The complicated truth about North Korea sanctions
On the surface, sanctions seem to have had little impact on North Korea’s behavior. At the time of writing, the world is waiting for the launch of a new North Korean military spy satellite that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un announced on April 19, 2023.
North Korea is under one of the harshest multilateral sanctions regimes of any country in the world. But the country still circumvents sanctions regularly through complex smuggling operations at which it is by now very adept. This situation raises questions about whether sanctions on North Korea have failed.
It is true that sanctions have not reached the stated political goal of inducing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. The country has made impressive advances in missile technology and is evidently capable of acquiring the necessary technology despite sanctions.
The “spy satellite” launch would be one of around 30 missiles tested in 2023. Though North Korea has ways to evade sanctions, this does not mean sanctions have no impact.
Sanctions interplay with domestic governance and economic systems in ways that are complex and often hard to fully evaluate. The alternative to sanctions is not an open, liberal and free-trading North Korea, but likely a slightly more well-off version of its current state.
The issue of evasion illustrates why the impact of sanctions is so hard to evaluate. Sanctions-evading actions are not rare events but are institutionalized within North Korea’s economy.
Since the 1970s, North Korea has systematically smuggled alcohol, tobacco, drugs and other contraband through its diplomatic networks abroad. These activities continue today and with North Korean capabilities expanding into the cyber realm, sources of illicit income will likely continue to constitute an underestimated part of the regime’s hard-currency revenue flows.
But sanctions evasion and smuggling are very expensive activities. For Chinese, Taiwanese and Singaporean trading companies and entities to risk smuggling oil to North Korea, Pyongyang must pay a massive risk premium on its purchases. North Korea has to pay well above market prices to give sellers a reason to take the risk of arrest and prosecution for sanctions violations.
The same is true for illicit North Korean exports. Sanctions do not stop coal exports entirely, but they slash the prices that North Korea can charge. Any buyer — almost always China — will only risk importing from North Korea if prices are cheap enough to outweigh the risks.
Even prior to the harsher sanctions levied in 2016 and 2017, China, through its position as a virtual monopoly buyer, consistently paid below-market prices for North Korean coal. This dynamic is likely even stronger today, as Chinese imports of coal and other sanctioned North Korean goods continue but go mostly unrecorded.
Despite North Korea’s evasion tactics, sanctions are indisputably hurting the North Korean economy. The country’s exports are estimated to be worth only a few hundred million dollars per year – much smaller than its trade losses.
The UN Panel of Experts estimated, for example, that North Korea earned around US$370 million from sanctions-violating coal exports in 2019. This is only a fraction of the $1.19 billion it earned from such exports in 2016, before the harsher sanctions.
The civilian impact of sanctions is unclear. On one hand, sanctions have likely dealt a harsh blow to labor-intensive industries like textiles, where a high proportion of workers are women, resulting in increased unemployment and lower wages.
The falling incomes of North Koreans working in sanctioned industries substantially dampen the wider economy. On the other hand, there is no evidence that sanctions have driven up the price of food or other essential goods.
Sanctions have undoubtedly worsened North Korea’s food shortage by hindering imports of fertilizer and spare parts for agricultural equipment. North Korea’s own border closure, though, likely also provided an obstacle to foreign trade.
But the impact of sanctions on North Korea’s food system is minimal compared with the regime’s refusal to undertake basic reforms in agriculture. The government bristles at dismantling collective farms or letting farmers sell their products on open markets.
Trade by evasion should logically become easier and cheaper. For sanctions to be effective against North Korea, China – which constitutes more than 90% of North Korea’s foreign trade – would have to implement them. As US-China tensions continue to grow, reasons for China to implement sanctions on North Korea are diminishing.
Reports of North Korean trade deals in weapons and labor with Russia in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are already circulating. Very little is confirmed about these transactions, but there is evidence to support increased economic exchange between the countries.
Earlier this year, satellite imagery from the border area indicated that Russia was increasing oil exports to North Korea while exporting unknown goods that could be arms destined for the Wagner Group.
But this does not change North Korea’s situation. Combined with its poor global reputation, sanctions will continue to make North Korea dependent on a very small number of trade partners – mainly China and Russia – who can charge highly unfavorable prices.
None of this is to say that the current thinking on North Korea sanctions is without serious flaws. The demand that denuclearisation should come before any relief on sanctions, for example, is unrealistic.
