers have no access to figures on how their product is doing vis-a-vis others, nor do they have the contact information of their customers.

Therefore, it is hard for them to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Sellers are also affected when the site they sell on fold.

Japanese online marketplace Rakuten, for example, announced it was winding up its Singapore site in February this year.

And last month, Bloomberg reported that Redmart was seeking a buyer for its business.

If the sale of Redmart goes through, the more than 400 businesses listed on the site could be affected.

For some sellers, these issues are balanced out by the access to thousands of shoppers.

Ms Tan of Trinks.sg says: "This is a small price to pay for the support and traction my products get."

For avid online shoppers such as personal assistant Gayathri Nair, 33, the convenience of online marketplaces continues to be the biggest selling point.

She does nearly all her shopping online and often turns to e-commerce sites to compare prices of products with those of brick- and-mortar stores.

She says: "Consumers in Singapore are savvy and want an efficient and safe way to shop online.

"It is one thing to be able to buy cheap products. But being able to browse numerous products on one site - you can't put a price on that."

Popular online marketplaces

Honestbee

Website: www.honestbee.sg

What: This site has concierge shoppers who deliver purchases within the hour from 30 partner retailers such as FairPrice, Cold Storage and Pet Lovers Centre.

RedMart Marketplace

Website: redmart.com/marketplace

What: The marketplace supplements RedMart's own in-house offerings by listing products from more than 400 retailers such as L'Oreal Group, 3M, Phillips, GNC and Eu Yan Sang.

HipVan

Website: www.hipvan.com

What: Offers home furnishings and decor from more than 100 independent designers and established distributors.

It also has its own line of products.

Megafash

Website: www.megafash.com

What: This sells home and lifestyle products from more than 800 brands from Singapore and the region. Besides the online store, the marketplace also has six brick-and-mortar stores.

Zalora

Website: www.zalora.sg

What: A space for up-and-coming brands, boutiques and designers to sell more than 1,000 product types alongside internationally renowned brands such as Warehouse, Nike and Topshop.

Qoo10

Website: www.qoo10.sg

What: It was founded in 2010 as a joint venture between Gmarket and eBay with $20 million and sells everything from smartphone accessories to soft toys to cosmetics.

Trezo

Website: www.trezo.sg

What: A platform to buy and sell new and pre-loved items in more than 10 categories, such as fashion, beauty and wellness and kids' products.

Carousell

Website: sg.carousell.com

What: The granddaddy of all Singapore mobile marketplaces. It offers a platform to buy and sell new and pre-loved items in more than 30 categories. It is so well-known that it has a specific Tumblr site called Carouhell, which documents some of the funnier and more painful transactions made through the platform.

Shopee

Website: www.shopee.sg

What: This online marketplace allows people to buy and sell stuff using just their smartphone. Besides offering a Facebook-like news feed, it offers users the ability to use social media systems such as hashtags to facilitate product search and sharing.

Transactions can also be done through the app and are kept secure as the money is held in a third-party account and released to sellers only when the buyer has received his product.

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

When the first presidential election was held in 1993, I received an unexpected request to interview one of the candidates.

The invitation came out of the blue as, until then, former accountant-general Chua Kim Yeow had not met a single journalist nor campaigned in any form.

He was a reluctant candidate, thrust by others into the public limelight he neither sought nor was comfortable in.

The word was that his powerful friends believed Singapore's first elected president (EP) election, held after the Government changed the highest office of the land from an appointed to an elected position, shouldn't go uncontested.

It wouldn't do, in their view, to have the other candidate, former deputy prime minister Ong Teng Cheong, enter the Istana through a walkover.

How can the president be called elected if there wasn't an election?

So, the interview was arranged, much to Mr Chua's discomfort, and at the appointed time, I called on him at his home.

I was the only journalist invited.

I can still remember much of what he said then - 23 years later - because he didn't say much.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink - that was how it felt as I tried to make him say more. Mr Chua kept largely to his script, repeating the line that he had offered himself because he had been persuaded that a contest was good for Singapore.

In the event, he obtained 41 per cent of the votes - not a bad showing for an almost no-show.

But Singaporeans got to vote and a precedent was set.

It was part of the learning process the country was going through to get to grips with the new constitutional arrangement of having an elected president with custodial powers over the country's financial reserves and key appointments in the public service.

It was recognised then that it would take time for the President and the Government to work the new relationship, and that as they did so, they would deepen understanding of the office and the way it functions.

Indeed the country owes much to the first EP, Mr Ong, who raised many issues in his first term, some of which resulted in his clashing with the Government.

But the outcome was greater clarity over his role and especially his working relationship with the Government.

Mr Ong even took the unprecedented step of challenging the Government in court over its powers to introduce laws that circumvented or curtailed the President's discretionary powers.

The special tribunal of three judges ruled in the Government's favour, that the President could not veto such laws.

Another precedent was set.

Mr Ong's greatest contribution was to demonstrate what it took to play the role and what qualities mattered most.

To its credit, the Government recognised this, despite the differences it had with him.

This was what then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in Parliament of Mr Ong, during the debate over those disagreements in 1999: "When President Ong stood for election to be president, some doubted whether a former senior Cabinet minister and PAP leader could exercise independent judgment or make decisions against the Government in his new role. But friendships and past associations have not affected President Ong's independence of judgment in the two areas where he has custodial powers.

"President Ong has shown what the Government expected all along: that when an honourable man assumes this constitutional position, he has to exercise the powers of that institution without fear or favour."

I am relating all this to make the point that the EP office isn't shaped by just a set of constitutional laws governing his role. The legal framework is obviously important but it is not the whole story.

