Clean energy on agenda of Japan PM talks in UAE ahead of COP28
DUBAI: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday (Jul 17) discussed clean energy cooperation with top officials during a visit to the UAE, host of this year’s UN climate talks. Kishida’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, which will host COP28 in November-December, is part of the first Gulf tourContinue Reading
Typhoon Talim lands in southern China, flights and trains cancelled
Markets in Hong Kong halted trade for the day as the city’s observatory put up a storm signal for Talim, and all court hearings in the city were adjourned. China’s meteorological centre forecast gale force winds in seas near southern provinces and regions and exceptionally heavy rains of 250mm to 280mm on theContinue Reading
Swatch sues Malaysia over Pride watch seizures
SwatchSwiss watchmaker Swatch says it has begun legal proceedings against the Malaysian government for seizing LGBTQ-themed watches from its stores.
The move comes after officials impounded 172 watches from its rainbow-coloured Pride collection, on sale at shopping malls across Malaysia.
Swatch wants damages and the return of the watches, worth $14,000 (£10,700).
Homosexual activity is illegal in Malaysia under both secular and religious laws.
It is punishable by a prison sentence or corporal punishment.
Swatch filed its lawsuit last month at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. The case is expected to be heard later this week.
The Malaysian authorities said the watches were confiscated in May by the home affairs ministry’s law enforcement unit because they featured “LGBT elements”.
But Swatch said in its lawsuit that the watches were “not in any way capable of causing any disruption to public order or morality or any violations of the law”.
The firm said its trading reputation had been damaged by the seizures, adding that its “business and trading figures also suffered in the immediate aftermath of the seizure for some time”.
In its promotional campaign for the Pride-themed watches, Swatch describes them as “loud, proud, uplifting and bursting with meaning”.
The firm refers to the Pride flag as “a symbol of humanity that speaks for all genders and all races”.
In its lawsuit, Swatch said the watches “did not promote any sexual activity, but merely a fun and joyous expression of peace and love”.
The lawsuit names the home affairs ministry and the government of Malaysia as respondents.
Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has yet to comment publicly on the matter.
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3 September 2018
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Marine Parade, Tampines GRC residents will continue to be cared for, say ministers following MP resignations
Meanwhile, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli and the rest of the Tampines MPs, as well as Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary, were spotted coming out from a private meeting at the PCF Sparkletots Preschool location at Tampines West on Monday night.
Speaking to reporters before heading to his Meet-the-People session, Mr Masagos wanted to reassure residents that their needs would continue to be met.
Fellow MP for Tampines GRC Mr Desmond Choo will replace Ms Cheng Li Hui as the chairman for Tampines Town Council, while Mr Baey Yam Keng will become vice-chairman of the town council.
Dr Koh Poh Koon is the other Tampines GRC MP.
“The Tampines team will continue to run and provide service to our residents without any change in the quality of the services. Town council will run the services as usual,” Mr Masagos said.
“The grassroots will continue to run services to keep the community together, and of course, Our Tampines Hub will execute all the plans for our residents as we’ve done for the last few years. So it’s only the filling in and doubling up on the positions (that has changed).”
Ms Cheng, who had been MP for Tampines since her political debut in 2015, said in her letter to the Prime Minister that she was “very sorry to be resigning in these circumstances”.
“Li Hui has been serving our residents and we appreciate her helming the Tampines Town Council during her time with us,” wrote Mr Masagos in a Facebook post on Monday.
Under the leadership of Mr Choo and Mr Baey, “the Town Council will continue to operate smoothly and uninterrupted”, he added.
“Tampines GRC residents can already visit or write to any of us if they need assistance.”
Thai alliance reaffirms backing for Pita’s PM bid
BANGKOK: An eight-party alliance seeking to form Thailand’s next government on Monday (Jul 17) reaffirmed its backing for Pita Limjaroenrat to become premier, Pita said on Monday, despite his defeat last week in a parliamentary vote. Pita, leader of election winners Move Forward, failed in his initial bid to winContinue Reading
Swine fever prompts sausage alert
Stash found aboard flight from China
PUBLISHED : 17 Jul 2023 at 20:34
Air passengers were on Monday warned against bringing a particular type of illegal Chinese-branded sausage into the country due to its tendency to spread the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.
