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Tag: Singapore

  • Why ‘rampant baby trafficking’ is a growing concern in Indonesia, Singapore

    Why ‘rampant baby trafficking’ is a growing concern in Indonesia, Singapore

    By Aisyah Llewellyn

    Concerns about baby trafficking networks in Indonesia have resurfaced amid renewed scrutiny of cross-border adoptions involving Singapore, with experts warning that illegal syndicates continue to exploit economic vulnerability and gaps in enforcement.

    The issue has drawn particular attention in Singapore following allegations that infants were trafficked from Indonesia into the city state for adoption, prompting authorities on both sides of the border to review existing safeguards and cooperation mechanisms.

    Against that backdrop, Indonesian police in mid-January arrested nine people over a baby-trafficking operation, the latest in a series of cases that officials and activists say point to a broader, organised trade in infants across the archipelago.

    The suspects were detained in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, after authorities uncovered what they described as a well-organised syndicate that marketed babies through social media platforms.

    “The syndicate operated with a well-organised structure,” Medan police chief Jean Calvijn Simanjuntak said.

    Police alleged that two babies had been sold domestically for between US$530 and US$1,500, and said the case reflected methods increasingly seen in other trafficking investigations across Indonesia.

    The arrests follow earlier cases elsewhere in the country, including a major investigation in 2025 in West Java, where police arrested 13 suspects accused of procuring babies for illegal cross-border adoptions.

    Source :SCMP

  • Can Singapore’s cyber laws keep pace with speed of borderless online threats?

    Can Singapore’s cyber laws keep pace with speed of borderless online threats?

    By Kolette Lim

    Singapore’s approach to curbing foreign interference and cybercrime is being tested by the sheer speed and borderless nature of online threats, according to analysts who say the city state’s legal powers provide important safeguards but are unlikely to fully keep pace with a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

    They note that while swift takedown orders and targeted legislation have strengthened Singapore’s defences against misinformation and coordinated online harms, long-term resilience would hinge on complementary measures such as deeper regional cooperation and improved public digital literacy.

    Last month, the city state ordered TikTok and Meta to disable the Singapore-facing accounts of Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, a former Singapore citizen now living in Australia, after he posted content that authorities said incited hostility and spread false claims about the country’s Malay Muslim community.

    Zulfikar, who was detained in 2016 for promoting extremist ideology and allegedly contributing to the radicalisation of two Singaporeans, had shared new videos asserting that Malay Muslims were being pressured to assimilate into the Chinese community – claims the home affairs ministry said could inflame racial and religious tensions.

    The directives were made under the Online Criminal Harms Act (Ocha), which allows Singapore authorities to issue orders to remove criminal cyber content.

    Analysts told This Week in Asia that Singapore had a tailored and multilayered system to deal with misinformation and inflammatory online material, such as laws on foreign interference and fake news, which complemented Ocha.

    The city state’s Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica, allows it to order platforms and service providers to block content and accounts engaged in hostile information campaigns to prevent foreign actors from interfering with local politics.

    Source : SCMP

  • Atomic ambitions: Singapore eyes the nuclear option for a net-zero future

    Atomic ambitions: Singapore eyes the nuclear option for a net-zero future

    By Jean Iau in Singapore

    Land-scarce Singapore officially remains non-committal about building a nuclear reactor, but experts say all signs point to the city state turning to atomic energy to meet its net-zero goals by 2050.

    The discourse around civilian nuclear energy has picked up in recent years, with Singapore studying its deployment, developing expertise and partnering with established companies and nuclear nations such as the United States and France to prepare for a possible shift.

    The government, however, maintains that it is still weighing its options and says no final decision on nuclear has been made.

    In his budget speech in February, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pledged an additional S$5 billion (US$3.85 billion) for Singapore’s Future Energy Fund to develop clean energy infrastructure “be it in electricity imports, hydrogen or nuclear”.

    Asked whether the compact, 735 sq km (284 square-mile) nation should harness nuclear energy to meet its climate goals, Alvin Chew, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies who researches civilian nuclear energy, was unequivocal.

