According to an article in Singapore'sStraits Times there are thirty two billionaires in Singapore and increase of five over the previous year.
They share a combined wealth of US$65 billion. What is revealing is the patriarchal nature of Singapore business, which remains very much a tradition within the country and its wealthiest families.
As this graphic shows, none of 32 billionaires are women and most of the money is, and has been, made in the financial sector. The majority of these super wealthy are not born and bred Singaporeans but have moved there (or their families have) to take advantage of the country's growth and prosperity.
But whether they are a healthy lot is quite another matter with only a quarter showing any interest in health and wellness. The drive to succeed I would suggest often overcomes any concerns of physical well-being. That said, as they have the money to buy the best medical services available, many of these folk enjoy a reasonable life span; the average age of these billionaires being sixty two.
The global trend shows a 7% growth in the number of billionaires and there are now 2,325 of them according to recent research from Wealth-X and the Swiss bank UBS.
12% of the world's billionaires are women and more than half are self-made. i.e. they did not inherit their fortunes. The old saying about 'money makes money' holds true as most enjoyed an average growth in their wealth of 4.4%.
Even though Singapore is enjoying good growth in the super-rich club the best place to make your fortune remains the USA with China coming a close second.
With Singapore's National Day almost upon us once again people are being asked by the Straits Times to identify themselves in some of the old archived photos they hold, or have been featured in past news stories.
The WE: Defining Stories exhibition will feature a series of iconic and historical photographs of everyday life as the image below shows.
A family taking a ride in their car in Pulau Tekong, Singapore, Jan 19, 1954. -- ST PHOTO: N J COTTERELL
August 9th may come and go each year in other parts of the world but it marks a special day for Singaporeans and they celebrate it in style.
The fireworks and fly-pasts are something to behold, especially if you can get a good vantage point from a top level HDB flat or condo.
Shizuka Bernstein gives what she calls a Geisha Facial - AP
It's winter in New Zealand and at this time of year the thrushes and blackbirds are showing increasing signs of desperation as they root amongst the litter debris and bark for grubs and other tasty morsels.
While I can understand their need I don't appreciate the spread of bird droppings that greets me each time I open our front door. Let's face it, our avian companions are far from being toilet trained and in the winter months leave their calling card with gay abandon.
One would think that this would be the end of the matter (pun intended), but apparently not. There are cultures where the bird droppings are harvested and put to the strangest of uses. While bird guano from islands such as Nauru has long been a source of agricultural fertiliser, the idea of smearing the stuff on one's face could only have been dreamed up by the Japanese.
Clients in the Shizuka New York beauty spa are paying $US 230 a time to have a 'Geisha facial', which consists of a paste of Asian nightingale excrement mixed with rice bran, liberally applied to the visage of the gullible.
Meanwhile in Singapore it is smearing of a different nature that is occupying the minds of government. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen is reported in the Straits Times as saying that "Online misinformation, rumours and smears are a 'threat' to Total Defence".
Misinformation is always one of the weapons of war and the ongoing claims and counter-claims from the Egyptian and Syrian conflicts are current examples of this reality.
However one has to wonder at the timing of this statement, coming as it does hard on the heels of the recent regulation of online media in the republic.
I have always believed that there is an inherent truth in the old saying "Stick and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me". Are we right to assume that the Minister is not inferring that any online criticism of Singapore and its policies be deemed a threat to national security?
Readers of this blog will know that I am a strong supporter of Singapore and its governance. One would hope that Ng Eng Hen's words are related to crisis management situations rather than a open ended generic statement - I suspect they are.
The article goes on to point out how Singaporeans pulled together both online and offline to combat the recent haze situation. The understandable rage expressed in social media about the arrogance of Indonesian plantation owners and farmers was understandable.
The venting of such frustrations in this manner is therapeutic and much more cost-effective than a Geisha facial. Although in the case of the haze it was the Indonesian government who ended up with the stuff on their face.
The splendour of the tropics is one of enduring memories for those of use who have lived in this zone. The flora and fauna and both abundant and vibrant. The same can be said for the inhabitants of the marine environment.
It is therefore no surprise that a "Lipstick" sea anemone has been discovered in Pulau Ubin's mudflats; and it could be a completely new species found nowhere else. The same can be said for the orange-clawed mangrove crab.