The alert over the safety of the meat, popular among Chinese-style hotpot restaurants, came in a Facebook post by the Department of Livestock Development’s (DLD) Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit of Suvarnabhumi airport.
According to the post, one of their detection dogs had led them to seize 100 illegal sausages in the luggage hold of a Hainan Airlines flight that had departed from Meilan International Airport in Haikou County, China, on July 13.
The pork sausages in the probe were sold under the name Shuanghui, known to Thai consumers as Lion Brand, and produced by a manufacturer in Henan province. They became especially favoured by consumers following the popularity of Chinese-style hotpot restaurants in Thailand.
Lertchai Lertwut, deputy secretary-general of the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said none of the sausage brand importers had registered with the FDA, and that is why the packaging does not display a food serial number or legal label.
The lot of defective sausages, 8.5 kilogrammes in total and worth at least 2,000 baht, was immediately seized as a swine fever epidemic has been detected in the country of origin.
Sophat Chawankul, the DLD deputy director-general, said elevated security procedures have been in place since 2018, when rising cases of ASF were first reported in Asia.
At present, those who illegally import livestock and livestock products face up to two years in prison, fines of up to 200,000 baht, or both, he added.
On the FDA’s side, Mr Lertchai said that the importer would be accused of unauthorised food product importation.
They would be detained for no more than three years and pay no more than 30,000 baht in fines.
The sausages were also sent for additional analysis and ahead of charges being filed against the importer after results come back, according to Mr Lertchai.
Key coalition figures launch charm offensive
PUBLISHED : 17 Jul 2023 at 20:24
Key figures in the eight-party coalition reportedly contacted members of the current government and senators over the weekend to seek support for Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat ahead of the second round of voting to select a prime minister on Wednesday.
These figures, including Mr Pita and MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon, were said to have approached the present government MPs and senators who abstained in the prime minister vote last Thursday.
Their latest approach was said to be softer, and some were surprised that Mr Pita contacted them personally.
In the joint sitting of MPs and senators, Mr Pita only received 324 of the 375 votes needed to become premier. Of those present at the vote, 182 voted against him while 199 abstained.
Seri Ruam Thai Party leader, Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, said he, at the request of the MFP, reached out to the Democrat Party and the Chartthaipattana Party and asked them to vote for Mr Pita in the second round but they did not reply.
Pol Gen Sereepisuth said the MFP should be given a second chance in Wednesday’s vote but if the party still fails to gather enough support, it should let Pheu Thai take the lead in forming a coalition.
He suggested that Mr Pita and the MFP try to reach a compromise if they wanted to be the government and that they should not let party supporters dictate what they should or should not do.
Chartthaipattana Party leader Varawut Silpa-archa admitted on Monday he was contacted by Pol Gen Sereepisuth to consider joining the coalition but he said he could not make that decision himself.
However, he said Chartthaipattana could not do business with the MFP if it did not back down from amending the lese majeste law. Mr Varawut also said the party abstained in the last vote because it respected those who voted for the MFP.
PAP faces a severe crisis after string of incidents including Tan Chuan-Jin’s affair: Analysts
IMPACT ON UPCOMING ELECTIONS
The spate of incidents comes as the race for the presidential election, expected later this year, heats up. The next general election is also expected to be called by next year, since this parliament will have to be dissolved by February 2025.
Former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and businessman George Goh have announced that they intend to run for President.
The timing of the controversies is “very unfortunate”, and will have an impact on both the presidential election and general election, said Dr Tan.
He stressed that even though the President represents Singapore and not party politics, Mr Tharman is closely associated with the PAP.
“To say that he didn’t know about this, would bring a lot of doubts about whether he is being transparent, or is he being avoidant?” said Dr Tan.
“This will have an impact on those who are going to vote in this presidential election. Do they want somebody previously from the ruling party, or do they want an independent candidate, if there is even an election this time around?”
The PAP’s controversies could also affect the passing of the leadership baton to the 4G leaders at the next general elections, he added.
“Are they capable enough to take over? If they can’t even resolve … all these controversies at this point in time, how ready are they to take over from the 3G leaders?”
Alternatively, the Prime Minister could be “holding the fort” and “trying to clear all these outstanding issues” before he hands over party leadership to Mr Wong, said Dr Tan.
“What this would mean is that DPM Wong starts afresh with a new team, with completely other problems and other issues that might plague him in the future, we do not know. But all these issues are considered as past issues that (were) under the jurisdiction of PM Lee.”