Equally critical is how succeeding presidents work the office and how, in their day-to-day dealings with the Government, they establish a convention undergirding the relationship.

As they shape the office through the work they do as President - always keeping to their Constitutional role - they breathe life and meaning into it.

This is especially important when the issue is about developing a working relationship with the executive - a key matter in the ongoing debate about the powers of the EP. The relationship cannot be guided only by law but has to be established through precedent and convention.

A look at the presidents of Singapore

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Zawiyah Salleh, New Nation, Wee Kim Wee, The Business Times, The New Paper, The Ong family, Lianhe Zaobao

The experiences of past presidents doing so, what issues matter most, how they deal with them, what qualities are called for - these would add greatly to the debate on the proposed changes to the EP. That's what has been missing in the discussion so far, which has been mainly over theoretical arguments, and which seems to have hit an impasse.

At times it appears as if everyone is debating the issues from first principles, forgetting the 23 years of experience, with three EPs including the current one.

Critics and supporters of the changes proposed by the Constitutional Commission, which have been largely accepted by the Government save for a few modifications, have had their say.

But I doubt there has been much movement in position on either side. Those with misgivings question whether an election reserved for a minority race will produce a president accepted and respected by all.

Others oppose the stricter eligibility requirements, arguing that they restrict the field too narrowly and that technical competence shouldn't take precedence over other qualities such as courage and strength of character.

A proportion of Singaporeans do not fall into either camp, and remain either not interested or not understanding the issues fully.

Where are the voices of those, apart from those in Government, who have had to deal with these very issues? Alas, none of the past presidents are alive.

But there is a group which is very much around and whose members have been actively involved in helping the EP fulfil his role - the six men who make up the Council of Presidential Advisers and several others who served in the past.

Among them, only Mr S. Dhanabalan has spoken, when he appeared before the commission.

I hope they will speak up at some point in the debate and share their experiences. It would be a precedent worth setting.

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

They take their own cutlery, containers and water tumblers when they go out. They avoid straws, plastic bags and food packaging.

Some have a compost bin at home where they dump their kitchen scraps and use the compost to fertilise plants.

Others turn fruit peels into eco enzymes for household cleaning.

When it is that time of the month, some women use reusable menstrual cups and cloth pads instead of disposable pads.

These are just some measures adopted by members of the Facebook group, Journey to Zero Waste Life in Singapore, which seeks to reduce waste in daily lives.

With more than 900 members, it was started in May by software engineer Gan Kah Hwee, 29, who wanted to spread awareness about sustainable living in Singapore.

She had always wanted to be eco- conscious, avoiding disposables and using her tumbler and lunchbox.

However, she says: "I felt paiseh (embarrassed) about doing something different. I also didn't see others doing the same."

She changed her mind after watching the award-winning documentary Trashed (2012) by British film-maker Candida Brady in April. She says: "I realised that if we don't practise 'reduce, reuse and recycle', the trash problem is going to be serious. We have to start with ourselves and not wait for the authorities to do something."

She signed up for a sustainability mentorship programme with environmental consultancy Green Future Solutions where she met likeminded participants.

She then started the Facebook group as a form of support. "We post photos of food we buy in our reusable containers. We learn from one another which restaurants and stalls don't entertain reusables and try to avoid them," she says.

The group started with about five members, including Ms Gan's boyfriend, who runs a software firm.

Then, at a climate change seminar, she met representatives from the non-governmental agency People's Movement To Stop Haze and Singapore Youth for Climate Action and invited them to the group.

They, in turn, invited their network of environmental bodies.

The group, which has about 40 new members every week, comprises mostly people from Singapore of all ages and from all walks of life.

About 100 of them attended its first sharing session on Oct 1 at the Visual Art Studio in Boat Quay.

During the three-hour event, Malaysian environmental journalist Aurora Tin shared her experiment in leading a zero waste lifestyle.

Singaporeans Eugene Tay, from environmental group Zero Waste SG, and Farah Sanwari, from Repair Kopitiam, where people meet to repair things, also spoke about their initiatives.

Environmental educator Tan Hang Chong shared tips on how to avoid junk mail while Ms Xyn Foo, of Open Book Cafe in Bukit Pasoh Road, talked about her efforts to reduce waste at her cafe by using stainless steel straws and not offering serviettes.

Vendors also shared information about eco-friendly products such as loofah kitchen sponges, bamboo toothbrushes and reusable beeswax food wrap.

Participants also got to sample "more sustainable" coffee roasted fresh by the Really Really Fresh Coffee movement, a Kickstarter- funded project that advocates roasting coffee on demand to reduce wastage, as roasted coffee has a short shelf life.

Ms Gan hopes to organise more of such sessions. "Maybe we can visit an incineration plant and recycling facilities to see where our trash goes.

We are also thinking of organising workshops on how to make toothpaste, compost bins and eco enzymes."

A year's trash in a bottle

Since the start of the year , Ms Aurora Tin, her husband and their dog, Lucky, have generated so little trash that their rubbish fits into a 500ml glass jar.

Ms Tin, 28, who works as a freelance environmental journalist in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, made a resolution to live a "zero trash" lifestyle late last year.

She was in town recently to share her story with the zero waste community here.

She told the audience that in her job, she often writes about the importance of the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.

But one day early last year, she found the dustbin next to her workdesk full of the empty packaging of the snacks she had eaten. "I felt like a hypocrite.

On the one hand, I was telling people to practise the three Rs, but on the other hand, I was creating so much trash myself."

