Ways To Succeed And Self-Motivate In Real Estate Industry

Ways To Succeed And Self-Motivate In Real Estate Industry

Success in the real estate industry depends upon your love for the job, determination and the skills you acquire on the job. There will be many new experiences and if you try and gain knowledge from each experience, you can always utilize it to improve yourself with respect to your career. A successful career is one where the person is always motivated, determined and has learnt to acquire all the skills necessary for the particular job.

In the real estate market, success can come because of many things. This can include luck or your own hard work. Although the real estate industry is well-paying and offers flexible working hours, the initial years will be hard. It is during that time when a person can really establish himself in the industry and prove that he is on the way to succeed. The initial working years will cause you to give in a large number of extra working hours along with set-backs. Accepting set-backs gracefully, learning from the experience and moving on are one of the biggest ways to succeed both in real estate and in life.

If you are able to put in your efforts and show that you are capable of doing what it takes to succeed, success will definitely come your way. However, you will have to find ways to keep motivating yourself so that you do not lose interest in the job. It is very important that a real estate agent be fresh, full of energy and enthusiasm for each and every sale. The real estate agent must also be alert and vigilant for signs of new deals on the market. It is important for you to keep a lookout for special deals or houses that have been on sale for too long so that you can make the best out of the deal. Also venture around town and suburbs to find places that others might not have noticed before. Look around and always keep in touch with the market.
An important key to success in real estate careers is having good communication skills. Building and maintaining relationships is an important aspect of the job. As a real estate agent, you will be meeting new people and clients on a daily basis. Unless a client has full trust in you, they will not purchase the house. Therefore it is very important to appear convincing, full of life and energy and also be able to put forward your ideas clearly. A patient ear can also benefit you during sales. No client wants an agent who is indifferent and not at all interested in their interests and needs. so it is important that you provide your client with whatever they require and cater to their needs.

Success comes with constant motivation and the determination to get ahead. Think of new and innovative ideas to keep you interested in the job. Read and find out as much as you can about the industry so that you are familiar with every nook and cranny of your job. Build relationships and most important maintain them! Always remember that a little can go a very long way.

Mindy Yong
(+65)91002985
mindy@mindyyong.com
http://www.hotvictory.com

10 Singapore hotels receive ASEAN Green Hotel awards - Singapore

10 Singapore hotels receive ASEAN Green Hotel awards - Singapore

By Valarie Tan,

  
SINGAPORE: Ten hotels in Singapore have received the thumbs-up for being green. They were recently given the ASEAN Green Hotel awards by the ASEAN Tourism Forum.

The inaugural awards recognises the ten most environmentally friendly hotels in each ASEAN country.

The winners from Singapore are Grand Hyatt, Allson Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, The Regent, Sheraton Towers Singapore, Royal Plaza on Scotts, Furama City Centre, Intercontinental Singapore, Conrad Centennial and Rasa Sentosa Resort.

When Sheraton Towers Singapore first asked guests to cut down on the use of towels and linen to save the environment, it did not go down well.

Steven Long, general manager of Sheraton Towers, said: “We faced many challenges as customers misunderstood the intent of the programme and thought that the hotel was not doing its job by cleaning the rooms and changing the linen.”

But that has changed in recent years.

One-in-five guests, mostly Europeans and Americans, now use the ‘Care for the Environment’ card provided by the hotel which instructs housekeepers to only tidy the bed and not change the sheets.

That saves the hotel about S$2,000 per month on washing linen.

“The savings on washing extra linen go to saving water… a responsible citizen has a responsibility to take care of the environment as a whole,” said Mr Long.

Over 2,000kg of paper products and glass are also recycled every month.

The hotel spent S$80,000 to have pipes specially installed in 2007 to channel Newater into the laundry rooms and the cooling tower for all the air conditioners in the hotel.

Besides being cleaner, the hotel said the price of Newater is only a third of the price of domestic water which is why it has plans to pipe Newater into all the bathrooms in the future.

Together with nine other hotels in Singapore, Sheraton Towers was certified ‘green’ based on 11 criteria by the ASEAN Tourism Standards for Green Hotels.