    “Absolutely. The only type of renewable that is viable in Singapore is solar power,” Chew said.

  • Man in Singapore offers US$3,848, apology after molesting woman while exiting lift with wife

    Man in Singapore offers US$3,848, apology after molesting woman while exiting lift with wife

    A man in Singapore offered a woman S$5,000 (US$3,848) and a public apology after he was confronted with molesting her buttocks as he exited a lift with his wife.

    Chinese national Hu Guisheng, 39, was jailed for six days upon pleading guilty on Wednesday to one charge of outrage of modesty in the March 8 incident.

    The social visit pass holder was in a lift at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) – an extravagant tourist attraction – with his wife and friends when he targeted the woman.

    Hu’s group was drinking at club Ce La Vi at MBS, where he was staying. The guests left the venue at 1.34am, with surveillance footage showing Hu holding his wife’s hand as they entered the lift with others.

    It is not known if he was intoxicated at the time. The victim was not identified due to a gag order, according to local media reports.

    Hu waited for others to exit the lift, with the victim holding the door, before he turned to ogle her buttocks and molested her as he left.

  • Singapore’s drug makers may be shielded from US pharmaceutical tariffs: Deputy PM Gan

    Singapore’s drug makers may be shielded from US pharmaceutical tariffs: Deputy PM Gan

    New US levies on pharmaceuticals may not have an “immediate impact” on Singapore’s drug makers, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong has said, adding the city state may pursue a ceiling on tariff rates similar to deals that Washington has with other countries.

    Gan, who is also minister for trade and industry, told reporters on Saturday that most pharmaceutical companies in Singapore had built capacity in the US or had plans to do so. That could allow them to be exempted from the coming US pharmaceutical tariffs, and the companies were also seeking clarity on whether they would qualify for an exclusion, he said.

    Singapore was in discussions with the US administration over semiconductors as well, Gan said, while declining to elaborate on the talks because they were confidential.

    “The model that the US has with Korea, Japan as well as the EU is a precedence that can be used as a reference,” Gan said in response to a question on tariff caps. “Whether or not it will be exactly the same, that’s something that’s part and parcel of the discussions and negotiations between the US and Singapore.”

    Singapore had initially avoided the harshest tariffs, receiving a 10 per cent baseline duty, while some Southeast Asian nations faced levies as high as 40 per cent. Officials have warned, however, that global economic turmoil would have consequences for the hub’s trade-reliant economy, and pharmaceutical supply chains have featured prominently in trade talks with Washington.

    The full impact of the threatened tariffs on pharmaceuticals is unclear, given the lack of details available from the White House and indications from Trump’s social media posts that companies planning US manufacturing may be exempt.

  • Asean’s failure to meet Myanmar junta over election shows its ‘limited leverage’

    Asean’s failure to meet Myanmar junta over election shows its ‘limited leverage’

    By Sam Beltran

    Myanmar and Asean leaders are locked in a “diplomatic impasse” with the military junta determined to prevent the bloc from interfering with its plans for a general election later this year, according to observers.

    Four foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last week postponed their planned trip to Myanmar to discuss the election, which is set to begin in December, and other matters.

    The diplomats from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were originally scheduled to fly to Myanmar last Friday to hold talks with the junta.

    However, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, the head of the delegation, on Thursday said the trip had been postponed to early October but did not share further details, Nikkei Asia reported. He did not specify a reason for the postponement.

    Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is not keen to listen to Asean regarding the election after he has gained support for the polls from China and India, according to a report by The Irrawaddy news website, citing unnamed sources. Min Aung Hlaing likely decided that it was not necessary to appease the Asean delegation, the report said.

    Mohamad initially confirmed the trip in August, saying he would lead an Asean delegation to assess the situation in Myanmar after the junta-led government ended a state of emergency. He said Myanmar must comply with the commitments it made with Asean through a peace plan adopted by the bloc in 2021 to deal with the country’s humanitarian and political crisis.

