The name Kristen Lin might not ring a bell, but if you’re a fan of Mediacorp dramas, especially those in the late ‘90s, you’ll know her parents, actor Darren Lim, 53, and Evelyn Tan, 51.

Now, their 20-year-old daughter is ready to step into the spotlight herself.

Fresh out of Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Digital Film and Television, Kristen Lin has her sights set firmly on showbiz.

Self-assured, articulate and possessing the same quiet poise her mum is known for, Lin is interested in “a lot of areas of entertainment” but acting, she says, is “probably the biggest thing”.

Not for the “fame and glory” but because she truly enjoys the craft.

“Acting and performing have always kind of been in my blood,” she told 8days.sg, adding that her dad is one of her biggest idols.

“I love being able to practise and hone these skills that I have.”

Her three younger brothers, Jairus, 18, Way, 16, and Elliot, 12, are not keen on showbiz.

Growing up, she spent plenty of time on set, watching her parents at work and her dad record audition tapes at home – experiences that left a lasting impression.

“When I tried my hand at it, I thought that I also really enjoyed being on stage, being able to portray a different character,” she says.

“I've always been playing imaginary games and making up stories.”

She’s something of a creative all-rounder, having dabbled in theatre, screen acting, film creation and even scriptwriting – she was a scriptwriting intern for Mediacorp English drama Provocative during her polytechnic days. Most recently, she starred in Pangdemonium’s Heathers: The Musical.

On screen, she’s had mostly “calefare roles” in Mandarin dramas when she was younger, though that hasn’t stopped her from trying to break through.

Lin even wanted to take part in Star Search last year but couldn’t as she was interning with Mediacorp at the time.

Still, she’s not letting that slow her down.

Currently waiting to hear back from universities – she’s applied to several in the United States to study communications and media – Lin has been actively “searching for auditions and trying to make a mark”.

All this while juggling her day job as creative director at Chill Movement, a social wellness collective that organises community-driven events, and fronting her six-member band, Lucky You.

The band recently performed at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix after winning a competition for up-and-coming local acts. Their first original single, Can't Stay Can't Go, is slated for release on Spotify soon.

“My mum always says I'm a bit like an octopus always trying to dabble in a lot of things. But I feel like we have such a short time on earth, we might as well try everything,” said Lin.

Growing up with famous parents could easily have put Lin on the fast track to fame, but her parents, while fully supportive of her ambitions, made sure she took the long way and learned to earn her place.

“When I was younger, I told them I really wanted to get into show business. Can you guys push me out there?” she recalled.

“But they said, if we help you open doors, it’s not going to be because of you, it’s going to be because of us. And that’s not the kind of image that we want for you.”

It’s a lesson she took to heart, though she admits it comes with its own challenges.

“I have to work at getting out of my dad's shadow. I don't want to be seen as Darren Lim’s daughter my whole life,” she said.

“I want to make sure that as an actor, as a performer, I'm my own person and I'm doing these things because I work hard for myself, and not because my dad helps to open doors. It's not nepotism or anything.”

Her parents’ guidance has grounded her, and their advice continues to shape her approach to performing.

“They've always told me to follow my dreams, and I think that that's super important, especially in the entertainment line,” said Kristen Lin.

“Make sure that you have that passion to keep going, even though there are other people out there who are getting more attention, you just have to keep trying, keep working and honing your craft.”

This story was originally published in 8Days.

For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/

SINGAPORE: Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said he was "disappointed" but accepted the High Court's decision on Thursday (Dec 4) to uphold his conviction for lying to the Committee of Privileges.

He also admitted that he "took too long" to respond to former Workers' Party (WP) member Raeesah Khan's lie in parliament.

The WP chief was speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court after paying the S$14,000 (US$10,800) fine for his two charges.

"First and foremost, the Supreme Court is a vital pillar of our constitutional framework," said Mr Singh, who trained as a lawyer.

"I have always had deep respect for the independence, rigour and professionalism of the courts."

He said that while he was disappointed with the verdict, he respected and accepted the judgment "fully and without reservation".

"I certainly took too long to respond to Raeesah's lie in parliament. I take responsibility for that," he added.

Mr Singh was asked by the Straits Times about his comments on his case made on CNA's The Assembly, which aired last month. 