These include the use of green products, energy and water efficiency, air quality control and waste management.
- CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Getting a divorce without losing her home - Singapore

Getting a divorce without losing her home  - Singapore

Recent CPF changes allow for a more eqitable distribution of the matrimonial home and let the ex-wife keep a roof over her head

By Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent 
DIVORCING couples come under even greater emotional strain when they try to sort out who gets what.
Last October, measures were put in place that tilt the balance towards divorced women who would otherwise get little from the sale of the matrimonial home - or could even lose the roof over their heads.

Under the revised Central Provident Fund (CPF) rules, retirement funds will be distributed more equitably when coupples split their matrimonial property.

In a nutshell, the changes allow CPF assets such as property or unit trusts, or sale proceeds from these assets, to be transferred immediately to the ex-spouse’s account.

Most Singaporeans use CPF monies to buy the matrimonial home. In some cases, the husband is more willing to transfer it to his former wife, says lawyer Amolat Singh of Amolat Singh & Partners, especially if she can show she’s entitled to a big share.
CPF rules
The old system

The property could not be transferred to the wife until and unless all the monies used by her ex-husband for the mortgage had been fully reimbursed into his CPF account, together with the accrued interest.

Often, the parties did not have the funds to do so, so they were left with no choice but to sell the flat.

This could place them in financial straits, especially if they’d paid a high price for the home. Also, the spouse with the kids would probably have to find alternative accommodation.

This was what happened to Madam Shirley Chong (not her real name), who downgraded to a three-room flat from a four-roomer. Her two kids had to move to a new school as well.

The court had ruled that the flat should go to her, but she did not have the money to make the reimbursement, so the transfer could not take place. The flat was sold and a charge placed on her ex-husband’s account.

He is not yet 55 years old and it remains to be seen whether she will get her money when he reaches that age, as a mandatory Minimum Sum has to be retained in his CPF account.
The new system

The property can be transferred immediately from one spouse to the other even if the funds have not been fully reimbursed into the CPF account.

A charge is placed on the account so as to secure the refund of the CPF monies in the event of a sale.

If the wife sells the property, she must make a reimbursement equivalent to the total amount of the CPF monies used by her ex-husband, into her own CPF account.

This ensures that there is no leakage of funds from the CPF system.

The refund is just postponed until there is a sale, and the refund or reimbursement is made into her own account.

Madam Chong would be far better off under the new rules as the court could order an immediate transfer of the flat to her with or without a reimbursement.

Here are three real-life cases where divorced couples have benefited from the new rules.
Couples who have benefited
Case 1

MARRIED for six years, Mr and Mrs Victor Lee (not their real names) bought a three-room HDB flat now worth $200,000 on the resale market. He owed her $9,000 for maintenance in arrears.

Finally, they divided the flat in such a way that she took over his share by paying $60,000 into his CPF account. This represented the CPF monies he had withdrawn to buy the flat, plus accrued interest, less the debt of $9,000.

Said Ms Lie Chin Chin, the managing director of law firm Characterist: ‘Without the revised ruling, the $9,000 would have remained an outstanding debt. This ruling permits a partial refund of CPF monies into the ex-husband’s account, so Mrs Lee managed to offset the debt with the sum that was supposed to be refunded into his CPF account.’

When she sells the flat, however, she is required to refund any CPF monies she used for the property, plus the sum of $9,000, into her CPF account.

Case 2

AFTER 10 years of marriage, Mr and Mrs David Lim (not their real names) called it quits. At the point of divorce, she had no income and was thus unable to secure a housing loan. She had custody of a child and they needed a roof over their heads.

The Lims agreed that he would transfer his share in their five-room flat worth $400,000 to her without making any refunds into his CPF account. She managed to take over the flat in her sole name and continued living there with her child.

Without the revised CPF ruling, the division of the matrimonial flat could have posed a financial burden. The flat would have had to be sold or she would have had to take it over.

If the flat had been sold, most of the proceeds would have been refunded into his CPF account. There would have been little cash left over to be distributed. She would not have had the funds to buy another flat.

