Year 2010

Politics

One Map Portal Launched

Wednesday, 31st March 2010

OneMap, Singapore's first intelligent map information system, was launched by Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmuga. OneMap aims to provides a reliable, timely and accurate location-based information to the public. One service offered allow parents to find out if their homes are within one or two kilometres of a certain primary school.


PAP town councils invested in defuncted bond

Thursday, 11th December 2008

Holland Town Council and Bukit Panjang Town Council, both People's Action Party (PAP) town councils, had invested $12 million in troubled in the Lehman Brothers-linked Minibonds and the Merrill Lynch Jubilee Series 3. The 2 PAP) town councils send out a detailed explanation of their investments to about 53,000 households under their care.


Jailed for wearing kangaroo in a judge's gown T-shirt

Thursday, 27th November 2008

20-year-old Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman, 33-year-old Activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa and 47-year-old John Tan Liang Joo, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) assistant secretary-general, were jailed for contempt of court. The action by the three was the worst form of insult when they branded Singapore's justice system as a 'kangaroo court' by wearing T-shirts with a kangaroo dressed in a judge's robe. 'Kangaroo court' is usually understood as being a court characterised by irregular procedures or sham proceedings. At the time of the incident, the three had been outside the Supreme Court building where a hearing had been taking place to determine damages that Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin had to pay. John Tan Liang Joo was sentenced to 15 days' jail. Isrizal Mohamed Isa and full-time national serviceman Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi Sariman, were each sentenced to seven days' jail. Justice Judith Prakash also ordered each of them to pay SGD $


WSJ fined for contempt of court

Tuesday, 25th November 2008

A Singapore court has found the Wall Street Journal in contempt of court for publishing three articles relating to Singapore's judiciary, and fined it SGD $25,000. According to court statement "The three publications, read individually or collectively, are in contempt of court because of the allegations by way of insinuations clearly possess the inherent tendency to interfere with administration of justice". In addition to the fine, Dow Jones Publishing Company (Asia) was ordered to pay $30,000 in legal costs to the Attorney-General, who had initiated the legal action.


Pay cut for top civil servants

Monday, 24th November 2008

Ministers and top civil servants will get a pay cut of up to 19 per cent next year. The Civil Service is also reducing the year-end bonus payment for this year. In 2009, the Prime Minister and President will see their annual salaries cut by 19 per cent. Ministers and Senior Permanent Secretaries will see an 18 per cent fall. The allowance for Members of Parliament will be cut by 16 per cent. Next year, according to his spokeperson, the Prime Minister will actually see his salary fall to pre-revision levels?


PM Lee asked Citizen not to Over react

Friday, 24th October 2008

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for a measured response to the ongoing global financial crisis, cautioning against an over-reaction that might cause more alarm and uncertainty. He urged Financial authorities to keep in close contact. PM Lee stressed that it is important to engage the international financial institutions, which have the resources and knowledge to help governments manage this crisis.


China Free trade pact signed

Wednesday, 22nd October 2008

The landmark free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Singapore, which is the Chinese government's first with an Asian country, will eliminate tariffs for 85 per cent of Singapore's exports to China from January 2009. An additional 10 per cent of exports, or 95 per cent of Singapore's exports to China, will be duty-free from 2010 onwards. The Singapore exports covered by the FTA, which include such items as instant coffee, aviation kerosene and ornamental fish, have a total trade value of over $18 billion. As part of the China-Singapore FTA , Singapore will lift tariffs for all Chinese exports to Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao signed the FTA in Beijing.


Singapore government to guarantee banks

Thursday, 16th October 2008

Singapore government sets aside SGD $150 billion to guarantee all Singdollar and foreign currency deposits of individual & non-bank customers in licensed banks, finance companies and credit co-operatives. For the guarantee to be called, two things have to happen: a bank has to fail, and at the same time its assets must be worth so little there is not even enough to repay its depositors. Singapore government has assured that its banking system continues to be sound and resilient, but it said precautionary action must be taken to avoid an erosion of the banks' deposit base.


PM Lee, MM Lee awarded 6-figure sums in libel case

Monday, 13th October 2008

The Singapore High Court has awarded six-figure sums to both Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, in their libel case against the Singapore Democratic Party and its leaders. The Judge came to the conclusion that a fair and reasonable figure for damages was S$500,000 for Mr Lee Hsien Loong and S$450,000 to his father for defamatory remarks which appeared in an SDP publication during the 2006 General Election. The Judge said the amount was commensurate with and proportionate to the gravity of the libel and the "egregious behaviour" of the defendants Dr. Chee Soon Juan and his sister, Chee Siok Chin.


Pedra Blanca belongs to Singapore

Friday, 23rd May 2008

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands has awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca island to Singapore, while the sovereignty of Middle Rocks has been awarded to Malaysia.  The UN court ruled by 12 votes to four that sovereignty belonged to the Republic of Singapore. The island is a granite rock that hosts a strategic lighthouse in the Singapore Straits that has guided ships for hundreds of years. The football field-sized island, known as Pulau Batu Puteh in Malaysia, is valued for its strategic position.  Pedra Blanca commands the entire eastern approach to the Straits of Singapore, throu


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