The people involved in the current controversies – from both parties – contested in hot seats at the previous general election, Dr Tan noted.
Mr Iswaran is part of West Coast GRC, where the Progress Singapore Party finished with 48.31 per cent of the votes, just 3.38 percentage points behind the PAP. Mr Tan was a member of the PAP’s Marine Parade team, which was also contested by the WP.
Mr Perera is a member of Aljunied GRC, and Ms Seah contested in East Coast GRC opposite Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Mr Tharman’s decision to run for president also leaves a seat open in Jurong GRC, and Ms Raeesah Khan’s resignation from WP left a seat open in Sengkang GRC, which the party took for the first time in the 2020 general elections.
“(The controversies) will come back in the next general election, it will definitely be flagged up,” said Dr Tan.
Other analysts did not expect the impact of the PAP’s controversies to be significant for the presidential election.
“Mr Tharman is seen very much as his own man” and “independent”, said SMU’s Assoc Prof Tan. He added that Mr Tharman is “not involved in the party matters”, having stepped down from the PAP’s central executive committee in 2018.
“If anything, he might be seen as the person who is best placed to ensure that key appointments are robustly scrutinised,” he added.
Constitutionally, the president’s powers are “highly limited” and are not related to the controversies that have come up, “unless it is a case of corruption the CPIB is investigating and needs the President’s concurrence over the Prime Minister”, said NUS’ Assoc Prof Chong.
Dr Koh said that Singapore’s political system will go through a period of “thinking about what matters, and what are the sorts of conduct we expect of our leaders, our political parties, and performance in national and local government”.
Japan PM in UAE to pitch green technology ahead of COP28
“CLEAN ENERGY COOPERATION” On Sunday, Kishida discussed energy security and decarbonisation with senior Saudi officials including Prince Mohammed in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, official Saudi statements said. During the meeting with Prince Mohammed, Tokyo and Saudi Arabia agreed to launch the “Lighthouse Initiative for Clean Energy Cooperation,” accordingContinue Reading
Pita to get 1 more shot at PM position
PUBLISHED : 17 Jul 2023 at 19:40
Eight coalition allies on Monday evening agreed to renominate Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat as the prime minister on Wednesday – but if he fails again, the Pheu Thai Party will have the next chance.
Mr Pita, leader and prime ministerial candidate of the election-winning party, said after a meeting of the coalition allies that the eight parties would nominate him as prime minister at the joint sitting of the elected House and military-appointed Senate for the second round on Wednesday.
“If votes in favour do not rise significantly, we will retreat. Pheu Thai will take its turn,” Mr Pita said at Thai Summit Tower, the meeting venue. He specified that a significant increase would constitute an incremental gain of 10% or more.
His MFP won the May 14 general election with 151 House seats and Pheu Thai was the first runner-up with 141 seats.
The eight parties on Monday dismissed a remark from some senators that they could not resubmit Mr Pita as the prime ministerial candidate because he failed to obtain a majority vote from the House and the Senate on July 13.
Mr Pita said the prime ministerial nomination was not a motion – and therefore, a regulation of parliamentary sessions that prohibits the resubmission of a motion did not apply to the PM nomination.
In addition, the eight coalition allies stated that MFP alone proposed to amend Section 272 of the constitution in order to strip the appointed senators of the right to join the elected representatives from jointly voting for prime minister. The seven other coalition allies had nothing to do with the proposed amendment, Mr Pita said.
MFP proposed the amendment idea after most senators turned down Mr Pita’s nomination as prime minister last week. Without the participation of the 249 senators appointed by the previous military government, the eight coalition parties that together won a total of 312 House seats would have a majority vote for prime minister.
Before the meeting of the eight coalition allies on Monday, a deputy leader of the Pheu Thai Party commented that the nomination of Mr Pita could not be repeated forever.
After the meeting Mr Pita said his party was trying to woo more support from senators and he hoped he would receive more votes in favour from senators on Wednesday.
He stood firm that his party would push for the amendment of the lese majeste law (Section 112 of the Criminal Code) as it was a principal promise in its election campaign.
Many senators and representatives strongly opposed the change and cited it as the main reason for not supporting Mr Pita as the next prime minister.
Earlier Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha set the third round of the prime ministerial vote for Thursday.