If she had taken over the flat, she would have had to get a loan so she could refund the monies into his CPF account. But she had no income, so her chances of getting a loan would have been practically non-existent.
Case 3

WHEN Mr and Mrs Joseph Ang (not their real names) bought their matrimonial home for $550,000 more than 10 years ago, they put in equal contributions using CPF monies.

The property is now worth $1.8 million. She paid for the renovation costs of $450,000.

They agreed to divide the house 80:20 in her favour. This meant he should receive $360,000.

But the sum due to be refunded into his CPF account was about $420,000 as the refund had to include the accrued interest on the CPF monies used. They agreed that she would take over his share by paying only $360,000 into his account.
Court order needed

Lawyers point out that the new CPF rules do not automatically apply in all divorce cases. A court order must first be made.

The onus is on the court to explicitly state that one spouse can transfer his or her share of the property to the other without having to refund the monies used. Only then can the transfer take place.

If the court does not make such an order, and it is purely the couple’s decision to buy over each other’s share of the property, the old rules still apply. The transaction must be done at fair market value and the monies must go back to the respective CPF accounts.

Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Foreign workers to be housed next to cemetery - Singapore

Foreign workers to be housed next to cemetery  - Singapore

Two dormitory blocks for 12,000 workers coming up less than 20m from Lim Chu Kang cemetery

By Nur Dianah Suhaimi 
SELF-CONTAINED, the two Lim Chu Kang dormitories will have their own gymnasium, reading rooms, outdoor games courts, mini-mart, canteen and even a barber shop. There are about 500,000 foreign workers in Singapore and more are expected here this year to meet the demand in the construction sector. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
 
THEIR neighbour is a sprawling cemetery with thousands of graves.
Not quite an ideal place to live in, you say?

But in six months’ time, about 12,000 foreign workers will have to live with that reality.

They will be housed in two blocks of dormitories less than 20m from the Muslim cemetery in Lim Chu Kang. The dormitories will be managed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Located at the far end of the cluster of Muslim, Christian and Chinese cemeteries, the dormitories are isolated. The nearest housing estate and shops are in Jurong West, at least 5km away.

At night, the cemetery area is pitch dark as there are no lamps around. As the last few cemetery visitors leave, the place becomes eerily quiet, lending it a spooky feel.

When told of the dormitories, one migrants’ welfare group described the location as ’social isolation’, while half of some 20 foreign workers polled by The Sunday Times said they would rather not live so near a cemetery.

There are currently 30 commercially run dormitories for foreign workers, with another three under construction, including the two in Lim Chu Kang.

Many are tucked away in the corners of Singapore and found within industrial estates in areas like Jurong, Boon Lay and Woodlands.

Due to the lack of amenities in the area, the two Lim Chu Kang dormitories, called Murai One and Murai Two, will be self-contained, said the BCA.

The dormitories will have their own gymnasium, reading rooms, outdoor games courts, mini-mart, canteen and even a barber shop.

There are about 500,000 foreign workers in Singapore and more are due to arrive this year to meet the demands of the construction boom.

The influx has resulted in complaints from Singaporeans who feel that their estates are being ‘invaded’.

MPs have been fielding complaints from residents that foreign workers drink, litter and even urinate at the void decks.

The Straits Times Forum page regularly receives similar complaints from readers.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority and BCA told The Sunday Times that a key consideration when choosing dormitory sites is their location.

Said BCA spokesman Leong Ee Leng: ‘Residents may not be tolerant of such facilities being located too near their homes. Generally, workers’ dormitories are located away from existing residential areas.’

Dormitories are also not built too near polluted industrial areas which may pose a safety hazard to the foreign workers.

When The Sunday Times asked 20 foreign workers from India, Bangladesh and China if they would have any qualms about living beside the cemetery, half were reluctant because of superstitions associated with such a site.

Said a 27-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker: ‘I don’t think I will be able to sleep at night.’

Mr J. Huang, 40, a construction worker from China, said it was bad luck and spooky to live beside a cemetery.

The other 10 said they would not mind but would rather live elsewhere if given a choice.

A recent survey by the Singapore Contractors Association generated different results.

When it got wind of the Murai projects, the association surveyed 1,000 workers of various nationalities to find out if they minded living near the cemetery. Around 95 per cent said they had no issues with this.

