This Japanese-style cafe off Orchard Road has a secret garden view and offers a 6-course pastry omakase menu
Arami recalls waking up every morning to the delectable smell of baking. He was always popular with his classmates thanks to the cookies his father sent him off to school with.
At the age of four, his training in fruit-cutting commenced. If he cut his finger, he had a cry and went on practising. One of the basic skills he had to learn, which was to remove the peel from an apple or pear in a single, unbroken knife stroke, took one year to master.
At age 15, he baked his first pastry following his father’s signature choux recipe. Did he use his choux to impress a girl? “Yes,” he said, with a sheepish laugh.
Navy ‘needs cabinet nod for sub’ deal, according to OAG
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 05:42
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has told the navy that it must seek the cabinet’s approval if it wants to extend a submarine procurement contract and assess the technical aspect of any changes to a submarine engine it has ordered before deciding whether there is a critical need for it, according to a source.
In its letter answering the navy’s inquiries about the submarine procurement programme, the OAG said extending the contract by 1,217 days requires a cabinet review because it is a government-to-government deal, the source said.
However, the change of the submarine engine is a technical issue which the navy must evaluate, said the source.
The navy’s 13.5-billion baht submarine programme hit a snag after China was unable to acquire a German-made engine for the Yuan-class S26T submarine the navy ordered.
Berlin cited regulatory restrictions preventing engines it produces from being used in Chinese military hardware.
The navy appears to be satisfied with China’s offer of a CHD620 engine as a replacement for the MTU396 engine while the Pheu Thai-led government seems to prefer the submarine be swapped for a frigate, although the new deal is estimated to cost a billion baht more.
If the engine change is agreed, it will take another 40 months before the submarine procurement is complete. Construction has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is currently on hold due to the engine issue.
Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang on Wednesday declined to discuss the details of the OAG’s answers about the submarine purchase scheme, saying he had yet to see the document in full.
He said the cabinet’s decision is final.
PM pledges new drive for ‘zero dropouts’
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 05:11
The government is expected to announce an initiative on inclusivity in education and equitable access to a quality education, in a bid to reduce student drop-outs and mark this year’s Children’s Day, which falls on Saturday.
In a social media post, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said children are the future and every child should be guaranteed the right to receive an education. He was working to promote education equity and quality even before stepping into politics.
He said the government is setting its sights on achieving zero dropouts and he has instructed Equitable Education Fund, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the Interior Ministry to develop the country’s first-ever database on school dropouts.
With big data analytics, the database will enable the government to provide targeted assistance to school dropouts and return them to schools.
“On Saturday there will be good news and this will mark a major step for Thailand to achieve zero dropouts,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Srettha on Wednesday congratulated a group of 1,220 children on their achievements and urged them to keep working toward their goals.
The prime minister welcomed the group, accompanied by Education Minister Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob at the Santi Maitree Building at Government House.
They won awards and recognition in several areas such as in culture and art, occupation skills, sports, morality and ethics.
Addressing the youths, Mr Srettha said he was overwhelmed and moved by their success — which also improves the country’s reputation and international standing.
He also praised state agencies for giving children the support and helping them realise their potential.
The prime minister pledged a commitment to developing the skills of the youth and stressed the importance of investing in education, a quality of life and civic responsibilities.
Analysis: Long road ahead for Malaysia as it renews efforts to cut dependence on foreign labour
A UN International Organization for Migration report published in August last year said migrant workers in Malaysia could become undocumented because they face exploitation, abuse and unethical recruitment practices throughout the employment process, including the withholding of their passports.
According to the study, which interviewed 40 migrant workers, some paid up to US$5,000 in recruitment fees and migration-related costs and were promised a job verbally.
But on arrival, they discovered that the recruitment agencies had made false promises regarding the terms and conditions of employment, meaning they were deceived and unprepared for their actual living and working conditions.
While most of the workers arrived on a calling visa – a short-term visa typically issued to people who are invited by a Malaysian company or organisation to participate in business-related activities – the wait time to obtain a work permit in order to work legally in the country was three months on average.
