Today, 26-year-old Joshua Leong is flying off to the United States to join a prestigious programme for young leaders in South-east Asia.

The five-week experience - initiated by US President Barack Obama - is for young people active in fields such as civic engagement and managing non-governmental organisations.

Mr Leong is one of four Singaporeans in the spring 2016 batch of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program. Yet it was by chance that he became involved in the social enterprise sector seven years ago.

When he applied to Ngee Ann Polytechnic after his O levels, he was confident of getting his top choice, mass communications.

"So, for my second choice, I thought, 'anyhow put'," he recalled with a laugh, using the colloquial term for making a random choice.

He chose - and got into - the new Business and Social Enterprise course, as part of its pioneer batch, and that made all the difference.

Through encountering non-profit organisations and social enterprises during the course, his interest in what they did was awakened.

"It triggered my social passion," said Mr Leong, a project and marketing executive at Social Lab, which runs social enterprise Dialogue in the Dark Singapore at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

The local franchise of an international movement, Dialogue in the Dark promotes inclusivity and raises awareness of the experience of being visually impaired.

Mr Leong helped to organise its official launch in 2009, then spent the first semester of his third year interning there.

Those six months were very different from listening to lectures: "That was the trigger. It gave me the empowerment to make decisions. To really go hands-on... It gave me a sense of responsibility, that I had to level myself up."

After graduating in 2011 and doing his national service, he did a degree in business management at RMIT University - working with Dialogue in the Dark all the while.

With a mother who is an auditor and a father who works in the extended family's equipment business, Mr Leong - the eldest of three sons - is sensitive to the demands of running a company.

"For social enterprises to be sustainable, business elements count for a very huge part of it," he said.

These include human resource management and risk evaluation - and, crucially for social enterprises, how to balance profit margins with social impact, he added.

He hopes to gain such expertise over the next five weeks on the young leaders' programme in the US. There, he will do a stint with multinational professional services firm Deloitte.

The programme is funded by the US Department of State and administered in ASEAN by American Councils for International Education.

Mr Leong is among nine Singaporeans who have been on the programme since it began last year.

There have been more than 3,000 applicants from ASEAN countries since then.

An American Councils spokesman said that, in selecting fellows, it looked for people who are "motivated, professionally driven, and who we believe would capitalise on the experience".

Mr Leong thinks one factor which may have helped him was his vision for a social enterprise of his own - something he talked about in the final selection interview.

He is thinking of a training hub for marginalised groups such as those who are visually- or hearing-impaired.

"Right now, we are trying to find jobs that can cater to these people," he said. "But to change the mindsets of Singaporeans, it would be better to equip them with skills to put them on a level playing field."

Only then will people see them as "equally capable", instead of workers who require special treatment, Mr Leong added.

This article was first published on April 25, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - Markets might do well to prepare for Singapore's central bank to follow up this month's surprise easing with another policy move, analysts say, suggesting a one-off currency devaluation as a possibility in the event the city state's economy deteriorates further.

Singapore's trade-reliant economy has come under severe strain over the past two years in the face of a global downturn in demand, crunching exports and leaving its manufacturing sector grappling with losses.

The anaemic growth and low inflation prompted the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to unexpectedly ease policy this month by removing the "modest and gradual" appreciation path of the Singapore dollar.

Given the uncertain outlook for global growth and a cooling in China - Singapore's major export market - analysts aren't ruling out a further easing via a one-off devaluation of the Singapore dollar. "Should the Singapore economy weaken again, we expect the MAS to be more resolute and aggressive in weakening the Singapore dollar," said Raymond Lim, head of Asian bonds for Amundi in Singapore.

The MAS manages policy by letting the Singapore dollar rise or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed policy band based on its nominal effective exchange rate (NEER).

It can adjust policy by changing the band's slope, the centre, or the width.

The MAS has eased policy three times in 15 months in an effort to reanimate growth. On April 14 it reduced the slope to zero percent for the first time since the global financial crisis.

The easings have come amid persistent deflationary pressures. Singapore's all-items consumer price index has been falling on a year-on-year basis since November 2014.

The next MAS policy announcement is expected in October.

Some market participants say that MAS could put the Singapore dollar on a sustained depreciation path, meaning adopting a negative slope for the policy band. All the same, the hurdle for such a policy action is seen as very high, and analysts say it would be an unprecedented move.

