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wish him well. Hmmmm...seems our ministers getting old liao https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/khaw-boon-wan-fractured-arm-extended-medical-leave-vivian-11285936 Khaw Boon Wan on extended medical leave after fracturing arm Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has been appointed Acting Minister for Transport in the Singapore-Malaysia bilateral talks. image: d SINGAPORE: Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan is on extended medical leave after fracturing his arm, the Prime Minister Office’s said in a statement on Monday morning (Feb 25). Mr Khaw injured his left arm in a fall last week and is currently warded at a hospital and receiving treatment, the statement said. He will resume his duties when he is able to – "probably after several weeks", it added. Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has been appointed as the Acting Minister for Transport in the Singapore-Malaysia bilateral talks. READ: Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS link 'not progressing well', Malaysia missed deadlines: Khaw“This ensures that the ongoing discussions with Malaysia on several transport matters will continue to be well coordinated,” the Prime Minister's Office said. Senior Ministers of State Lam Pin Min and Janil Puthucheary, as well as Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng, will assist Dr Balakrishnan on other transport matters and in the Committee of Supply debate, the statement added. Advertisement READ: Singapore suggests extending suspension of Pasir Gudang restricted area, Seletar Airport new landing proceduresSingapore and Malaysia have been embroiled in a dispute over Singapore’s introduction of new landing procedures for Seletar Airport, which Malaysia said would hamper the construction of tall buildings at Johor's Pasir Gudang, to the north of the airport. Singapore has disagreed with this. Another dispute over maritime issues was sparked by Malaysia's unilateral decision to extend the Johor Bahru port limits in October, and the subsequent intrusion of Malaysian government vessels in Singapore waters. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/khaw-boon-wan-fractured-arm-extended-medical-leave-vivian-11285936

Something good about them for a change.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Madam, we are most sympathetic to the taxi drivers who experience such incidents. But if the taxi driver could not tell us the identity of the person, other than saying that the person is of a particular race, or gender, it is very hard for us to track down the person. So, I think common sense requires the taxi drivers, when they encounter such an incident, to get as much information as they can from the fare evader: basic information like name, address and so on. There are instances we know of where they could not get the information, they will try to report to the Police, fetched the passenger all the way to the police station and let the Police step in. The primary duty or responsibility of helping the taxi drivers resides with the taxi operator and the operator should be the first to help out, which must also include sharing with their taxi drivers tips on how to reduce such incidents and, as I said, some of which are common sense, which is that you must get the basic information. https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00010276-WA&currentPubID=00010243-WA&topicKey=00010243-WA.00010276-WA_4%2Bid-0db411d8-c7f2-4751-bd4a-50664ed63e3e%2B Whoa maybe next time u will need to surrender your IC to the taxi driver when u take taxi?

So now it is because he does not think "better than developers or investors", after the slew of measures on property introduced when he took over the hot seat from MBT? And will it be too late when our friend finally decides to act? Having said that, most such shoe-box unit buyers, many of whom are identified as speculators from the report, purchase them with their eyes open so if and when the bubble burst, I just hope they do not go around KPKBing blaming the whole world and scream for govt assistance to bail them out. From CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1201174/1/.html I will not hesitate to intervene in shoe-box unit market: Khaw Posted: 14 May 2012 1844 hrs SINGAPORE: Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan on Monday said he would not hesitate to intervene should there be clear evidence of unsustainable investor demand for shoe-box apartments. He added that the Ministry of National Development (MND) was watching the situation closely. However, Mr Khaw cautioned that it would be hard for him to intervene at present as the market for shoe-box units in the heartlands was "untested", and he did not want to think he knew "better than developers or investors". Mr Khaw was responding to a question in Parliament by MP for Jurong GRC Ang Wei Neng, who asked if MND keeps track of the profiles of buyers of shoebox apartments. Mr Ang also asked MND to share how many buyers of shoebox apartments were HDB occupants, and if these buyers were staying in HDB flats larger than 50 square metres. In response, Mr Khaw said that MND did not yet have a good breakdown on the type of people that have invested in shoe-box units. "But eyeballing some of the data we have, it suggests they are mostly Singaporeans with HDB addresses," Mr Khaw added. "They obviously don't plan to stay there (in shoe-box units), because they won't be able to fit into 50 square metres with a family of several (people)." Mr Khaw said these buyers were likely to be investors who were parking their funds in shoe-box units, with the expectation of renting them out. "They must have seen shoe-box units in the central region being able to be tenanted out easily with reasonable yield," he added. "The difference this time round is that most of the units are in the heartlands -- where the market is untested." He likened the situation to a ferry, which may be overloaded under certain conditions. "It's like a ferry designed for a certain capacity," Mr Khaw said. "If a ferry is overloaded with too many passengers, especially if they're sailing in shallow waters, it may sink. "But because it's an untested water and untested market, it is hard for me to intervene in the market, thinking I may know better than developers or investors." "I think the minimum I can do is to alert everybody that I can see long queues going to board the ferry, and I think my job is to share that information as much as I can with the investing public, as well as the developers," Mr Khaw added. Currently, there are about 2,500 units of completed shoe-box units, making up 1.2 per cent of the 210,000 non-landed units in private housing stock. The supply of shoe-box units is expected to increase to 9,700 units by 2015. Mr Khaw also said the property market has shown signs that it's moving towards a more sustainable path, as he responded to questions on whether the government's various cooling measures have achieved their intended results. Mr Khaw reiterated that private home prices registered a marginal decline in the first quarter of this year (0.1 per cent fall quarter-on-quarter), following nine consecutive quarters of moderating price increases. He said the decline was due in part to the intervention, which includes five rounds of cooling measures over the past two years, the latest of which were introduced in December targeting foreign-investment demand. The impact of those moves could be seen in the sharp decline of the proportion of housing sub-sales -- a proxy indicator of speculative activity -- to about 4 per cent, while the proportion of foreign buyers of private homes also dropped "sharply" to 7 per cent, Mr Khaw said. But he didn't state the time frame or original quantums against which he made the comparisons. As for public housing market, most first-timers now have a chance to select a Build-To-Order flat if they apply for one. HDB resale prices have also moderated, increasing by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, the smallest price growth in recent years. MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Liang Eng Hwa, asked Mr Khaw how the government plans to pace out the supplies of land sales. "The minister mentioned about some supplies coming in and so on to cool the market. I'd like to ask how the government plans to pace out the supplies of land sales so that while we meet immediate demand, we will not... in the next three to five years, have an oversupply situation, especially in the scenario when there could be an economic slowdown," asked Mr Liang. Mr Khaw replied: "The member's concern about potential oversupply if we are not careful is something I think we all ought to be mindful of, because cycles sometimes get a little bit too exuberant and then when they crash, they can create other kinds of problems. "That's why we continue to be very vigilant and monitor closely the situation. Clearly, the market is heading towards a soft landing but we have not landed yet. So, stay seated with your buckle on." - CNA/wm/fa

