Launched last year, the probe by the CPIB may still be ongoing, but it has not stopped SG Changi chairman Morahashi Fuminori and general manager Moto Sakuma from continuing their search for potential investors.

Johor’s s$24.8b refining, petrochem complex

KUALA LUMPUR

The 300,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Johor is expected to be commissioned by end-2016 and will take Malaysia’s oil refining capacity to 935,300 bpd, coming at a time of growing production capacity from India, China and South Korea.

“This commitment to an ambitious expansion in its downstream production capacity assuredly signifies the depth of PETRONAS’ ambitions to capture the opportunities Asia’s dynamic energy and chemical markets are expected to provide,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the project’s launch on Friday.

PETRONAS chief executive Shamsul Azhar Abbas said the complex, to be named the Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID), would meet an expected surge in demand for speciality chemicals in Asia, the main market for the products, while complementing Singapore’s energy business.– State-run oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) will build a US$20-billion (S$24.8-billion) integrated refinery and petrochemical complex, Malaysia’s largest single investment, to meet Asian demand for speciality chemicals, but some analysts question the scale of the project in a highly competitive market.

A Singapore-based carrier in the works for Qantas?

provide most accurate feedback

Ong Dai Lin

dailin@mediacorp.com.sg

This is because some grassroots leaders may not give accurate feedback and only highlight the positives, said several People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs MediaCorp spoke to.

Their comments come after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hwa said on Wednesday that the PAP Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team was surprised that the resentment towards the Government was so deep.SINGAPORE — Members of Parliament (MPs) should not just depend on grassroots leaders to tell them about ground sentiment towards the Government.

“This provision is being reviewed,” said Mr Tan.— When a Cabinet minister retires, the maximum annual pension that he is entitled to would be about 10 per cent of his annual salary while he was in service.

There are many areas that I have taken a keen interest in, including housing, transport and economic and labour policy. But before I speak, I would want to listen to residents and better understand their needs and concerns.

WP’s Gerald GiamSINGAPORE — He described the Workers’ Party (WP) erstwhile treasurer, Mr Eric Tan, as his “friend and mentor”.

The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) plans to engage Singaporeans across constituencies through online and offline platforms in its five-year master plan leading up to the 2016 General Election.

Using the Internet, there will be a virtual Meet-the-People Session where options include a “live” blog or question-and-answer sessions.

The SPP will also hold quarterly dialogue sessions within its working groups, such as the Youth Wing, to discuss issues.

The feedback from these sessions will be incorporated into policy proposals or raised as issues in Parliament, said Mr Benjamin Pwee, the SPP’s new second assistant secretary-general, when he revealed the details of the plan on Friday.

The party also plans to reach out to shopkeepers and business owners who may have fallen through the cracks, via the SME Businessmen Affairs Bureau.

Gearing up for the next election, Mr Pwee said they have identified a few potential candidates. They will also be looking at growing the party and getting the 500 volunteers who have signed up to participate actively.

But Mr Pwee said: “It depends on how everybody responds and steps up … we are not looking at numbers per se but we are looking at quality people … who want to roll up their sleeves and get involved.”

Other initiatives by SPP include book titles — which may be published every three to six months — and a revamped party newsletter.

Mr Pwee said they have been running on a shoe-string budget but will be looking at engaging supporters who had come forward to pledge financial backing.

Mr Pwee also confirmed that no party has officially approached the SPP on a merger but added that collaboration among Opposition parties would continue.

Speaking at a news conference outside Bishan MRT Station on Friday, he said: “It is a tremendous demonstration of trust in me and I want to be able to handle that responsibility and play my role.SINGAPORE — Less than two months after he joined the Singapore People’s Party (SPP), former Civil Service high-flier Benjamin Pwee (picture) has emerged as one of the party’s best-known faces.

Growth is meaningless unless it is shared by the workers, shared not only directly in wage increases but indirectly in better homes, better schools, better hospitals, better playing fields, a healthier environment for their families and for their children to grow up.

