The father of a Singaporean student who survived the earthquake at Mount Kinabalu has called mountain guide Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin to thank him for rescuing his son, expressing the hope that they would be able to meet soon.

"I received the call a few days ago from the boy's father," said Rizuan.

A photo of him carrying the injured boy on his back had become the iconic symbol of the mountain guides' heroism on social media following the June 5 earthquake.

During the call, Rizuan was told that the boy's name was Wafeeq and that he was undergoing treatment for his injuries.

The father also told Rizuan the family would like to meet him as soon as Wafeeq got better.

"I replied that I would like that very much," said Rizuan, adding that the call was brief. "The connection was quite bad."

Rizuan not only carried Wafeeq on his back down Mount Kinabalu, but also took care of the boy even after they reached search and rescue personnel at the base of the mountain. Rizuan was seen comforting Wafeeq while medical personnel transferred the boy into an ambulance.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH148 had just taken off from an airport in Melbourne when "engine fire" forced the plane to do a U-turn and return to the airport.

Ground control was on standby with fire engines on site, but thankfully the plane managed a safe landing at about 3PM local time.

Passengers reported hearing an announcement from the captain about technical difficulties with the plane. They were told that they would return to the airport and that all passengers were told to buckle up and remain seated.

Plane tracking software showed the Airbus 330 circling Melbourne airport several times before turning back and landing successfully.

Airport authorities say that the plane has been grounded and is undergoing investigations.

A WhatsApp message about senior citizens being eligible for a $50 public transport voucher if they visit any SMRT office today is false and misleading, says the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Although MOH will be providing a SG50 Seniors discount on transport for senior citizens, the redemption period starts only next monday, 15th June, as opposed to the message which claims that redemption is for today only.

Senior citizens who are eligible for the redemption of these discount vouchers will receive a redemption letter stating their eligibility.

According to the WhatsApp message, users were asked to "inform anyone above the age of 60years old (sic) that today if they go to any of the SMRT Offices, they can top up $50 for free, its a SG50 promotion".

90% or 9 in 10 Bangladeshi workers in Singapore, who mainly work in construction, say that the food they get from their employer's caterers is usually unhygienic and insufficient for their needs. This finding stems from a survey conducted with 500 Bangladeshi migrant workers, which was led by a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

"In our research we thought salary disputes was the main thing they faced, but through talking to the workers it turned out that food was a bigger problem," says Professor Mohan J. Dutta, director of the Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (Care). He was speaking at a media conference on Thursday to present his findings.

"That food can be so integral to health can be something so simple but easily overlooked."

A month-long awareness campaign by NUS was also launched on Thursday to highlight the problems with hygiene standards and other food issues that the migrant construction workers face. A television commercial, bus and MRT ads, and even a 10 minute documentary will feature in this campaign.

A problem that the research team found was that unscrupulous employers, possibly in a bid to save costs, did not adhere to clear regulations by the authorities to only store food for certain periods and label the food accurately. The team found that the food provided to many migrant workers were instead left unlabeled. It would have been impossible to know if the food had gone bad.

"Workers mentioned falling sick from eating the food," he said, adding that many workers reported food meant for lunch being prepared by companies 12 hours earlier.

Hi everyone,

This dirty old man drove from the side of the road and intentionally hit my left rear car door. He claims that I hit his car first. What a big joke! Malaysian driver bola!

He confronted me and said that I should pay for his car damages. My car is Silver but his car has dents and scratches with ORANGE and RED paint. How to believe that the scratches and dents were caused by my car?

He tried to pressure me by saying that he will report to the police station nearby. I just drove off and he tried to follow my car closely for a couple of minutes. However, he was forced to back off when he tried to filter from my right as traffic blocked him. The heavy traffic prevented him from following anymore and allowed me to drive in peace to my destination. Lol.

Believe he is poor and trying all tricks to con Singapore cars.

Those driving to Malaysia, please beware...!

Popular local actor Ashmi Roslan died of a heart attack yesterday, according to an announcement on the MediaCorp Suria Facebook page. He was 34 years old.

Ashmi gained fame after taking part in Suria's Anugerah Skrin, an acting and hosting competition, in 2006.

The first signs that Ashmi was not well was when he posted on his Instagram account a photo of a fruit basket in a hospital room. He hinted that he was not well and had been hospitalised.

"Unexpected turning point but I am thankful that He has given me a reminder to take better care of myself. Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I really appreciate it."