Said the association’s dormitory manager Uonos Mohamed: ‘The workers don’t care what is outside as long as the living quarters are comfortable and transportation to work is available.’

Mr Jolovan Wham, who runs the migrants’ welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, felt that housing foreign workers at the cemetery ‘is as good as social isolation’.

‘Even if the workers are not superstitious, it sends them a clear signal on where their social position is in our country,’ he said.

Mr John Gee, president of Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy group for migrant workers, said foreign workers should not be left to live ‘in the wilderness’.

‘They need some place where they can have access to shops nearby and are free to step out any time.’

Last year, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that housing workers on Semakau Island or Pulau Ubin was out of the question as ‘foreign workers need to have easy access to amenities’.

However, cinema manager Ng Hui Ying felt that even if the foreign workers are housed in a relatively remote place, they are still too close for comfort.

Ms Ng, 32, has seen foreign workers littering, sleeping and urinating at her void deck in Jurong West.

‘These workers are mobile and can visit the nearby housing estates if they want,’ she said.

Said a 22-year-old construction worker from India: ‘I don’t think Singaporeans like us very much. They need foreign workers to build their flats but expect us to be invisible.’
Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Banks woo cash-rich en bloc residents - Singapore

Banks woo cash-rich en bloc residents  - Singapore

Talks held at Farrer Court to promote financial services to residents after estate’s $1.34 billion collective sale
By Shuli Sudderuddin 
CITIBANK STAFF posted in the void decks of Farrer Court blocks invited residents to finance-related talks after the estate was bought by developer CapitaLand. At the talk, the Citibank officers spoke about financial management services for affluent customers. IPP Financial Advisers also held a talk there. — ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
 
WHERE there is money, businesses will pursue it. So it is not surprising that at least two financial players, Citibank and IPP Financial Advisers, have held talks at Farrer Court to woo residents with their services.
Residents netted $2.15 million on average after the estate had a collective sale in June last year. The 618-unit estate in Farrer Road was bought by developer CapitaLand for a record $1.34 billion. The original owners paid a little over $100,000 for their units 31 years ago.

The wooing of the Farrer Court community began four months ago with the unusual sight of Citibank officers posted in the void decks. They invited residents to two finance-related talks, complete with a free buffet dinner, in the estate’s function room.

When The Sunday Times attended one talk last Wednesday evening, we saw bank staff handing out booklets to more than 150 residents. The staff spoke about financial management and Citigold services targeting more affluent customers.

Citibank said such talks were held on an ongoing basis in private residences, including The Berth by The Cove in Sentosa Cove in January.

Many residents liked what they saw. As Mr Aeden Tang, 49, a bank officer, said: ‘Other banks didn’t take the trouble to reach out to us, unlike Citibank.’

Another resident, a 56-year-old retiree who wanted to be known only as Madam Tan, agreed: ‘It’s a win-win situation because many residents are old and can’t shop around for a good bank.’

Independent financial adviser IPP also held a talk there yesterday which drew about 25 people.

Residents said Citibank’s more aggressive tactics worked better than IPP’s. The latter had put up a banner to advertise its talk.

Other banks such as Standard Chartered have also reached out to those living in private residences.

None of them or IPP wanted to reveal how much business the talks had generated. OCBC, however, stopped such roadshows two years ago as it felt that they encroached on residents’ privacy.

Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari Escape makes headlines overseas

Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari Escape makes headlines overseas 

By Mavis Toh 
THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE’S first online story on the escape, published on Friday.
 
FROM Angola to the United States, newspapers around the world have reported on the escape of and search for Singapore’s most wanted man.
Three days after Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari disappeared from the Whitley Road Detention Centre, major newspapers around the world were still filing reports on the incident.

Malaysia and Indonesia broke the news on Thursday, a day after his escape.

The Star, Malaysia’s leading English tabloid, reported that the Malaysian police were on the alert and had stepped up checkpoint patrols. Pictures of the fugitive were also distributed to various enforcement agencies.

Some reports were speculative. Yesterday, The Star said that Mas Selamat was believed to have fled to Indonesia via a 45-minute speedboat ride.