In response, he said on Thursday: "Being an opposition member of parliament, I will have political differences with my opponents. But those differences do not extend to tearing the system down, and questioning or impugning the integrity of the courts or even of civil servants, for example. 

"That cannot be how we conduct opposition politics in Singapore. So beyond what I've said in my opening remarks, I respect and accept the judgment."

Mr Singh also took a question by the South China Morning Post about how he fared in "the court of public opinion" after the verdict.

"Well, I want to be careful with that. The court in the matter of my magistrate's appeal has delivered its verdict, and I think we should respect it," he said.

In August 2021, Ms Khan lied in parliament about accompanying a rape survivor to make a police report.

She came clean in November 2021, and was referred to the Committee of Privileges to investigate her conduct in parliament. Mr Singh testified before that committee in December 2021.

In March 2024, Mr Singh was given two charges for falsely testifying to the committee that he wanted Ms Khan to clarify her lie in parliament.

He contested his charges in a trial and was found guilty on both charges in February this year. He then appealed against his conviction.

The verdict on Thursday brought his case to a close. Mr Singh said this has been "a long journey".

"Throughout it all, I have done my best to act with sincerity and fulfil my responsibilities to parliament and to Singaporeans. My commitment in that regard remains unchanged.

"My focus now is to continue serving Singaporeans and to speak up for them alongside my Workers' Party colleagues. That important work must continue," he said.

He also thanked Singaporeans who had followed his case for their "generous reservoirs of goodwill, kindness and support".

"Your support reminds me of the importance of the work that we do, and how important it is that your trust is not taken for granted.

"I thank everyone for your support. I will continue to do my best in service of Singapore and Singaporeans," he said.

Singapore’s national media network Mediacorp unveiled multiple upcoming projects and initiatives on Wednesday (Dec 3), as part of this year's Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) – a content market held annually for television, film and digital media industries in Asia.

The first is Mediacorp's first-ever Korean co-production, Absolute Value Of Romance. 

A partnership with South Korea’s biggest local streaming service, Coupang Play, the series is set to air in 2026 and is a high school romance starring actress Kim Hyang-gi, Cha Hak-yeon of K-pop boyband VIXX, Kim Jae-hyun of rock band N.Flying, Sohn Jeong-hyuck and Kim Dong-gyu.

Absolute Value Of Romance centres around a quiet high schooler, Yeo Eui-ju, who secretly writes web novels and dreams of literary fame. Success feels far away until inspiration strikes in the form of four irresistibly charming new teachers.

Star Search 2024 runner-up Gladys Bay will make her K-drama debut as Jenny, a spirited Singaporean exchange student who becomes Eui-ju’s closest confidante.

The second announcement is Mediacorp's partnership with Chinese production house Linmon Media on the upcoming series Only Thirty-Five, the sequel to acclaimed drama Nothing But Thirty – which drew more than 5.5 billion views on Tencent Video.

Set across both China and Singapore, Only Thirty-Five will bring together artistes from both countries and be filmed across both locations beginning in 2026.

In a statement, Mediacorp’s chief content officer, Virginia Lim, said: “Partnering with Linmon Media brings together complementary creative strengths to shape a sequel that remains authentic and relevant. The first series achieved enormous success and the sequel continues that momentum with production taking place in both China and Singapore. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to thoughtful, well-crafted Asian storytelling that engages audiences in a meaningful and compelling way.”

Linmon Media’s chairman and founder, Su Xiao, said: “Overseas market expansion is a long-term strategic priority for Linmon Media and we are committed to growing together with local markets and partners. The 'co-creation' concept breaks the one-way nature of traditional cultural output: On the one hand, we export China's mature creative concepts and industry standards to Singapore and other regions to help enhance their film and television industry capabilities; on the other hand, we draw creative inspiration through overseas remakes to inform our domestic IP development.”

Mediacorp also announced the signing of five new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with leading media and entertainment companies from Japan, Thailand and Taiwan.

These include a collaboration with Japan's A+E Global Media for the co-development and co-production of an unscripted travel reality; a collaboration with Thai broadcaster One 31 Company Limited on the co-production of numerous drama series as well as three separate MOUs with leading Taiwanese media companies, Gala Pictures International, Sanlih Television and TVBS, for the co-production of new Taiwanese dramas.