Some waited longer, during which they struggled to finance living costs, repay migration-related debts, and save or remit funds to their families back home, the report said.
Mr Adrian Pereira, executive director of Malaysian migrant right’s group North-South Initiative, told CNA that “human traffickers” – referring to the recruitment agencies – had masqueraded as employers to bring in migrant workers and outsource them to other companies.
“The government has banned outsourcing in 2019, so by right there shouldn’t be any workers brought in unless jobs have been confirmed,” he said.
Malaysia Association of Cleaning Contractors president Noruddin Idris claimed that some of these “recruitment agencies” made photocopies of legitimate contracts awarded to other cleaning companies and manipulated them to pass off as their own.
These contracts were then used to dupe the authorities into allowing them to apply to bring in foreign workers.
“As long as the workers come in, they will get money. So once the workers get here, whether they have a job or not, that’s their problem,” Mr Noruddin told CNA.
Last June, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told reporters that 1,120 foreign workers who entered the country under the Foreign Worker Employment Relaxation programme had been classified as unemployed.
The programme, which loosened rules for hiring foreign workers, was implemented at the start of 2023 to help struggling industries meet manpower demand as the economy reopened post-pandemic.
Mr Saifuddin described the workers’ plight as a foreign labour dumping issue, saying that most of them were from Bangladesh and had been brought in to work in the cleaning and washing industry.
He said authorities had identified the recruitment agencies or employers involved in bringing in the workers, and would take action – including blacklisting – against them.
In the recent case of the Bangladeshi workers who were duped and remain jobless in Johor, authorities said on Jan 6 that the company that brought them in has been blacklisted from making new foreign worker employment applications and will be dealt with under relevant laws.
“The Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry take this matter seriously and will not compromise with any party involved in exploiting foreign workers, leading to forced labour and human trafficking,” the ministries said in a joint statement.
Commentary: How a royal pardon for jailed former PM Najib could rock Malaysia politics
Whether he goes for the prime ministership or not, his base guarantees him a key role in any new government. When a potential pardon takes effect and how much time it leaves him to manoeuvre will be a strong consideration here.
The most strategic move will likely be for Najib to use his influence to boost his sons’ careers and secure his political legacy, instead of challenging Mr Ahmad Zahid. It would be a win-win for both: It will take time for the sons to rise, so if Najib is willing to wait, why not?
MUSIC TO MUHYIDDIN YASSIN’S EARS
For Mr Muhyiddin, the prospect of Najib making a comeback will be music to his ears. Someone who can split UMNO could precipitate the fall of the unity government.
One complication is bad history between the two men. Mr Muhyiddin will never forget he was sacked from UMNO in 2016 by Najib. But in Malaysian politics, the overriding objective always trumps personal animosity.
My Muhyiddin’s immediate problem is stop his own assemblymen from unofficially defecting to Mr Anwar’s side, so courting Najib to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) may change the whole political scene.
However, this is unlikely to happen. Najib will not join Bersatu unless the party can offer him a clear path back into power and that will not happen as long as Mr Muhyiddin still fancies himself a prospective prime minister.
China makes quantum chips with foreign machines
A Chinese company has made a 72-qubit superconducting quantum chip with foreign machines as the United States’s curbs failed to slow China’s development in this area.
Origin Quantum, a Hefei-based quantum computer maker, on January 6 officially launched its third-generation quantum computer called Wukong, which uses the name of the Monkey King in Chinese mythology as the superhero can transform into 72 different forms.
The company said in early 2023 that it would launch Wukong in July of the same year. But it postponed the launch to this month without giving a reason.
It launched its 6-qubit superconducting chip, known as KF-C6-130, in September 2020 and used it in its self-developed quantum computer called Benyuan Wuyuan. It unveiled Benyuan Wuyuan 2 with a 24-qubit quantum chip, KF-C24-100, in February 2021.
