Tour agencies at NATAS Fair expect sales to rise by 20 to 30 per cent - Singapore

Tour agencies at NATAS Fair expect sales to rise by 20 to 30 per cent - Singapore

By Sok Hwee/ Julia Ng,
SINGAPORE: Rising costs and economic uncertainties in the US have not dampened Singaporeans’ travel lust.

Some 60,000 people thronged this year’s first travel fair by NATAS, or National Association of Travel Agents Singapore, surpassing last year’s record high of 57,000.

Organisers have brought forward the fair, which was traditionally held in April, by about a month.

Likewise, the second fair - which is usually held in the month of September, will be held earlier in August 2008.

Organisers said this is to prevent a repeat of last year’s problem - where many year-end travellers who made their bookings late could not secure a seat.

Besides the usual favourites like China, Japan, and Korea, more Singaporeans are also travelling to exotic places like Turkey, Egypt and South Africa.

Many also took advantage of the cheaper US greenback to visit America.

Most tour agencies said they expect sales to rise by 20 to 30 per cent this year.

Eileen Oh, Senior Manager, Marketing Communications of ASA Holidays, said: “We’re glad to see that despite rising costs of living and economic uncertainties, we still see a very strong outbound market.

“What’s interesting to note is that while more people are booking their holidays earlier ahead, we have people who are asking for November, December school holidays departures,” she added. -CNA/vm
Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 03 March 2008

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SWFs urged to be mindful of concerns of countries they invest in - Singapore

SWFs urged to be mindful of concerns of countries they invest in - Singapore

By Channel NewsAsia’s Dominique Loh in Dubai
DUBAI : Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) must be mindful of concerns of the countries they invest in.

Speaking to an audience of government officials and business leaders in Dubai, Mr Lee said developed countries need assurance that SWFs are commercially-focused investors.

The Gulf state of Dubai is also establishing its own Investment Corporation, similar to the Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

Presenting awards to some of Dubai’s most promising companies, Minister Mentor Lee also told his audience that small states like Dubai and Singapore remain vulnerable to global changes.

He said that in a climate of uncertainty, corporations like Temasek and the Investment Corporation of Dubai are able to overcome volatility through their long-term investment horizon. And the accumulated reserves can help tide over unexpected contingencies.

Mr Lee said that without government interference, Temasek, for example, was able to maximise their returns.

He said, “The Singapore Government does not direct or influence individual investment decisions. Similarly, Temasek does not interfere with the individual investment decisions of the companies it has invested in or direct their commercial and operational decisions. As a shareholder, it is focused on value creation, and seeks to foster good corporate governance and business excellence.”

Minister Mentor Lee also told his audience about Singapore’s basic strategies to grow its economy.

The first is plugging into a global network with an open economy; the second is optimising Singapore’s limited manpower resources; and the third is being flexible in restructuring the economy in a changing global environment.

Mr Lee also saw how Dubai is changing its physical environment by building mega property developments along its coastline.

The Palm Jumeirah residential project has spurred other even more ambitious property developments in the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Meanwhile, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, and the ruler of Dubai also presented Mr Lee with an award for Global Economic Value Creation.

Before leaving Dubai, Minister Mentor Lee got an update on the construction of the Burj Dubai.

With a height of over 500 metres, it is the world’s tallest building.

The ultra-modern skyscraper is just another iconic addition to Dubai’s skyline.

While construction is still going on, the Burj Dubai is already 141 storeys high.

That is a few more storeys than the next tallest building, the Taipei 101.

The Burj Dubai is on schedule to be completed sometime this year.

It is also the centrepiece of Downtown Burj Dubai, a US$20 billion development in the heart of Dubai. - CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 03 March 2008

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Committee of Inquiry to find out how JI militant escaped - Singapore

Committee of Inquiry to find out how JI militant escaped - Singapore

By Asha Popatlal,

SINGAPORE: An independent Committee of Inquiry has been set up to find out exactly how Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from custody and will also propose measures to prevent this from happening again.

The report should be ready within a month.

This is in addition to police investigation by CID into any possible criminal wrongdoing centering around the escape.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng gave this assurance after visiting Special Operations Command officers involved in the search.

The physical breach that was discovered in the escape has been dealt with and security has been beefed up at Whitley Road Detention Centre.

Also, Mas Selamat’s family members have been questioned extensively to see if they know anything.

However, many holes still remain such as when exactly did authorities realise that Mas Selamat was missing?