But many also exaggerate the possible gains of abolishing sanctions. A common misperception is that, were sanctions to be lifted, North Korea would open its doors to foreign investors who would flock to the country for its strategic geographic location and cheap labor.
Removing sanctions would not change the basics of North Korea’s economic system. Despite a permissive attitude towards markets during former Supreme leader Kim Jong Il’s reign and the first few years of Kim Jong Un’s, harsh state control over the economy best serves the regime’s political and social goals by allowing it to control the distribution of resources.
Sanctions hurt, but removing them is no silver bullet for political or economic progress.
Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein is Associate Fellow at the Swedish Institute for Foreign Affairs and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Tel Aviv University.
This article was originally published by East Asia Forum and is republished under a Creative Commons license.
STB ‘exploring other possibilities’ for tourism in Jurong Lake District
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is exploring other possibilities for tourism in Jurong Lake District, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling on Wednesday (Jul 5).
She was responding to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament (MP) Ang Wei Neng (People’s Action Party-Jurong) asking for an update on a proposed new tourism development in the area, located in the western region of Singapore.
A request for proposal to develop the site in Jurong Lake District was launched in March 2022, and closed in October that year with no submissions.
Ms Low said the war in Ukraine, coupled with the overall slowdown in the global economy, had created an uncertain economic environment during that period, especially for the tourism sector.
“However, STB remains confident in the tourism potential of the site as it is adjacent to the new Science Centre and Jurong Lake Gardens,” she said.
“We are monitoring market sentiments and exploring other possibilities to harness this potential.”
Mr Ang further asked about the implications for developing tourism there after the cancellation of the High Speed Rail project with Malaysia – which would have run from Kuala Lumpur to Jurong East – and the recent release of a white site near the Jurong East interchange.
Aspirant PM Pita’s wealth has dropped B41m
Aspiring prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat’s net worth has fallen 41 million baht since his assets declaration when he entered parliament four years ago.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Wednesday published the declared assets and liabilities of 40 of the MPs whose terms ended on March 20. They included Mr Pita, whose declaration also mentioned his controversial shareholding in iTV Plc.
The Move Forward Party leader declared he was single and had 85 million baht in assets including 1.8 million baht in cash, 286,045.70 baht in deposits in 27 bank accounts, 15 million baht in loans to his younger brother, 14 rai of land in Pran Buri district of Prachuap Khiri Khan worth 18 million, a condominium worth 15 million baht in Wattana district and 19 million baht in insurance-related assets and relevant privileges.
Mr Pita also declared 12 million baht worth of ornaments and devices, including three mobile phones worth 166,700 baht, a 2.3 million baht van, 28 shirts worth 188,000 baht, 16 suits worth 1.2 million baht, 76 neckties worth 228,000 baht, 21 pairs of shoes worth 150,000 baht, 10 watches worth 5.71 million baht and eight Buddha amulets worth 2 million baht.
Mr Pita declared 20.74 million baht in liabilities – bank loans totalling 19.93 million baht and 807,414 baht of credit card debt.
The Move Forward Party leader informed the NACC he held 42,000 shares worth 44,100 baht in iTV Plc on behalf of other relatives because he was executor of his late father’s estate.
The Bangkok South Civil Court had ordered him to hold the shares in his capacity as executor and he had already transferred the shares, he told the anti-corruption commission.
The iTV shareholding led to complaints questioning his eligibility to hold a political position because the constitution prohibits a shareholder in a media company from running in a general election.
When compared with the 126 million baht in assets declared when he entered parliament in 2019, Mr Pita’s wealth fell about 41 million baht during his four-year term as an MP.
NACC assistant secretary-general Watanachai Sommee said the commission had ordered Mr Pita to file documents relating to his role as his father’s executor, and Mr Pita had until July 23 to supply the papers.
The NACC would examine the documents thoroughly and would also check on Mr Pita’s sale of a block of land in Pran Buri district of Prachuap Khiri Khan, as the sale price was not reported, Mr Watanachai said.
Thai parliament to vote for prime minister on Jul 13
BANGKOK: Thailand’s parliament will vote for a new prime minister on Jul 13, house speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on Wednesday (Jul 5). The announcement comes a day after Wan Noor was endorsed as house speaker, a role in which he is able to call for a joint sittingContinue Reading
China simulates âZ-dayâ total sea war with the US
China has just simulated a total war scenario at sea with the United States, an exercise that highlighted the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s formidable challenges in a potential high-intensity conflict with an advanced, determined and highly-capable adversary.