His girlfriend, local actress Syirah Jusni, took to Instragram to express her grief.

"I will be strong, just for you. I will bring myself up, just for you," She wrote in a post with Ashmi's photograph.

"You will always be in my heart, mind and prayers. Thank you for loving me. As much as I have always loved you, and I will always do."

To the editorial team of ASS

It's quite disheartening to see the multitude of insults traded between Singaporeans and the various nationalities, especially Pinoys, and I am writing to ask for ASS to lessen the kinds of postings that encourage this. Your KPI may be pageviews and social activity, but this is creating a very negative climate.

I do not know what is the average age of the team in ASS. I'm 42, born and bred in Singapore. I live and work in Shanghai with my Singaporean wife and two kids. I used to be foul mouth, reckless in my words, and violent in my thinking. I used to tell racist Malay and Indian jokes, I made fun of other people's religions. These were the vagaries of youth. Before moving to China, my impression of Chinese were uneducated, uncouth, and backward. This was immediately dispelled after I got to know them. I work with Pinoys, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Koreans, Aussies and the usual white 'lao wai'. Many are great friends of mine, some were fuckheads, and some were the scum of the earth. Age and exposure (i.e. travel, interaction, etc) to people of different backgrounds have made me realize that we're all the same. We all love humour, we all love to have fun, we all have parents, we all face life challenges, many have lost loved ones, many are in financial difficulties... The list goes on.

My point is, please, as the editorial team, you can shift mindsets and attitudes. Please work towards make this world a kinder, more compassionate, and more relak place. We were taught in school that Singapore is unique because we're a multi-cultural, multi-racial country. So why are we so intolerant and resentful to anyone who's not like us?

Thank you

Lester Ng
A.S.S. Contributor

Editor's Note: A reader sent us a translation of a complaint by a Thai sports fan, who accused Singaporeans of not being respectful to their national anthem when Thai marathon runner Natthaya Thanaronnawat won the women's marathon event on Sunday.

If it is right to say this, but I think Singaporeans are arrogant and ungraceful.

When I attended the prize giving ceremony for Than, many Singaporeans sitting down and chatting with each other when our national anthem is played. They were not interested in hearing our national anthem, is fine, but show the respect to our country.

Such actions, does it show well to the visitors from Thailand?

If other countries athletes win the race with their hard work, you should respect it. Is it wrong if other countries treat your athletes like this?

Singaporeans, show your grace! You are a rich country, where as many people in our country struggle to live. We fight hard for our chance, while you sit comfortably and enjoy good jobs, government and peace.

Please show kindness. You are being watched all over the world.

Assalamualaikum Dr Yaacob,

I am writing to you, as the Muslim community in general feels very distressed that not only is an immoral activity about to take place contrary to the democratic wishes of the silent majority but also an illegal one too. Illegal in the sense that it infringes on Section 377A of the penal code against homosexual practices in our country (and that of neighboring Malaysia, Indonesia & Brunei)!

What is particularly alarming is that Mediacorp Artistes under your watch are being appointed as their licentious ambassadors as well. Is this the best you can perform as the minister in charge of both communications and Muslim affairs? Never mind that you have failed for decades to fight for Malay/Muslim rights in this country but you have now failed to stop plain challenges to Islamic principles and its holy definition of what constitutes normal, healthy functioning families likewise?

In a lot of areas are Muslims already being deprived, from loudspeakers in mosques to readily available Halal food in NTUC Foodfare/government institutions to total segregation of hawker food stalls and wet markets selling Muslim foods to prevent contamination from Haram stuffs and not forgetting, the Hijab issue at workplaces. Instead, we have witnessed more and more gay themed spas being opened across the island along with their fornicated pubs and HIV rates have shot up as a result. Is this not a clear enough indication to halt such abomination?

Therefore, I cannot understand how you and your PAP leaders can allow this kind of lewd event to take place at Hong Lim Park when the law clearly stipulate prohibitions of matters on "Race, Language, Religious and illegality"? Since this present government is afraid to uphold the wishes of the conservative majority and maintain the status quo of a decent, virtuous "Asian society" like Mr Muhamad Faisal of the Worker's Party did by participating in the "wear white event" then I think its for the long term good that we the people including your good self, prepare for shake ups starting from Moulmein Kallang where Mr Faisal's party previously contested and obtained quite a good result.

