Some NGOs are calling for a cessation in the practice of appointing active military officers to non-military positions. “The government must evaluate the presence of active military officers in a number of civilian institutions … because it will only create legal controversies whenever a crime involving these active military membersContinue Reading
“FELDA DEPOSIT” BROKEN The mismanagement at the plantation group and the backlash from the fiasco at state-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) broke the so-called “Felda deposit” with settlers turning their backs on UMNO. It led to the fall of the Najib-led National Front government in the 2018 general election, pushingContinue Reading
The junta, which seized power in a coup that deposed the civilian government led by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi more than two years ago, had earlier pledged that fresh polls would be held in August.
But the regime will likely wait for the 2020 election results to expire in 2025, said Mr Amara Thiha, a doctoral researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
“That is to avoid the legitimacy contestation if the election happened earlier,” he told CNA’s Asia Tonight on Monday.
“So I expect the extension every six months until 2025. And I’m not surprised about the extension at all.”
Mr Amara Thiha noted that the pace of election preparations is slow and large swathes of the Southeast Asian country are under the control of resistance forces.
“With this given security context, we are not going to see an election anytime soon,” he added.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has acknowledged that much of the nation is not under full military control, according to state media. He said fighting continued in Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions as well as Karen, Kayah and Chin states.
Rock band Sweet Charity isn’t just an icon of Malay music – they’re Singapore’s legacy in the music world. The band was formed in 1969 by vocalist Ramli Sarip, drummer Rahman Sarbani, guitarist Joe Salim and bassist Wahid Warren. Years later, guitarist Rosli Mohalim and organist Ahmad Jaffar (AJ) joined the crew and the rest is history.
More than 50 years later, their hit songs – such as Kamelia and Jangan Tunggu Lama-Lama (Don’t Wait Too Long) – are still being played regularly by fans in the region.
From “playing at weddings in Bedok” to selling out stadiums in Asia, Sweet Charity has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on rock fans everywhere.
After a 10-year hiatus, Sweet Charity will be reuniting for a concert, titled Ribut The Concert, on Oct 14 at The Star Theatre. CNA Lifestyle met up with Ramli, Rosli and AJ to find out what fans can expect at this concert and, more importantly, to discuss their long-lasting legacy.
SINGAPORE: Passengers on Royal Caribbean cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas said that they were unaware someone had fallen overboard until news broke online.
Several passengers told CNA that there were a few announcements paging for a woman to report to guest services sometime between 5.30am and 6.30am on Monday (Jul 31) morning.
Mr Pedro Adrian Aguirre was awake and sitting at his room’s balcony when he heard the first announcement.
“I thought since (it was the) last day maybe she had an outstanding debt,” he said.
Another passenger who only wanted to be known as Ms M Ori, said that there were a few announcements “in the cabins and all over the ship” at about 6am.
These announcements were made within the span of about 30 minutes, she estimated.
“As we have cruised over 50 times we knew something was not right,” said Ms Ori.
Another passenger CNA contacted said he did not hear the announcements as he was asleep.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Monday that a passenger had fallen overboard.
In its last update on Monday night, MPA said that search efforts coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) were underway.
The MRCC was notified of the incident at about 7.50am while the vessel was en route to Singapore.
Royal Caribbean added that the ship’s crew immediately launched search and rescue when it was found that the person had fallen overboard.
A care team is currently offering assistance and support to the family of the missing passenger, the company said.
“I would like to think that the cruise line did the correct procedure in order to make it possible to find the person,” said Ms Ori, who found out about the incident via a post on Facebook.
She added that passengers were not told of the incident.
“After the announcement in the cabins there was nothing else. Nothing seemed to be (out) of the ordinary and we just went to have breakfast,” she said.
“I had no idea and we were chatting to a big group of 20 people before we left … and no one even mentioned a word of it, we were not aware of it. And definitely not told.”
Disembarkation was as per scheduled on Monday morning, added Mr Aguirre.
Spectrum of the Seas then left Singapore at 4.30pm, MPA said in a subsequent update at 11pm. Its initial statement, sent shortly after 9pm, said the ship was “currently berthed in Singapore” and “supporting with investigations”.
Royal Caribbean International said at 10.30pm on the same day that Spectrum of the Seas had been “cleared by authorities” and sailed as scheduled.
An itinerary on the Royal Caribbean website indicates a 12-night voyage to Tokyo, with stops in Vietnam and Hong Kong, starting on Jul 31.
CNA has contacted Royal Caribbean and MPA for further updates on the missing passenger.
The fans, some of whom have been supporting the teams for decades, are grateful.