Each of these collaborations is set to feature Singaporean creative and acting talent.

In its final announcement of the day, Mediacorp revealed that it will air a reboot of its pre-school series, Lil Wild, in 2026. 

Titled Lil Wild – In The Big City, the 26-episode series centres around five animal best friends as they leave Lil Wild Park to join a new wildlife initiative in Big Wild City, navigating everyday challenges and embarking on larger-than-life adventures.

“Lil Wild – In The Big City is a shining example of our commitment to invest in creating premium children’s programming with partners who are masters of storytelling. While entertaining and inspiring our young audiences, the series will also reinforce positive values of friendship, courage and discovery, and also support their learning and growth beyond the screen,” said Angeline Poh, chief customer and corporate development officer of Mediacorp.

SINGAPORE: A High Court judge on Thursday (Dec 4) dismissed an appeal by Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh against his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee.

Justice Steven Chong said the lower court judge's decision to convict Singh on both charges was sound and supported by the evidence, even though he did not agree with the trial judge's assessment of some peripheral aspects.

He found that Singh did not intend for then-Workers' Party (WP) member Raeesah Khan to clarify her lie for at least two months after he found out about it.

He also found that Singh never took the position that Ms Khan should clarify her lie until a meeting on Oct 11, 2021, where WP veteran Low Thia Khiang said the lie should be revealed in parliament.

"The appellant's own case, taken at its highest, is that he wanted Ms Khan to clarify the untruth if it was raised in parliament," said Justice Chong.

If the matter had not been raised in parliament again, Justice Chong said it appeared to him that Singh's approach would have been "to let sleeping dogs lie", that is, "that there was no need to resurrect the issue if it was already 'buried'".

"Alas, that was not to be," said Justice Chong.

"The appellant was confronted with an inconvenient truth," he added. "A sitting MP from his party had told an untruth - an unsolicited lie."

Justice Chong said the WP leaders were essentially "engaged in an exercise of risk management and/or damage control".

He added that Singh "was hoping he did not have to deal with the untruth", and that it was for this reason that the WP leaders were examining issues such as whether the untruth would be raised again in parliament and whether the government would be able to discover it.

After the hearing, Singh paid his fine in full. He told reporters outside the High Court that he was disappointed with the appeal verdict but respected it.

He said he took responsibility for taking "too long" to respond to Ms Khan's lie, but said he remains committed in his responsibilities to parliament and to Singaporeans.

He also said his focus is to continue serving Singaporeans and to speak up for them and thanked Singaporeans for their support.

BACKGROUND

Singh, 49, had claimed trial to two charges of lying to the committee of privileges in relation to a false anecdote told by former party member Raeesah Khan.

She had claimed in Parliament that she had gone to a police station with a rape victim, later doubling down on the lie when questioned by Minister K Shanmugam, before confessing to it a few months after her original lie.

Singh was later charged over allegedly false answers he gave the committee of privileges, which was looking into Ms Khan's conduct.

He was convicted and sentenced to a total fine of S$14,000 (US$10,700). The fine, at S$7,000 per charge, did not disqualify him from being a member of parliament as it did not meet the threshold for disqualification.

The Elections Department said after his sentencing that disqualification is based on the sentence for a single offence. The threshold for disqualification is at least a year's jail, or a fine of at least S$10,000 per offence.

The closely covered trial included testimonies by Ms Khan, her former aides Ms Loh Pei Ying and Mr Yudhishthra Nathan, and WP stalwart Low Thia Khiang.

The trial judge found that the evidence showed that Singh never wanted Ms Khan to clarify the untruth, and that his lack of guidance on how to do so was consistent with his lack of desire for it to happen.

He also found that Singh was not a credible witness, while Ms Khan and her aides "displayed courage in testifying and speaking the truth", despite the defence's attempt to undermine their credibility.

During the appeal, Singh's lawyer, Mr Andre Jumabhoy, sought to overturn the conviction while the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the appeal as the conviction was sound.

Mr Jumabhoy said the trial judge accepted "impossibilities" in Ms Khan's account as "proof" and "conjecture as fact", ignoring the "plain reality" that Singh "consistently acted with caution, integrity and empathy".