Moreover, a negative slope could give speculators a green light to sell the currency and dull the allure of Singaporean assets, so re-centering the policy band lower - a one-off currency devaluation - is seen as more plausible.

Given that Singapore is a major financial centre, "the hurdle for a negative slope is extremely high," said Desmond Soon, co-head of investment management, Asia ex-Japan for Western Asset Management.

One complication is that further easing could heighten bearish views against the Singapore dollar and trigger a rise in domestic interest rates as investors seek compensation for holding a weakening currency.

The upshot may be that monetary policy has gone as far as it should, said Manu Bhaskaran, CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors.

"Should the economy weaken further, my own view is that fiscal policy and changes to macro-prudential/administrative policies should be the focus," Bhaskaran said.

When she was 12, Sofia Amanda Bening wrote a story about a boy and his family who turned into fruits.

Now 17, the mass communications student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic is known for her odd stories with dark undertones.

Channelling her creative energy into a non-fiction essay was a first for Sofia.

But she emerged as the first Singaporean winner of the Young Romantics Prize, a competition run by the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association in the UK.

The competition allows participants to write an essay on any aspects of the lives of the Romantics, referring to the writers of an artistic movement in the 1800s, Romanticism, that emphasised emotions.

Sofia told The New Paper that she did not know what to write initially because the scope was so wide and she had wanted to write something different from the rest.

She spent January searching for inspiration by reading through many different works by the Romantic authors.

She said: "I really admire their style because it's very emotional and so dramatic. There's a lot of love, emotions, turmoil. It's very personal."

DREAMS

Eventually, Sofia noticed a trend in the poems she read - that dreams were a big deal. She explained that English poet Lord Byron's "The Dream" was a long and detailed poem about his dream.

She then drew parallels to other poems by John Keats and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which also involved their dreams.

She added: "Dreams must have meant a lot to them."

Completing her prize-winning essay "The Stuff That Romantic Dreams Are Made Of", took her three days and she just met the deadline.

On winning the prize, Sofia said: "Even if I didn't win, I'm glad I did it because I went out of my comfort zone and challenged myself.

"But it's still an affirmation for myself that I can write things that aren't just fiction."

Professor John Richardson, 60, the head of department of English language and literature at the National University of Singapore, said: "It's a good prize.

"I would be pleased if my students got it. (Sofia) should be proud of herself, especially since she's only 17 years old."

This article was first published on April 25, 2016.
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A 3km-long Tree Trail to be launched in the Civic District will feature the ubiquitous Rain Tree that is part of our city's natural landscape. But did you know that the tree provides a habitat to a vast array of local flora and fauna? The New Paper identifies some of the living things the tree is home to:

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, NParks, Berita Harian, Nature Society (Singapore), Wikimedia Commons, David Tan, Lee Tiah Kee, Lip Kee Yap

The tree trail

Some of the trees in the Civic District will get greater recognition as they are part of a 3km-long Tree Trail to be launched by the National Parks Board on May 1. There will be monthly guided walks and markers at all 20 stops along the route. One highlight of the trail is an avenue of 22 heritage rain trees along Connaught Drive

Rain Tree Facts

Pukul Lima
Malay for five o'clock. This is the time the leaves close. Sunset in S'pore was at about 5pm before changes were made to standard time.

Umbrella Shape
The tree can grow up to 30m tall and has an umbrella-shaped crown that spreads up to 30m across.

Flaky
In mature trees, the bark is dark brown, rough and flaky.

Origin
It is not native to Asia. Rain trees originally came from South America.

Cattle Shade
Planted generally as an ornamental tree, it has been adapted in many countries as shade for cattle.

Most Common
It is the most commonly planted tree in Singapore due to its superior shade, with about 80,000 in existence.

This article was first published on April 25, 2016.
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Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates at gantries on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) and Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) will be revised following the Land Transport Authority's quarterly review of traffic conditions.

On the AYE, rates at three sets of gantries, after Jurong Town Hall towards the city, will go up from $1 to $2, between 5.30pm and 6pm.

On the BKE, the rates will decrease from $2 to $1 between 7.30am and 8am.

The revised rates will take effect from Monday, May 2.

The rates for the other gantries will remain unchanged.

The next ERP review will take place next month.

sujint@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - A man was arrested after creating a scene at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Monday morning (April 25).