Minister Mentor L ee Kuan Yew

MM: S’pore has unique system of cooperation among unions, Govt and employers

SM Goh, MM Lee to leave Cabinet

 

Mr Goh Chok Tong (file picture)

SINGAPORE : Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on Saturday said they have decided to leave the Cabinet for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team to have a fresh clean slate.

In a joint statement, they said: " We have studied the new political situation and thought how it can affect the future. We have made our contributions to the development of Singapore. The time has come for a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation.

" The Prime Minister and his team of younger leaders should have a fresh clean slate. A younger generation, besides having a non—corrupt and meritocratic government and a high standard of living, wants to be more engaged in the decisions which affect them.

" After a watershed General Election, we have decided to leave the Cabinet and have a completely younger team of ministers to connect to and engage with this young generation in shaping the future of our Singapore.

" But the younger team must always have in mind the interests of the older generation. This generation who has contributed to Singapore must be well—looked after."

Mr Goh said he will now have more time to devote to his Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

He said this in a post on his constituency Facebook page, MParader, on Saturday, after the press statement was issued to say that he and MM Lee are retiring from the Cabinet.

Mr Goh said PM Lee can then refresh his Cabinet to forge a new Singapore consensus by rethinking policies and reshaping Singapore with fresh ideas.

He said Team Marine Parade will build a consensus on creating their 4G Home — which stands for a great home, as well as a gracious, generous and environmentally—conscious people.

In response to comments on his thread, Mr Goh said he is out of government but remains as MP for Marine Parade GRC.

" (I) will have more time to spend with residents, something I have always enjoyed doing," he said.

Mr Goh, who turns 70 on May 20, entered politics in 1976 at the age of 35, and was elected MP for Marine Parade.

He left his job in Neptune Orient Lines and in 1977, was appointed Senior Minister of State for Finance, in what was the start of a long political career.

He held various portfolios, including important ones such as Trade and Industry, Health and Defence.

Mr Goh was sworn in as Prime Minister on 28 November 1990, after then—Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew stepped down to pave the way for leadership succession.

He was the consensus choice of his Cabinet colleagues.

Mr Goh stepped down as Prime Minister on 12 August 2004 to pave the way for leadership self—renewal.

The topic of self—renewal was one he often spoke about.

Mr Goh believed that preparing the fourth generation leadership team was key strategy to secure Singapore’s future, and he said that the current leadership transition is even more crucial than previous ones.

He said: " We need to have the best crew we can get, the competencies, the strategies, the unity, and the will to overcome crises. How successful we will be depends on how we respond to challenges and how we seize opportunities. If we adopt a passive approach, we will be like a man lost in the wilderness without a compass — we will end up walking in circles, going nowhere."

Mr Goh has been Senior Minister in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Cabinet since he stepped down.

In that role, he engaged the leaders of the Middle East and India to expand Singapore’s ties with both areas.

Minister Mentor was a term coined specially for Mr Lee in 2004, a description which reflects his role in office, and a nod to his wealth of experience.

Mr Lee’s role in shaping modern Singapore started from pre—Independence in the 50s and has continued till today.

He took a tough stand on many policies, from land acquisition for development to opening the doors to foreign talent.

Having seen for himself how racial tensions can break a society, Mr Lee dedicated himself to building a cohesive nation.

In 1988, the Parliamentary Elections Act was amended to introduce Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).

Mr Lee has always said the GRC system is to guarantee minority representation in Parliament. At least one minority candidate must be part of the team contesting a GRC.

Leadership renewal has always been a key priority for Mr Lee, who stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990.

At a National Day dinner for his constituency, he said the country’s leadership renewal process is very much like the systematic way the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) renews its ranks.

Mr Lee said: " Every year, the SAF improves on what it has done from the last year. Every year, a new team takes over and we have a regular succession of capable officers taking over, and that is the way Singapore has been able to maintain itself — regular renewal of the leadership, with younger people taking over these decisive roles."

His decision to step down is perhaps a sign of the confidence in the country’s leadership renewal process.

In Saturday’s statement, Mr Lee said he is stepping down to ensure that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has a clean slate of younger leaders in Cabinet.

— CNA/ms