August 2005 in Malaysia and Singapore

28 August 2005 (Sunday)

• Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah, an ex-smoker, is picked by Health Promotion Board as its first Smoke-Free Ambassador. (CNA)
• Singapore Civil Defence Force unveils Kiddy Bag to help children cope in an emergency (CNA)
• A fire breaks out on the Cheng Ho cruise ship, no one was injured. (CNA)

27 August 2005 (Saturday)

• BMW Group, the German luxury car maker, announces that it is opening its first Asian design studio in Singapore early 2006 (CNA)
• World Toilet Organisation is setting up the world's very first Toilet College in Singapore. The first classes will begin in October 2005 and will be held at the Republic Polytechnic. (CNA)

26 August 2005 (Friday)

• Took Leng How is sentenced to death after being found guilty for the murder of eight-year-old Huang Na in October 2004. Took has the automatic right to appeal to the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court. (CNA)
• Ministry of Home Affairs says it has not received any specific information on imminent terrorist threat against Singapore and adds that security measures have been taken to strengthen security at borders, key infrastructure and iconic buildings. (CNA)
• Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim and his Brunei's counterpart Abdullah Bakar sign a Memorandum of Understanding on environment cooperation in the areas of waste management, water resources management, recycling and environmental education. (CNA)
• The Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy, Colonel Joharie matussin is conferred Singapore's prestigious military award - the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) or the Meritorious Service Medal (Military); the award is presented by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean. (CNA)

25 August 2005 (Thursday)

• French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière singles out Singapore along with Tokyo and Sydney as potential terrorism targets of the Al-Qaeda. (Financial Times)
• Singapore Ministry of Health proposes an Aids Alliance programme to reduce discrimination against HIV patients at workplace. Ministry of Health will also investigate any such case of discrimination. (CNA)
• Central Narcotics Bureau officers seize 1.7 kilograms of heroin and arrest six persons during an operation. Two of the men are being held in connection with drug trafficking (CNA)
• Singapore International Foundation hosts the two-day Singapore Humanitarian Conference for international participants to share experiences in the relief effort during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. (CNA)

24 August 2005 (Wednesday)

• National Environment Agency (NEA) is recruiting more field inspectors this year to combat dengue fever of which 7,403 cases have been reported in the first eight months of 2005, double the rate in the previous years. (CNA)
• The new Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army, General Djoko Santoso arrives in Singapore for a three-day introductory visit. He will meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his counterpart Lieutenant-General Ng Yat Chung.

23 August 2005 (Tuesday)

• The defence ministers of Australia and Singapore sign a memorandum of agreement to allow Singapore Armed Forces to train on the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, until 2009. (CNA)
• Singaporean film The Maid by MediaCorp's Raintree Pictures will be launched at the American Film Market in November. (CNA)
• Sam Leong, a renowned Singaporean chef, will be opening a Tung Lok Group restaurant in Tokyo offering fusion-style cuisine.
• Singapore Airlines signs a decade long pact with General Electric for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of engines on its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft which will be delivered in 2006. (CNA)
• Tony Davis, CEO of Tiger Airways, predicts that the airline will break even in three years. (CNA)
• Telekom Malaysia raises its stake in Singapore's telecommunications company MobileOne to 18.5%. (CNA)

22 August 2005 (Monday)

• A Singapore food company, Cassia Foods, invented Diabetrim, the world's first specialty noodle for diabetics which targets to control after-meal blood sugar levels (Xinhuanet) (CNA)
• The number of visitors from Russia to Singapore increases 48% in 2004 compared to the year before to nearly 20,000. (CNA)
• Urban Redevelopment Authority announces that Clifford Pier will be redeveloped as part of a blueprint to transform Singapore's waterfront. (CNA)
• The Institute of Technical Education colleges will have their completion dates brought forward, with ITE College West being built by 2009 instead of 2010, and ITE College Central by 2011 instead of 2015. (CNA)
• The Ministry of Manpower estimates that by 2015, 29% of workers in Singapore will be over 50 years of age. (CNA)
• Singapore's A*Star will have its research funding increased by 35% in the next 5 years. (CNA)
• The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has set aside about S$370,000 for a Young ChangeMakers grant scheme for community projects initiated by young people. (CNA)

21 August 2005 (Sunday)

• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gives his second National Day Rally speech at the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore (CNA)
• Singapore and Malaysia conclude their 12th bilateral military exercise, Ex Semangat Bersatu 05, in Pahang. (CNA)