Perhaps my favourite though is the one that the Straits Times chose to feature, the zebra crab. Since 2010 the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey has documented some 30,000 specimens found in the mudflats, sea beds and on reefs.
The survey is a joint scientific effort between the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute and the National Parks Board (who for some peculiar branding reason have adopted the acronym NParks).
From lipstick to gloss is but a small transition, but in terms of the arts in Singapore, one gigantic step. In the past few hours the Singapore film 'Ilo Ilo' has won a prestigious Cannes prize for it's Singaporean director.
Anthony Chen is the first Singaporean to win the prestigious Camera d'Or prize and deservedly so according to the festival jury. It is tangible evidence of Singapore's cultural renaissance, whose origin can be traced back to former PM's Goh Chok Tong's time in office.
Two things caught my eye this morning. The first was the convincing win by the Workers Party in this Punggol East by-election. This was called by the PM after the former Speaker of the House was caught having an extramarital affair and had to resign his post and his electoral duties.
What is interesting about this result is that this is not what one might term a traditional "workers" electorate; it is largely middle class and populated with well educated voters. Not, if you will, the home of the "working classes". I use this term advisedly as the middle class works just as hard as anyone else and especially in Singapore where long hours are the norm.
The result was a resounding victory to the Workers Party who secured 10.8% more of the vote than their nearest rivals, the ruling PAP. Even the normally reserved Straits Times is wondering if this result is a tipping point in Singaporean politics?
Their Opinion Editor, Chua Mui Hoong, says "The WP is now firmly entrenched as a serious challenger to the PAP in the battle for votes".
The rather hackneyed term "tipping point" also applies to the ongoing campaign to stop the Bukit Brown cemetery being turned into an eight line highway. The 23 tropical acres are also very popular with nature lovers and joggers. It also happens to be the biggest Chinese cemetery outside of China.
As the Voice of America reports, "The ornate tombstones of many famous Singaporeans, some who are now immortalized in the city’s street names, reside at Bukit Brown Cemetery. But they might not rest in peace for too much longer."
It comes as no surprise that this plan has angered many Singaporeans. Not just those with relatives who will be exhumed should the plan go ahead, but also those who value the country's heritage; what remains of it in the rush to modernise.
Sociologist Terence Heng describes the cemetery as a kind of material anchor for the Chinese Diaspora.
But just like the legendary King Canute, stopping the tide of progress has proved to be an impossible task despite the vocal and social media-savvy opposition to the project. They have however managed to create a wonderful online tribute and record and an online petition is being widely circulated.
There are very few traditional cemeteries left in Singapore. I referred to the Yin Foh Kuan Cemetery in an earlier post but I wonder if its days are also numbered?
At first glance this photo seems to suggest that some of the large, fluffy clouds that congregate in tropical skies each afternoon, have fallen to earth. Or maybe a neighbour in one of the higher-level HDB's had put too much soap powder into their washing machine, with dire consequences for those who live below.
The truth of the Choa Chu Kang foam is not that far removed from the fiction. It would seem that 70 barrels of detergent-based concentrate were stored in a warehouse that caught fire. Three quarters of these barrels were damaged and when the fireman quenched the flames, and water from the hoses was added, instant foam was the result.
The soapy mix also contaminated a stretch of the nearby Pang Sua Canal from which water is taken for recycling and is treated for human consumption.
The event reminds me just how precious a commodity water is and how Singapore is a world leader in water conservation and recycling; NEWater being a case in point. The country has four operational NEWater factories, at Bedok, Kranji, Ulu Pandan and Changi producing potable water that is treated from sewage waste water and made fit to drink.
Singapore is now taking the eco-process one step further by having the water treatment plants powered by solar energy - a clever marriage of green technologies.
And if you ever doubted the importance of water and its conservation consider this article (and the infographic below) from FastCompany that highlights how important water security is to business.
"If there is one truly arresting sign that our relationship to water is about to shift in fundamental ways, it comes not from the world of science or climatology, not from United Nations officials or aid workers desperately trying to get water to people in developing countries. It comes from businesses like Michell Wool and other corporations with water-intensive businesses, such as Coca-Cola but also those whose water dependence is less obvious, like GE and IBM. They all have that same tickle of anxiety about water security. For business, water management is fast becoming a key strategic tool. Companies are starting to gather the kind of information that lets them measure not just their water use and their water costs but also their water efficiency, their water productivity, how much work they get from a gallon of water, how much revenue, how much profit."