ASSESSING THE EVIDENCE

In a written judgment released shortly after the brief hearing, Justice Chong gave detailed reasons for his decision.

Justice Chong found that the trial judge "carefully evaluated" an entire body of evidence, including contemporaneous WhatsApp messages, witness testimonies and Singh's own evidence.

"It was the totality of the evidence, rather than merely Ms Khan's evidence, that persuaded the judge to convict the appellant," said Justice Chong.

He observed that Singh had elected not to call some WP leaders as witnesses, although they had attended some "material meetings" with him.

"In the trial below, the prosecution did not invite the judge to draw an adverse inference from the appellant's choice, and none was drawn by the judge," said Justice Chong.

"As such, I will say no more, save to express that it is curious that the appellant did not avail himself of seemingly available evidence which may have served as corroboration of his account of events."

He said the appeal turned on the assessment of the evidence by the trial judge in relation to two statements Singh allegedly made.

These are: A statement that Singh allegedly told Ms Khan on Aug 8, 2021, to take the untruth to the grave, and the statement "I will not judge you" or "I won't judge you", that Singh told Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021.

The second statement was undisputedly made, but the meaning of the statement was disputed - with Singh saying he would not judge Ms Khan for taking ownership and responsibility for the untruth by clarifying it if it was raised in parliament.

Conversely, the prosecution said it meant that Singh would not judge Ms Khan if she decided to maintain her lie.

The trial judge found that Singh meant the latter version, and that he had made the "grave" statement.

Justice Chong said that if Singh did indeed make the "grave" statement, he could not logically have intended for Ms Khan to clarify the lie at some point in the future, as the meaning of the "grave" statement was "diametrically opposed to coming clean about the untruth".

HE DID TELL MS KHAN TO TAKE THE UNTRUTH TO THE GRAVE: JUDGE

He agreed with the trial judge that Singh had made the "grave" statement, pointing to two key planks.

First, the contextual fact that the WP leaders, including Singh, held the hope or belief at the Aug 8, 2021, meeting that the lie might not be raised in parliament again.

Second, Ms Khan's contemporaneous messages and Singh's own conduct both show that he did not want her to clarify the untruth as of Aug 8, 2021.

"In sum, because of the appellant's belief that Ms Khan's lie was unlikely to surface again, he did not think that there was any need to rock the boat by volunteering the truth. The appellant had therefore made a false statement to the COP when he claimed otherwise," said Justice Chong.

He turned to examine the attitude of the WP leaders, saying that they found themselves in an "invidious situation" following the Aug 8, 2021, meeting.

Ms Khan testified that, during this meeting, Ms Sylvia Lim said the lie probably would not come up again.

Justice Chong found that the trial judge was right to find that the WP leaders, including Singh, seemed to think at this meeting that the lie would not come up again in parliament.

"It is significant that Ms Khan was not challenged on her evidence that Ms Lim had made the statement above," said Justice Chong.

He said it appeared that Ms Lim had "consistently held this view" that the lie would not come up again, as Mr Low testified that Ms Lim had said the government did not know about the untruth and that it was not easy to know "because there are so many police stations in Singapore".

Mr Low's evidence on this was also unchallenged by the defence.

Justice Chong said this view was shared, at least tacitly, by the other WP leaders, including Singh.

"In simple terms, if the issue of the untruth was unlikely to come up again, there might be no need to clarify the untruth," he said.

He also found a WhatsApp message Ms Khan sent to her aides immediately after the meeting, recounting the "grave" statement, to be "strongly corroborative" of Ms Khan's account that Singh did in fact make the statement.

"A person’s reaction or inaction to significant events is usually revealing of his or her understanding of the events," said Justice Chong.

"In this case, I find that the appellant's complete failure to follow up with Ms Khan or the other WP leaders on the untruth for around two months after the Aug 8 meeting up until the Oct 3 meeting is probative of the making of the 'grave' statement during the Aug 8 meeting and the appellant's prevailing understanding that there was no need to proactively clarify the untruth in parliament," he said.

If Singh indeed had the view that Ms Khan should at some point clarify the lie, one would expect steps to be taken to decide what, when and how such a clarification should be made, said the judge.