In December, she found the "solution to her guilt" when she read the book No Impact Man by Colin Beavan, which chronicles how he, his wife and their daughter tried to make zero impact on the environment while living in Manhattan, New York.

She says: "I was very inspired and thought maybe I could do the same in Malaysia."

Taking a leaf out of the book of New Yorker and blogger Lauren Singer, who managed to squeeze two years of trash into a 16oz (about 473ml) mason jar, Ms Tin resolved to fit one year of her family's trash into a glass jar.

She was then renting a room in a condominium with her solar engineer husband, Mr Lau Tzeh Wei, 28, and their dog.

She tells The Sunday Times that they started preparing themselves about two weeks before the turn of 2016 to give themselves "some time to adjust, as habits cannot change overnight".

To find alternatives to plastic containers, they got family and friends to pass them empty glass jars they no longer wanted.

The couple gave away food with packaging to their friends so they would not have empty packaging to trash.

They converted their dustbin into a recycle bin.

Food waste was stored in the freezer and donated to an environmental non-governmental organisation after one to two weeks.

When they later rented a bigger space in a terrace house, they created a compost bin.

Much effort went into avoiding plastic bags and products including food, household and personal hygiene items that came with packaging which cannot be reused or recycled.

To avoid packaged products often found in supermarkets, they started buying groceries from the wet market and used a shopping bag for vegetables, tiffin carriers for wet produce such as tofu, and stainless steel containers for meat.

They stopped buying some of their favourite processed canned food such as baked beans and pasta sauce, as well as Milo packs and milk cartons.

Stores where household detergents and condiments such as soya sauce can be refilled became places they patronised.

Instead of plastic toothbrushes, they used bamboo ones, which are biodegradable.

They also made their own toothpaste from coconut oil and baking soda.

Ms Tin switched to using a menstrual cup, which is a flexible cup inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual blood.

It can be cleaned and re-used. In the last month, she stopped using shampoo.

She says: "Over time, we found there are many things we can live without.

If we really need something, we will always be able to find a substitute for it. For instance, instead of milk, we now take soy milk."

Life became simpler.

She says: "In the past, I tended to use more condiments when I cooked, but nowadays, it's just sugar, salt, soya sauce and coconut oil."

Thanks to practical tips from the book, Zero Waste Home, and the Facebook group, Zero Waste Heroes, the journey has not been too rocky, she adds.

The most challenging part was in the first few months, when she and her husband were caught out by unexpected situations.

For instance, a cup of hot Milo came back with a plastic stirrer and their checked-in luggage had a sticker plastered on it.

They have since learnt to scan restaurants before making their orders and to travel without checking in their luggage.

Her husband found it difficult at first to refuse gifts from others. Ms Tin says: "I'd get upset when he came back from events with items, such as a T-shirt in a plastic bag."

So far, however, the people around them, including Ms Tin's parents, have been supportive.

Her mother-in-law sometimes still gives her food that comes in plastic bags or apples with stickers on them.

She says with a laugh: "I would quietly forget to bring them home or reject them gently."

To date, her glass bottle is about two-thirds full and is largely filled with small plastic parts, as well as some empty medicine blister packs and used dental floss.

She believes they are on track to keep all of this year's trash inside it.

She has not decided if she will keep her trash in another jar once this one fills up. But she is sure she and her husband are not returning to their previous way of life.

They have cut their spending by 40 per cent, through eating at home more often and buying fewer things.

Ms Tin says: "We also feel healthier as we usually dine in and eat mostly vegetables and grains."

Her greatest reward? "I feel so much less guilty towards the Mother Nature I love."

Baby, let's buy pre-loved

Being environmentally conscious rises to a new level of difficulty when one has children.

Outreach manager Benjamin Tay, 34, who carries his own lunchbox and cutlery, uses second-hand gadgets and does not drive, found being eco-conscious easy at first. But with the arrival of his daughter, Margaret, in 2013, reducing waste became more difficult.

"Babies seem to need so many things, from diapers to milk to toys," he says.

He and his wife, Wong Lexin, 33, a housewife, try their best. Margaret, who is turning three, wears cloth diapers at home and uses disposables only when they are out.

Other than a Lego set, which Mr Tay bought because she can "play with it for a long time", her toys are mostly gifts.

Her clothes are also either gifts or hand-me- downs.

Her stroller, diaper bag and storage boxes for toys were bought from a community marketplace for buying and selling.

The children's books she reads are borrowed from the library.

She sleeps in a toddler-sized bed which was converted from her cot and can be upgraded to a single bed.

The family, who live with Mr Tay's parents, are looking to buy a three-room Housing Board flat.

Mr Tay estimates he has saved at least $1,000 by turning to reusables and pre-loved items.

While he does take Margaret to toy stores, he lets her know in advance that she can only window shop and that she has many toys at home. "So far, she has not asked us to buy toys for her," he says.

When he was a child, he read a book about the impact of human behaviour on climate change and that influenced him to buy less and waste less.

Because of him, his wife of four years also does not patronise hawker stalls that use disposables.

Mr Tay sold his car this year to reduce pollution.

And to avoid creating electrical waste, he uses a second-hand phone, iPad and a refurbished Macbook.

The haze last year and its impact on his daughter - she had throat irritation and cough - boosted his conviction as an eco warrior.

He started volunteering at People's Movement To Stop Haze.

When the environmental non-governmental organisation was officially registered as a society in June, he became its manager of people and outreach.

While he is passionate about the environment, he would not go to extremes.

"I believe in making compromises. So if the coffee shop uncle does not want to pour the cup of coffee into my tumbler, I'd either finish up the cup of coffee there or pour it into my tumbler myself. Habits take time to change and he may have his constraints."