Muhd Irfan Abdul Halim
A.S.S. Contributor

More sign up for HDB Lease Buyback

According to the Straits Times news report “Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme draws more applicants after April changes” (Jun 12) – “Interest in the Lease Buyback Scheme surged when more households became eligible in April, with 450 applications in April and May, the Housing Board said on Friday (June 12).

This total makes up more than half of the existing 965 households on the scheme” (since LBS was launched in 2009).

Only 965 signed up in 6 years?

So, there were only 965 households who took up the scheme in the last six years!

Using the example in the HDB’s web site – for a $450,000 4-room flat with a balance lease of 65 years – if it appreciates at say an average annual rate of 5% (HDB historical rate of appreciation is about 5%) – it may be $1,944,874 in 30 years’ time, with the balance of the 35 years’ lease at that time sold to the HDB.

HDB value increase perpetually or decline to zero?

The value of HDB flats since the founding of the HDB in 1960, has always increased in value perpetually in the last 55 years, because of the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

Thus, the way the Lease Buyback scheme is being calculated may be like a two-edged sword – does it mean that all HDB flats will decline in value to zero when the 99 year lease is up? Or, will the SERS continue to ensure that all HDB flats will increase in value perpetually?

Since the HDB can acquire flats at will under SERS– and redevelop them into new flats at market prices determined by the HDB– from the HDB’s perspective – no matter  how old HDB flats are – they may always increase in value.

A family loses $1.1m?

The $190,000 ($130,000 top-up to CPF Life plus $60,000 cash) if assumed to be borrowed at an average interest rate of 5% (currently the banks’ housing loan rate is about 1.5%) – will accrue to $821,169 in 30 years’ time.

So, in a sense, does it mean that the flat owner stands to lose $1,123,705 ($1,944,874 minus $821,169)?

If so, then who may have gained $1,123,705 per flat under such a scheme?

Are there any countries in the world that takes away so much of homeowners’ equity in a national reverse mortgage scheme?

Reverse mortgage?

In a typical reverse mortgage in other developed countries, the homeowner would borrow against the equity of his home, and receive the net proceeds of the market value less the loan plus accrued interest, on his demise.

Win battles lose war

Malaysian gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi has received a slew of criticisms from Muslims who attacked her for showing her “aurat” and the “shape of her vagina” in a leotard despite winning a gold medal at the SEA Games.

Several Facebook users slammed the 21-year-old Malay woman on Buletin TV3’s Facebook page that had uploaded a photograph of her in the gymnastics outfit Wednesday (June 10), along with a caption that announced her winning gold in floor exercise in artistic gymnastics.

“Until she’s dead too people can see the shape of her vagina and aurat,” wrote a Facebook user called Muhammad Nur Salam.

Facebook user called Amir Muhd said: “Just strip off your clothes lah… let everyone see.”

Another Facebook user said Farah Ann’s dressing was even worse than non-Muslims’ in terms of showing her “aurat”.

“This is the joy of the temporal world...even though our afterlife will be full of pain from Allah swt, what is it compared to the medal hung around that neck if our spirit in the afterlife suffer one day later,” wrote Addieputra Jentayu.

Both Muslim women and men are prohibited in Islam from exposing their aurat, though criticisms are more often targeted against women.

The lawyer for 16-year old teenager Amos Yee has written a strongly-worded appeal to the court, saying that the judge should not have called for an evaluation for reformative training for the teen as it has never been considered in his original sentencing.

Mr Alfred Dodwell, in a letter dated today, 12 June, also said that it was inappropriate for the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to submit evidence not related to Yee’s original charges, following 12 May 2015, for the judge’s consideration to send Yee to the Reformative Training Centre (RTC).

Yee has been in remand since 3 June, while an assessment is made to gauge his suitability for reformative training.

Mr Dodwell also called into question the effectiveness of an RTC sentence should it comes to pass, and indicated that doing so might impinge on his rights to free speech under Article 14 of the Singapore Constitution, as he has not been found guilty for all the posts that are now under consideration for his sentencing.

Mr Dodwell also highlighted the poor treatment that Yee has been subject to while in remand at Changi Prison.

He also noted the treatment that Yee was subject to that left him in “a state of depression and having severe suicidal thoughts” which was aggravated by his time spent in remand. He then told the prison officer that he was feeling suicidal.

Click on the link below to read more.