According local reports, the man was in a 2-hour stand-off with police as he stood on top of the roof of a check-in counter and refused to come down.

In a tweet from an eye-witness at 9.06am, Charlotte Corday posted: "There's some rando(m) nutter standing on top of a check-in counter at Changi airport and no one seems to care."

From photos posted on Twitter, the man was in a striped shirt and jeans, but did not have any shoes on.

In a later photograph, he was spotted with an umbrella and he had surrounded himself with some carton boxes.

Traveller Ms Cai, 35, who was at the airport at that time, told Shin Min Daily News that she had no idea how he got up there, but she estimated that he was probably standing 3 or 4m above ground.

According to Shin Min, some airport staff had attempted to persuade him to come down. They climbed up to talk to him but he waved his umbrella at them.

"He took off his shirt agitated," said Ms Cai.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call at about 10am and had sent a fire engine, a red rhino, two fire bikes, an ambulance and two support vehicles.

However, it was reported that the man eventually came down by himself, ending the stand-off.

He was apprehended before the SCDF arrived and their assistance was not needed.

While it is not known why the man had done this, it is understood that he was being repatriated back to Vietnam after being told he was supposed to make a work trip to Dubai.

maryanns@sph.com.sg

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Shin Min Daily News, Twitter screengrabs

SINGAPORE - It was a dive trip gone wrong. 

A Singaporean woman, Ms Neo Qiu Ping Vera, was found dead in Indonesian waters on Monday (April 25) after having gone missing from her scuba diving group on Sunday (April 24). 

On Saturday (April 23), the group of 10 set out on a boat to the dive site at Gili Lawa, an island north-east of Komodo, Indonesia. 

Indonesian publication Pos Kupang reported that the rest of the divers had returned to the boat at about 5pm after diving on Sunday (April 24) but the 27-year-old, a qualified autonomous diver, had not returned. 

After waiting for an hour, the boat captain informed the authorities.

However, search and rescue operation could not be carried out because nightfall was approaching and there was insufficient light, reported Lianhe Zaobao.  

The search for Ms Neo started on Monday morning. 

According to The Straits Times, her body was found near the dive site at 10.55am. 

Her body is now at Siloam Hospital in Indonesia. 

maryanns@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - SMRT has apologised for the train service disruptions that affected more than 20 MRT stations during peak hour on Monday evening (April 25).

SMRT tweeted that services on two lines - East-West Line and North-South Line - were restored at about 8.25pm.

However, SMRT said in a Facebook post that it is still working to recover services on the Circle Line and Bukit Panjang LRT. 

"Four trains on the BPLRT were stalled between stations and 150 passengers were safely detrained," SMRT wrote.

It explained that the "traction power fault" has been "traced to a power dip at the Buona Vista power intake station".

"We are currently investigating the cause of the power trip.

"We deeply apologise for the inconvenience caused."

Earlier, there was no train service between Joo Koon and Bugis stations on the East-West Line, and Woodlands and Jurong East stations on the North-South Line.

Some MRT stations also experienced blackouts, according to updates by Twitter users.

Reader Hwa Heng sent photos of the power failure to citizen journalism website Stomp via WhatsApp and said: "The lights (kept) going on and off."

"Just now the air-con stopped too but at least it's returned so we can have some ventilation."

The train operator offered free bus services between Joo Koon and City Hall stations, and between Kranji and Jurong East stations.

These free bus services have since ceased.

SMRT expects "crowding at some stations and congestion as trains are travelling at a lower speed".

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Stomp

SINGAPORE - Five political donation certificates have been issued to five individuals who have applied for it, the Elections Department said in a statement on Monday (April 25). 

A political donation certificate is one of the documents that candidates must submit on Nomination Day on Wednesday (April 27) if they are to run as candidates for the May 7 Bukit Batok by-election. 

While the Election Department did not disclose the names of candidates, we already know of all but one of them. 

They are: Mr Murali Pillai, 48, of the People's Action Party (PAP), Dr Chee Soon Juan, 53, of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), private-hire car driver Sherwin Eu, 32, and former opposition candidate Abdul Rahim Osman, 59. 

Mr Pillai and Dr Chee have declared their intention to run last month, while the other two have not. 