Reducing waste since she was 10

This eco warrior started young and in small ways.

Ms Oan Jia Xuan, 18, started recycling when she was 10.

The Hwa Chong Institution student says: "I remember putting plastic bottles, paper, metal cans and glass bottles into recycling bags and encouraging my parents to do the same."

In primary school, she urged her classmates to throw plastic bottles and paper into the school's recycling bins.

To save paper during maths class in secondary school, she drew a vertical line down her foolscap so she would have two columns to write in, instead of just one. She says: "The teacher told me not to do it a couple of times, but when I continued to do so, he just left it at that."

She never wastes food and was shocked to learn that others do. She says: "When I was in secondary school, I saw two full trays of beehoon being thrown into the dustbin after a buffet in school. I was shocked to see so much food being thrown away."

During recess, she started reminding her friends to finish their food or to ask for less rice in the first place.

She recalls with a laugh: "I think some of them became afraid to eat with me."

Joining the Green Council, an environmental club at Hwa Chong Institution, boosted her commitment to the green cause.

She became familiar with the waste statistics in Singapore and overseas.

Realising how serious the situation was, she started to consume less.

"I realised that of the 3 Rs of 'reduce, reuse and recycle', Reduce is the most important. If we can reduce, then we don't even need to think about reuse or recycle."

To reduce the use of plastic bags and styrofoam boxes, she takes a tumbler and lunchbox to "tar pau" food and uses a container when she buys buns from the bakery.

She also takes a washable cloth bag instead of a plastic bag to school for putting her soiled clothing in.

Recently, she stopped consuming Yakult, a drink she loves. She explains: "Each time after drinking, you need to throw away an 80ml bottle and a straw."

She has also stopped buying sweets, chocolates and biscuits that are individually packaged. Instead, she buys them in bulk if she wants to eat them.

To save electricity, she has been using cold water to shower for the past year. She charges her phone only once in two days.

Some of her habits have rubbed off on her parents. Her father, 55, who runs his own business, and her housewife mother, 53, now use reusable containers and shopping bags.

They live in a five-room Housing Board flat.

Jia Xuan is so fired up about the cause that she has written to one shopping mall and at least two supermarkets and eight companies, including clothing and furniture shops, to get them to switch from plastics to reusables.

She plans to pursue environmental studies in university.

She says: "I hope to be involved in policy-making one day and help Singapore become a more sustainable country."

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Why make a will

Experts say there is no better time to think about making a will than now, when you are able to. So do not commit the mistake of putting it off until it is too late.

Mr Simon Tan, managing director of Attorneys Inc, suggests that having a will "regulates" your family's life after your death - what to do, how to do it and where to start looking, with regard to distribution of the estate.

"With a proper will done, you can articulate all your wishes, which can run the gamut from what you wish to give to each of your loved ones, and whether they are to benefit from the gift immediately or over a period of time.

"You can explain the apportionment of your assets to each of them, whether as a measure or endorsement of your love for each of them or a reflection of your intention to cater for their special needs or nurture their nascent talents," he says.

Ms Ang Kim Lan, director at Goodwins Law Corporation, warns that if there is no will, the Intestate Succession Act kicks in when it comes to distributing the deceased person's estate.

"If the person is an orphan with no spouse, children, siblings, grandparents, uncles or aunts, his estate will go to the state," she says.

Furthermore, the fixed rules in the Intestate Succession Act may not work well in some cases.

"For example, if a couple is newly married and, assuming that the husband is older than the wife, and if both die instantaneously during their honeymoon, the law deems the younger one to die last. In such a scenario, all the joint properties of the couple will go to the wife's parents, which may not be fair to the husband's parents," she says.

A will lets you decide on appointing your executors, guardians for your children, whether you want to be buried or cremated, and who gets what and in what proportion, and so on.

You can also make gifts to people outside your immediate family, such as your godson or your favourite charities, adds Ms Ang.

A will is particularly important in cases where you need to set up testamentary trusts for children below 21 years old, special-needs beneficiaries and charities.

It will mean that there will no longer be any ambiguity and uncertainty as to how your estate is to be divided and by whom.

"The last thing you want is for people you do not trust or like to meddle in your financial affairs upon your death or even to benefit, just because the law gives them such an entitlement in the absence of a will," Mr Tan says.

Top 7 considerations

1. APPOINTING YOUR EXECUTOR(S) AND TRUSTEE

Experts recommend that they should be people you trust. Mr Tan says that they would preferably be family members rather than professionals who would have to be paid for their services.

Other factors to consider include appointing those who will potentially outlive you and who have the capability, ability and willingness to handle your affairs, personal matters and/or take care of the financial needs of your children.

Ms Ang says it is prudent to have an executor who will be careful with financial matters.

Mr Amolat Singh of Amolat & Partners says the executors of a will lodged by a business owner can step in straightaway, pending the grant of probate by the court.

"This is especially useful when the deceased has left a business or was a shareholder in a company. Under intestacy (in the absence of a will), all those entitled to apply for the Letters of Administration will have to agree on who should proceed to apply to court and, hence, they cannot step into the shoes of the deceased immediately," he adds.

2. APPOINTING YOUR CHILDREN'S GUARDIANS

Those with young children can appoint guardians for their children so that there is no dispute between relatives on both sides as to who should care for them.

Mr Singh said: "Not just young children but also for children with special needs. Without a will, no one may want to step forward or, conversely, so many relatives would wrestle for the right to care for the infants."

