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TOP OF THE NEWS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014
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TOP OF THE NEWS
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Talks pave way for
lifting bar on Suu Kyi
More flats for parenthood
as couples await housing
Myanmar’s law
may be tweaked
to let her run
for president
Popular rental scheme has delivered
results – and babies – says minister
NAYPYITAW – Myanmar’s Parliament will consider amending the
country’s Constitution – which
currently bars opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming
president – ahead of crucial elections next year, an official said.
The move was discussed
during unprecedented talks yesterday, which began between President Thein Sein and his political
rivals, including Ms Suu Kyi, as
well as army top brass and election officials.
“They agreed to discuss the issue of amending the Constitution
in Parliament, according to the
law,” presidential spokesman Ye
Htut told reporters after the meeting in the capital Naypyitaw.
Ms Suu Kyi’s party is widely expected to win the 2015 polls if
they are free and fair, but she is
ineligible to become president because of a clause in the 2008 charter blocking anyone whose spouse
or children are overseas citizens
from leading the country.
The Nobel laureate’s late husband was British, as are her two
sons. To alter the Constitution,
there needs to be support from a
75 per cent majority in Parliament, and as unelected soldiers
make up a quarter of the legislature, they have the last say on any
changes.
The talks, which lasted nearly
three hours, came a day after the
White House said United States
President Barack Obama spoke to
Mr Thein Sein and Ms Suu Kyi
about the 2015 polls, which are
seen as a key test of democratic
reforms under the quasi-civilian
government.
Some critics are calling the
By JANICE HENG
Mr Thein Sein meeting Ms Suu Kyi before talks with his political rivals, including
her, as well as army top brass and poll officials. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
hastily arranged get-together –
six of Myanmar’s 70 political
parties and a few ethnic groups
were invited – an attempt to burnish Myanmar’s image ahead of a
visit by Mr Obama next month,
his second to the country.
Ms Suu Kyi’s National League
for Democracy (NLD) has called
for altering a provision in the
Constitution that ensures that the
unelected soldiers, who make up a
quarter of the legislature, have a
veto on any amendment to the
charter. Revising the clause, it
believes, will open the way for
further changes to other constitutional provisions, including the
ring-fenced proportion of soldiers
in Parliament and the effective
bar on Ms Suu Kyi leading the
country.
The leaders also discussed keeping the momentum on reforms
and national reconciliation and cooperating to make the 2015 election free and fair, Information
Minister Ye Htut said at a press
conference after the meeting.
Under Mr Thein Sein, a former
general, Myanmar is now at a
crossroads. High-level peace talks
with more than a dozen ethnic
rebel groups have stalled, alleged
oppression of stateless Rohingya
Muslims and ethnic minorities
make headlines and a recent death
in custody of a journalist has
raised human rights abuse issues.
News of the meeting, so close
to Mr Obama’s arrival on Nov 12,
have been met with scepticism in
Myanmar. “There won’t be anything substantive out of one meeting because it’s just the first
step,” said Mr Aung Thu Nyein, a
Bangkok-based academic and Myanmar specialist. “But this might
be the start of what has been needed for a long time, an institutional
framework for dialogue.”
The participants agreed to
continue talks but have yet to
schedule their next meeting, Mr
Ye Htut said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Groundsmen inspecting the grass at
the National Stadium field, which is
starting to look as it should. The yellow
tint comes from special lights being
used to help the grass grow.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
National Stadium not pitch-perfect
yet but getting there
By SANJAY NAIR
fungicide, fertiliser and agronomy, while groundsmen have reduced the water temperature by
10 deg C when watering the
pitch to stimulate the growth of
rye, a cool-weather grass.
Special growth lights –
purchased from the Netherlands
for $1.5 million – have been
switched on at four-hour intervals across the hybrid turf to act
like sunlight through the night.
The machines’ wheels have left
noticeable marks on the surface,
although officials insist that they
can be patched up.
Yesterday, AFF pitch consultant Hiroi Koichi was spotted
inspecting the field and having a
discussion with Sports Hub senior director (stadia) Greg Gillin.
According to sources, the Japa-
THE National Stadium field is
finally beginning to look as it
should have from the start.
During a media inspection of
the 55,000-seater facility yesterday, the barren patches of sand
which were a sore sight at past
events were largely gone,
replaced by thin blades of ryegrass.
However, the transformation
has come at a price. Singapore
Sports Hub chief operating officer Oon Jin Teik admits “substantial costs” were absorbed, as
events had to be rescheduled and
urgent repairs were made to
remedy the surface. For instance, refunds were given out
after Taiwanese pop star Jay
Chou’s concert was postponed
from Nov 8 to Dec 27, while the
Maori All Blacks’ rugby friendly
against the Asia Pacific Dragons
on Nov 15 was cancelled after selling almost 5,000 tickets.
Such steps cleared the calendar to give the turf some breathing space to grow before the National Stadium hosts Singapore’s
three Asean Football Federation
(AFF) Suzuki Cup group matches
from Nov 23 to 29.
And the Sports Hub will continue to tip-toe around the natural grass reinforced with artificial
fibre inserts even after the end of
the regional football showpiece.