If they do, the single-member constituency could have a multi-cornered fight. 

maryanns@sph.com.sg

By-election battle for Bukit Batok SMC

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, The New Paper, Lianhe Zaoabao, Berita Harian

The security officer accused of hurting three madrasah students earlier this month was found to be suffering from a major psychiatric illness at the time of the alleged offences.

Koh Weng Onn, 48, who had been sent for psychiatric assessment, suffers from a delusional disorder with "delusions of persecution and reference", said an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) doctor.

As the doctor found Koh to have a high risk of re-offending, the prosecution yesterday objected to bail for Koh, saying he would be a danger to the public. Quoting the IMH report, Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yi Ling said that if Koh is sent back to the community, it is strongly advisable that he be taken back to IMH for treatment under the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act.

She said the prosecution wants to find out the "specific nature" of his delusions. She also wants to know the course and length of treatment recommended, saying it is crucial in determining the prosecution's next course of action. The prosecution asked for an adjournment, until it gets the clarifications from IMH.

Koh's lawyer Sunil Sudheesan, hired by an anonymous Arab-Muslim entrepreneur from the Aljunied family, said he had no objection to the adjournment and that no bail be offered.

He suggested that Koh's psychiatric report be given to the remand prison so he receives treatment during remand.

The second course, he said, is to allow bail on condition that the prosecution applies for Koh to be taken back to IMH immediately for treatment.

DPP Goh said she did not object to the psychiatric report being extended to the prison but the second proposal might be "too preliminary".

Koh is accused of kicking a 16-year-old madrasah student on her right thigh, an attack which was "racially aggravated", along Paya Lebar Road on April 1 at 7.22am.

On the same day, he also allegedly swung a plastic bag with a filled 1.5-litre water bottle at two other female madrasah students, both 14, in two separate incidents.

Koh's case is fixed for a pre-trial conference on May 9.

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The horse did not have its lunch and had already been taken out earlier in the day.

One ride later in the afternoon ended in tragedy when the horse reared twice during a dismount, causing its elderly woman rider to fall off.

Madam Lim Ah Boey, 73, was pinned under when the horse fell on her. She died of her injuries in Changi General Hospital that evening.

Yesterday's coroner's inquiry into Madam Lim's death heard that on Nov 14 last year, she had gone to Punggol Ranch with her family as part of her grandson's birthday celebrations.

Earlier that day, the horse, a nine-year-old male called Goku, was supposed to have its lunch from around 12.30pm to 2pm, but was taken out of the stables by a volunteer for an unknown period of time.

At around 3pm, Goku was led out of the stables by a handler to give rides to other patrons.

Madam Lim, wearing a hard-hat and helmet, mounted the horse at around 5.30pm.

A little later, Madam Lim fell off the horse and was pinned down by the 450kg animal. A horse handler, who had taken Goku back to the stable after the accident, found that the horse's lunch had been left untouched.

State Coroner Marvin Bay asked police investigation officer (IO) Tan Soon Kwang if there was anything unusual about the horse not having its lunch, and if it indicated that the horse was unwell or temperamental.

The IO said investigations showed that Goku would normally have lunch before the afternoon rides.

A witness, an events manager at Punggol Ranch, Ms Wan Jasma Zuraini Wan Jalani, told the inquiry that Goku had been scheduled to work from 4pm to 6pm that day.

Ms Wan Jasma, who has been working for Gallop Stable for five years, had obtained a certificate in horse care and management from the British Horse Society on Nov 13 - a day before the incident.

LIGHT EXERCISE

She said horses usually work for two hours, and that if they do "hard work", they will get to rest after an hour or so.

"If they work more than two hours, (I will) not say it's dangerous, but it depends on the kind of work," she added.

Ms Wan Jasma also said the ride was considered "light exercise".

73-year-old woman crushed to death after 550kg horse falls on her

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, Lianhe Wanbao reader, Timothy Ng

But when lawyer Sunil Sudheesan, who is representing Madam Lim's family, asked Ms Wan Jasma if she would recommend Goku to take patrons for rides at 5pm when it had not had lunch, she said she would not.

A vet who examined Goku the day after the incident found that the horse had multiple lacerations and abrasions on its body from the incident, but showed no signs of rest deprivation or abnormal mental state.

In the investigation report, the vet also concluded there was nothing in Goku's medical history that suggested the horse was difficult to handle.

