Year 2001

City Harvest Church Opened In Jurong

Saturday, 15th December 2001

The building occupies almost 38,000 sq ft (3,500 m2) on a 30-year leasehold land and its main hall seats up to 2,300 attendees and has two 250-seat halls. The church building is located at Jurong West Street 91. Its construction was part of a trend of larger churches in Singapore to go for "clean lines, stainless steel, titanium facades" for their architecture in place of "stained glass and steeples" in an effort modernise their religious services.


Members of Jemaah Islamiyah arrested

Sunday, 9th December 2001

Members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) arrested for bomb plot. JI was formally founded on 1 January 1993 by JI leaders, Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar while hiding in Malaysia from the persecution of the Suharto Government. After the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, both men returned to Indonesia. Where it gained a terrorist edge when one of its founders, the late Abdullah Sungkar, established contact with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.


Born to Read, Read to Bond project launched

Tuesday, 27th November 2001

The Born to Read, Read to Bond programme aims to promote lifelong learning and deepen family ties by increasing parent-child bonding. The programme, introduced by the National Library Board is designed for children from new borns up to three years of age.


World Toilet Summit

Monday, 19th November 2001

The Inaugural World Toilet Summit 2001 was held from 19 - 21 November 2001 at the Singapore Expo. Hosted by the Restrooms Association of Singapore, the purpose of the summit was to promote an in-depth global discussion on the issue of toilets. The idea for the summit originated from the Asia Pacific Symposium organised by the Japan Toilet Association since the year 1985.


PAP Won 2001 General Election

Saturday, 3rd November 2001

Singapore’s incumbent PAP (People’s Action Party) won the 2001 General Election. It was the 9th General Election in Singapore since independence.


Singapore Economy in Recession

Sunday, 28th October 2001

The economic recession is a long and deep one that will last at least six to nine months, but may possibly stretch over 18 to 24 months, Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong warned last night at an election rally in Jurong.  About 89,900 people were jobless, according to the Manpower Ministry (MOM) labour estimates for the fourth quarter of 2001. The total number of workers retrenched in 2001 was 25,600, more than double the 11,624 laid off in 2000. Six in 10 of the retrenched workers came from the goods-producing industries, while the rest were from the services-producing industries. Singapore's unemployment rate rose to 4.7 per cent last December, the highest in 15 years. MOM said that the overall unemployment rate exceeded the 4.4 per cent recorded in December 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.


RSAF Trainer Jet Crashed In Western Australia

Tuesday, 2nd October 2001

A trainee pilot ejects from plane a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) his jet trainer jet during a training flight in Western Australia. The plane, a SIAI-Marchetti S.211, encountered a technical problems. The pilot, based in Pearce (Western Australia), was not injured. According to Australian media (ABC news), it was reported that two Singapore SIAI-Marchetti S.211 collided at RAAF Pearce in the afternoon.


Turf City Management Take Over Old Turf Club

Saturday, 1st September 2001

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) a 10-year lease of the 56-ha old Bukit Timah Turf Club state land for $14.04 million (from 1 September 2001 to 31 August 2011) to Turf City Management, a consortium led by Singapore Agro Agricultural (SAA). In turn, they offered their sub-tenants a 3-years lease with an option to renew for up to nine years. The Turf City mall occupies 760,000 sq ft and houses more than 160 tenants, ranging from Giant hypermarket to car dealerships and restaurants.


New Singapore Shares Scheme announced

Sunday, 19th August 2001

The New Singapore Shares is a scheme announced by Goh Chok Tong, the then Prime Minister of Singapore, during the National Day Rally 2001. It is part of a new social compact the government is trying to forge with Singaporeans. Goh has called for a new social compact during the National Day Rally 2001 highlighting three key principles. The new social compact refers to a new set of principles for different parts of the society, both the government and the people, to work together for the common good of the country. The three key principles outlined include: (1) to provide heavy subsidy for housing, education and health care making them affordable to all; (2) to distribute some of the Budget surpluses back to its people during good performing years through asset-enhancement schemes and rebates; and (3) to pay specific attention to the needs of the lower-income group.  The total cost of the New Singapore Shares scheme is S$2.7 billion. This scheme is reported to benefit 2.1 million


Elephant attacks his keeper at Singapore zoo

Tuesday, 31st July 2001

Gopal Krishnan, an elephant keeper at the Singapore Zoological Gardens, was in a Singapore hospital Tuesday after being gored by an elephant named Chawang he had cared for over 18 years at the city-state's zoo. Gopal Krishnan is in stable condition with fractured ribs and a punctured lung after Chawang the elephant turned on him during an afternoon walk Friday, lifted him with his trunk and gored him with his tusks. Other elephant handlers were surprised by the sudden attack. Krishnan and Chawang have been described as good friends. Krishnan, who has been working with Chawang the Elephant since he was a calf.


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