One of the things that impresses me most is Singapore's commitment to research. Given the lack of mineral resources the Republic's emphasis has always been on developing and using people's skills and abilities. The economic success of Singapore bears witness to the success of this strategy.
One of the most recent scientific breakthroughs has been the discovery of a gene responsible for lung cancer. A collaborative team from the Genome Institute of Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Cancer Center made the breakthrough.
Make no mistake this promises to be a huge breakthrough in the fight against cancer and repays the country's faith in R&D.
Another piece of pleasing news is that Carrefour has followed the lead of NTUC and will no longer be selling Sharks Fin or its soup derivative in its supermarkets. It is to their discredit that Sheng Siong, Giant and Shop N Save have not followed suit and will continue to do so.
The reason behind pulling shark fins off the supermarket shelves is in itself interesting, as it is not a direct conservation effort on behalf of either chain. Rather it is a response to consumer pressure. According to the Straits Times:
Following calls for it to stop selling shark's fin products after one of its suppliers, Thern Da Seafood, put up an online post that said 'Screw the divers' in an announcement of a shark's fin product launch at FairPrice outlets.
The Facebook post drew much criticism and went viral on the social networking site and also microblog Twitter. Many who commented called for a boycott of both the supplier and FairPrice.
The offensive post from the supplier that drew consumer ire
Such is the power of the consumer in this age of social media!
I for one have enjoyed many a meal of sharks fin soup in the past put the realisation of how this practice is decimating the world's shark population means that I will happily forgo the pleasure from now on.
With Chinese New Year almost upon us (in a couple of week's time) I was delighted to read that the spirit of giving and caring remains alive and well in Singapore. A Singapore Buddhist Lodge is distributing more than $675,000 in hongbaos to 11,697 needy old folk and the disabled ahead of the Lunar New Year. What a wonderful gesture.
Mr Christopher Pereira has
created a new model of
the outgoing president
- Straits Times -
So now we have it, the result of the recount which shows that the new president Dr Tony Tan won by just 0.34% more of the vote than the second place-getter.
Considering that 2,153,014 votes were cast and the winning margin between the two leading candidates was a measly 7,269, both sides must be ruing the fact that 37,826 votes were spoiled.
To the victor the spoils as the old saying goes, so congratulations to President Tony Tan who can now look forward to a salary that is the highest paid for any elected official in the world - S$4,267,500.
It is also a victory for PAP party organisation who rallied their troops behind Tony Tan.
The government will be delighted with the outcome as they have 'their man' in the Presidential chair who can be counted upon to support their every move.
One has to feel sorry for the candidate who came second, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who has been the most popular choice but lacked the party infrastructure to get him past the finishing line.
No doubt he will remain the "President of Jurong" in the minds of many, irrespective of this election result. As he said in his final speech of the early morning "I hope this election will set Singaporeans thinking…".
I am sure that they already thinking; about the outcome of the next election in four years time.
At first I thought this news item on the BBC web site was a belated April 1st joke but unfortunately I was mistaken:
"A Singaporean soldier who was pictured with a maid carrying his backpack has identified himself to his commander and undergone counselling, officials say.
The soldier was "remorseful", defence official Col Desmond Tan said in a letter published in the Straits Times.
The recruit was undergoing physical training prior to basic training.
The image, which was first published on social media sites, has led to debate in Singapore on whether conscripts and their training are tough enough."
Apparently the SAF "has reminded all servicemen to be mindful of their conduct in public". This reporting is a tad ambiguous. Does this mean it is alright for the maid to carry your gear out of the public gaze? I suspect not.
However, the forum commentary has largely vilified the National Serviceman involved and rightly so.
One serviceman who did his training the hard way had this to say:
"It’s hard to believe that a grown man who is supposed to be serving the nation is making his female domestic help carry his backpack.”
“He’s a disgrace to the army and makes Singaporean men look bad”
Others have blamed such an attitude on spoiled 'little emperors' who have had their baggage carried by their domestic servants since birth.
Whatever the reason, the sort of attitude displayed by this conscript is enough to make even the most humble SAF recruit wince.
I am not surprised he is "sorry for the incident".
Right now the young man in question is probably completing his hundreth lap running around a sport ground, in full battle kit with his rifle held above his head - such was the discipline in my time.