But the doctor highlighted a few reasons why the horse might have reared - it could have been frightened by sudden movement, it could have been forced into an enclosed space, or if it was attacked by people or other animals.

The inquiry has been adjourned to May 23.

There were four tries to get her off horse

They were celebrating her grandson's 21st birthday, so Madam Lim Ah Boey, 73, and her family of 10 went to the Gallop Stable chalets for a staycation.

But the celebration ended in tragedy when Madam Lim fell from the horse she was riding after five minutes at Punggol Ranch.

The horse then fell on her.

Madam Lim lost consciousness and was rushed to Changi General Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Police investigation officer (IO) Tan Soon Kwang told the inquiry yesterday that Madam Lim's autopsy report showed that the multiple injuries she sustained were in pattern with one who had fallen off a horse and was then crushed by it.

Madam Lim was pinned under the horse for about 10 minutes before employees of the ranch managed to get the horse up. It walked off by itself.

The IO said no foul play was suspected in her death.

The inquiry also heard that the horse handler made four unsuccessful attempts to get Madam Lim to dismount, as a family member had said that the horse was too far away from the mounting platform for her to get off.

Following protocol, staff members then attempted to get Madam Lim to dismount using a portable mounting platform.

OPEN DRAIN

The horse reared twice. The second time it did so, Madam Lim fell off the horse into an open drain beside the mounting platform.

The horse then fell on its back on top of her with its legs in the air.

The IO also told the inquiry that Madam Lim was still alive.

One of Madam Lim's relatives started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived and took her to hospital.

During the inquiry, at least eight of the Madam Lim's family members were present.

Four videos documenting what happened after she was pinned under the horse were shown and her family members seemed visibly affected.

Madam Lim's granddaughter also questioned witness Wan Jasma Zuraini Wan Jalani, an events manager at Punggol Ranch, on why her 73-year-old grandmother was allowed to take the ride although there is an age limit of 55 years in the written protocol .

Ms Wan Jasma said that the age limit was only introduced after the accident, to which Coroner Marvin Bay instructed the IO to retrieve the original copy of the protocol used at the time of the incident. 

Speaking to The New Paper after the hearing, Madam Lim's granddaughter Low Qin Qing, 29, an administration executive, said: "We're still very much affected after watching the incident (on the videos). But if it helps the case, we'll watch it again."

6 areas to look into

During yesterday's inquiry, Coroner Marvin Bay told police investigation officer (IO) Tan Soon Kwang to look into six areas before next month's closed chamber hearing:

1. If a change in direction when Madam Lim Ah Boey was trying to dismount could have confused the horse?

2. To find the mobile mounting platform and the checklist used by the employees before each ride.

The IO was also told to retrieve the original written protocol Punggol Ranch used during the time of the incident and to retrieve the indemnity forms regarding the case.

3. To find the regulatory body that ensures proper horse care and maintenance and oversees such facilities.

4. To find out if the design of the mounting platform is "usual" across other riding facilities and if it is considered safe.

Also, if the horse has sufficient "wriggle room" in such a mounting platform to break free after falling, without injuring the rider.

5. To investigate if there is an abnormality when a horse fails to have lunch and if the horse's temperament could be affected as a result.

6. To get the pathologist to isolate the different injuries that resulted from Madam Lim's falling off the horse and the horse falling on her.

tammei@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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Eight years ago, his pasar malam (night market) sales hit a peak of $1.5 million worth of cars in a week.

He sold 27 cars at a spot near Causeway Point, a shopping mall beside the Woodlands MRT station.

Yesterday, after nine days at a pasar malam at Serangoon North Ave 3, Mr John Ling, 53, who owns SJ Motor Enterprise, said he had yet to sell a single car.

The contrast in his fortunes reflects the changing face of the motor industry, as COE premium prices continue to rise in recent bids despite the release of more car COEs.

Mr Ling started selling cars at night markets in 2003, though his main revenue comes from showroom sales at his Bukit Timah main outlet.

He now owns three outlets in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre where he sells new and used cars and offers car servicing and repair services.

It was the desire to "be where the customers are" that led him to rent space to sell new and used cars at these night markets, he said.

Said Mr Ling: "Pasar malams are just another place for me to sell cars, and it's an added bonus that it is usually quite crowded."

But it was originally a tough sell for the car dealer, who got into the business after starting to fix cars when he was 11 years old.