"The telling of the untruth was a significant event for the WP given the potentially serious political fallout if it were not properly managed," said Justice Chong.

Yet, he said it is common ground that nothing was said between Singh and Ms Khan or among the WP leaders between the Aug 8 meeting and the Oct 3 meeting about making preparations to clarify the lie.

"The complete absence of any discussion during this period is entirely consistent with Ms Khan's evidence that at the Aug 8 meeting, the appellant had told her to take the untruth to the grave, where the upshot of the 'grave' statement was that nothing further needed to be done about the untruth," said Justice Chong.

He said this complete inaction was in stark contrast to Singh's involvement in drafting Ms Khan's personal statement in the second half of October 2021, after the meeting with Mr Low, where a total of nine drafts were prepared, with multiple in-person meetings between Singh and Ms Khan to review the statements.

While Singh offered two explanations for the lack of discussion - that is, he was waiting for Ms Khan to get back to him after speaking to her parents about her sexual assault, and that he was very busy with other political matters - the judge said both explanations "do not pass muster".

"The appellant's complete inaction is particularly inexplicable given his own evidence that the telling of a lie by a member of the WP was a 'serious thing' and 'could not stand on the record'," said Justice Chong.

THE "I WILL NOT JUDGE YOU" STATEMENT

Justice Chong also found that the trial judge had not erred in accepting the prosecution's interpretation of Singh's "I will not judge you" statement to Ms Khan.

He said the ordinary meaning of such a phrase is that the statement-maker will not judge the recipient for taking a course of action normally considered to be objectionable.

Further, Singh's own evidence indicated that he had given Ms Khan a choice about what to do if the anecdote was raised in parliament, and the provision of a choice includes the option of maintaining the lie.

Third, the lack of any reaction from Singh to an email from Ms Khan indicated that he had previously told Ms Khan that he would not pass judgment on her if she doubled down on the lie.

The email, sent from Ms Khan to Singh and other WP leaders on Oct 7, 2021, made reference to the WP leaders' guidance "without judgment", closely mirroring the wording used in the judgment statement, said Justice Chong.

Ms Khan's account of the judgment statement is also corroborated by her two aides, and the statement is consistent with the making of the grave statement.

Justice Chong said he was "doubtful" of some of the trial judge's findings concerning Ms Loh and Mr Nathan's deletion of messages from their phones.

"The (trial) judge seems to have accepted that Ms Loh and Mr Nathan deleted their messages due to a fear that their phones had been hacked rather than a desire to conceal their roles and actions," said Justice Chong.

"In my view, the appellant has raised fair questions as to the strength of this finding by the (trial) judge given the selective manner in which some messages were deleted and, by the same token, left undeleted."

However, he said the deletions do not affect the corroborative value of other messages which support Ms Loh and Mr Nathan's testimonies of the judgment statement.

He thanked both sides for their submissions, saying the appeal was conducted "very fairly" and in "the best traditions of the Bar".

The penalties for the charges of wilfully making false answers to questions material to the subject of inquiry before the Committee of Privileges, under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, are a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of up to S$7,000, or both, per charge.

Vernetta Lopez thought she was auditioning for a supporting role, but when she turned up in front of the casting team, she was instead handed a script for a lead role.

“I was like, ‘I think you guys gave me the wrong script’,” recounted the longtime actress and former Gold 905 DJ.

It was no mistake, though. In the weeks prior, Lopez had mentioned to director Lee Thean Jeen that she was hoping to do a film project. “I said: ‘I want to act. I’ve been craving it. Please, anything.’ He said: ‘What about your radio schedule?’ I said, ‘I’ll work around it’.”

She was perfect for the role Lee had in mind: Aunty Rosie Lee, a formidable Peranakan woman who runs a Peranakan cafe. The story, based on the series of detective novels by Singaporean writer Ovidia Yu, follows Aunty Lee and her friends as they expose the crimes and secrets of the community, all over tea and Nyonya kueh. Other cast members include Rebecca Lim, Pierre Png, Alawdin Ali and Sheryl Ang. The show debuts on Jan 19.