These guardian(s) must be people you trust and who share the same values as you. Religion is also an important consideration, says Ms Ang.

3. MAKING A LIST OF YOUR ASSETS AND WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED

Ms Ang and Mr Tan say this is important as some of your assets may be located overseas or held by another person in trust for you.

"If you do not list them out carefully, they could well be ignored, mismanaged or squandered, or even lose their value if they depreciate over time. It is not necessary to list out the value of such assets as they may increase or reduce over time," says Mr Tan.

4. MAKE A LIST OF BENEFICIARIES AND YOUR GIFTS TO THEM

Unlike the distribution of assets under intestacy, which is limited to family members, Mr Singh says you can opt to bequeath a gift to a charitable organisation, illegitimate children and friends.

Gifts may be sums of money or personal effects like jewellery, cars, art items and so on. In fact, you can go beyond convention and choose to set up a scholarship, request annual prayer sessions or require someone to look after a pet dog, and so on.

Lawyers have come across clients who would like to "rule from the grave". For example, one willed that he would give his property to the children only if certain conditions were met, such as obtaining a degree from Oxford or Cambridge, or marrying a woman/man of the same race/religion.

Another stated that he would give an additional $300,000 to any of his five children if they continued with ancestral worship at their family home in Singapore.

If you have dependants, think carefully if you are leaving anything to them under your will, says Ms Ang.

If you are not leaving anything to them, it is prudent to provide a reason. For example, you may state in the will that you have already made enough provisions in your lifetime for them. This is because they may challenge the will by virtue of the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act - in the absence of an explanation in the will - which will not be desirable for you.

Mr Tan says that when it comes to gifting beneficiaries, it is not a case of one size fits all.

There may be a spouse, parent or child who is physically challenged, staying in a hospice or a home for the aged, or is mentally incapable of looking after himself or herself.

"You may wish to determine how much are his or her monthly needs and factor these expenses to be disbursed by the trustee every month from monies held in trust for this beneficiary with special needs.

"If there are minors who can inherit only when they reach the age of 21, or even later, if you so wish, their share of the estate will be held in trust for them by a trustee."

It is important to curtail the right of a trustee to invest the funds held in trust for these beneficiaries as you may not want them squandered through poor investment strategies. The children's education and special needs should be clearly spelt out and discretion given to the trustee to disburse funds.

5. INCLUDING A RESIDUARY CLAUSE

Ms Ang says it is important to include a "residuary clause" in the will. This means that after the gifts of money or personal items, a "residuary clause" is included to give the balance to certain beneficiaries.

For example, if you leave a named condominium to your son in your will but you later sell it and leave the sale proceeds in your bank account, the cash will not go to him in the absence of a residuary clause.

If there is no residuary clause, any asset not dealt with in your will will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act.

"I always strongly advise clients to put in a residuary clause, says Ms Ang.

Another reason is that you may acquire new assets subsequently along the way, which are not mentioned in the will.

"The residuary clause will take care of such new assets so that you need not keep changing your will every time you buy a new property or asset, she adds.

6. MAKING THE WILL PERSONAL TO YOU

Mr Tan suggests expressing your love for the ones you are leaving behind by telling them of your wish and aspirations for them.

"Tell them how much you love them. Include an audio message or a video, pen a poem and leave behind some jewellery and heirloom for them to remember you by."

Last but not least, it is important to state and identify confidential data, images and/or correspondence, including storage devices that you want destroyed.

7. REVIEWING YOUR WILL

Experts point out that marriages automatically revoke your will, unless it is stated that it was made in the knowledge of an impending marriage. However, a divorce or separation does not revoke it.

Circumstances where a review is necessary are when a person mentioned in the will changes his/ her name, when the executor/ guardian/trustee has to change and when the beneficiary or asset list changes.

Mr Singh points out: "The prudent rule is that you should review your will periodically and keep it updated to see if there is a need to rewrite it."

Of costs and time

The estimated time needed to obtain the grant of representation from the court will be longer in the absence of a will.

Assuming it is a straightforward estate matter, the estimated time to obtain the Grant of Probate (where there is a will) is two to three months, compared with the four to five months to obtain the Letters of Administration, where there is no will, says Ms Ang Kim Lan of Goodwins Law Corporation.

The time taken to distribute the estate depends on its size, efficiency of the exec- utors/administrators and whether there are child beneficiaries.

IF THERE IS NO WILL

The family needs to choose the administrators and the court must approve them. If minors are involved, the family must choose at least two administrators. If there are minors or if the estate is huge, sureties (guarantors) must be appointed in case the administrators do not distribute as required by law.

Legal costs start from about $3,500, in addition to disbursements, including court and commissioning fees, ranging from $800 to $1,500, says Ms Ang.

IF THERE IS A WILL

Legal costs start from $3,000, unless the matter is complex. There are disbursements as well, ranging from $800 to $1,200.

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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CASE 1: WHEN THERE IS NO WILL

Ms Ang Kim Lan of Goodwins Law Corporation cites a "sad case" where there was no will and the distribution was made to a beneficiary that the deceased would not have approved if he had had the choice.

Many years ago, Mr Peter Koh (not his real name) threw his wife and three young children out of the house. When the youngest son - who was unmarried and had no children - died at 35, Mr Koh turned up at the funeral wake and demanded half of his son's estate, in accordance to the Intestate Succession Act.

The deceased's mother cried and said it was unfair because she and the deceased's father had already divorced.

"I had to tell her that a divorce does not sever the parental ties between father and son, and that the son could have done a will to avoid this," says Ms Ang.