20 August 2005 (Saturday)

• Ngee Ann Polytechnic holds a HIV/AIDS Youth Convention to raise HIV awareness among students. (CNA)
• Singapore Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has ordered importers to recall eels from China as a safety precaution after low levels of malachite green residues, a toxic chemical, were detected in imported eels and eel products. (CNA)
• A safety programme is launched at all Mass Rapid Transit stations along the North East MRT Line to educate the public about escalator safety. (CNA)
• The second Singapore Skydiving Festival sees over 200 participants taking the plunge over Marina Bay (CNA)

19 August 2005 (Friday)

• Singapore and Brunei sign an agreement to eliminate double taxation, paving the way for further bilateral trade and investment. (CNA)
• The National Kidney Foundation Singapore announces cuts in dialysis treatment costs for patience as part of the ongoing review of the charity's operations. (CNA)
• 18-year-old golfer Choo Tze Huang wins the 58th Singapore Open Amateur Championship (CNA)

18 August 2005 (Thursday)

• Singapore-based low carrier airline, Jetstar Asia, launches its India operations with thrice weekly flights from Kolkata to Singapore. (Hindu Business Line, India)
• The interim board of National Kidney Foundation Singapore requests the Commercial Affairs Department to look into "certain matters of grave concern". The board had earlier appointed accounting house KPMG to conduct an independent audit of the charity organisation. (CNA)
• Brunei's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah arrives in Singapore for a three-day visit. (CNA)
• The Underwater World oceanarium in Singapore donates two 15-year-old tawny nurse sharks to the new Aquaria KLCC at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. (CNA)
• Two C-130 aircraft of the Singapore Armed Forces arrives in Pekanbaru, Indonesia to assist in tackling the forest fires there. (CNA)
• The Annual birth rate in Singapore may increase significantly for the first time in years in 2005 when statistics show an upswing in the first half of the year. (CNA)
• Singaporean horror film The Maid, by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, premiers in Singapore and Malaysia, raking in box office sales of over S$700,000. (CNA)

17 August 2005 (Wednesday)

• S R Nathan returns unopposed for a second term in the Singapore presidential elections.(CNA)
• A 42-year-old man was arrested in connection to the traffic disruptions caused by a suspicious package found at Hougang MRT Station on 12 August. (CNA)
• Singapore police arrests and charges 3 Internet users for illegal file sharing. (Reuters), (CNA)
• Guntmar Kerbl, Organiser of Skydive Festival, hopes to make Singapore an Asian base for skydiving activities. (CNA)
• A PricewaterhouseCoopers poll shows that Singapore's immigration policies are amongst the world's friendliest. (CNA)
• Changi International Airport Services revamps itself with a new look and the opening of a new SkyLounge at Singapore Changi Airport. (CNA)
• Telekom Malaysia and Khazanah jointly plan to increase their stake in Singapore's telecommunications company MobileOne to 17.7% pending regulatory approval. (CNA)

16 August 2005 (Tuesday)

• Incumbent S R Nathan files his nomination papers for the Singapore presidential election, 2005. With no other eligible candidates, he will be re-elected as President of Singapore. (CNA)
• Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announces that a Republic of Singapore Air Force transport aircraft, a C-130, will fly to Indonesia to do cloud seeding to combat forest fire. He says that Singapore has given satellite pictures of the affected areas to Indonesia. (CNA)
• Chee Yam Cheng, Assistant CEO (Clinical) of the National Healthcare Group says that by June 2006 National University Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital will implement a new electronic system for the entire medication, diagnostic test and laboratory process. (CNA)
• Lee Ki Bang, principal research scientist of Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, says that the institute has invented a urine-powered micro battery that can be used in disposable test kits for diabetes and other diseases. (CNA)
• Thailand's Supreme Commander, General Chaisit Shinawatra is conferred Singapore's Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Distinguished Service Order), the country's highest military award. He receives the award from President S R Nathan, at the Istana. (CNA)
• Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will install crash barriers at land checkpoints to stop vehicles that do not halt for immigration and security clearance. (CNA)