Please particpate in the poll.

National Development Minister Khaw on relevance of bomb shelters

http://www.passudiary.com/2011/10/to-mr-kh...you-expect.html (This is in reply to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan of Singapore on his comments made on our country ) Dear Mr. Khaw, I was not surprised when you said Bhutan is not the last Shangri-la on Earth, because I had a friend from your country who found Bhutan only "full of mountains and valleys". When you visited Bhutan, what did you expect? Those flying mountains you saw in Avatar? or Every Bhutanese merrily dancing in designer clothes? Well, you must have at least expected fancier cars and taller buildings but we only have taller mountains (not flying ones) and thicker forest (truly natural). I am not surprised even when you said "Most of the time, I saw unhappy people, toiling in the field, worried about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products." because I heard a proverb in school that goes, "Two men looked through the prison window, one saw the mud and other saw the horizon". I am only surprised that you have spend "Most of your time" in Bhutan looking in the fields. I am amazed at your ability to figure out whether the people are happy or unhappy just by looking at them- O' you even knew they were "worried about the next harvest". No wonder you country export human resources. The Man who didn't find happiness in Bhutan. Source:channelnewsasia I visited your wonderful country sometime ago, and it felt like a city from the future. The transportation system held me spell bound, Cleanliness of the street is so much that I didn't find a fragment of dust on my shoes after walking for the hours, Every building and car looks new, and there is no question about the civic sense among the people. Four days after I landed in Bhutan I woke up and started sharing the stories of your wonderful country- yes it took me four days of sleeping to shake of the hangover of many sleepless nights in your 24X7 country. I read the amazing history of your country and thought to myself, if Bhutan's to develop, Singapore can be our vision. But since you questioned the presence of happiness in Bhutan, let me answer by telling you few things that you overlooked when you visited my country. Those people you saw in the fields weren't unhappy, if you have gone closer you would have heard them singing and enjoying the social lives, perhaps you won't understand that. If you have spent a little longer time watching them, you would have seen and a woman with basket on her back and holding arms with several children coming with steaming food- we don't have McDonald or KFC. Then everybody will sit down to eat their lunch, laughing and joking, feeding babies, for over an hour- you wouldn't have had so much time to sit and watch I know, times means money in your country. But we have luxury of time. People don't worry "about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products." In fact, we don't do much commercial farming, we do most of them to keep with the tradition. And when the sun sets, doesn't really matter what time, people leave for their homes where they have a large family waiting. Large family because we don't chase away our children when they become 18 or children cast away their parents when they age. We don't need Health Insurance to survive, no have to go for Education Loan for educating our children. We don't hang the drug users, we counsel them to hang on to their lives, we don't have to have a job to survive, and when we fall sick even the furthest cousin comes to attend without having to update Facebook status. If you reread our history you will find that our wise kings have hidden us from the outside world so that we could remain the way we are today. If we start mining our mountains and lumbering our forests, we can become Singapore in a year but no matter what you do you can never become Bhutan. It is far too difficult. We shall be the last breath of oxygen on earth. Bhutan may not be the Last Shangri-la but we are happy.

does it mean they have info that combine income of both 10k is new measurement of lower income earners?