CASE 2: ENSURING PREFERRED BENEFICIARIES GET A SHARE

Mr Michael Lee (not his real name), a private tutor aged 60, was engaged in a protracted divorce from his second wife, 35. They had no children but he had three sons from his first marriage.

Midway through the proceedings, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer and given a few months to live. He knew he would not survive to see through his divorce. "Without the court ruling on the division of assets, he knew that his wife would inherit the matrimonial home, a landed property in their joint names. This is because upon his death, the "right of survivorship" principle would be triggered and the wife would become the sole owner," says Mr Amolat Singh of Amolat & Partners.

So Mr Lee severed the joint tenancy, which then became a tenancy-in-common in equal shares (each one therefore owning 50 per cent). He then made a will leaving his 50 per cent share of the property to his three sons from his previous marriage.

He died a few months later but with peace of mind that he had managed to do what he had wanted - to provide for his three sons.

CASE 3: ENSURING PREFERRED BENEFICIARIES GET A SHARE

Madam Mandy Kaur (not her real name), who was in her late 80s, wanted her will done after her husband died. She wanted it to benefit only her three daughters and not her son.

Unfortunately, she suffered from a partial stroke and deteriorated rapidly.

Mr Simon Tan of Attorneys Inc recalls that he was asked to complete the signing of her will when she was under intensive care.

"As she could no longer speak, she could communicate only by gestures. I had no choice but to instruct her to squeeze my hand if she understood the clauses in her will as I explained them to her and to let go if she did not agree," he says.

Fortunately, the doctor in attendance was satisfied that she knew what she was doing and agreed to witness the signing of the will.

Madam Kaur died soon after signing the will by affixing her right thumb-print.

If she had died without a will, her son would have received a share of her estate.

CASE 4: ENSURING GUARDIANS FOR MINORS

Mr Joseph Wang (not his real name), a general manager aged 43, has two children aged eight and 10. He travels frequently for business, often with his wife.

Mr Singh says: "He is concerned that if both he and his wife were to perish in a disaster, especially in the present climate of terrorist activities, his children might be caught in a tussle between both sides of the family."

The family members on both sides have different views about how the children should be brought up, particularly as one side is ultra- religious and believes that the children should be raised according to the teachings of that religion.

Both the husband and wife know that there would be a fight over who should have the say with regard to the children's upbringing.

The solution was to prepare a will that addressed the children's issues of care and control, and religious upbringing, says Mr Singh.

Mr Wang owns three private apartments - two of which are fully paid up - and has provided for a power of advancement, that is, that one apartment may be sold off to fund the children's overseas education. In addition, he has provided for a power of maintenance. This allows the rental income to be used to fund the usual and routine expenses and upkeep.

Mr Wang is now relieved and happy that he has tied up the loose ends and his children would be brought up as close as possible to how he and his wife would have done it.

CASE 5: ENSURING THAT AN ONLY CHILD IS EXCLUDED FROM ESTATE

Mr Jimmy Heng (not his real name), a 64-year-old retired lawyer, has a grown-up daughter who has never visited him nor kept in contact as he had divorced his first wife soon after the girl was born.

His first wife had remarried and taken the daughter overseas with his consent. After that, he had lost contact and despite his efforts to establish a bond with his daughter, he was unable to do so.

Mr Heng owns a landed property and an apartment, all of which are fully paid up, in addition to a big portfolio of blue-chip shares. His net worth is estimated to be $12 million.

Feeling that all his sincere attempts to reach out to and reconcile with his daughter were spurned, he made a will to ensure that she would not be able to claim anything upon his death, says Mr Singh.

As Mr Heng has been very close to his three nephews and two nieces, he wants to give half of his estate to them in equal shares. In addition, he wants to provide a scholarship to a deserving student each year to pursue a master's degree. He also wants to provide for a book prize for the top final- year law student of each cohort.

In his will, he appointed his former partners to be executors and has every confidence that they would act in accordance with his wishes.

This article was first published on Oct 09, 2016.
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Changi Airport's new passenger terminal looks finished from the outside with "Terminal 4" embossed on a wall at the departure level, and new roads and bridges constructed, along with a 68m-high control tower.

More than two years since construction started, a multi-storey carpark just in front of T4, an outdoor holding area for taxis and a bus terminus are also nearing completion.

Works are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

T4, however, will not be ready to receive travellers and visitors just yet, spokesman for Changi Airport Group Ivan Tan told The Straits Times. The opening is slated for the second half of next year.

The next phase of works will involve the testing of airport systems and equipment as well as operational readiness trials.

Unlike the other three terminals, T4 will see a massive rollout of self- service and automated options for check-in, bag tagging, immigration clearance and aircraft boarding.

Passengers will be subject to centralised screening instead of being screened at the gatehold rooms just before boarding - the system in place at the other terminals.

To minimise teething problems, extensive tests will be conducted later this year.

There are plans for more than 50 trials, including live flights, ahead of T4's opening.

This is more than double the number of trials for T3, which opened in 2008.

Built to handle up to 16 million passengers a year, T4 as well as expansion works at T1 will increase Changi's total capacity to 85 million passengers.

Cathay Pacific and budget airline AirAsia were the first two carriers to announce plans to move to the new terminal.

AirAsia's Singapore chief executive Logan Velaitham is looking forward to moving the airline's operations to the new facility.

The extensive use of automation and technology is a key attraction, he said.

This will not only benefit customers but also help the airline cut operating costs by as much as 40 per cent, with less reliance on manpower.

Mr Logan said: "We expect huge operational and productivity gains which we aim to translate into lower fares for our customers.