South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that researchers from the PLA’s Unit 91404 recently added a “total war” scenario when testing and evaluating the performance of new weapons. Unit 91404 is responsible for the sea tests of some of China’s latest and most potent naval weapons.
The SCMP report notes that the researchers published their “Z-day” total war scenario in the peer-reviewed Chinese Journal of Ship Research last month. The report mentions that the researchers assumed that the Chinese military was under all-out attack by a hypothetical “blue alliance” with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
In the simulation, the PLA-N had nearly 50 destroyers, with each attacked with 11 missiles and more than three torpedoes coming from multiple directions.
The report also mentions the blue alliance generated jamming noises 30 times stronger than the signal PLA-N warships use for communication and that the detection range of Chinese radar was reduced to 60% below normal.
Those conditions destroyed almost a third of the Chinese destroyer’s air defense capabilities, with only half of their surface-to-air (SAM) missiles hitting their targets. Chinese naval experts who independently assessed the simulation results were quoted as saying the figures are “realistic.”
By highlighting weapon capabilities in doomsday scenarios, military forces can showcase readiness and deter potential adversaries from engaging in conflicts, researchers in the SCMP report said, with one saying that their paper is not intended to be viewed as a “horror movie.”
The Unit 91404 simulation follows on another conducted by a Chinese university wherein China had the upper hand over the US in a starkly different outcome.
In May 2023, Asia Times reported that researchers from the North University of China ran a war game simulating a Chinese hypersonic missile attack on a US carrier battlegroup, marking the first publicized simulation of its type.
The war game reportedly simulated a situation where the USS Gerald Ford supercarrier and its escorts continued approaching a China-held island in the South China Sea despite repeated warnings to turn back.
In that simulation, China used 24 hypersonic missiles in a three-wave attack to sink the USS Gerald Ford, the USS San Jacinto Ticonderoga-class cruiser, and four Arleigh Burke Flight IIA guided missile destroyers.
The first missile wave depleted the US fleet’s 264 interceptor missiles and sank the USS San Jacinto, while the second wave sank the USS Gerald Ford. The last wave finished off the surviving Arleigh Burke destroyers.
The North University of China simulation highlighted the importance of sea-based surveillance, patrol missions and lure tactics to identify targets, conserve limited missiles and reduce the number of interceptor missiles.
The US has also conducted simulations of a Taiwan Strait war with China, which unsurprisingly ended in its favor while projecting the potentially enormous costs of such a conflict.
In January 2023, Asia Times reported that Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank had conducted a simulation of the US and its allies repelling a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, showing that while the US could potentially repel China a victory would come at a staggering cost.
Even in the most optimistic scenario, the US and Japan combined lost 449 combat aircraft and 43 ships, including two aircraft carriers, with the US losing 6,960 personnel and 3,200 killed in action. Taiwan lost half its air force, 22 ships, and 3,500 ground troops, with a third killed in action in the simulation.
China fared the worst in the simulation, losing 138 ships, 155 combat aircraft and 52,000 ground troops. China’s ground troop losses included 7,000 battle casualties with a third killed in action, 15,000 troops lost at sea with half assumed killed and 30,000 prisoners of war from Taiwan-landing force survivors.
The simulation mentions four critical assumptions for a US victory in Taiwan. First, as China’s logistics weaken, Taiwan must hold the line to contain China’s beachhead and counterattack in force.
Second, the US and its allies must accept that there is no “Ukraine model” for Taiwan since China can blockade the self-governing island for weeks or months to prevent resupply.
Third, the US must be able to use its bases in Japan, which would be the critical linchpin for US operations around Taiwan. Fourth, the US must be able to strike China’s warships from outside its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) bubble.
Emerging technologies would likely play a decisive role in defending Taiwan, although they may not be enough to avert a Pyrrhic outcome for either side.
In May 2022, Asia Times reported that the US Air Force’s Warfighting Integration Capability (AFWIC) office and RAND think tank conducted a Taiwan conflict simulation that demonstrated the decisive effect drone swarms would have in such a contingency.
Using a line-of-sight laser “mesh” network to transmit and receive data, drone swarms deployed in the simulation were effectively autonomous, sharing flight and targeting data instantaneously and constantly between individual drones.