Police on Sunday confirmed that it was only a matter of minutes from the time he was last spotted to the time they realised he’s escaped.

Meanwhile, independent investigations are underway.

Home Affairs Minister, Wong Kan Seng, said: “There is an independent police investigation to look into whether any criminal wrongdoing has been committed. We should not speculate that there is but we must not rule out any possibility. That is why it becomes a police investigation led by the CID.

We also need to look at the whole system, process of the Whitley Road Detention Centre. And we want to get to the bottom of how he managed to escape and what measures can be taken to stop this from happening.”

Mr Wong said a Committee of Inquiry has been set up to give an objective, balanced and comprehensive report on what happened.

The committee is chaired by Goh Joon Seng, a retired judge (and current member of the Council of Presidential Advisers), with former police commissioner and current ambassador-at-large Tee Tua Ba, and Deputy Secretary of Security at the Home Affairs Ministry, Choong May Ling,

Meanwhile, authorities are committed to continuing this search until he is found.

Mr Wong continued: “After searching the whole of Singapore and after searching every possible lead and every possible haunt where he may be found, we will have to find a way to find him through other means.

“No doubt our reputation has taken a knock but we must not be demoralised by it - we must learn from mistakes so we do not repeat them.”

Mr Wong said cooperation with Malaysian and Indonesian authorities remain good and these countries have tightened their border security.

Mr Wong also said that Mas Selamat will not be of immediate danger if he is on his own and is unable to access any materials that can cause any harm. However, he cautioned that this might not be the case in the long-term.

While taking all necessary precautions, Mr Wong urged members of the public not to be cowed and go on living life as normal.

Source : Channel NewsAsia   - 03 March 2008

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Police to keep up high-tempo manhunt till fugitive caught - Singapore

Police to keep up high-tempo manhunt till fugitive caught - Singapore

Over 1,000 officers deployed in search; every patch of forest to be combed, say police

By Teh Joo Lin 
 
SENIOR Staff Sergeant Tan Beng Beng of the police’s Special Operations Command (SOC) had no clue the man he was activated to hunt down on Wednesday was terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari - until later.
However, armed with a description of the 47-year-old escapee, he joined other officers in searching a wooded area near Whitley Road Detention Centre.

The officers have hardly rested since. They will look everywhere - from forests and coastlines to abandoned buildings - until the fugitive is found.

More than 1,000 officers - including those from the SOC, police land divisions, Gurkhas and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority - have been deployed in the manhunt, said Assistant Commissioner Wong Hong Kuan, the police’s director of operations, yesterday.

In response to questions, he gave an overview of the operations to recapture Mas Selamat from the time he fled at 4.05pm on Wednesday.

The checkpoints were alerted. The borders, including ‘unauthorised’ getaway points, such as those along Singapore’s northern coast, were secured and have since stayed locked down.

DEDICATED
‘I just spoke to the SOC officers. Their spirits and morale are high. They are dedicated to their jobs…some of them have had to make alternative child-care arrangements…you can see the entire Home Team’s effort is on it.’
MR WONG KAN SENG, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, who met the Special Operations Command (SOC) troops yesterday

COMMITTED
‘I went down to see them and even after six or seven hours, I did not see them slouching. They continue to stand their ground.’
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RAYMOND YEO, commander of the Special Operations Command, on major overnight operations that lasted more than 10 hours

PREPARED
‘We are mentally and physically prepared to perform whatever type of duty - short or prolonged. We are really going all out because we want to find him. We want to make Singapore safe and secure.’
STAFF SERGEANT SHAMSUDDIN MOHAMMAD ZAN, 28, who had taken part in the manhunt for three fugitives on Pulau Tekong in 2004

Meanwhile, troops cordoned off the neighbourhoods near the detention centre to conduct a systematic search.

As this was done, police received a tip-off that Mas Selamat had been seen in the Malcolm Road area, which is near the detention centre. A two-day ‘intensive search’ was done there until the authorities were satisfied he was not there.

AC Wong said: ‘As the days go on, chances are he’s got farther and farther away from the centre, so the search widens while we strengthen the border controls we have in place.’

Describing the forest as a ‘premier hiding location’, he said every patch of forest in Singapore will be combed.

In such wooded areas, officers look for fresh trails, among other signs. They also have ways of knowing should an intruder move into the combed areas after the search has shifted elsewhere.