The Jakarta Post, an influential English-language Indonesian paper, reported that checks had been tightened at the immigration and Customs points in Batam island, amid speculation that it would be his entry point into the country.

It also reported Batam’s police chief as saying that the short distance to Singapore and the fugitive’s knowledge of the island would make it easier for him to slip in illegally.

In countries farther away, first reports kept to the facts.

Their antennae were raised, however, when Interpol issued a worldwide alert on Mas Selamat on Friday, stating that he posed a threat to the security of citizens worldwide.

More foreign newspapers have begun running reports on the terrorist’s escape.

USA Today, The China Post, The Bangkok Post and The Guardian zoomed in on the Singapore Government’s apology in Parliament for the security lapse which led to the escape.

They described Singapore as a small and densely populated law-and-order city state where ’security breaches are virtually unheard of’.

In Africa, the Angola Press painted a scene of emergency here, with hundreds of police officers and military personnel fanning out to conduct searches.

Many newspapers, including the Khaleej Times, Dubai’s English daily, also described Singapore as a ’staunch US ally’ in the global war on terror.
Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Putting the WOW into a masterplan - Singapore

Putting the WOW into a masterplan  - Singapore

A good urban plan must have impact and give a sense of excitement, says Jeffrey Ho, executive vice-president of home-grown Surbana Urban Planning Group, which has won global planning awards

By Jessica Cheam 
SOME KEY ASPECTS OF AN ICONIC PLAN are attractiveness, convenience and efficiency, says Mr Ho, who finds great job satisfaction from interacting with his clients, especially those who are enlightened and open to new ideas.
 
HOME-GROWN Surbana International Consultants, which used to be part of the Housing Board (HDB), is well-known for winning architecture awards for its work in designing and building Singapore’s public homes.
But elsewhere in the global arena, Surbana has also carved out a name for itself. It has fought off competition from international firms to win awards and clinch contracts to create masterplans for various projects, and even whole cities.

Surbana’s urban planning arm, Surbana Urban Planning Group, has traversed far and wide to draw masterplans for diverse locations including China, the Middle East, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Cambodia.

Some of Surbana’s masterplans to have won international awards include those for Tianjin Port Island in China, the Van Chuong New Urban Area in Vietnam and Greater Doha in Qatar.
Q What defines masterplanning and what do you consider when planning a new town or project?

Follow your intuition

‘I find urban planning quite intuitive. Once you understand the place, you have a knack for knowing what goes where. There is a pattern and formula you can apply, but you need to adapt it to the local context… There is no one fixed approach.’
MR HO, on the work of an urban planner
A A masterplan is actually a physical plan that defines land uses in a specified area.

More specifically, in our context, it is called urban planning.

This requires a multi-disciplinary group of professionals to put together plans, perspectives, scale models, computer- generated animation and written reports.

There are many aspects of a site that urban planners need to understand before any masterplan can be developed. These aspects are related to existing conditions such as: land uses, transport, landscape, community values and traditions, climatic conditions, constraints, environmental quality, vibrancy and the general feel of the place as a whole.
Q What does the work of urban planners entail?

A A masterplan can take three months to a year to complete.

We develop the plan through site visits and meetings with the relevant authorities, local businessmen, academics, fellow consultants and stakeholders. We also review documents, statistical reports and so on.

We go beyond being a tourist in the country that we are planning for. We have to live and breathe the country.

Sometimes, I find urban planning quite intuitive. Once you understand the place, you have a knack for knowing what goes where.

There is a pattern and formula you can apply, but you need to adapt it to the local context. For urban planning, there is no one fixed approach.
Q What challenges do you face and how do you tackle these issues?

A Sometimes being an Asian firm is a disadvantage as we are competing with very established European firms. But this does not deter us. Rather, it sharpens our professional and negotiation skills.

We started small but we have tried as much as possible to get international exposure. Slowly, after doing more projects and getting a proven track record, we have started to gain a reputation. It’s a very steep learning curve but we are getting there.

Also, Singapore has a tight labour market, which makes it hard to find good and committed people - and cost is high.
Q How different is it working overseas?

A Language can sometimes be a big problem in places such as Vietnam and Cambodia. You need a translator, and sometimes the essence and meaning of words get lost in translation.