This is a follow-up to my original post which can be found here. I will basically outline what happened after my previous post. Sadly, this probably won't go as viral as the previous one as it's not so 'juicy', but I do hope it gets shared so people know the full story.

Can still see my blog's URL in the Google search result lol! But the post has been deleted, so if you click it you won't find it.

Within a few hours, there were already several thousand views on the ASS website, and their FB post had 100+ shares.
 

This is the latest snapshot - 22.3k views... that's insane. I think it's easily the most viewed/shared article for the day. From the site, there were over 1.5k shares. (currently sitting at 24k views), and over 400 shares from their FB post.

"I am the Master Franchise for Anytime Fitness Asia and our team and all of our stakeholders go to great lengths and invest heavily in time, effort, training and tools to foster enjoyable environments and to create uplifting shared experiences at our gyms in the hope of nurturing our sacred mission - to remove the barriers to a healthier lifestyle and to change lives....sometimes we get it wrong and in this instance, we clearly let you down and I sincerely apologize."

 He did address the main issue on the free trial, stating:
 

"it certainly is not industry practice to promote a free trial and then to attach conditions or deny the access."

The email ended with:

I seek your understanding and consideration - we have over 3,000,000 members peppered throughout the world and countless numbers of tremendous success stories to share and I ask you to please persevere and give us a second chance - we are making a blanket offer to all Singaporeans to use our gyms for a free one day trial by visiting any one of our Anytime Fitness gym websites and registering with us and we will welcome you with open arms.

I don't know how the 3 million members thing is relevant, and I don't see how the bolded text is new information. In fact, it is a downgrade from the previous 3-day trial (and lower than the international 7-day trial).

The rest of the day, I checked out the comments on ASS / FB once in a while, just to see what was being said, and exchanged an email or two with random commenters and Maurice.


7) AnytimefitnessNex posts an apology on Facebook... only to delete it?

11th June 10pm : Something strange then happens. AF nex posts an apology on their Facebook... which they promptly deleted some time throughout the night (or maybe in the early morning?). Luckily, I had some screenshots:
 

I underlined the first line in red because that really annoyed me. Firstly, I don't know how else you can interpret a finger hooking action apart from being a rude way to beckon a customer. Maybe this is perfectly normal in Australia, I don't know.

Secondly and more importantly, that was NOT the reason why I felt aggrieved! If you read the original post, you would know I actually felt he was justified for behaving that way because maybe he thought I was a trespasser. What made me write the whole blog post was what happened after that 'non-verbal gesture'. The entire interaction, how I was 'suckered' into paying a walk-in fee (as some netizens say), his odd long stares, his refusal to give me a trial even though I asked several times.

Reading the whole message as a whole, I think it may have been eventually taken down because a more seasoned PR person realized that despite 'apologizing' twice,  it makes three mistakes:
1) Absolves personal blame by putting the blame on me (for misconstruing the gesture)
2) Sidesteps the bigger issue of the entire rude interaction
3) A little too lengthy

Again, these are just my guesses, and I have no idea why it was deleted.

8) Stewart personally apologizes

12th June, 630am: If you missed it, Stewart is the Australian boss, AKA Mr Bull. I woke up this morning to find that he had left a comment on my blog. Here it is:

Hi Alan,

On behalf of Anytime Fitness nex, I would like to offer my personal apology for your unpleasant experience. We pride ourselves on being personable and your experience and feedback shows that we must always work to improve.

Although no longer available we would like to offer you the opportunity to fulfill your No Obligation 3 day pass with us at your own convenience.
Please accept my apology and take up the opportunity to see how good we really are.

Regards
Stewart Hine 

Ah. This is how it should be done. Short and simple and direct. I like it. I appreciate that he did this, even if it was because AF HQ was putting heavy pressure on him. This was also posted on ASS's article.


9) Anytimefitnessnex FB has a change of heart

12th June: First thing I noticed was that I was unblocked, and could post on their Facebook page again. [EDIT: Nevermind, I don't know if I am still blocked or they are moderating posts, but I can't see my post appear on their page when I tried to share this. Oh well.]

 Next thing was that whoever managed their Facebook page became disarmingly humble. For example, this interaction:
 

Chinno: -links my blog- I don't know this author but I pity him. Is this true?

AnytimeFitnessnex: It's true. We failed.