It took him years to establish himself at the night markets because many people did not trust a car dealer who operated in such a cheap environment, he said.

Once he got going, however, he experienced his best week in 2008, when cars were at their most affordable.

ROARING TRADE

It was around the time when COEs hovered at around $3,000, and buyers were allowed to take 100 per cent loans.

One of his regular customers, Madam Shim Siew Tin May, 45, assistant manager at Princeston, a distributor of floor mats, bought three vehicles for her company.

She bought a Toyota Hi-Ace in 2012 when she first saw Mr Ling's booth at a pasar malam in Toa Payoh.

She later bought two Nissan lorries from Mr Ling in 2014.

"I don't mind the heat (of the pasar malam) since he is a very sincere man who quotes very reasonable prices," said Madam May.

Recently, COE prices have hovered close to $50,000 in all car categories, while buyers can only take loans of up to 60 per cent, depending on the type of car, with a maximum loan period of five years.

Said Mr Ling: "Recently, it has become more difficult for people to get loans so it is inevitable that business does not do so well."

He will take a loss for his latest night market foray at Serangoon North. Mr Ling's operational costs at night markets range from $3,000 to $30,000.

A large portion of it is spent on rental of the space and the rest are for hiring manpower to distribute fliers and promote his cars.

Groomers are engaged to polish the cars. He even hires guards when he has a large fleet of 10 to 20 cars to take care of overnight.

The operating costs at the Serangoon night market for nine days is about $4,000 and he would have needed to sell at least two cars to offset it.

In previous years, 30 per cent of interested parties would buy a car but the number has dwindled down to about 10 per cent, he said.

Despite this, Mr Ling does not regret venturing into sales at night markets.

"To me, the most important thing is that I do an honest trade and I trust people will continue to buy their cars from me," said Mr Ling.

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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Uber can help reduce private-car ownership in Singapore, and function as a viable alternative for last-mile connections for commuters, the ride-hailing app's new general manager in Singapore Warren Tseng has said.

In an hour-long interview with reporters on Monday, he sought to portray Uber as a helpful stakeholder in Singapore's public transport ecosystem, rather than as a disruptor, in that its bids for certificates of entitlement (COEs) can ultimately lower private-car ownership, and that it can provide commuters with last-mile connections.

Recent reports stated that the Uber-owned Lion City Rental had put in - and won - a large number of COE bids, thus helping to drive up COE premiums.

Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) said then that the growth of the private-hire car sector can help reduce the demand for private cars over time. It added that COE premiums should reflect market demand and supply.

Responding on Monday to questions about Uber's COE bids, Mr Tseng said: "Getting more of these cars on the road means there are more ways for people to get around the city, and it complements public transport; ultimately, it'll reduce private-car ownership."

He said that Lion City Rental's successful bids for COEs were a part of Uber's "supply-growth initiative" which would enable Uber to grow its fleet, while providing more rental options for its drivers.

He added that the company was in touch with the LTA on some of its business plans, including those of Lion City Rental: "We work with LTA on some of these things, and they're pretty comfortable with Lion City Rental as well."

Mr Tseng noted that a quarter of all trips on Uber "start or end at an MRT station", indicating that commuters "typically use Uber for the last mile of that journey".

Public officials and experts have identified last-mile connectivity - the distance one has to travel to reach a transport system or one's destination after a bus or train ride - as a hallmark of a good public-transportation system.

Efforts have been made by government agencies and even a public transport operator here in recent years to improve this leg of a commuter's journey. Ideas include launching bicycle-sharing schemes, building more sheltered walkways, and even SMRT's plans to use driverless pods to cover this stretch.

Yang Nan, assistant strategy and policy professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, was hesitant about lauding the benefits of Uber as a last-mile connectivity option in Singapore's public-transportation system:

"If the Uber ride is a substitute for a ride that the commuter would have taken with mass public transit ... it shows that we should step up the efforts to add more feeder buses or bike-sharing."

However, he added: "If the added last-mile convenience encourages some commuters to leave their private cars athomeandride public transit, then Uber is doing good here."

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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He spoke to The New Paper from Bangladesh, where his Tampines Rovers side are poised to take on Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi in Group E of the AFC Cup today.

Victory will push the Stags a step closer to becoming the first Singapore side to qualify from the group stage of the second-tier regional tourney since Home United in 2012.