Drone swarms could form a decoy screen for manned US aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35, extending the latter’s onboard sensor range and enabling them to observe electronic silence.
They could also significantly increase the situational awareness and target acquisition capabilities of manned platforms while flooding enemy radar scopes with multiple targets, forcing the enemy to waste limited missiles and ammunition while manned platforms later move in for the kill.
Technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence would allow drone swarms to look at targets from multiple angles, cross-check various targeting data streams and suggest the best way to attack a target.
While revolutionary from a war-fighting perspective, drone swarms may not be enough to prevent a Pyrrhic outcome for the US and its allies in a potential Taiwan Strait conflict with China.
Defence shares ‘traumatic’, ‘difficult’ backgrounds of couple in fatal abuse case of 11-year-old girl
SINGAPORE: A woman who allowed her husband to physically abuse her 11-year-old daughter to death was a single mother at the age of 16, while the husband was himself a victim of child abuse, defence lawyers told the High Court on Wednesday (Jul 5).
The couple had pleaded guilty to their roles in the girl’s death – the eldest child of the woman – in February. The girl died of a head injury inflicted by her stepfather with an exercise bar in November 2020, after he got angry with her for eating too slowly.
The 28-year-old man had admitted to six charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, ill-treating the victim and voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon. Another 10 charges will be considered in sentencing.
The 29-year-old biological mother of the victim pleaded guilty to three charges including allowing the death of a child and voluntarily causing hurt. Another six charges will be considered in sentencing.
The offenders and the victim cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim’s identity.
The team of three prosecutors asked for eight to 12 years’ jail for the woman, and 14 to 17 years’ jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane for the man.
Lawyer Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed asked for six to eight years’ jail for the woman, while lawyer Ahmad Nizam Abbas is seeking a jail term between 12 years and seven months and 14 years and seven months for the man, along with eight strokes of the cane.
ARGUMENTS FOR THE WOMAN
On the woman’s offences, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said this was the first time an offender was being sentenced for allowing the death of a child.
The woman was well aware of the significant risk of grievous hurt being caused to her daughter, based on the duration and number of incidents, and she knew that her spouse had abused the girl from as early as February 2020.
“She did absolutely nothing to protect the deceased,” said Mr Ng.
The woman also proactively prevented her daughter’s school and the Child Protective Service from engaging the girl, who had visible bruises on her by then.
Mr Ng said the woman was not oblivious to what was happening.
“It’s more a case of – she knew what was happening, but she chose not to pay attention to what was happening,” he said.
Mr Muzammil said his client was 27 when the offences were committed, and she had a “difficult life” since she was young, dropping out of secondary school due to “constant bullying”, followed by a suicide attempt.
She also suffered abuse from her mother, who locked her in a storeroom a number of times, said the lawyer.
When his client was 16, she was impregnated by her then-boyfriend and became a single mom, delivering her eldest child who later became the victim in this case.
She took on jobs as a cashier, a clerk, a food delivery rider and an early childhood assistant teacher to support herself and her daughter.
Her first marriage was not a happy one, and she was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her first husband, with whom she had two more children, said Mr Muzammil.
After she began dating her co-accused, she became pregnant and gave birth to her youngest child in August 2020. The couple married in April 2020 and by then the woman had become a full-time homemaker to look after her children.
She was entirely dependent on her new spouse for finances, and was busy breastfeeding her infant and looking after her young sons when her spouse was abusing her daughter, said the lawyer.
Mr Muzammil said it was clear that the person most culpable in this case is the victim’s stepfather. His client had disciplined her daughter for lying, stealing and purportedly watching pornography.
Even though the girl’s brothers had the same issue of eating slowly since they were young, their stepfather picked only on the girl.
Mr Muzammil asked for mercy so his client could reunite with her children after serving her sentence. He said she was afraid of taking her daughter to the hospital after the fatal blow with the exercise bar because of what her spouse said.
He told her about how he had been separated from his siblings and placed in homes because of abuse from his own parents. He then reminded her that her kids would be taken away from her if the authorities found out.
ARGUMENTS FOR THE MAN
When arguing about the sentence that should be imposed on the man, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lee said that deterrence must be foremost on the court’s mind when it comes to fatal child abuse cases.
He pointed to the vulnerability of the deceased, who was not only the man’s young stepdaughter but who was underweight and smaller than her peers.