Then other things you have to consider include how to find the right place to get the information you need, understanding the political situation of various countries and being able to respond to changes in government policies. Basically, we have to be more flexible.
Q So what makes an iconic masterplan?

A A good urban plan must be what I call ‘imageable’. You have to look at it and go ‘wow’. It must have impact and make you feel a sense of excitement.

If it is well-composed, you also get a certain feeling of ‘comfortability’.

Some key aspects of an iconic plan are: attractiveness, convenience and efficiency.

Our projects in the Middle East are examples of mega and iconic masterplans. One of them is the Al Salam City Masterplan that we did in 2006 - it is a 2,000ha site in Umm Al Quwain - one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates.

Our clients were so satisfied that they have engaged us to implement the masterplan.

From there, we went on to clinch the biggest masterplan project with the Qatar government: a 4,000 sq km planning of two municipalities.

Most of the Middle East projects are done on a clean slate with hardly any constraints. And here lies the golden opportunity for us to showcase our creativity, capabilities, knowledge and skill in delivering a project on time and meeting international standards.
Q What are some current global trends in urban planning?

A The biggest buzzword now is sustainability. Everywhere you go, people are ‘going green’. Future urban planning will place special emphasis on eco-friendliness.

Environmental issues have always been part of our urban- planning philosophy. But now more than ever, this needs to be expressed physically in our plans, and in the landscape too, using green spaces and green technology.

There are two major trends on top of this - one is the desire to create a ‘must visit’ destination that attracts investment and people.

The masterplan must have that ‘wow’ factor I talked about, that differentiates the location and helps it stay ahead of other developments. This is more prevalent in the Middle East.

In other places like China, the other trend is more apparent - that of using the masterplan to focus on solving issues such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution, housing needs, growing population and the need to conserve.
Q Which is your most memorable project?

A I have to say the next project will be the most memorable one, because you start all over again. Every project is interesting so I can’t really single out any one.

But for me, the greatest job satisfaction is actually the interaction with my clients. If they are really enlightened and are open to ideas, the whole development process becomes very stimulating and inspiring.

SURBANA’s URBAN-PLANNING ARM HAS CARVED OUT A NAME for itself globally, and its clients include neighbouring Malaysia (above) as well as Mid-East nations like the UAE (below).

Industry trends

Sustainability

Future urban planning will place special emphasis on eco-friendliness, says executive vice-president Jeffrey Ho of Surbana Urban Planning Group. Environmental issues have always been part of the firm’s urban-planning philosophy. But now more than ever, this needs to be expressed physically in its plans, and in the landscape too, says Mr Ho, using green spaces and green technology.
Creating a ‘must visit’ destination

Such a masterplan must have a ‘wow’ factor that differentiates the location and helps it stay ahead of other developments, says Mr Ho.
Issues-based approach

In some places like China, the masterplan is used to focus on solving issues such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution, housing needs, growing population and the need to conserve.
Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

More chip in to distribute posters of most wanted man - Singapore

More chip in to distribute posters of most wanted man  - Singapore

By Chen Meiyue 

CRIME LIBRARY, a group that helps locate missing persons, produced posters with Mas Selamat’s photo and description and put them up in 51 MRT stations and six bus interchanges.
 
CRIME Library has joined the search for Singapore’s most wanted man.
Last night, volunteers from the group that helps search for missing people went to 51 MRT stations and six bus interchanges to put up a total of 57 posters of fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari.

The posters had Crime Library’s trademark ‘Missing’ heading. Explaining this, the group’s founder, Mr Joseph Tan, said ‘Escaped’ and ‘Wanted’ sounded too much like the posters produced by the police.

At least three other groups also distributed over 8,000 posters of the fugitive that had been provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs across the island yesterday.

One group of eight teenagers split up to distribute 5,000 posters across Singapore, in places such as Toa Payoh, Bedok and Jurong.

Miss Nurul Asyikeen Azhar, 19, led the team of teens. She said: ‘I want to do my part and reach out to the public.’
Mr Leonard Ong, 27, a project executive, headed a three-man group that handed out over 1,000 posters in the city area last night.