V Sundramoorthy's team are chasing history, but it was The Dazzler's own footballing past that caught up with him recently and drew a warm glow.

Sundram met up with childhood football buddy K Muralidharan Pillai - the People's Action Party (PAP) candidate who will contest the May 7 Bukit Batok by-election - to make a video and, together, they talked about the sepia-tinted days gone by, when football was simple and brought so much joy.

Former Singapore international Sundram believes that Murali's character, displayed early on the streets of 14th mile Sembawang and at the foot of the Jurong Town Corporation flats there, will ensure the lawyer does well in the coming hustings.

"He was more of a scholar who would balance football with studies and that was what made him stand out from the rest of us who just wanted to play football," Sundram told TNP.

"We'll be playing till it got dark, but Murali would always leave earlier so he could go back and study. He didn't even have to say why he had to run off, we all knew he was that kind of responsible boy."

The kind of responsibility Murali displayed as a kid is a major reason Sundram, 50, believes his old buddy will serve the people of Bukit Batok well.

"The moment we met, I realised that he is still the same down-to-earth and jovial fellow I knew then - and he carries himself well. Those of us who grew up with him will be very proud if he does pull this off," said Sundram, who meets Murali every now and then at family gatherings.

Murali remembers vividly playing football with his famous friend as a kid, and how his job as a teammate was to simply collect the ball and pass it to Sundram.

The 48-year-old credits his parents for his off-the-field discipline.

"Coming from a modest family background - my father even juggled two jobs at one time to put food on the table - my parents emphasised that a good education would serve us well in life," said Murali.

"I must confess I leaned towards play more often… I recall a number of occasions where my mother would go marching to the football pitch to ask me to go back home immediately to wash up and study."

Sundram went on to don national colours and become one of Singapore's greatest footballers and he now dreams of leading the Lions as coach.

Murali's journey to leadership on the national stage followed a different path, but one that Sundram believes deserves equal, if not more, credit.

"My dream as a kid was every kid's dream, just to play a match at the National Stadium... we never even thought about playing in Europe," said Sundram, who turned out for Swiss side FC Basel in the 1980s.

"I think the challenge - and impact of success - of this election is about the same for Murali, and all of us who grew up with him are supporting him."

"I'm in Bangladesh now, the first time I've been back here since 1982 when I was 18 and played in an Asian youth tournament. You won't believe how old I feel. But you realise some things never change - like friends from your younger days, like Murali - a time when it was all so innocent." - V Sundramoorthy

"In the 14th mile JTC flats at Sembawang, I had a wide circle of friends from different races and social backgrounds, and we respected each other. This early childhood experience laid the foundation for me to be able to reach out to people of different backgrounds, make friends with them and work together for the betterment of our community." - Murali Pillai

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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Uber is ever experimenting - and Singapore remains a choice testing ground for the San Francisco-based ride-booking app, Uber Singapore general manager Warren Tseng told reporters on Monday.

It is a market Uber "prioritises", it is the "San Francisco of this part of the world", he said. Singapore is where Uber has made several "big bold bets" - an operating principle spelt out on the company's office walls - from setting up a car-rental company to recruiting drivers to venturing into cash payments to woo heartlanders.

Mr Tseng described Lion City Rentals, a car-rental company Uber set up here last year in a world's first for Uber, as a "very successful experiment". Designed to recruit drivers through affordable, flexible car rental options, this move has since been replicated in the United States and India.

Uber's recent trial to let riders pay their fares in cash has been well-received, he added. One in three first-time riders now opt to use cash, with heartlands Tampines and Simei showing the biggest hike in cash sign-ups and first trips, followed by Bishan-Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands and Bukit Panjang.

The pay-in-cash option, soon to be rolled out island-wide, could attract a new demographic - students who do not own credit cards, said Mr Tseng of this departure from Uber's cashless-only policy, under which its app automatically charges the rider's credit card on file.

Since Uber slashed its UberX fares by 15 per cent last week in its latest experiment to win market share, its number of rides in Singapore has risen by 10 per cent, and new riders, by 20 per cent. Drivers have been able to put "more butts in seats" and lower their downtime; their earnings have also stabilised.

Said Mr Tseng: "It's a good time for this experiment. The price cuts are doing what they're designed to do."