He also pointed to the nature of the attacks on the child and the man’s attempts at concealing evidence of his actions.
For the fatal blow in particular, the man had intentionally waited for the girl to be off-guard before attacking, which shows the callous nature of the attack, said Mr Lee.
“At no point did he display any concern about her wellbeing until she essentially blacked out,” he said.
Defence lawyer Ahmad Nizam Abbas said the man’s instructions to him were very clear – to keep his mitigation short, to not excuse himself for the offences and to focus on his background for the court’s understanding.
He said that when his client met the victim’s mother, she already had three kids of her own. When he married her, he not only took on the role of husband, but of stepfather.
As a young 26-year-old newlywed, the man had no experience in marriage and parenting, and was “forced” to transition from a single man to a husband and parent immediately.
“This lifelong commitment intimidated him almost immediately,” said the lawyer.
“He wanted to be a good father to his three stepchildren to take care of them to the best of his ability and know-how,” added Mr Ahmad Nizam.
He said his client had to pick up parenting skills on the go, taking care of the children’s needs, preparing meals for them, sending them to school and playing with them.
When his wife gave birth to his biological child in August 2020, he had an added responsibility, said the lawyer.
He urged the court to consider the traumatic childhood his client suffered.
“He unfortunately was a victim himself. He did not have role models he could study or follow,” said the lawyer.
He said his client’s own turbulent family history exacerbated the situation. The man was the second eldest in a family of nine children to a rubbish collector and a housewife.
There were “constant financial troubles” in the family, and the man’s father abused him and his siblings from when he was six, said the lawyer.
When his client was nine, his parents disappeared for a prolonged period of time and the Child Protective Service removed all the children from their parents’ home because of the abuse, said Mr Ahmad Nizam.
He said his client was separated from his siblings, and he was rotated from home to home without a proper family unit or the ability to form a parental connection with anyone.
Fearing that this would happen to his own children and knowing firsthand the pains of going through fostercare and the adoption system, the man tried to be an active parent himself, but his experiences “deluded” his perception of what that would be, said Mr Ahmad Nizam.
The lawyer cited a report from the Institute of Mental Health which stated that his client was more vulnerable to being an abuser himself because of his history as a victim of child abuse.
“(My client) proffers no justification nor rationale for his actions,” said the lawyer. “He accepts that his actions were deplorable and had tragic consequences. (This) is to give a background to the disciplinary methods he was exposed to.”
He read out a statement from his client, where the latter said: “Never has a day passed that I didn’t ponder and regret my horrible and disgusting acts done. I don’t blame anyone but myself, I feel very ashamed of myself, that I felt I have no more dignity.”
He said his client reads about his acts “day in and day out” using court documents and breaks down and cries in “utter regret”, knowing how his actions have affected everyone around him and brought shame to his family and society.
He said he has found solace in religion, which has “taught me to repent”, and intends to seek further education in prison.
He also hopes to reunite with his wife and children after serving his jail term, as a “more responsible father”.
Eleven of the man’s family members, including his father and his siblings, sat in the public gallery.
Justice Pang Khang Chau asked for further submissions from both sides and adjourned the case to a later date.
Of the woman’s three remaining children, two of them are with her first husband, while her youngest child has been placed with a foster family by the Child Protective Service.
Odisha train accident: Painful search for bodies a month after deadly India crash
ReutersMore than 50 bodies remain unclaimed a month after a deadly train crash killed 293 people in India.
The accident took place in June in the eastern state of Odisha when a passenger train hit a stationary goods train and derailed on to an adjacent track.
Some of the overturned coaches were then hit by another passing train.
More than 1,000 people were injured in the crash which has been called India’s worst rail accident this century.
The accident site has since been restored, but many families say that they’re unable to find closure as they’re still searching for the bodies of their loved ones.
Shiv Charan, who is from the eastern state of West Bengal, has spent the past month living in a guest house in Bhubaneswar city in Odisha.
It’s located close to Aiims- a government hospital where the bodies are kept.
There are 52 bodies in total, and they have been stored in a deep-freeze container. Some of the bodies are in a bad shape, making the identification process even more challenging for families.
Mr Charan makes frequent trips to the hospital in the hope of finding his brother Krishra’s body, who he spoke to moments before the crash. But the agonising wait stretches on endlessly.
He says he has only been able to identify some of his brother’s clothes, but hasn’t been able to claim them yet as he is waiting for the results of the DNA test.