The Straits Times understands that, in the run-up to
next June’s SEA Games,
non-sporting events at the venue
will not be allowed to use the
field, or even have it covered.
This means the stage could be
moved off the pitch for boyband
One Direction’s concert on
March 11, as it was for pop diva
Mariah Carey’s gig last week.
“It’s a young field, so even
with a good Terraplas cover like
we’re using, there’s an impact on
the grass,” said Mr Oon.
“It is still a work in progress
but we believe we’re on the right
path to fixing the issue.”
The venue’s dome roof has
been closed since the Brazil-Japan football friendly a fortnight
ago to mitigate the issue of irregular and insufficient sunlight as
well as excessive humidity.
The Sports Hub has also roped
in over 10 experts in the fields of
nese expert said the pitch has
shown much improvement since
his last visit three weeks ago.
But the AFF is understood to
have concerns over the wear and
tear on the surface when it hosts
three Suzuki Cup matches over
seven days later this month. Jalan Besar Stadium was roped in
to stage the three group matches
that do not involve Singapore.
Mr Oon insisted that the
Republic’s sporting reputation
has suffered minimal impact,
despite complaints about the
pitch. He said: “A very big foreign firm is looking at us as a
host venue for its event. They
are not worried (about the field)
and said this is normal for a
start-up.”
[email protected]
MORE temporary flats will be set
aside for couples waiting for their
new Housing Board flats under a
rental programme which, as National Development Minister
Khaw Boon Wan put it, has been
“delivering results, and babies”.
Under the rental programme,
called the Parenthood Provisional
Housing Scheme (PPHS), more
than 100 babies were born to
those living in 1,000 or so flats –
a hit rate of 10 per cent.
This result was not bad, said
Mr Khaw.
The popularity of the scheme –
and its success in raising fertility
– has prompted the Government
to allocate another 800 temporary
flats for couples from next year.
And to ease costs, couples can
co-rent these flats.
“Helping young couples set up
their first home so that they can
start their family early is our top
priority,” Mr Khaw said in a blog
By ELENA CHONG
COURT CORRESPONDENT
FORGET walls of flats and doors
of homes.
One man allegedly took loan
shark harassment to a whole new
battleground. He was charged in
court yesterday after he allegedly
splashed green paint and placed a
note on a POSB cash deposit machine.
Continuing his colour-coordinated attack, he is said to have
penned the note in green ink,
listing the personal particulars of
two individuals with their POSB
account numbers, and adding, for
emphasis, “O$P$” (short for “owe
money, pay money”). The note
post yesterday.
The scheme began in January
last year with 1,150 flats in Ang
Mo Kio, Bedok, Boon Lay and Dover. Rentals range from $800 for a
three-room flat in Boon Lay to
$1,900 for a Dover five-roomer.
The flats can be rented by
first-timer married couples with
children under 16, who are waiting for Build-To-Order (BTO)
flats. In April, the scheme was extended to those without children,
and in September, to married couples who are first-timers and second-timers, as well as divorced or
widowed parents with children.
“This is a good scheme which
has been well received,” said Mr
Khaw yesterday.
So far, 110 babies have been
born to those in PPHS flats. He
said this was “not bad at all”.
About 800 more flats, some in
Bukit Merah and Queenstown,
will be retrofitted and rolled out
to couples from early next year.
From today, both new appli-
Mr Gerald Teo, his wife Natalie and their 21-month-old son Gregory in their new
Yishun flat. They lived in a PPHS flat for about a year. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
cants and existing tenants can apply to co-rent and co-pay for
PPHS flats. A maximum of two
families can share a flat.
“This will be useful for those
who feel that they do not need a
whole flat,” said Mr Khaw.
Co-tenants will settle co-renting details privately, such as how
much each tenant will pay and
how the bedrooms will be divided.
Green twist to O$P$
sees man charged for
targeting machine
was placed on the machine and
some damage was caused to the
latter.
Medi Johari, who turns 42
today, is said to have acted on
behalf of an unlicensed moneylender in connection with a
loan taken by an unknown
debtor.
The alleged offence took place
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at 5.09am near Block 59, New
Upper Changi Road, on Sunday.
Police said that between last
Friday and Sunday, they received
multiple reports of automated
teller machines (ATMs) being
splashed with paint. In these cases, debtors’ notes believed to be
related to loan shark harassment
were found on the ATMs.
Mr Gerald Teo’s family lived in
a PPHS flat for about a year, before getting the keys to their BTO
flat in May. He and his wife used
to live with her parents, but the
flat “got a bit too cramped” when
their son was born, said Mr Teo,
28, who works in finance.
The PPHS flat “gave us a bit
more freedom”, he added.
[email protected]
Medi was arrested by officers
from Bedok police division near
Syed Alwi Road on Wednesday.
Mobile phones, gloves and a mask
were seized during the operation.
Preliminary investigations
showed that he is believed to be
responsible for other cases of loan
shark harassment targeting
debtors’ vehicles and residential
units.
Medi was remanded at Bedok
station for a week for investigation. He will be back in court on
Nov 7. If convicted, he could be
jailed for up to five years, fined up
to $50,000, and liable to at least
three and not more than six
strokes of the cane.
[email protected]