And a few more along the same lines where they addressed the service failure head on, owned it, and apologized for it. I respect that. That should be how good PR/service recovery is done! Just acknowledge the mistake, don't make excuses and don't be defensive (unless clearly wronged), and promise to try to improve.

They also mentioned publicly that they had reached out to me, and hope that I would give them a second chance. They also mentioned that Stewart was 'not doing sales anymore', not sure what that means.


10) Outstanding Questions

I had some outstanding questions that were not answered.

a) "Free passes are still available and in fact we have increased the number available due to popular demand"

This was what was posted on their FB page in response to someone asking whether the trial was available. This means the number is still limited? Does this mean it's possible someone may get rejected for a trial when he goes down? Or will the staff manage it properly and not let something like this occur?

UPDATE: I got an answer from Maurice, the Master Franchisee.
"Nex and all of our Anytime Fitness gyms will honor the one day pass. They will definitely not get rejected for a one day pass"
If any of you actually get rejected for your trial from now on, do share it in the comments below!

b) After the trial, does the individual 'lapse' into automatic membership and gets charged for it if he does not return the transponder? Some of the comments I've seen complained about how they were double charged, etc, so I'm concerned about this.

This was what I asked Maurice. It felt like a strange process to have, from a customer perspective.

UPDATE: From Maurice:
"They pay a $68 DEPOSIT which is fully refundable if they do not proceed to membership. They are not double charged"

So basically what Stewart said previously is in complete violation of the franchise's processes(he said that you would lapse into membership and be charged if you didn't return the transponder). 
If any of you get told this from now on, do share it in the comments below!

--

11) Conclusion

Some of you may be wondering - so will I return to AF nex? Or AF at all?

Well, despite the sour experience with the nex branch, AF has shown that they have decent service recovery standards, which is commendable. I may end up going to Fitness First though, simply because it is right next to my office at one north, while nex requires a slight detour and by the time I reach after work it is rather late for a workout on an empty stomach, though AF is dangling some offers at me. I haven't decided, will need to start work first and see how the workload is.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and for sharing the previous post if you did. I hope you don't walk away from this thinking that Anytime Fitness is a shitty franchise, because I really don't think they are, they may just have a few black sheep.

Some people have also asked whether AF is truly and sincerely sorry, or just sorry that they got caught and this blew up on the internet. I've a feeling it's a bit of both. Regardless, from some of the comments, there were people with exceedingly positive experiences as well. With a large franchise like this, there are bound to be a few blips.

Take care everyone, and train hard (wherever it is)!

Have you been denied a free trial at anytimefitness before? Let me know in the comments below or drop me an email, with as much detail as you can, and I'll try to seek some sort of redress for you with the Master Franchisee.

Dear sir,

My friend show me a photo that make me angry! The photo showing our President Tony Tan & his wife pictures above Buddha! That place is Man Fut Tong nursing home. It a nursing home in charge & under our government.

I never study a lot & my education is not high but I know human’s photo can’t hang above a God! When we are young, our parents always teach us God is highest so photo of our ancestors passed away must not hanging above God!

In the hall, God’s picture & God’s statue is always put on important side of wall and highest. Photo of our ancestors passed away is hanging another side of wall & lower than the God. This is general knowledge of Chinese peoples’ belief of God! How can the government don’t know this simple basic knowledge of people’s religions?

When putting President Tony Tan & his wife photo behind our God and higher than our God, then when people pray to the Buddha it is just like they are praying to Tony Tan & his wife!!!

I agree Tony Tan is our President & we all must respect him but he is not a God! How can he & his wife above our God? Even my other friends after see the photo also angry! How can this happen? No respect for our God! Some friends also say this: since Tony Tan’s religion is different from Buddhism, then is even more important his photo must not above other peoples’ God because misunderstanding is easy to happen. People maybe thinking wrong idea of our President who got different religion is showing no respect of other religions!

Some of my friends go check internet & find out Man Fut Tong is actually inside Sembawang GRC & their MP is Khaw Boon Wan who also a Buddhist. They also find out in internet that Khaw Boon Wan visit that place few times before. How can he who is Buddhist allow this happen? As a Buddhist, he sure must have pray to the Buddha when he visit that place? We so disappointed he as a Buddhist never protect our God’s dignity!

I got friends working inside government departments & they all tell me there are sure official guidelines of how President’s photo must hanging on wall. How come the guidelines never tell people to be sensitive & show respect to a religion’s God?