On Friday night, the police searched Bukit Batok Nature Park. They have also searched West Coast Park.

In built-up areas, the police home in on unoccupied buildings and other potential hiding places.

To beef up these checks, police have enlisted the public’s help in reporting sightings of Mas Selamat.

Police Coast Guard officers have dropped in at about 30 coastal landing areas to distribute posters to people.

All in, 54,000 posters and pamphlets have gone out so far. In return, the police have received more than 330 calls and e-mail messages with possible leads on the terrorist.

Police have warned members of the public against harbouring or helping the fugitive.

Under the law, they do so on pain of life imprisonment, or a maximum of 15 years’ jail and a fine.

To questions of how long the high-tempo search will be kept up, AC Wong said: ‘We’re prepared to sustain this for the long haul.

‘If a person is determined to hide, he can hide for weeks. No effort will be spared.’

He has the support of SOC officers like Senior Station Inspector Sudarto Sulaiman, who has been working eight-hour stretches with four-hour breaks since Wednesday.

The manhunt is a new experience for him, even after 29 years in service.

Said the 46-year-old: ‘This is my first experience of such a scale. But our training helps us a lot.’

Source : Straits Times  - 03 March 2008

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Two separate probes into terrorist’s escape - Singapore

Two separate probes into terrorist’s escape  - Singapore

Aims: To shed light on break-out, propose changes to prevent similar incidents

By Ben Nadarajan, Assistant News Editor 
SNIFFING FOR LEADS: A K9 unit officer (left) and a member of the Special Operations Command, part of a team looking for Mas Selamat, checking an area around the Peirce Reservoir at Old Thomson Road. — ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
 
A FORMER High Court judge, an ex-police commissioner and a senior civil servant will carry out an independent probe into how Jemaah Islamiah terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari pulled off his prison break last Wednesday.
Separately, an internal probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will look into whether ‘criminal wrongdoing’ was involved.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng declined to elaborate yesterday, saying it is too early to speculate if an offence was committed to enable the detainee to bolt.

He said: ‘We should not speculate ahead, but we must not rule out any possibility. That is why it has become a police investigation chaired by the CID.’

Mr Wong said security at Whitley Road Detention Centre, which is under the charge of the Internal Security Department, has been stepped up, and the ‘physical breach’ in the centre’s compound plugged.

He declined to give details, saying: ‘You will know that later on.’
The independent Committee of Inquiry will look into how Mas Selamat broke out of the detention centre and recommend changes to prevent similar break-outs.

It will be headed by Mr Goh Joon Seng, who served as a High Court judge for a decade before retiring in 2000. He is now a consultant with law firm Lee & Lee and is also a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers.

The second member of the panel, Mr Tee Tua Ba, retired as police commissioner in 1997. He was also director of prisons between 1987 and 1992, and previously director of CID and the Central Narcotics Bureau.

The third member is the Home Affairs Ministry’s deputy secretary for security and corporate services, Dr Choong May Ling, who has held senior positions in various ministries such as Education and Finance.

The panel is expected to complete the review in a month.

Mr Wong said the system at the detention centre will have to be examined to get to the bottom of what happened and to prevent repeat incidents.

He added that he will decide on the parts of the committee’s findings that can be made public.

‘Definitely, the public will want to know how he escaped and what has been done to deal with the problem, and that part I will tell the public,’ he said.

But sensitive information relating to operational procedures will probably remain classified.

Setting up such independent inquiries, allowed under laws such as the Prisons Act and Police Force Act, is rare.

MP Teo Ho Pin, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, said such independent panels are important in rooting out the truth.

Noting that the panel which probed the April 2003 Nicoll Highway collapse identified good worksite-safety ideas, he added: ‘There are many lessons we can learn from this episode. This is a chance to re-examine and tighten our systems.’
Who’s on the committee
PANEL members of the independent Committee of Inquiry:

Mr Goh Joon Seng

Was a High Court judge for a decade before retiring in 2000

Now a consultant with law firm Lee & Lee

A member of the Council of Presidential Advisers

Mr Tee Tua Ba

Retired as police commissioner in 1997

Was director of prisons between 1987 and 1992

Was director of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Central Narcotics Bureau

Dr Choong May Ling
Home Affairs Ministry’s deputy secretary for security and corporate services
Held senior positions in various ministries such as Education and Finance
Source : Straits Times  - 03 March 2008

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