He did badly in his A-level examinations in 2013 and failed to advance to university. Today, Mr Teo Shao Zun, 25, is a proud graduate from Singapore Polytechnic (SP) with a perfect grade point average of four, and also a Guinness World Record (GWR) holder. Together with fellow graduate Mr Phua Shin Zert, 20, and mechanical and aeronautical engineering lecturer Mr Leong Ying Wei, 36, Mr Teo is part of a team from the Mechanical Engineering school at SP who recently set a GWR for the fastest speed achieved by a ping pong ball. Attempting the feat on April 10 this year, they fired a ping pong ball at 833.33m/s or 2.43 times the speed of sound. It was verified as a new record on July 11, beating the speed of 806m/s previously set by a US father-son team. The record stemmed from the students' final-year project in collaboration with a local defence industry partner. The goal was to launch supersonic projectiles for high-acceleration mechanical shock testing without the use of combustion or … [Read more...] about SP team sets new Guinness World Record
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A double buffet with Hubert Young and SP Sumulong
I met lawyer SP Sumulong some 30 years ago over dinner with a group of friends that we later called our Eating Club. Among the members were SM’s Hans Sy and wife Carol, Robina Gokongwei and her then suitor, lawyer Perry Pe. Two members — Loren Legarda and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan — were not yet senators then. Fast-food entrepreneurs Rikki Dee and Beng Dee had just been “discovered” by Henry Sy Sr., a frequent diner at Chin-Chin, their first resto on Pasay Road. There were businessman/restaurateur Al Santos and retail maven Therese Coronel Santos, as well as Pampanga cuisine expert Maritel Nievera. SP was with his girlfriend Annette Bugarin. It was a group of gourmets and gourmands, hungry for good food, some intelligent conversation, a lot of goofing around and camaraderie. It was our way of releasing stress after work. Hubert Young and SP (Severino Policarpio) Sumulong were classmates since kindergarten at Xavier. Hubert majored in … [Read more...] about A double buffet with Hubert Young and SP Sumulong
Cabbies and e-hailing drivers have until June 31 to join SPS
KUALA LUMPUR: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) wants to see all e-hailing and taxi drivers be part of the soon-to-be-expanded Self-Employment Scheme (SPS). Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz said to date only 14,500 out of the estimated 200,000 taxi and e-hailing drivers have registered with SPS. He said drivers who refuse to register for the scheme are liable to a fine of RM500 to RM4,000 each, depending on how long they wait to register. They have until the end of June to join the scheme. “This exercise is for their benefit, but we will also enforce it,“ Azman said. “We want to create awareness (of the importance of the scheme) and if we can, we will avoid taking action,“ he told reporters at the Perkeso Iftar ceremony at Hilton Kuala Lumpur today. Earlier, Human Resources Minister Kula Segaran said the SPS, which was created by Socso, would be expanded to cover those in various informal sectors including farmers, … [Read more...] about Cabbies and e-hailing drivers have until June 31 to join SPS
SP Setia’s Q1 profit sinks 14% on higher taxation
KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 fell 14.1% to RM52.83 million from RM61.49 million a year ago mainly due to higher taxation. The group’s effective tax rate (excluding share of results of joint ventures and associated companies) for the financial period is higher than the statutory tax rate due to certain non-tax deductible expenses. Its revenue rose 31.9% to RM864.91 million compared with RM655.5 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter on the back of progressive revenue recognition from strong take-up rates in the final quarter of FY2018 from its mature townships in Central and Southern region. Over the same period, the group secured sales of RM718 million. Local projects contributed RM678 million, which represented 94% of the total sales while international projects contributed RM40 million. SP Setia said the “wait-and-see” attitude continues to linger as purchasers await positive leads for … [Read more...] about SP Setia’s Q1 profit sinks 14% on higher taxation
Ex-delinquent and top SP graduate: Maths teacher gave me hope
After a history of delinquency in secondary school, Mr Tan Wee Kiat buckled down and emerged as one of Singapore Polytechnic's (SP) top eight graduates of the year. The 22-year-old graduated with a diploma in visual communication and media design, and was presented the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal and the IMDA Gold Medal by the Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee at SP's 59th Graduation Ceremony yesterday. Mr Tan is one of 5,621 SP graduates getting their diplomas, advanced diplomas, specialist diplomas and certificates. Academic success was not on his horizon growing up. Bad behaviour in school led to poor results in PSLE, which saw him entering the Normal (Technical) stream in secondary school. There, he was frequently involved in fights and was on the brink of expulsion after he was given four strokes of the cane over a particular incident. The turning point came in Secondary 3 when his maths teacher became a mentor. Mr Tan began excelling in his worst subject, … [Read more...] about Ex-delinquent and top SP graduate: Maths teacher gave me hope