    Source : SCMP

  • ‘Zero disruptions’ unrealistic, but Singapore vows stronger rail reliability

    ‘Zero disruptions’ unrealistic, but Singapore vows stronger rail reliability

    Singapore’s acting transport minister Jeffrey Siow has told parliament that while “zero disruptions” across the city state’s rail network is an unrealistic expectation, the government is boosting efforts to strengthen rail reliability and provide better support for commuters when incidents occur.

    “Train delays happen in every system, in every city,” Siow said during a parliamentary sitting on Monday.

    “Our phones, our computers have to be restarted every now and then. Cars will break down too. So will our trains. But we aim to absolutely minimise the number of such incidents due to the inconvenience to commuters,” he said, adding that authorities would “work doubly hard to do so”.

    His comments, delivered in a combined response to 18 questions from lawmakers, followed a string of service faults across several MRT and LRT lines in recent months, ranging from power outages and stalled trains to a major signal fault that suspended the Thomson-East Coast Line for two hours last week.

    In response to those incidents, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operators SMRT and SBS Transit have set up a rail reliability task force aimed at identifying systemic weaknesses and strengthening the network’s resilience.

    The task force, announced by Siow on Friday, is chaired by LTA chief executive Ng Lang and includes senior leadership from the two transport operators.

  • Singapore may ‘recognise a Palestinian state’, but only under certain conditions

    Singapore may ‘recognise a Palestinian state’, but only under certain conditions

    Singapore will reconsider its position on recognising a Palestinian state if the situation continues to deteriorate, or if Israel takes further steps to extinguish a two-state solution, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has said.

    Singapore has always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

    “We will recognise the State of Palestine when it has an effective government that accepts Israel’s right to exist and categorically renounces terrorism,” Balakrishnan said in his ministerial statement on Monday.

    This comes as Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, prompting a furious response from Israel.

    The decision by four nations from the West aligned them with more than 140 other countries also backing the Palestinians’ aspiration to forge an independent homeland from the occupied territories.

    Source : SCMP

  • Singapore beyond 60: Lawrence Wong vows to keep country ‘exceptional’

    Singapore beyond 60: Lawrence Wong vows to keep country ‘exceptional’

    By Jean Iau

    Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong mapped out his vision for the city state on Sunday in his first National Day Rally since his ruling party won the general election in May, promising to expand on a cross-border economic initiative and inject new life to northern towns.

    Noting that the country was at a critical juncture after marking its 60th year of independence on August 9, Wong outlined long-term policy plans to “take charge of our own destiny” in an era of global uncertainty with international trust waning, nations prioritising self-interest and a United States in retreat.

    “We are not going to sit back and resign ourselves to being mere bystanders in a world shaped by others,” Wong said, addressing his Cabinet colleagues and members of the establishment and grass roots in the Singapore equivalent of a state of the union address.

    “We take pride in whatever we do, and strive to be the best possible versions of ourselves [ …] That’s how we’ve achieved exceptional performance. That’s how we will continue to stay exceptional – as a people and a country,” Wong added.

    Independent political observer Felix Tan called Wong’s rally a “rousing” speech that sought to “make everybody feel that [ …] they all belong and they can contribute in some way or other”.

    Source : SCMP

  • Singapore’s richest man dies at 98: Goh Cheng Liang’s journey to Nippon Paint tycoon

    Singapore’s richest man dies at 98: Goh Cheng Liang’s journey to Nippon Paint tycoon

    By Jean Iau

    Towards the end of his life, Goh Cheng Liang was known as the richest Singaporean, owning some of the world’s most luxurious superyachts, but his humble beginnings left an indelible mark on the elusive paint tycoon and spurred his philanthropic efforts. He died on Tuesday at the age of 98.

    Goh, the founder of Wuthelam Group which owns close to a 60 per cent stake in Nippon Paint Holdings, and – according to Forbes – had an estimated net worth of US$13 billion (S$16.7 billion), died with family members by his side, Wuthelam said in a release.

    Born in Singapore in 1927, Goh spent the first 12 years of his life in a rented room of a River Valley shophouse with his parents, three sisters and a brother.