Like many others, Mr Charan too has sent his samples for DNA testing – a process that the authorities are using to identify bodies to ensure that they go to the right family when there is more than one claimant.
“No-one has told me when the report will come,” Mr Charan told the BBC, adding that he wouldn’t leave without his brother’s body. “I want his last rites to be performed properly,” he says.
Anzarul Haque, another victim, is survived by his wife and three small children. At his home in West Bengal state, his wife breaks down in tears often, as her husband’s body remains missing.
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Haque’s brother and brother-in-law have been camping in Bhubaneswar, making daily trips to the hospital. They have provided samples for DNA samples, and are waiting for the report.
“A month has passed and we have not be able to get any information about his body,” Mohammad Kareem, Haque’s brother-in-law told the BBC.
The family’s hope of finding the body fades a little more with each passing day. And there are many who are in the same situation.
Last week, 29 bodies were identified with DNA reports, and officials are now handing them over to the families. This is in addition to the 52 still unidentified bodies.
Biswajit Sahu, chief public relations officer of East Coat Railways, told the BBC that “they are working cautiously to avoid any error”.
“Identification of next of kin is being done with the help of railway officials, Odisha police, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation officials and Aiims staff,” he added.
Authorities say that as time goes by, it will become increasingly difficult to identify the bodies.
Questions are being raised about how long can unclaimed bodies be kept and what will be done with them if there are no claimants. Some have suggested mass cremation as an option.
But Mr Sahu says that no decision can be taken until the DNA testing process is over.
The horrific train accident on the evening of 2 June took place near Bahanga station in Balasore district.
More than 3,000 passengers are thought to have been travelling on the two trains, with reports saying both were packed.
India’s top federal investigation agency is inquiring into the incident.
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Congestion issues at Johor land checkpoints have improved following recent implementations: Chief minister
JOHOR BAHRU: The congestion issue at both of Johor’s land checkpoints with Singapore have improved after successful implementations of strategies to improve the traffic situation, said the state’s chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Jul 4), Mr Onn Hafiz wrote: “Congratulations and thank you toContinue Reading
165 firms with over S$500 million in shareholdersâ equity headed by Singaporean CEO, managing director
SINGAPORE: A total of 413 companies in Singapore with more than S$500 million (US$370 million) in shareholders’ equity have filed CEO or managing director information with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
About 40 per cent of these CEOs or managing directors, or about 165, are Singapore citizens, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Jul 4).
Mr Wong was writing in response to a parliamentary question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NMP) Leong Mun Wai (Progress Singapore Party), who asked how many such companies have Singaporean chief executives.
Potential presidential candidates looking to qualify under the private sector service requirement must have served for at least three years as chief executive of these companies.
Those in the public sector must have held office – for at least three years – as a minister, chief justice, Speaker of the House, attorney-general or permanent secretary among others. Chief executives of key statutory boards or government-owned companies like Temasek also qualify.
It was revealed in parliament in May that there are around 50 public service positions that may fulfil the public sector service requirement to run in Singapore’s next presidential election.
Potential candidates must also satisfy the committee that they are people “of integrity, good character and reputation”.
A Presidential Elections Committee – made up of members such as chairpersons of the Public Service Commission and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority – determines whether candidates are eligible to run.
Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and businessman George Goh, founder of Harvey Norman Ossia, have both announced their intention to run for the presidency.
MOH prepared to release stockpile of N95 masks to pharmacies if haze causes shortage
Apart from plans to release N95 masks, she noted that all classrooms of primary and secondary schools, Ministry of Education kindergartens and special education schools are equipped with air purifiers.
Preschools are similarly required to have sufficient air purifiers to accommodate children in the event of haze.
MOH has also worked with public healthcare institutions, including nursing homes, to ensure they have enough air-purifying equipment and medical supplies, said Ms Fu.
It has also advised healthcare institutions on capacity mitigating measures in view of a potential increase in hospital admissions due to haze-related illnesses.
In addition, MOH has advised medical practitioners on how to manage and treat patients with haze-related conditions, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Members of the public have been advised to refer to MOH’s health advisories and to make preparations, such as ensuring that they have air purifiers in good working condition and N95 masks for prolonged outdoor activities during haze,” said Ms Fu.
They can also check the NEA website, MyEnv mobile app and the government’s haze microsite for updates.