Press freedom rankings 2016

As President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration moves closer to beginning its second year in October, a new Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) poll indicates more Indonesians are satisfied with the government’s performance as they see improvements in four sectors, namely the economy, law, politics and maritime affairs. The number of Indonesians who reported they were satisfied with President Jokowi’s administration climbed from 50.6 percent in 2015 to 66.5 percent in 2016, the findings showed. “The economic sector remains a challenge for the government,” CSIS researcher Arya Fernandes told a press conference on Tuesday. Despite these positive results, confidence in the Indonesian economy is still lacking, with citizens unsure whether the government has managed to boost Indonesia’s economic growth and enhance the country’s investment climate. The number of Indonesians who reported that they were satisfied with the current economic situation stood only at ... » Learn More about Indonesians ‘satisfied’ with govt’s performance: Survey

In the last four years, the proportion of women on the boards of Singapore's top 100 listed companies doubled to 15 per cent. While a "good achievement", it is hardly enough, President Halimah Yacob said at the Istana yesterday, as she announced the formation of a new council to get more women on the boards of organisations. Madam Halimah will be the patron of the Council for Board Diversity, which will be co-chaired by Mr Loh Boon Chye, chief executive officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and Mrs Mildred Tan, chairman of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). The council consisting of 20 members - nine men and 11 women - used to be known as the Diversity Action Committee (DAC), which was formed in 2014 and focused on SGX-listed companies. It will have an expanded scope to look into female representation on the boards of organisations in the public sector and people sector, which includes non-governmental organisations, voluntary welfare organisations and ... » Learn More about New council aims to get more women on boards

When schools across Singapore put their students on full home-based learning (HBL) on April 8 as part of the circuit breaker measures, Ms Adele Leong remembers the wide-eyed look of hope in her daughter Carolyn's eyes. "Are they going to be postponing the PSLE or cancelling it? How are we going to sit the exams now schools are closed?" she recalls her 11-year-old asking. Ms Leong, 44, is one of many parents grappling with the unprecedented academic changes the coronavirus pandemic has brought. The Ministry of Education (MOE) cancelled all mid-year examinations, but is still proceeding with national ones such as the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), as well as the N, O and A levels, as it says these are "major milestones" and it does not want to disadvantage graduating students. "Technically, it's not my first time doing the PSLE, but since the circumstances are so different, I might as well say it's my first time because it's hard to expect what's to come," says Ms ... » Learn More about Fretting over big exams in a time of Covid-19

SINGAPORE - Ms Jayme Tan received the "best Mother's Day present" last Wednesday (May 6): her husband back home. Mr Xie Jiahao was finally reunited with his wife and children after 51 days away battling Covid-19 - all because of a good deed. On March 16, the 37-year-old decided to comfort his bereaved friend, who had just lost his wife, by staying over at his home for a week. His friend, who had just returned from Britain, tested positive for Covid-19 on March 22. Mr Xie, an assistant vice-president of digital marketing, was immediately quarantined and tested positive on March 30. He was moved to D'Resort NTUC in Pasir Ris on April 5 as his mild symptoms had subsided. It took another month before he finally scored two consecutive negative swab tests and was discharged - fortuitously, on his mother's birthday and two days after his own. After coping on her own with two pre-schoolers, Ms Tan, who is 14 weeks pregnant with her third child, says: "I'm overwhelmed by happiness. ... » Learn More about Managing the home while hubby battles Covid-19: 3 mums and the challenges they face

SINGAPORE - From June 2, pre-schools will start to resume general services for children in stages, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said on Tuesday (May 19). Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2 children - five- and six-year-olds - will be the first to return from June 2, while Nursery 1 and Nursery 2 children may go back a week later, from June 8. From June 10, the youngest group of children in infant care and playgroups may return. In tandem with circuit breaker measures, pre-schools have been closed  since April 8 to most children except for a small group who need care support. When they reopen, centres will have to adhere to safe management measures such as compulsory mask or shield wearing for all staff and children aged two years and older, having smaller groups of children during activities, as well as staggering drop-off and pick-up timings of children. Speaking at a press conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 in Singapore, ... » Learn More about Pre-schools in Singapore to open from June 2 in stages, with K1 and K2 kids returning first