Lopez herself is Peranakan on her mother’s side (and Eurasian on her father’s side), so she’s right at home in a kebaya. Although, “The outfits are a bit modern fusion – I wear pants. Sarongs are quite difficult to run around in. And, if I put on weight, I don’t have to worry too much,” she quipped.

At the same time, she felt “a lot of responsibility” in depicting Peranakan culture, she said.

“I’m Peranakan, but I have to make sure that I don’t make any Peranakans angry! I want to be able to give them what I feel is authentically Peranakan.”

She continued: “There’s been a whole wave of Peranakan love, right, which is great, but, it’s all in Mandarin. That’s not the Peranakan culture that I grew up with. I had to try to be authentic to what I remember. I thought of my grandmother, aunties and cousins. And, I asked my mum for advice on how to say certain words.” 

Even though these words might technically be in Malay, “we have a unique way of saying it”. “There’s that pressure to be as authentic as possible, even though it’s in the realm of TV. You just want to get it non-cringy, lah,” said the 52-year-old, who studied Malay in school “but failed badly”.

On that note, “we have English as the base, but we also have a lot of Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and even Tagalog” in the show, Lopez said. “That, to me, is unique and, I think, quintessentially Singapore. We have all these languages and cultures – why not celebrate it? Who gives a rat’s hairy butt whether we say ‘lah’ or not? It’s us. It’s not grammatically wrong to say ‘lah’. Let’s just embrace what we are and enjoy it, lah.”

Which of her fellow cast members would she point a finger at first in a whodunnit?

“Pierre, because have you seen his face? Guilty, lah.” She stopped to reconsider: “Then again, the most innocent ones, like Rebecca – very sweet; many times when we talk about stuff she goes, ‘Oh, really?’ So innocent. She’s hiding it. She’s probably the naughtiest.”

In truth, everyone is having a ton of fun on set, Lopez said. “For one, the scripts are a lot of fun. You’ve got interesting cases. And then, you’ve got a cast that is just so much fun to work with. In between takes, we’re laughing and having heart-to-heart talks. It makes life so much easier. And the crew are so much fun, as well – they have themed days for how to dress to come into work. Neon pink one day, beach wear the next. It’s very cute.”

Catch Aunty Lee’s Deadly Delights starting Jan 19 on mewatch and Channel 5. 

SINGAPORE: “Increase our economic and commercial ties,” was what President Donald Trump instructed Dr Anjani Sinha before he assumed the post, according to the newly arrived US Ambassador to Singapore.

Yet the backlash to Dr Sinha’s recent remarks shows just how difficult that mission will be under Mr Trump’s America First vision.

“Over many decades, American taxpayers and service members have underwritten regional security, playing an important role in making Singapore’s economic miracle possible,” said Dr Sinha in an email interview with the Straits Times.

“Now, we are asking our friends to help us rebalance the economy.” Dr Sinha was responding to a question about how Washington’s 10 per cent tariff on Singapore fits into US-Singapore ties.

Dr Sinha’s underlying message, intended or not, suggested the US sees Singapore more as a debtor than a partner. In the US' transactional worldview, one should pay back to the US what it made possible.

The public quickly picked up on this, likening the ambassador to a “debt collector”. All this underscores the continuing damage being done to Brand America.

DISREGARD FOR TRADE AGREEMENTS

Dr Sinha’s assertion that “the US-Singapore business and economic relationship will continue to grow” did not place the current US-Singapore relationship into context.

“There is no way the sentiment behind these comments can be squared with the contradictory reality of US actions,” Stephen Olson, Senior Visiting Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told me.

The US has unilaterally breached the 20-year-old US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and has imposed sectoral tariffs on key exports such as branded pharmaceuticals.

Indeed, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stated in April that the tariffs Mr Trump imposed on his country “are not actions one does to a friend”.

Greg Poling, Senior Fellow and Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told me that Dr Sinha’s remarks reveal the sense of victimhood emblematic of America First, including in global trade. “This makes no sense given Singapore's trade deficit with the US, which Ambassador Sinha failed to note,” he said.

Understandably in his US Senate confirmation hearing, Dr Sinha evaded the question on whether he supported Mr Trump’s tariffs on Singapore.