Image by Reggie Wanvia FlickrWe braved the Boxing Days sales yesterday in our local town centre. For once they reminded me of the till queues experienced in the good old days of the Robinsons Sale; a Singapore institution.
The origins of 'Boxing Day' are believed to come from the practice of the British rich distributing their largesse to the luckless poor, thereby accentuating still further the class divisions of the times.
In large households the servants were expected to work on Xmas Day and were compensated by being allowed to take the next day off. Their masters gave them a box and based on their performance over the year, varying sums of money which were placed inside the box.
Am I alone in spotting the similarity of this Victorian custom with the annual performance bonus which features so largely in Singaporean working lives?
This year we have had the "Boxing Day" sales a week or two before the actual day as the New Zealand retailers desperately canvas for customers.
Unlike Singapore which has recorded respectable economic growth despite the recession, New Zealand has very narrowly avoided a 'double-dip recession', a term which may sound like a chocolate dipped NZ icecream but is in reality far less palatable.
The Singapore government's tight stewardship during the economic turbulence is to be commended and the results are for all to see.
As a trading nation far for its markets and with a strong dollar against our major trading partners, New Zealand has some major economic challenges. This has not be helped by the past excesses of the welfare state.
Despite the gloom and doom, sport remains high on the list of leisure pursuits in this country and with the traditional summer holidays upon us, many New Zealanders head to the beach.
Fishing is a very popular activity with local television channels featuring fishing shows and the customers purchasing cut-price rods and reels in the Boxing Day sales.
I have very fond memories of this sport with fly fishing for trout as well as rod fishing off the rocks for a catch from the sea featuring in my past. I have done neither in recent years but the thrill of the catch is still a fond memory.
Source: Straits Times
In Singapore the fishing experience is somewhat different and I must discount fishing for one's supper at a local prawn farm.
Travelling to a raised platform called a kelong is a preferred method and nowadays with few of the Singapore kelongs remaining, Singaporeans go across to Malaysia for their sport.
Boxing Day was not a good day for Singaporean fishermen with the news that three of them drowned and another two were missing returning by ferry from a kelong in Pulau Sibu, off Mersing.
As per usual, the problem was a grossly overloaded ferry which capsized in strong winds and a treacherous current near the Tanjung Leman jetty.
Ferry capsizes in South East Asia happen with monotonous regularity, especially in the Philippines and Indonesia were maritime rules are flouted in a grab for more profit.
Malaysian incidents are fewer but do occur and arresting the captain and boat operator post-event is not going to curb such negligence.
Is prawning fishing?
Meanwhile back on land, hedonistic spending ensures that the mall tills continue to jingle a happy tune.
Crowds are returning to the Singapore malls with Vivo City recording a million more visitors compared to the same period last year and their security staff remain vigilant for any kind of misdemeanor.
According to the Straits Times, pickpockets, shoplifters and even molesters enjoy the festive season. Here in Auckland the 'molesters' usually make the malls off limits but shoplifting has always been a problem.
Both countries though enjoy a good deal and in Singapore the newly Groupon-acquired site Deal.com crashed under the weight of bargain hunters.
Even then, the online option is probably safer than venturing out?
Boxing Day in our southern city of Christchurch was an eventful one with a series of earthquake after-shocks rattling customers and the shelves that were groaning under the weight of bargains.
Several months ago I wrote about the consequences of having casinos operating in Singapore.
In today's press comes the story of a business man who chalked up a staggering $26 million loss at Resorts World Sentosa over three days.
Apparently he was playing baccarat at $400,000 a hand and no wonder he lost $18 million in one day alone.
The media stories continue to demonstrate the negative social impact of casinos. Two days ago a tourist jailed for cheating $100,000 from Marina Bay Sands. A month before, a married gambler name Ong resorted to robbing homes to feed his habit.
Other headlines in the Straits Times have included in the past couple of months have included:
Casino cheat gets two years' jail
Casino chip thief asks judge to explain verdict
Overstayer runs out of luck at casino
No one should be surprised that such headlines exist. I will be up front and state that I am not anti-casino and enjoy visiting them from time to time, but it is a fact of life that wherever one is built, crime is sure to follow.
When the idea of the Integrated Resorts (casinos) were first touted there was a wave of public dissent in Singapore; to put it simply, the majority did not want them built in the country, knowing full well that the Chinese love to gamble and the impact this passion can have on families and businesses.