Now Wukong uses a 76-qubit quantum chip called KF-C72-300, a superconducting chip that can work only at a temperature close to absolute zero (-273.15°C).
People do not need to guess how Origin Quantum made its chips as it has already showed its entire production line to the state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview on January 31, 2023.
In the footage, Jia Zhilong, deputy director of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center, a joint venture of Origin Quantum and the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained every step and machine used in the production.
Foreign suppliers
Firstly, Origin Quantum uses imported lithographic technology, a MA/BA8 Gen4 mask aligner, to create a pattern on a wafer. This machine was made by Germany’s SÜSS MicroTec, which was established in 1949 initially as a distributor of optical instruments and later as a contract manufacturer.
In 2001, SÜSS MicroTec entered the photomask business by acquiring the California-based Image Technology.
Secondly, the chip undergoes a coating and an oxidation process in a QBT-J four-chamber ultra-high vacuum (UHV) coating system, which was made by Yuomao Technology, a Xiamen-based company founded in 2018.
Yuomao said in December 2021 that it received tens of millions of yuan, or several million dollars, in a series A funding, from Sequoia Capital, a California-based venture capital giant.
Last June, amid rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China, Sequoia Capital said that by March 2024 it would be split into three independent firms: HongShan for the Chinese markets, Peak XV for Indian and Southeast Asian markets and Sequoia for the US and European markets.
In the coating process, also known as vacuum evaporation deposition, an electronic beam (e-beam) is shot at a piece of superconducting metal, such as niobium aluminum, which will evaporate and deposit on a wafer over it.
Jia says in the footage that the additive layer of superconducting metal on the wafer is only one nanometer thin. He says the wafer will also undergo an oxidation process in the same machine.
The origin of this technology is not revealed in the video. Japan, according to public information, remains dominant in the e-beam lithography market.
Thirdly, the wafer will be checked for defects. In this section, a rapid thermal processing machine made by Real RTP, a South Korean firm, appears in the footage.
According to Real RTP’s website, the Real RTP 100 machine is capable of different applications, such as rapid thermal annealing and oxidation. The machine can heat a wafer to over 1,000°C for the few seconds it takes to change the wafer’s electrical properties.
In December 2022, Origin Quantum said it had developed its NDPT-100, China’s first non-destructive probe electrical measurement platform, which looks like a high-resolution microscope. In January 2023, it said it had developed its MLLAS-100 laser annealer, which can accurately remove defects in quantum chips to enhance chip performance.
Jia says that in the past it took a month for technicians to find all the defects on a wafer without the NDPT-100, but now the procedure can be shortened to as little as an afternoon. Without providing the exact figures, he also says the MLLAS-100 helped increase the yield of chips by 10 times.
Finally, the wafer will undergo a testing and packaging process, which involves mature technology that China already has.
Export controls
As of the publication of this article, SÜSS MicroTec, Yuomao Technology and Real RTP had not responded to Asia Times’ inquiries about whether their machines in China used US parts, software or technologies or, as seems highly likely, Japan’s e-beam gun.
Some IT experts said there is no evidence that these foreign companies have violated US chip export controls, which were announced by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on October 7, 2022. They said the US rules were aimed at restricting China’s ability to obtain and manufacture advanced computing or supercomputing chips but not quantum ones.
Besides, as Origin Quantum’s production line was set up in early 2022, its suppliers may not have been subject to the US export controls imposed in October of the same year.
In November 2021, three China-based entities were added to the US entity list for acquiring and attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of military applications, such as counter-stealth and counter-submarine applications, and the ability to break encryption or develop unbreakable encryption.
The sanctioned include Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, QuantumCTek and Shanghai QuantumCTek. They are all linked to Chinese physicist Pan Jianwei, who was dubbed China’s “Father of quantum..”
Origin Quantum is a separaate firm, not linked to Pan, that has not been hit with sanctions.
Production scale
When Jia was interviewed by CCTV in January last year, the production line had been running for a year. At that time, Jia said the production line had completed 1,500 batches of production in 2022 but he did not disclose the yield.