“They rarely come to Asia. I am just happy that they come in successive years,” said one fan who managed to get a banner signed.
Some fans even went the extra mile and camped overnight to get limited spots inside the hotel for a close encounter with the players.
Organisers said about a third of spectators have travelled to Singapore from overseas.
They include one traveller from Taiwan who was here with her seven-year-old son.
“Singapore is very close, it is very easy to get here. So we can bring our kids, fly here and see this international game,” she told CNA.
Mr Oh said that fans from neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia are also expected to attend the games.
But it is not just the fans who are cheering.
Some sports retailers have seen business improve on the back of the festival.
Premier Football’s general manager Chua Wee Lee said sales picked up in the last week, with Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur fans buying jerseys and customising them.
When the teams come to Singapore, there is typically between a 25 and 50 per jump in sales, he said, adding that the size of the increase depends on which teams are involved.
“It does create that buzz. Not just in terms of business and sales, but also in terms of people coming and talking, all these conversations surrounding football,” he said.
With Singapore hosting top European clubs on their pre-season tours two years in a row, fans may now be expecting a hat-trick next year.
Mediacorp brings you pre-season football action from 15 July to 6 August as some of the biggest clubs take to the field in friendlies across Asia, Australia, Europe and the USA. Catch all these pre-season matches for free, live or on-demand on mewatch! Highlights will also be available on mewatch and Mediacorp’s Entertainment YouTube Channel.
But other hawkers CNA spoke to said they do not charge more for extra bags, beyond the typical takeaway fee of up to 30 cents.
A hawker selling salted duck at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre said she doesn’t frequently get customers asking for bags, just “on and off”. A Western food stall employee at the same hawker centre said they also do not charge customers who occasionally ask for no more than one extra bag.
But some hawkers have encountered customers taking multiple bags at a time – usually without asking.
A vegetarian cooked food stall at Chong Pang Market & Food Centre in Yishun once had to deal with an elderly customer grabbing several plastic bags hanging near the entrance of the store.
An employee at the stall, who gave her name as Sally, said the customer took about six plastic bags after buying a packet of beehoon.
“I know what he (did) … But I don’t want to open my mouth and (tell) him because he’s old,” said Ms Sally, adding that she “let him take” the plastic bags the first time.
But the customer returned a second time and took several plastic bags again. By the third time, Ms Sally moved the plastic bags out of reach the moment she spotted the customer.
“I told the uncle … you’re (not here) to buy my bee hoon. You just want to come to take my free plastic bags,” Ms Sally said.
Although the customer did return to the stall two more times, he eventually stopped coming. When CNA visited the store on Jul 25, the plastic bags had been placed back at their original location.
While the stall also has other customers taking additional one to two plastic bags – sometimes without asking as well – it still does not charge more for the carriers.
“(If) it’s one or two, I’ll give. But if you want (more), then you buy (the plastic bags) for me,” Ms Sally said with a laugh.
SINGAPORE: A worker died on Saturday (Jul 29) in hospital hours after he was found unconscious at a construction worksite in Tuas. In a press statement on Monday (Jul 31), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it was informed at 9am on Saturday that a worker was foundContinue Reading
The case stems from when Mr de Souza was acting in his capacity as a partner of law firm Lee & Lee for Amber Compounding Pharmacy and Amber Laboratories in a High Court suit.
Amber was initially represented by law firm Dodwell & Co and was suing a former employee and her company for allegedly stealing trade secrets.
The Dodwell & Co lawyers were granted search orders to obtain documents and information from the defendants, with the express undertaking that Amber was not to use any of the information or documents obtained except for the court proceedings in the High Court suit.
A total of 116,298 documents were seized in April 2018 under the search orders, and Amber breached its undertakings by making three reports in 2018 to the Ministry of Manpower, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and the Singapore Police Force, disclosing 10 documents.
This happened before Mr de Souza and Lee & Lee took over the case. They were approached in November 2018 to act for Amber over the reports made to the authorities.
Internal correspondence at Lee & Lee shows that Mr de Souza and his colleagues knew about the breach and had advised Amber to take immediate steps to remedy it.
However, the disciplinary tribunal found that Mr de Souza did not ensure that his client did not make full disclosure of the breach in a filing of an affidavit.
The Court of Three Judges on Monday morning grilled both LawSoc’s Mr Assomull as well as Mr de Souza’s lead counsel, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng.
They questioned Mr Assomull on the framing of the one charge Mr de Souza had been found guilty of, as well as on what LawSoc’s precise case was as to Mr de Souza’s intention to suppress evidence.