Madam Cynthia Phua, an MP for Aljunied GRC, led a group of over 40 grassroots leaders and others. They gave out 2,000 posters around Kovan MRT station.

The reactions of those who were approached were mixed. Some took the posters eagerly while others declined to accept them, saying they already knew all about Mas Selamat.

Taxi driver Quek Siow Soon, 58, allowed the posters to be put up behind the front seats in his taxi. ‘As a citizen, it’s my duty to help,’ he said.

But housewife Ngern Mui Tiang, 64, declined to accept a poster, saying she was illiterate.

Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

Singapore Property - Buy , Sell , Rent , Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Kampung boy, bus mechanic, bomb maker, wanted terrorist - Singapore

Kampung boy, bus mechanic, bomb maker, wanted terrorist  - Singapore

Singapore’s most notorious man on the run is also no stranger to prison escape attempts

By Nur Dianah Suhaimi 
PLAYING TO THE CAMERA, a strangely relaxed Mas Selamat is seen here in the custody of Indonesian police in 2003. Reporters from Batam Post said he did not appear nervous or afraid when he was arrested. In fact, he smiled as photographers rushed forward to snap his picture. — ST FILE PHOTO
 
THE man who is now the target of Singapore’s most massive manhunt had an ordinary childhood.
Growing up in Kaki Bukit, Mas Selamat Kastari led a typical carefree kampung life, playing football and marbles and flying kites with his neighbours.

He attended the Englishlanguage Kaki Bukit Primary School and didn’t show interest in radical religious beliefs, said childhood friends who spoke to The Sunday Times.

Today, the 47-year-old former leader of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror network, who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport, is hogging headlines.

He escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre at 4.05pm last Wednesday where he had been detained since 2006 under the Internal Security Act.

This was not the first time he broke out of jail.
How he got his limp

In 2003, he tried to escape from a jail in Bintan in Indonesia where he was serving an 18-month sentence. He jumped from a high floor and broke his left leg, and now has a permanent limp.
In 2003, he tried to escape from a jail in Bintan in Indonesia where he was serving an 18-month sentence. He jumped from a high floor and broke his left leg, and now has a permanent limp.

He has been described by terror experts as the most ruthless of the JI Singapore members and someone who knows how to make bombs.

Those who have met the 1.58m-tall man describe him as soft-spoken, with a calm demeanour. But he is also very stubborn - someone who ‘cannot accept others’ opinions’, as one put it.

He is also known to be cunning. For an entire year, between 2001 and 2002, he moved his family from place to place in Indonesia and successfully evaded arrest.

Born on Jan 23, 1961 in Kendal, a province in Central Java, his family migrated to Singapore when he was a young boy.

His father worked as a gardener while his mother, a Batam native, was a housewife.

The youngest of eight or nine siblings - no one knows for sure - he grew up in a kampung in Kaki Bukit and was known as ‘Selamat’ among neighbours.

A childhood friend told The Sunday Times: ‘He was a very normal kid. He played a lot like us, he was not weird and he did not spout radical nonsense.’

It is not known if he went to secondary school, but childhood playmates said it was unlikely he studied in a madrasah.

He moved to a flat in the Bedok Reservoir area in the early 1980s and married a few years later.

He and his wife have five children - four boys and a girl - now aged seven to 18.

He was believed to have worked as a bus mechanic before joining the JI.

His involvement with JI began in 1990 after he heard Indonesian cleric Abu Jibril preach in Johor. He joined Darul Islam (DI), a movement considered to be the parent of JI.

In 1992, he joined the Singapore JI cell and visited Afghanistan twice in the next five years. In 1999, he was handpicked by JI chief Hambali - now in United States custody in Guantanamo Bay - to lead the Singapore cell.

In 2001, Mas Selamat fled the country when the Singapore Government began cracking down on JI members.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, he deliberately damaged his computer hard disk to destroy any incriminating evidence before he left the country.

He went to Malaysia and moved on to southern Thailand. There, he hatched the plot to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport. He later fled to Medan in Indonesia.

He moved regularly in the country to avoid detection, spending time also in Denpasar, Surabaya and Padang.

He knew the Riau islands like the back of his hand and was familiar with all the unofficial entry points.