He only said Origin Quantum had shipped a 24-qubit quantum computer for the first time. The shipment made China the third country worldwide to have built and delivered quantum computers after the US and Canada.
He also displayed an empty shelf and said it would accommodate the coming Wukong chip.
Zhang Hui, general manager of Origin Quantum, said in an article published in December 2022 that China was about three to four years behind leading countries in terms of quantum hardware. He added that there iwa a huge gap between China and the US in the industrial applications of quantum computing.
He said Origin Quantum lagged behind IBM and Google in terms of hardware products and development but enjoyed some advantages in software and operating systems.
In November 2022, IBM released Osprey, a 433-qubit superconducting quantum computer with triple the number of qubits of its Eagle device released in late 2021. Osprey remains the world’s fastest quantum computer as of today.
Last month, IBM unveiled the 1,121-qubit Condor, as well as the 133-qubit Heron, which is the company’s least error-prone device to date and can combine with other quantum computers. It plans to launch its 1,386-qubit Flamingo this year.
Read: China’s fastest-yet quantum computer still way behind US
Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at @jeffpao3
NSC set to extend emergency decree again
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 05:00
One district in the South was removed from the severe emergency area list, while the emergency decree will likely be imposed for another three months, according to the Emergency Situation Management Committee’s recent meeting at the National Security Council.
Pa Narae district of Pattani province was delisted thanks to an improved situation and its conforming with government policy in resolving the southern insurgency problem.
Somsak Thepsuthin, the deputy prime minister who chaired the committee meeting, said the emergency decree in the southern border provinces was to be extended from Jan 20 to April 19. It was to ensure consistency in the authorities’ role in insurgency suppression and protection.
The meeting was attended by Pol Col Tawee Sodsong, Justice Minister; Songsak Thongsri, Deputy Interior Minister; Chatchai Bangchuad, acting secretary-general of the National Security Council; Pol Lt Col Wannaphong Kocharak, secretary-general of Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, and various other agencies.
The agreement will be submitted to the cabinet for further approval.
The government has a plan to lift the emergency decree for the entire southern border area by 2027, according to Mr Somsak.
“To do so, other efforts such as meeting with authorities from the neighbouring country are also crucial,” said Mr Somsak.
Out of 33 areas that had been under the emergency decree, 15 areas have had it lifted while 18 remain on the list.
Commentary: South Koreaâs gender imbalance is bad news for men
A PREFERENCE FOR SONS
There are several reasons why South Korea’s SRB was out of balance for 30 years.
South Korea experienced a rapid fertility decline in a 20- to 30-year period beginning in the 1960s. From six children per woman in 1960, fertility fell to four children in 1972, then to two children in 1984. By 2022, South Korea’s fertility rate had dropped to 0.82 – the lowest fertility rate in the world and far below the rate of 2.1 needed to replace the population.
Yet, South Korea’s long-held cultural preference for sons did not shift as quickly as childbearing declined. Having at least one son was a strong desire influencing fertility preferences in South Korea, especially up through the early years of the 21st century.
And the declining fertility rate posed a problem. When women have many children, the probability that at least one will be a boy is high. With only two children, the probability that neither will be a son is around 25 per cent, and when women have only one child, it is less than 50 per cent.
In order to ensure that families would continue to have boys, many South Koreans turned to readily available techniques to identify the gender of the foetus, such as screening in the early stages of pregnancy. Abortion, which is legal and socially acceptable in South Korea, was then often used to allow families to select the sex of their child.
SEX BY THE NUMBERS
In South Korea, beginning in around 1980 and lasting up to around 2010 or so, many more extra boys were born than girls. When these extra boys reach adulthood and start looking for South Korean girls to marry, many will be unsuccessful.
The extra boys born in the 1980s and 1990s are now of marriage age, and many will be looking to marry and start a family. Many more will be reaching marriage age in the next two decades.