And so it has proved to be. The reported tourist boost needs to be measured against the longer term social consequences of such places and only time will tell if it was wise to build them in Singapore?
There is something almost biblical about the tablet - not the Moses variety, the one that Steve Jobs has been touting.
The Straits Times has a report about the launch of the iPad tablet in Wellington today and the frustration experienced by those in the grip of "iPad mania"
Why people bother queuing overnight for a piece of technology that will be superseded within the year by a later version, is beyond me?
Evidently Apple have gone to the extreme with the latest launch of not wanting to reveal in advance where people can buy an iPad. Surely a basic tenant of marketing is that a sale can only take place when one can discover the product?
The launch seems a classic case of hype over substance and I for one will not be beating a path to my local retailer to purchase an iPad.
Singaporeans are into the latest techno-fads as this video demonstrates.
Not that I am opposed to technology, far from it. Since returning from Singapore a couple of weeks ago we have been busy buying a house lot of electronic wizardy.
One such purchase has been a Samsung full HD television. I was surprised to discover that thanks to the recession, the prices for the latest sets here in New Zealand compare very favourably with those in Singapore.
Within three years New Zealand is moving completely to high definition and away from analgue television so it makes sense to get full HD now. Coupled with a simple UHF aerial, this new set will allow me to pick up all of the free to air channels. We made sure we did not purchase an "HD Ready" model which is not full HD and needs a decoder box.
When we left in 2006 there were fewer options but now the channels seem to have spawned several more. The content is a lot better than what was on offer on the Mediacorp free channels and of course the global news broadcasts are far more comprehensive and less controlled.
There is even a dedicated Chinese Channel which is Auckland based so Cantonese dramas and variety shows will be on the menu.
Prime Television is my personal pick and is Australian controlled. It has good sports coverage (albeit often delayed) and old favourites such as the Antiques Roadshow.
One free channels I will be giving a miss is the parliamentary channel which is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Watching the PAP MPs answering prepared questions on Singapore's Channel Five of an evening was enough to put me off for life and our parliamentarians are no better.
We are experiencing winter rains for the second day running.
These are not the torrential cloudbursts we got in Singapore. They were usually preceded by a loud thunderclap or two.
The Auckland version is a cold grey drizzle which comes in recurring flurries. By comparison, Singapore has been hit once again by flash floods which has submerged cars much to the chagrin of the condo oweners and insurance companies - see Jeremy Chan's photo in the Straits Times(right).
While I prefer warm rain to cold the latter can be a plus. The climate in New Zealand is not so conducive to tropical diseases, such as dengue.
The Straits Times reports that there has been a sharp spike in the number of dengue cases over the past few months.
There are many things that I have enjoyed during my time living here and over the next month I shall from time to time record those that have stood out for me.
Starting with the more mundane, I must sing the praises of a local dessert - Chendol (pronounced "chen do").
As with most things that are pleasurable, copious consumption of this treat would without doubt be ruinous to health. It is rich in both coconut and cane sugar.
The biliously green 'worms' which adorn the creation are green bean flour strips. It has shaved ice as a base and also contains cooked red beans. It is the pandan leaf that provides the distinctive under taste.
Some claim that this dish, which is also known as 'cendol', originated in Thailand which may well be true.
The second thing that has impressed me has been the willingness of many Singaporeans to support good causes. Every weekend there is a roster of school children in the malls or thronging Orchard Road collecting for some charity or other.
But charity does not remain at home and yesterday in the Straits Times there was a rare piece of very good photojournalism. This traced the story behind the recent death of a girl from a remote part of North eastern China who became an escort in Singapore. An escort is a title that covers a range of activities; anything from a plutonic social escort to a prostitute.
Whatever her motivation or vice, this young lady was found drowned in swimming pool of an expatriate and the Coroner's Court has still decide on the cause of death. Her family, who are poor peasant farmers, were devastated by the news and sold up their farm to get enough money to come to Singapore and collect her mortal remains and return them to China.
Their story touched the hearts of Singaporeans who rallied around and provided free funeral services as well as collecting a large sum of money to give to the family. The outcome being that the donations have enabled the parents to buy back their farm. Even though they have lost a daughter, at least they now have the wherewithal to provide for themselves through the land.
Such acts of generosity are not uncommon in Singapore.
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