Uber's rival Grab, which lowered its GrabCar fares days after Uber's price cut for UberX, agreed that the price cut was a "strategic move" to boost passenger demand and drivers' productivity.

Yang Nan, assistant strategy and policy professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, said of the price war: "Uber doesn't do this only to compete with Grab. With the 15 per cent cut, UberX is now cheaper than regular taxis most of the time and definitely during peak hours and in areas with surcharges."

The sustainability of Uber's price cut however, depends on demand elasticity, he noted. "If the increased number of rides and reduced downtime more than make up for the 15 per cent, it will be kept. Even it doesn't, Uber cares about having a larger customer base. But I wonder how it will affect drivers' willingness to work with Uber."

Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, said everything that Uber does is an experiment since it is a young company in a nascent business.

"So, nothing special about Singapore. The only test that this may be is whether an on-demand car service can work in one of the most regulated cities in the world, where people actually follow rules."

Uber's private-hire-car rental model, which it operates through its fully owned Lion City Rentals, has been described by some as sub-renting and evasive. Grab, on the other hand, advocates an absolute-partnership model. Its head Lim Kell Jay said: "As a technology company, we do not own vehicles. Partnering vehicle-owning companies enables us to stay lean and asset-light, translating into lower ride costs for passengers."

UniSIM senior lecturer Walter Theseira said the rise of private-hire-car services have improved taxi drivers' bargaining position with respect to their operating companies: "They now have meaningful alternatives."

This article was first published on April 26, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - Train services operated by SMRT will be extending their operating hours on the eve of Labour Day.

SMRT said in a statement today (April 26) that train services on the North-South, East-West, Circle Lines and the Bukit Panjang LRT will be extended on April 30.

Selected bus services will also have their operating hours extended.

sinsh@sph.com.sg

SINGAPORE - Mr Murali Pillai, the People's Action Party (PAP) candidate for the Bukit Batok by-election, said today (April 26) that the $1.9-million neighbourhood renewal plans for the estate that the party unveiled on Sunday were the result of "extensive consultation" with residents.

This is in response to Dr Chee Soon Juan's comment after the PAP's unveiling that he and his party "see the need to consult the residents" before committing such a large sum of money into the projects.

Dr Chee is Singapore Democratic Party's (SDP's) candidate for the by-election.

The PAP had unveiled its infrastructure plans for the estate - including walkways, ramps and a three-generation park - on Sunday.

Mr Murali said at a press conference today that the neighbourhood renewal plans were announced late last year, and "drawn up after extensive consultation with our Bukit Batok residents". He added that the plans were proposed "on a preliminary basis to obtain further feedback".

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was also at the press conference, said that the PAP town council had engaged the residents in "extensive to-ing and fro-ing", and had even made changes to the plans in response to feedback.

He said that the PAP should not be "begrudged" for having done "detailed consultations over several months".

He added that if the opposition needs more time, they should just say so, and should not resort to "all these bluster".

sinsh@sph.com.sg

By-election battle for Bukit Batok SMC

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, The New Paper, Lianhe Zaoabao, Berita Harian

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Berita Harian, Shin Min Daily News

SINGAPORE - You can now 'catch 'em all', ala Pokemon style when the first pop-up Pokemon Cafe opens in Singapore.

Japanese retailer PARCO said on Monday (April 25) that the cafe, modelled on the famous fictional creatures, will open from May 27 to Jul 31, taking over restaurant Everything With Fries.

Everything With Fries is located at on the fourth floor of Bugis Junction (#04-05), and will 'evolve' into a Pokemon Cafe during that period.

The pop-up store will be replete with Pokemon merchandise, Channel NewsAsia reported. There will also be 12 items on the menu at the 32 sq m cafe.

Pokemon Cafes have been in Japan for a few years.

According to Rocketnews24, a Pikachu Cafe opened in downtown Tokyo in July 2014.

Items on its menu include Poke Ball hayashi rice omelette, Pikachu pancakes, Pikachu teriyaki burger, Pikachu curry, and a Pikachu one million-volt parfait.

In Dec 2014, a Pokemon pop-up cafe also took over a restaurant inside a PARCO building at Shibuya, Japan, offering similarly interesting dishes such as Pikachu saffron rice, Fireblast Mapo Tofu, and everything Pikachu.

grongloh@sph.com.sg