"At T4, AirAsia passengers can also look forward to a new travel experience which will offer seamless and easy processes from start to end."

While there will be no Skytrain linking T4 to the other terminals, those with connecting flights will be moved to a transfer lounge where they will be bussed to T2.

They can take a Skytrain to T1 and T3 from there.

Undergraduate P.S Sandhu, 19, said: "Automation is definitely a step in the right direction in terms of convenience and efficiency.

"But there must also be adequate provisions made so that travellers who may have issues with check-in or other processes can move to manual counters so they don't hold up the automated lanes."

This article was first published on Oct 10, 2016.
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Short-term stays are a "breach of faith" for those who have bought homes for residential use, but Singapore will not close the door on it permanently, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

Addressing the debate on home sharing in an interview last week, Mr Wong said there are strong reasons for not legalising short-term rentals here, but acknowledged that circumstances may change. "I think the sharing economy is here to stay... we certainly want to support more shared spaces."

He noted that it would be very different if, say, a building is built from scratch to be a shared space and everyone is clear about that.

"But if... I've purchased (a unit) on the basis of (it) being a home and then suddenly you're changing the rules on me and making it into a shared space, with strangers coming into my apartment building, using my... common facilities, I think that's not about sharing," he said.

"That's just a breach of faith for many people. And it's an intrusion into my private space which I think many people will find intolerable."

Rentals shorter than six months are not allowed in Singapore for both public and private housing.

But that has not stopped such listings from popping up on home- sharing websites such as Airbnb.

Early last year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority held a public consultation to gather feedback on short-term rentals in private homes.

But in May this year, it said views were split and it needed more time to study the issue.

Those in support of short-term rentals often cite benefits such as a boost for tourism and supplemental income for home owners.

On the other hand, some have concerns over disamenities arising from the presence of transient strangers.

Mr Wong said Singapore's high- density living renders it less suited to short-term rentals, unlike many European and American cities. "We live cheek by jowl with one another. And once you allow for that (to happen), I think it does change the character of our living environment and we have to be very mindful of that."

While he understands the strong feedback against home sharing, he stressed that Singapore is "not saying no forever".

Circumstances and mindsets may evolve, which is why businesses such as Airbnb are not banned from operating here, he explained.

When asked if regulating such rentals could address the issue, Mr Wong pointed out that it is equally important to get the necessary "buy-in" for home sharing.

It could work here if a piece of land or building is built specifically for short-term stays, or if there is strong support from stakeholders of existing establishments, he said.

"We are still in the process where we are prepared to look at the situation, to study what is happening elsewhere, to study also how Airbnb's practices continue to evolve."

Housewife Dolly Lai, 59, who lives in a condominium in Pasir Ris, said she is not against short-term rentals, but thinks safety checks should be put in place, especially if children live in the area.

"It would be good if they can screen prospective tenants to ensure there is no security issue and they won't cause any disturbance."

An Airbnb host who has been leasing out a room in his Woodlands Housing Board flat for the past two years said it helps him pay his mortgage.

The 55-year-old, who travels frequently for volunteer work, charges about $40 a night.

"I prefer short-term tenants because it's easier to do periodic repairs and cleaning (in the room)."

This article was first published on Oct 10, 2016.
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Updated on Oct 10

SINGAPORE - How did 81 judges cast 92 votes in the Sing! China final on Friday (Oct 7) night?

That was the question that lit up social media in China and Singapore after Xinjiang's Jiang Dunhao, 21, won the talent competition, narrowly beating Singapore's Nathan Hartono, 25.

The answer to the mystery might be a technical error. 

Sources close to the programme have blamed it on machine error, reported The Beijing News, but the producer of the show has not commented on the discrepancy. 

Last Friday, six finalists were vying for first place at China's National Stadium in Beijing. In the first two rounds, all six performed with their mentors, followed by solos.

Voting by the audience determined the top two singers, who would go on to the third round.

After both performed their songs in the third round, the audience and a panel of 81 judges voted to determine the final winner. The votes by the audience and the judges will each make up 50 per cent of the final tally.

Jiang and Hartono were the last two standing in the third round. Hartono performed a mash up of two songs - Moonlight in the City by Singaporean crooner Mavis Hee and Woman Flower by Hong Kong legend Anita Mui.

Jiang sang Window, a ballad by his mentor Chinese rock star Wang Feng. Hartono's mentor is Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou.

During the vote, the judges, said to be industry and media professionals, were invited on stage to drop their vote in two ballot boxes. The boxes scanned each vote cast and the vote count was updated 'live' on a large screen.

Hartono led at first, but Jiang caught up, and they were neck and neck as the vote tally reached 81. But the numbers continued to go up.

Despite the host repeating multiple times during the show that there were 81 judges, Jiang won with 47 votes to Hartono's 45 - a total of 92 votes.

Jiang also got more spectator votes - 59,852 to Hartono's 45,613.

Read also: Nathan Hartono finishes second in nail-biting Sing! China final

It was a surprise win as Hartono, who goes by his Chinese name Xiang Yang in the show, was one of the favourites going into the final. His score in the semi-final on Sept 30 was the highest among the finalists.

Another singer, Xu Geyang, was also tipped to win but was eliminated in the second round.

One Chinese netizen called the voting "a comedy", another said "we are not blind". One netizen commented: "Do you think we don't know maths?".

Some speculated that the contest was rigged, while others questioned if there was a glitch in the voting apparatus.

In Singapore, support for the home-grown singer was strong.

"Nathan Hartono is already a winner! It's 100% certain that he'll be singing the 2017 NDP song!" said Singaporean poet Gwee Li Sui.