ST News Jul 19, 2011 No reason for sharp drop in BTO prices: Khaw By Daryl Chin IT IS wrong to compare the prices of the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) flats - offered last week - and those launched in May and conclude that Housing Board's prices for new flats are coming down. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said this yesterday and added that there is no reason for a sharp decline in prices unless market sentiments dip. Speaking to reporters after his first official visit to the HDB Hub, he noted that 'pricing a flat is quite tricky as there are many factors at play', citing variables like the floor the unit is on, location and proximity to amenities like MRT stations. The prices of HDB's new flats are typically pegged to prevailing resale prices but are discounted. Referring to previous media reports, Mr Khaw noted that in each BTO launch, there is a range of products 'so you cannot just look at the July BTO, the lowest is so much, and then the May one, and say there is a 18 per cent drop'. In last week's launch of 3,600 BTO flats in seven locations in Sengkang, Tampines, Jurong West, Bukit Panjang and Yishun, the indicative starting prices for three-, four- and five-room flats were $137,000, $217,000 and $274,000.

FOLLOWING the stir caused by the recent high prices of a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) development launched by a private developer, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan sought to explain the difference between DBSS developments and HDB flats. In his latest blog entry on Saturday afternoon, he said that price control was not a term of the contract when private developers tender for the site, and buyers can choose to walk away from the purchase. Mr Khaw wrote that on his part, he is ramping up BTO (Build-To-Order) launches and working on pricing them appropriately. The DBSS development in question - Centrale 8 by developer Sim Lian, to be located in Tampines - will set a buyer back $880,000 for a five-room unit. This amounts to $750 psf, typical of suburban condominiums. The social media scene was abuzz following the news. The discussion thread on straitstimes.com garnered 116 comments in one day, mostly negative. Here is the start of Mr Khaw's latest blog entry titled 'DBSS Is Not HDB': 'A private developer's DBSS launch in Tampines, with the upper end of the 5 room units priced at $880,000, caused a stir in the social media. The negative reaction was not surprising. DBSS is a class of housing type between HDB flats and Executive Condos (EC)/private condos. It forms a tiny portion of the total housing options for Singaporeans. 'While HDB flats are designed and priced by HDB, DBSS flats are designed and priced by private developers. If the private developer prices it too high and there are no takers, there will be no sales. Netizens would like MND (Ministry of National Development) to come in and tell the private developer to cut its price. When they tendered for the land, price control was not a term of the tender. If contracts, after they are awarded, can be varied arbitrarily, this will damage Singapore's reputation as a business hub, with severe repercussions. To read the rest of Mr Khaw's blog post, go here: http://mndsingapore.wordpress.com

Mr Khaw conveniently forgot to mention that the 'reality in the workplace' is exactly what the PAP created for us. But ignoring that fact for the sake of argument - can 'right attitude' alone really overcome all the obstacles set out for Singaporeans today? -------------------------------- Youth can thrive with the right attitude: Khaw By Teo Xuanwei, TODAY | Posted: 30 May 2011 0637 hrs National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan SINGAPORE: Stiff competition posed by foreigners is a reality youths entering the workforce today have to face in a globalised world. But Singaporeans have little cause for concern if they have the "right attitude", National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said at a dialogue session on Sunday. The session, which was attended by 230 youths, was organised by the Sembawang GRC youth executive committees. Drawing reference to the national drive for higher productivity, Mr Khaw said the right skills, training and attitude will keep Singaporeans ahead of the game when asked how Singapore youths can stay relevant in the labour market with the influx of foreign students. "Our education system is not bad ... we have made leaps and bounds. So I don't think we need to feel diffident. We can win, we can compete but we must have the right attitude," he said. Mr Khaw noted how early migrants had overcome the country's resource-scarce conditions through sheer grit, to transform the Republic into a modern nation admired by the world over. "We must be prepared to work hard and if we stay united, the future will continue to be better for Singapore. This, I am confident." This was crucial as less developed economies, such as Vietnam, have shown that they are hungrier for success and are willing to work harder, he added. Mr Khaw also gave the assurance that the Government has heard the feedback from Singaporeans about the number of foreigners here and reiterated the message that it will calibrate the pace of allowing them in. But he reiterated that slowing the rate of influx has its downsides. With fewer foreigners to bolster the tight labour market here, economic growth, and consequently, job opportunities and wages will be impacted. - TODAY

I came across an interesting article online on cancer sniffing dogs, you can refer to an example at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3682722.stm. Another article also states that a trained Labrador retriever was more accurate than doctors in diagnosing bowel cancers, as high as 98% compared to 66% of human doctors . Do we have this technology in Singapore? That can drastically bring down medical costs I believe