Wherever he went, he took his family along with him. They travelled mostly by public transport - on ferries and buses - and would take along bags of clothes, pots, pans and even crockery.

To avoid detection, he shaved his beard, changed his name many times and wore a cap pulled low over his eyes. He also got his wife a fake Indonesian passport with a false name.

The authorities said she knew about his activities and provided moral support.

In February 2003, the Indonesian police nabbed him with his family on a bus in Tanjung Pinang, Bintan. They had received a red notice from Interpol about him in relation to the plane-hijack plot. He had with him a book on the virtue of suicide.

He confessed to the Indonesian police that he had plans to overthrow the Singapore Government. Reporters from Batam Post said he did not appear nervous or afraid when he was arrested. In fact, he smiled as photographers rushed forward to snap his picture.

While he was being interrogated, his wife and children sat as if in prayer. The children did not cry or look nervous, and were observed as being cheerful at the police headquarters.

Mas Selamat was jailed for 18 months in Bintan for carrying a fake identity card and passport. It was during this prison stay that he tried to escape.

The Indonesian authorities handed him over to Singapore in 2006, but not before a controversy broke about him being released from prison earlier and being on the loose for five months in Indonesia.

Mr Fahmi Bahmid, his former lawyer in Indonesia, told The Sunday Times that he still found it hard to believe Mas Selamat was the leader of a terror network. The Jakarta-based lawyer represented him when he was arrested in Bintan.

Said Mr Fahmi: ‘The whole time I was with him, I saw no signs of him being a terrorist or someone capable of violence. He was a pleasant, softspoken man who spent a lot of time in his cell, praying and reading religious books.’

He met Mas Selamat about 10 times, mostly during court hearings. He said he was shocked to hear that he had escaped from prison.

‘Security in Singapore prisons is known to be top-notch. It’s impossible he could have escaped,’ he said.

A former JI leader told The Sunday Times that Mas Selamat was upset with him for having cooperated with the authorities in their JI investigations.

He said: ‘When he was in prison in Surabaya, I visited him. But Mas Selamat refused to meet me. He’s the sort who cannot accept others’ opinions.’

The two met once before, in Singapore in the early 1990s, when the JI cell was newly formed.

But at that time, Mas Selamat’s attitude was different. ‘When I was introduced to him, he shook my hand and embraced me,’ said the former JI leader.

Mas Selamat, he noted, was one of the more senior members of the JI.

Although he was well-regarded in JI circles for being ambitious and ruthless, the situation at home was very different.

Friends of the family said his in-laws were upset with him for often being out of a job.

‘His wife and children often went hungry because there was no money for food,’ said a family friend.

Whenever Mas Selamat was overseas, his in-laws would send food to their home. The family had problems paying the children’s madrasah fees after he fled Singapore in 2001.

It is understood that three of his sons studied in a madrasah here until 2002 when they stopped attending school. The terror leader was also believed to have roped a brother-in-law into the JI.

When Mas Selamat was unveiled as a terrorist in 2002, his father-in-law apparently had a heart attack from the shock.

Mas Selamat was firm with his family. His wife, who wore a veil which covered most of the face save for her eyes, was not allowed to speak to friends or relatives.

Speculating on reasons for his escape, the former JI leader said Mas Selamat loathed being jailed.

In fact, Mas Selamat hated prison so much that he was even willing to betray his JI brotherhood.

According to sources, in 2003, he revealed Hambali’s involvement in regional terror attacks to the Indonesian authorities in return for a lighter sentence when he was nabbed there.

Said the former JI leader: ‘He’s probably frustrated. Many of his JI friends in Singapore have already been released, but not him.’

Asked if he thought Mas Selamat’s two-year detention at Whitley had reformed him in the slightest bit, he said: ‘If he has reformed, he would not have run away.’
 

Fugitive’s family

Wherever he went, he took his family along with him. They travelled mostly by public transport and would take along bags of clothes, pots, pans and even crockery.

To avoid detection, he shaved his beard, changed his name many times and wore a cap pulled low over his eyes. He also got his wife a fake Indonesian passport with a false name.

The authorities said she knew about his activities and provided moral support.
Source : Straits Times  - 02 March 2008

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