Our country is multi-racial & multi-religious, all God must be equally respected. Human must always below God! Even they are President or King is still below God!

Hope my God is respected!

Thank you.

Mr Leow

After residents moved into their new DBSS flats in Centrale 8 at Tampines in June last year, they were upset to discover the poor quality of their premium flats. Some of them have even gone online to announce their unhappiness about the defects in their flats.

Meanwhile, a group has also spoken the media and say that they hope the developer, Sim Lian Group, can extend the one-year period warranty, which obligates the developer to rectify any defects in the units. Some also want cash compensation.

Centrale 8, located in Tampines Central, has 708 three to five room flats, which are being sold from between $389,000 to $778,000. The units are nearly all sold out. Centrale 8 caused an uproar last year because of its extremely high flat prices, which prompted the Housing Development Board to suspend all future DBSS schemes.

Madam Tan, a secretary who moved into her flat 3 months ago, said that she had to get the developer to fix faulty toilet and balcony locks. She paid $560,000 for her 4 room flat.

"It won't be fair... if it is due to lousy material used," she said.

Another resident, Michelle Lim, 35, paid $750,000 for her five-room flat, said a water pipe in her bathroom burst last December, causing water to seep into her bedroom flooring and wall.

Part of the flooring was replaced and the wall was merely repainted, she said. "The flooring in the room has two different colour tones now but the developer told me it's out of its control. I'm disappointed because we paid so much for the flat. Why should this happen in the first place?"

HDB says that residents have been giving feedback about the poor quality of the flats since July last year. It says it has already asked Sim Lian Group to deal with the feedback.

However, Sim Lian group told the media n Thursday that there is "no basis" to extend the defect liability period or provide financial compensation as it has complied with the sale and purchase agreement.

It urged owners to submit their defects lists within their warranty period, and said defects would be fixed according to the terms of the agreement.

A spokesman said: "Unit owners must understand that each flat unit is not perfect... Sim Lian Group will ensure that all defects rectified in accordance to the (agreement) will meet reasonable industry standards." It said it is standard industry practice to offer a one-year liability period.

The group added that it attended to home owners within two working days of receiving their reports of defects, and has sent letters to remind those whose warranty is ending soon.

The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) last Saturday ("Town council saga: Workers' Party replies") took issue with my commentary ("WP town council saga: Why lapses cannot be swept under the carpet"; June 5).

But my commentary was drawn from key findings of the court. There is no reason why the AHPETC should find it "surprising and puzzling", especially since its chairman Sylvia Lim has said that it "respects the court's decision".

Indeed, AHPETC's letter further underlines the court's finding that Ms Lim had suppressed facts to leave a false impression.

First, the letter blandly asserts that AHPETC had done the necessary transfers to the sinking fund up to financial year (FY) 13/14.

This is precisely what the court took issue with: That Ms Lim had claimed in Parliament that AHPETC had made sinking fund payments for FY14/15, when, in fact, payments were outstanding.

Second, while the letter says "town councils need to have their audited reports presented to Parliament for public scrutiny", it suppresses mention that all AHPETC accounts submitted so far have been late and heavily qualified by their own auditors.

Third, AHPETC shifts the blame to the Ministry of National Development (MND) for withholding $14 million in grants.

But AHPETC is disingenuous in not admitting that it is the only town council with qualified accounts.

The Auditor-General's report found that the AHPETC's accounts cannot be relied upon, and that there can be "no assurance that... public funds are properly spent, accounted for and managed".

Under such circumstances, it would be irresponsible for MND to disburse the grants to AHPETC without safeguards.

Furthermore, as the court noted, "MND was willing to consider releasing half of the FY14/15 grants-in-aid, subject to conditions".

"However, AHPETC never accepted this offer. If AHPETC has anyone to blame for failing to make the transfers on time, it was itself."

Fourth, AHPETC's letter suggests that its officers are not guilty of any illegal acts, since no one has been charged.

But it fails to mention the court finding that if similar lapses were committed by people managing a private building or condominium, or officers running a public-listed company, there would be civil, or even criminal, action against them.

The Workers' Party's handling of this saga speaks volumes of its dishonesty. Faced with tough questions, it always ducks.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the court found Ms Lim guilty of suppressio veri, suggestio falsi, which, in legal terms, amounts to fraud.

Lawrence Wong,
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

8 Filipino children were sold into prostitution and were made to have sex with a man and each other for a global online audience. They were rescued on Wednesday in an anti-vice operation by Filipino police.