Many noted that no foreigner has ever won on the show.

Said prominent blogger Mr Brown: "Nathan Hartono, you may have come in second in the Sing! China contest but you are first in our hearts!

"How come got 81 judges and then the number of votes is 45 vs 47 leh? 45+47 is 92 leh. Kelong issit?"

It was also caught on camera that the last vote cast for Jiang registered as two votes, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

There was even a parody of the puzzling result posted by SGAG.

Hartono's mentor Chou said in an interview after the competition that he was pleased with all aspects of the show, but joked that the weather was "too cold".

"The media were dizzy from the cold, so maybe they voted wrongly," Sina.com reported him as saying.

Both Hartono and Jiang graciously accepted the result.

Read also: Hartono came in 2nd but won plenty of precious air-time

Hartono told The Straits Times that he was not disappointed at being the runner up.

"I'm not sure how it showed up on TV. But did you see how I was smiling the whole way through when they were counting the votes? I'm just very happy that I got to sing the third song," he said in a post-competition interview.

Jiang, in an interview with Sina.com, said that he was just "dazed" after his win, and he expected either Hartono or Xu to be the champion.

He also told Sina that there was much he could learn from Hartono.

In response to Sina's question on whether the result was rigged because he has signed a contract with Star China, the producer of the talent show, he said: "Yes, the company has given me a contract. To me, a boy from a Xinjiang border town, there was nothing shady. I had nothing. To get where I am today, besides my hard work, and my mentor's help, a large part was due to luck."

On Saturday morning, Hartono posted a photo of Jiang and himself on micro-blogging site weibo with this message: "You're the best. Finally, a chance to share the stage with you!! Go all the way brother."

"Everybody has been asking me about my feelings towards the results. Well here they are: in short, I'm not bothered one bit. I couldn't have been happier to even be included in the finals. To then compete in the top two? That's just insane," he wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon.

Local singer Nathan Hartono wows Sing! China judges

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, The New Paper, YouTube screengrabs, HBO Asia, Music & Movement

Read also: Tung Lok offers restaurant patrons free servings of Nathan Hartono's favourite dishes

This article was first published on Oct 8, 2016.
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The world is counting down to the United States presidential election on Nov 8, an event that could cause market turbulence in the near term while raising questions about the future of global trade.

Analysts expect regional markets to reflect volatility on Wall Street in coming weeks, so investors should tread carefully even if opportunities for bargain-hunting turn up.

One reason for caution is that US presidential elections have traditionally been preceded by sell-offs. In 2012, for instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by around 6 per cent in the month leading up to the vote on Nov 6.

ELECTION JITTERS

"Historically, US equity indexes tend to be volatile during presidential election years when the incumbent is not seeking re-election," DBS analysts Janice Chua and Yeo Kee Yan said in a recent note.

"Given the high correlation of global equity markets with the US', investors are likely to stay on the sidelines in the run-up."

Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have been range-bound in the past 30 days - a sure sign of jitters building up. Both indexes have been down around 1.3 per cent over the period.

Against this backdrop, DBS has forecast that the Straits Times Index (STI) will trade between 2,750 and 2,950 points for the remainder of the year. The benchmark closed at 2,875.24 last Friday.

What complicates matters is that Republican candidate Donald Trump has stirred worries within and beyond the US with his controversial policy stances on immigration and trade.

While Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has been viewed by many as being more appropriate for the job, the markets might be unprepared for a nasty surprise, said CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang.

"Right now, she is ahead in opinion polls, so equity markets have not fully priced in a victory by Mr Trump. But seeing how Brexit ended despite opinion polls, I wouldn't completely rule out his winning, which would be a huge market shock and lead to panic selling," Ms Yang told The Straits Times.

"One way to hedge against the risks is to get some gold and Japanese yen positions. Both are popular safe-haven assets and sought after during 'bad times'. The key is having a balanced portfolio.

"As for shares, the local market is one of Asia's cheapest and downside is limited, so there are opportunities for long-term investment.

"But now is not the right time to buy. Perhaps wait until the second or third day after the election when markets hit bottom and rebound, as they did after Brexit."

Yield plays such as Keppel Reit (real estate investment trust), Ascendas Reit and Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust are good buys amid the volatility, DBS noted, while ComfortDelGro and Sheng Siong are also worth a look.

Bank of Singapore has retained its neutral stance on Asia-Pacific equities, while advising investors to get exposure to high-quality bonds with shorter maturities to avoid interest rate risks.

LONG AFTERSHOCKS

Even so, the bank's chief economist, Mr Richard Jerram, sees no reason to be overly bullish, as aftershocks from the election might be worse than just near- term market disruptions.

"With Clinton, we can expect a large degree of policy continuation. But if Trump wins, it will be a totally different game," said Mr Jerram.

"Compared with domestic affairs, the US president has more power in directing foreign and trade policies. If Trump implements the 45 per cent tariff on Chinese exports that he pledged, the move could crash global trade because the whole Asia-Pacific supply chain would be affected. The worst-case scenario is that he throws the global economy into recession.

"As for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, you can be sure there's no chance he would let it pass. In fact, it's as good as dead even if Clinton wins - the deal is unlikely to get past the US Congress."

A Trump administration might also create complications for Federal Reserve policies, noted ABN Amro chief economist Han de Jong.

"It is not only Trump himself, but also others in his camp who have come out to claim that the Fed is essentially a supporter of the Democrats… This raises a risk to Fed independence should Trump become president, not something financial markets should like," said Mr de Jong.

This article was first published on Oct 10, 2016.
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