15 August 2005 (Monday)

• Singapore is hosting a multi-national maritime interdiction exercise as part of the Proliferation Security Initiative to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Launched at Changi Naval Base and conducted in the South China Sea, the exercise involves some 2,000 personnel from 13 countries. (CNA)
• The newly established Singapore Police MRT Unit begins patrols on the Mass Rapid Transit system. (CNA)
• Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan says a new general hospital in Yishun will be built before 2010 to relieve the increasingly congested Tan Tock Seng Hospital. (CNA)
• The Parliament of Singapore approves a bill to allow private sector participation in the building of public housing flats in a new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS). (CNA)
• The Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Royal Brunei Air Force are conducting a 12-day bilateral air defence exercise, called Exercise Airguard, in Brunei from 15–26 August.(CNA)

14 August 2005 (Sunday)

• Muhammad Hazwan Bin Hamzah, 16, drowns at the Kallang River in Singapore. (CNA)
• Simon Ng, a Singaporean inventor, creates a new instrument known as the Merlion38. (CNA)
• Singapore's hawker centres will have busking and flea markets soon as the National Environment Agency comes up with ways to enhance the dining experience for locals as well as tourists. (CNA)

13 August 2005 (Saturday)

• The Presidential Elections Committee announces that incumbent Sellapan Ramanathan has received the Certificate of Eligibility, while the other candidates are rejected as they did not meet the criteria. (CNA) (CNA)
• The S$24 million extension of Queensway to the Ayer Rajah Expressway officially opens. (CNA)
• The National Library of Singapore launches an exhibition on Admiral Zheng He's maritime voyage. (CNA)
• Over 2000 Singaporeans turn up for the first evening heritage tour entitled "Heritage Walk, An Enchanting Evening". (CNA)

12 August 2005 (Friday)

• Singapore manages to escape the worst of the haze due to favourable wind conditions. (CNA)
• Singapore indicates its interest in developing the oil and gas industry in Indonesia. (CNA)
• Some 500 mobility aids will be donated to Indonesia in three batches as part of relief efforts in wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. (CNA)

11 August 2005 (Thursday)

• 2005 Malaysian haze: Malaysia declares state of emergency in Kuala Selangor and Port Klang as the air pollution index reaches extremely hazardous levels on the west coast, due to smoke from fires in Sumatra. (CNA)
• Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean announces that the training cycle for Operationally-Ready National Servicemen (ORNS) will be reduced from 13 to 10 years with effect from April 1, 2006. (CNA)
• Singapore anti-riot police breaks up a rare demonstration of 4 people outside the offices of Central Provident Fund. The demonstrators are demanding greater transparency and accountability in the state-managed pension fund and other government-linked agencies. (Aljazeera)
• The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore announces a S$1m restoration plan for the Red House, home of a 78-year-old bakery which closed on 23 March 2003. (CNA)
• Occupants of the Hock Kee House at Paya Lebar, Singapore, express shock over the sudden notice to evict within a month due to construction works for the Circle MRT Line. (CNA)
• Temasek Holdings announces its intentions to acquire 8.3% stake in Zhu Mengyi's Hopson Development. (CNA)
• Neptune Orient Lines's profits rose 11% to reach S$646 million in the first half of 2005. (CNA)
• Creative Technology posts a worse than projected net loss of US$31.9 million. (CNA)

10 August 2005 (Wednesday)

• The Land Transport Authority says traffic flow has improved since the Electronic Road Pricing was introduced during the evening peak hours on the Central Expressway, although there are signs that motorists may be switching back to the expressway towards the end of the first week. (CNA)
• Singapore demonstrates its intentions to establish a sports hub by encouraging foreign athletes to base their careers there. (CNA)
• The Public Transport Fund Scheme has come to the aid of 62,000 needy families in Singapore. (CNA)
• A revision of the Organ Transplant Act benefits 65 individuals since 1 July 2004. (CNA)
• Singapore's economy grew 5.2% in the second quarter of 2005, exceeding forecasts by the government and economists. (CNA) (CNA)

9 August 2005 (Tuesday)

• Singapore marks 40 years of nation building as celebrations entered around the historical Padang and at four other locations around the island. (CNA) (CNA) (CNA) (CNA)(CNA) (CNA) (CNA)

8 August 2005 (Monday)

• In his first National Day message, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces that the country's economic growth forecast for this year has been revised to between 3.5 and 4.5 percent. (CNA)
• Singapore signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia to expand aviation rights between the two countries, although budget carriers are still denied these additional rights. (CNA)