SIBU: A total of 443 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11) and the total number of recorded cases stands at 20,001, says Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. Bintulu district tops the list with 89 cases followed by Sibu (83), Miri (61), Julau (43), Kapit (32), Mukah (31), Kuching (26), Sarikei (22), seven each for Matu, Samarahan and Meradong, six each for Subis and Serian, Kabong (five), three each for Beluru, Belaga, Betong and Bukit Mabong, Kanowit (two), and one each for Saratok, Tanjung Manis, Tatau and Sebauh. The state disaster management committee (SDMC) chairman also said that three new clusters have been detected; the Abak Bon Subis and Jalan Badarudin clusters in Kuching and the Nanga Kelangas cluster in Julau. "Of the 49 existing clusters, 10 clusters have new cases today while another 39 clusters reported no new cases," he added. Douglas said at a press conference on Sunday (April 11) that Sarawak has managed to control the spread of Covid-19 ... » Learn More about Covid-19: 443 new cases in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11), Bintulu highest with 89

HOTELS on Penang’s mainland are bouncing back faster ahead of their island counterparts after a period of downtime during the conditional movement control order (MCO). Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman K. Raj Kumar said as more people were returning to offices for work, many factories on the mainland have resumed full operations. “On the mainland, all of the hotels are business hotels and rely a lot on factories. “We have factories in Juru and Batu Kawan and outstation workers need to come in to restart certain parts of them. “That’s the reason why we’ve been experiencing a good average occupancy over the last month, ” said Raj Kumar, who is also the general manager of The Light Hotel Penang in Seberang Jaya. Overall, mainland hotels have been enjoying an average of 70% weekday occupancy rate and 40% on weekends, with an overall daily average of a 55% occupancy rate in March. Commonly, business hotels experience better weekday occupancy over ... » Learn More about Big boost from working crowd

Come with creative investment proposals on tourism products and services to make Putrajaya an iconic ecotourism draw. That is the message from Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa to the private sector, as a way to increase the number of visitors to the administrative capital. “As Putrajaya is already a planned city with iconic buildings and complete facilities, private companies can readily utilise them, ” he said during a press conference to announce a glamping project in Putrajaya Wetlands Park. “This means they will not need big capital expenditure but just add value and run promotion programmes to draw attention to their tourism products and services. “We will be open and transparent so that these companies can help make Putrajaya a major recreational city that is eco-friendly and family-oriented, ” he said during the event held in Precinct 3. Annuar noted that Putrajaya was lacking in pull factor, which explained why the 25-year-old administrative capital ... » Learn More about Putrajaya keen to attract ecotourism projects

QR codes will be placed on telco towers to allow people to get information about the structures, including their legal status. Perak youth, sports, communications and multimedia committee chairman Khairul Shahril Mohamed said with the codes, people could find out who owned the structures and the avenue to lodge any complaint they might have. “People can also scan the codes to complain about issues pertaining to reception. “This is part of the state’s telecommunication infrastructure coordinating agency’s plan to legalise these structures, ” he said in a press conference after a briefing about telecommunication infrastructure development in the state. “There is also a plan to issue permit renewal certificates to telco tower owners to ensure the structures have obtained licences from local governments and the Land and Mines Office, ” he said. He added that the legalisation of the structures was mostly for infrastructural safety purposes. The state has received 712 requests ... » Learn More about Residents can scan code to check ownership of telco towers

When Teh Nur Shafiqah Ab Samad enrolled in an aircraft engineering technology course at a local university, the 22-year-old soon found herself volunteering to teach kindergarten children about the main parts of aircraft and marshalling signals. Her reason for wanting to be part of the junior aviators programme, run by the Air Scout unit at her university, was fairly straightforward — she wanted to inspire more young people to pursue careers in the field of aviation. “As a child, I was always fascinated by aeroplanes. “Every time, I saw contrails in the sky, I would make a silent wish to be able to work with these amazing machines one day, ” said Shafiqah. Abdul Mueiem showing the milestones of the Malaysian Air Scout movement at the museum within the Scouts Association headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Now in her final year, she has risen through the ranks and is now crew leader of Universiti Kuala Lumpur Institute of Aviation Technology’s (UniKL MIAT) Air Scout unit. Her ... » Learn More about Soaring fascination with planes