As for Mr Tan, the court asked him about how the affidavit was drafted. Mr Tan’s case was that the affidavit did disclose the wrongdoing, and that it simply could have been drafted in a clearer manner.
Justice Woo told him candidly: “It’s not as crystal clear as you’re making it out to be … otherwise, we don’t have to be here today.”
Mr Tan said he agreed that the affidavit could have been better drafted, but he asked whether the lack of clarity exhibited an intention to suppress evidence.
Mr Assomull had argued that internal correspondence at Lee & Lee showed that Mr de Souza was aware of the breach, as well as the importance of disclosing it.
To not do so clearly in the affidavit can only mean one thing, that he intended to suppress it, said Mr Assomull.
If the client had refused to agree to certain facts or wordings that a lawyer felt must be included in an affidavit, then the lawyer had to discharge themselves, said Mr Assomull.
“That is the paramount duty that every lawyer owes to the court,” he said. “First the court – then the client. Not the client, then the court.”
He charged that the team of lawyers knew that if the line revealing the breach had been put in, their application “was doomed to fail”.
Mr Tan said that Mr de Souza did discharge himself, in July 2019, after realising that despite his advice, the client had again used the seized documents.
“The immediate steps taken by Mr de Souza in consultation with Mr Tan Tee Jim was to discharge. He could not stand the nonsense of the client in breaching the undertaking,” said Mr Tan.
“That cannot be the conduct of an officer of the court who wanted to suppress evidence,” he added.
The PAP had previously said in response to CNA’s queries that it would determine the course of action necessary after the Court of Three Judges gives its verdict.
The case stems from when Mr de Souza was acting in his capacity as a partner of law firm Lee & Lee for Amber Compounding Pharmacy and Amber Laboratories in a High Court suit.
Amber was initially represented by law firm Dodwell & Co and was suing a former employee and her company for allegedly stealing trade secrets.
The Dodwell & Co lawyers were granted search orders to obtain documents and information from the defendants, with the express undertaking that Amber was not to use any of the information or documents obtained except for the court proceedings in the High Court suit.
A total of 116,298 documents were seized in April 2018 under the search orders, and Amber breached its undertakings by making three reports in 2018 to the Ministry of Manpower, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and the Singapore Police Force, disclosing 10 documents.
This happened before Mr de Souza and Lee & Lee took over the case. They were approached in November 2018 to act for Amber over the reports made to the authorities.
Internal correspondence at Lee & Lee shows that Mr de Souza and his colleagues knew about the breach and had advised Amber to take immediate steps to remedy it.
However, the disciplinary tribunal found that Mr de Souza did not ensure that his client did not make full disclosure of the breach in a filing of an affidavit.
The Court of Three Judges on Monday morning grilled both LawSoc’s Mr Assomull as well as Mr de Souza’s lead counsel, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng.
They questioned Mr Assomull on the framing of the one charge Mr de Souza had been found guilty of, as well as on what LawSoc’s precise case was as to Mr de Souza’s intention to suppress evidence.
As for Mr Tan, the court asked him about how the affidavit was drafted. Mr Tan’s case was that the affidavit did disclose the wrongdoing, and that it simply could have been drafted in a clearer manner.
Justice Woo told him candidly: “It’s not as crystal clear as you’re making it out to be … otherwise, we don’t have to be here today.”
Mr Tan said he agreed that the affidavit could have been better drafted, but he asked whether the lack of clarity exhibited an intention to suppress evidence.
Mr Assomull had argued that internal correspondence at Lee & Lee showed that Mr de Souza was aware of the breach, as well as the importance of disclosing it.
To not do so clearly in the affidavit can only mean one thing, that he intended to suppress it, said Mr Assomull.
If the client had refused to agree to certain facts or wordings that a lawyer felt must be included in an affidavit, then the lawyer had to discharge themselves, said Mr Assomull.
“That is the paramount duty that every lawyer owes to the court,” he said. “First the court – then the client. Not the client, then the court.”
He charged that the team of lawyers knew that if the line revealing the breach had been put in, their application “was doomed to fail”.
Mr Tan said that Mr de Souza did discharge himself, in July 2019, after realising that despite his advice, the client had again used the seized documents.
“The immediate steps taken by Mr de Souza in consultation with Mr Tan Tee Jim was to discharge. He could not stand the nonsense of the client in breaching the undertaking,” said Mr Tan.
“That cannot be the conduct of an officer of the court who wanted to suppress evidence,” he added.
The PAP had previously said in response to CNA’s queries that it would determine the course of action necessary after the Court of Three Judges gives its verdict.