7 of the children were girls aged between 13 and 17. One of the girls was 18.

The man, 33 year-old Christopher Villanueva, was arrested at his Manila home with another woman, believed to be the mother of 3 of the abused girls. Police also found sex toys, web cameras and laptops containing more evidence of child pornography and criminal activity.

Villanueva allegedly charged customers in the US, UK, Australia and Japan between US$50 (S$67) to US$100 to watch the children having sex, Mr Nuqui said.

According to the head of the National Bureau of Investigation's anti-vice division, Filipino police acted after receiving a tip off from the US Department of Homeland Security. A US undercover agent had convinced Villaneuva that he was willing to pay to have sex with one of the underaged girls for 5,000 pesos (S$150). Villanueva accepted the offer, and said in an online chat "They (the children) will fulfil all your fantasies. Come to the Philippines."

The Singapore Armed Forces announced that it is relooking other means of punishing reservist servicemen who do not take their mandatory miitary fitness test 3 times. It says the current practice of putting them through a 5-day physical fitness boot camp while undergoing confinement will be put on hold and reviewed.

According to the SAF, Individual Physical Proficiency Tests (IPPT) have been made less of a chore by cutting down on the physical fitness requirements when the SAF launched a new watered-down physical fitness test 2 months ago.

For now, those who skip their IPPT tests will pay a $100 fine or be thrown into detention barracks, the army equivalent of prison. The SAF claims that the latter punishment is rarely meted out, however.

The army's assistant chief of general staff (training), Colonel Ng Ying Thong, would say only that as the SAF gives servicemen greater ownership of their fitness, it will also "review the disciplinary framework for IPPT defaulters".

"Physical fitness is a personal responsibility... The SAF maintains a tough stand against IPPT defaulters, and disciplinary actions will be taken against NSmen who do not take their IPPT annually," said assistant chief of general staff (training) Col Ng Ying Thong. He did not say what these disciplinary actions were.

Trust the people, share govt data

According to the Straits Times article “Trust the people, share govt data” by KishoreMahbubani (Jun 13) – “Last year, Singapore was ranked 63rd on the Global Open Data Index, tying with Bangladesh, Bermuda, Nepal, Senegal and Tunisia.

Low transparency according to WikiLeaks

There are transparency concerns even in the business arena. A WikiLeaks cable from 2009 said: “Some US and other foreign firms have found the lack of transparency from the Singapore government and its government-linked corporations (GLCs) a serious challenge in operating in Singapore…”

What S’poreans want to know?

Perhaps the most significant and contentious statistics that Singaporeans need and want transparency are:

HDB

… the breakdown of the price of HDB flats into the construction and land costs (60% estimated?) , so that we can estimate the amount of “profits” that the HDB has made in the last 55 years on the sale of flats.

With about 25,000 new flats sold last year, if we assume the average price per flat to be $200,000 – the “profits” from the “land costs” may be about $3 billion a year (25,000 flats x $120,000 (60% of $200,000)).

Over the years, this cumulative loss (“profits”) by the people including accrued interest may be in the hundreds of billions.

CPF

… the historical weighted average interest on all the CPF accounts, and the annualised returns of GIC since its inception, so that we can estimate the average difference in the returns (3% estimated) derived from our CPF funds that were not returned to CPF members.

With estimated CPF balances of about $270 billion now – the loss (“excess returns”) to CPF members in a year may be about $8.1 billion (3% of $270 billion).

Over the years, this cumulative loss (“excess returns”) by the people including accrued interest may be in the hundreds of billions too.

Healthcare

… the historical excess (few hundred million estimated) of annual Medisave contributions against annual public healthcare spending and total withdrawals ($2.5 billion in 2014 for direct medical expenses and insurance premiums) from Medisave.

Over the years, this cumulative sum including accrued interest may be in the billions of dollars.

Education

… the total amount spent in a year on foreigners and permanent residents’ (PRs) scholarships and tuition grants, at all educational levels ($500 million estimated).

Over the years, this cumulative loss (money to foreign students instead of Singaporeans) plus accrued interest may also be in the tens of billions.

Govt not spending any money on CPF, HDB& healthcare? 

In the final analysis, if we have transparency on the above statistics – we may realise that from a cashflow perspective – the Government may not have been spending a single cent on CPF, HDB and healthcare.

Win battles lose war