I have calculated that owing to the unbalanced SRBs in South Korea between 1980 and 2010, about 700,000 to 800,000 extra boys were born.
Already this is having an effect in a society where over the centuries virtually everyone was expected to marry, and where marriage was nearly universal. Recent research by Statistics Korea showed that in 2023, only around 36 per cent of South Koreans between the ages of 19 and 34 intended to get married; this is a decline from over 56 per cent in 2012.
Govt urged to further aid young mums
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 04:58
The problem of underage pregnancies can’t be ignored amid national efforts addressing declining fertility rates, an expert in education and child development has said.
“The government must be concerned about the quality of life of the children that are to be born,” said Sumate Noklang, a PhD Development Education Programme lecturer at the Graduate School of Srinakharinwirot University.
Mr Sumate led a research study in 2021-2022 among 400 individuals from a rural community in a Central Plains province who had the highest rate of underage adolescent mothers in the country.
The study aimed to develop a mechanism and community empowerment model to help fragile groups and provide a good quality of life for the country’s future population.
The study showed the issues of underage pregnancies can be mitigated by creating self-esteem, awareness and community support.
“The community plays a significant role in empowering the teen girls’ self-esteem,” said Mr Sumate, who conducted the research with Peeradet Prakongpan, another lecturer at the Graduate School of Srinakharinwirot University.
With support from local health volunteers, guidebooks offering instructions on how people in the community should properly treat the young mothers were given to those around them, including families, relatives and teachers.
“We were hoping that the manual guidelines will reduce societal stigma,” he said. “Under care in the community, the young mothers could build up their self-compassion that would encourage them to take good care of their babies, instead of leaving them with ill attentions that would finally lead to social problems.”
According to the law, 20 is a mature age, Mr Sumate said. “However, not all 20-year-old women are necessarily ready to have the baby,” he said. “The important thing is how to set up a proper environment to support the young mothers in raising their children with a good quality of life.”
He suggested the government takes a key role in supporting the community to ensure that pregnant teens would not be left alone or live in unfriendly environments.
The Department of Health says pregnancy cases among underage adolescents have dropped from 120,000 cases in 2012 to 47,000 cases in 2023. The success has been attributed to efforts by several agencies to mitigate the problems by creating awareness of birth control, including putting sex education in the national curriculum. Thai law allows pregnant girls to maintain their education, which aids them with further education and career opportunities.
Sumate: Did study on underage mums
Clean air bill row prompts House agenda panel vow
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 04:39
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha on Wednesday promised to form a joint committee to work on agenda issues after the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) accused the coalition of attempting to push a clean air bill without the prime minister’s signature.
Mr Wan said that despite the coalition not having submitted the bill just yet, he will work on the issue with both the coalition and the opposition.
He also suggested the House use a committee just in case the bill’s details were unclear.
A reading of the finished clean air bill will be made an emergency agenda item today. Four other bills are also on the House’s agenda today.
However, as the coalition is the one proposing to put the bill on the House’s agenda, Nutthawut Buaprathum, an MFP list MP, questioned why the coalition proposed putting the Clean Air bill on the agenda before it was signed off by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Natthawut posted on X (formerly Twitter) that his party had proposed the bill, as well as six other related bills, including those on cross-border pollution, for government approval.
Rangsiman Rome, another MFP lawmaker, also questioned the coalition’s actions.
In the coalition’s defence, Kroomanit Sangpoom, Pheu Thai MP for Surin, said it was difficult getting the premier’s approval of the bill immediately, as a study and more reading were needed.
He promised to contact the government about approving the bill, saying that the coalition wanted the bill approved the way the opposition wanted.
A government source said that Mr Srettha gave the bill the green light on Tuesday, adding that the Council of State had finished its scrutiny of the bill.
He then took a trip to Chiang Mai for two days to inspect the air pollution situation in the province.
The bill aims to develop a systematic pollution management system that tackles pollution sources directly, as well as an air quality assessment platform that is more effective for users.