7 August 2005 (Sunday)

• A Singapore culinary team wins the World Culinary Contest at the 2005 Taipei Chinese Food Festival. (Taiwan News)
• Singapore Telecommunications moves into the South Asian telecommunications market aggressively by investing in companies there. (CNA)

6 August 2005 (Saturday)

• 25-year-old student Thum Ping Tjin swims across the English Channel, becoming the first Singaporean to do so. (CNA)
• Malaysia and Singapore agree to remove the wreck of the Everise Glory from the waters off the disputed island of Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh. (CNA)
• The application for presidential election candidature ends with no new entries beyond the four already received in previous days. (CNA)
• Rare full-colour videos of Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s are now available for public viewing with the permission of their owner, Ivan Polunin. (CNA)
• Nobel Laureate Edward Prescott lauds Singapore's balanced approach in growing the local economy during the Singapore Economic Review Conference. (CNA)

5 August 2005 (Friday)

• Andrew Kuan, former chief financial officer of Jurong Town Corporation emerges as a presidential election candidate applicant. (CNA) (CNA)
• Opposition member Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party utilises the internet to reach out to the masses, launching a dedicated online audio relay service the day before via its party website. (CNA) (CNA)
• A team of climbers from Singapore scales three peaks in Kazakhstan, naming them as Temasek, Singapura I and Ong Teng Cheong. (CNA)
• Army Captain Shamsudin Shadan reveals his role as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the first National Day Parade held in Singapore in 1966. (CNA)
• Mah Bow Tan, the Minister for National Development, says the Housing and Development Board will allow market forces to decide if more public housing flats will be built by the private sector. (CNA)
• 17 members from the Republic of Singapore Air Force are injured when their truck meets with an accident at the Changi Coast Road-Tanah Merah Coast Road junction. (CNA)
• The first stealth frigate for the Republic of Singapore Navy, the RSS Formidable, arrives in Singapore from France. (CNA)
• A team of students from the Republic Polytechnic in Singapore has successfully cultivated lobsters in captivity, the third country in the world to do so behind Australia and India. (CNA)
• Balaji Sadasivan, senior minister of state for information, communications and the arts, says that Singapore's aviation hub status is under threat from regional rivals. (CNA)

4 August 2005 (Thursday)

• Singapore signs an open skies agreement with Sri Lanka allowing for unlimited flights between and beyond the two countries. (CNA)
• The Singaporean team which successfully climbed three peaks in Kazakhstan returns home. (CNA)
• Singapore and South Korea sign a Free Trade Agreement, which will come into force at the end of the year. (CNA)
• Amat Zain wins the men's double trap event in the Singapore Open Shooting Championship 2005. (CNA)

3 August 2005 (Wednesday)

• The Elections Department of Singapore announces that the presidential election will be held on 27 August, with nomination day slated for 17 August. (CNA)
• In Malaysia, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim receives apology and compensation from former chief of police Rahim Noor, who beat him September 1999 ago when he was arrested on dubious grounds. In return, Ibrahim drops the case again him. (Channel News Aaia) (Reuters)
• Singapore's telecommunications company StarHub reports a gain of 25% in the number of mobile subscribers over the previous year, increasing its market share to 31.5%. (CNA)

2 August 2005 (Tuesday)

• Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore agree to joint anti-piracy patrols in the Malacca Strait (Jakarta Post) (Channel News Asia) Thailand later joins them (Channel News Asia) (New Straits Times) (Reuters AlertNet)
• Temasek Holdings, the investment entity of the Singapore government, appoints the first non-local to its board of directors. (CNA)
• Singapore Telecommunications announces that its total subscriber base in the region has reached 71.14 million, up 36% from a year ago. (CNA)
• The extension of the Direct School Admission exercise to 43 secondary schools in Singapore saw overwhelming response. (CNA)
• Smoking will be limited to up to 20% of outdoor sits at hawker centres when the ban comes into effect in Singapore in July 2006. (CNA)

1 August 2005 (Monday)

• Tourism arrivals in Singapore rose 8.6% in the month of June, attributed to the rise of low-cost carriers based in Singapore. (CNA)
• Singapore's Land Transport Authority appoints Gammon Pte Ltd a contract to complete the delayed Telok Blangah Viaduct. (CNA)
• Evening Electronic Road Pricing kicks in on the Central Expressway in Singapore, resulting in jams on alternative roads. (CNA)
• Security concerns for Singapore's National Day Parade prompts the need for extensive contingency measures by the combined efforts of the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force. (CNA)