This, and his recent comments also not acknowledging the unilateral change to the rules being applied globally, reinforce the concerns of many trading partners that the Trump administration does not feel bound by existing commitments to free trade. “While this borders on the surreal, it does provide a fairly accurate reflection of the Trump administration’s approach to trade relationships: The only interests that matter are US interests and trade agreements are observed only when convenient,” Stephen Olson said.

TAKING CREDIT FOR SINGAPORE’S ECONOMIC RISE

Dr Sinha’s remark that Washington played an important role in Singapore’s economic miracle, without placing it into the context of how the US benefits from trade and investment with Singapore, also drew sharp criticism.

While Singapore clearly benefits from the US-led post-World War II international order, the United States gains militarily and economically from its partnership with Singapore.

Singapore’s rise from developing to developed economy stemmed from the disciplined and strategic policymaking of its government and the grit of its people, not just because of Pax Americana. Failing to acknowledge this understandably rankles.

Dr Sinha’s tenure comes at a critical time for US influence across Southeast Asia. The new Anatomy of Choice Alignment Index from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy shows that over 30 years, the region has been steadily tilting away from the United States across politics, security, trade, soft power and signalling.

A CHANGED RELATIONSHIP

Nonetheless, Singapore understands the need to preserve ties with Washington to advance its own economic and geopolitical interests, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. But the relationship will not look the same as before.

The Trump-era tariffs and trade disruptions have shifted Singapore’s focus “from strengthening the partnership to managing its challenges,” according to Barbara Weisel, former Assistant US Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The trust built over decades has been shaken. Even where Singapore still welcomes US firms in priority sectors like energy, technology and pharmaceuticals, it now will proceed cautiously, wary of future US actions that could undermine cooperation,” she told me.

Indeed, Asian countries are designing alternative trade architectures.

Singapore co-founded the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership with 13 other small-medium countries to promote open, fair, and digitally enabled trade. The partnership brings together trade-dependent countries committed to sustaining global trade norms and exploring a forward path – even if tangible progress may be years away.

In an earlier era, the US ambassador to Singapore's comments about the bilateral relationship and its importance to Washington would be taken as a given. While the ambassador did discuss how “the US-Singapore business and economic relationship will continue to grow,” the US no longer gets the benefit of the doubt and the envoy’s words get parsed differently now.

As Professor Bert Hofman of the East Asia Institute at the National University of Singapore told me: “The US administration has moved away from its role of custodian of the international economic system to seeing trade policy as merely another instrument in the administration’s transactional toolbox.”

Dr Sinha’s mission of deepening the US-Singapore economic relationship will be a significant challenge. A prerequisite to doing so requires articulating the new reality of a changed US approach to global trade and the impact of America First policies on Singapore. That has yet to be done.

Steven Okun serves as CEO of APAC Advisors, a geostrategic and responsible investment consultancy based in Singapore. He served as Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation in the Administration of President Bill Clinton.

SINGAPORE: Rail operators will prioritise "localised communications" for commuters, especially those directly affected at the stations, in the event of minor delays, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Wednesday (Dec 3).

This applies to situations where a shorter stretch of the rail network is affected, and where authorities expect the duration of the service disruption to be relatively short, lasting less than 30 minutes, the authority said in response to CNA's queries. 

LTA said the move is in response to feedback that communicating the maximum additional travel time does not accurately reflect the impact on individual commuters. This is particularly for those who are unlikely to be affected but would make unnecessary or costly detours if train services resumed on time.

"Following advice from the Rail Reliability Taskforce, LTA and rail operators will use this more localised approach to communicate minor delays," it added. 

"To facilitate journey planning, LTA and operators also intend to provide more accurate information online on additional journey time based on commuters’ specific locations and destinations, rather than a generic advisory on maximum travel time."

LTA's comments on Wednesday come a day after a track point failure occurred near Aljunied station on the East-West Line at around 7.50pm.

A shuttle train service was operated between Lavender and Paya Lebar stations, resulting in an additional 20 minutes of travel time within the affected sector, president of SMRT trains, Lam Sheau Kai told CNA. 

Free regular bus services were also deployed along the affected stretch, and commuters were additionally advised to use the Downtown Line as an alternative travel option.

Train services on the rest of the East-West Line continued to operate normally in both directions, with the exception of the scheduled temporary service adjustments between Bedok and Tampines stations and between Tanah Merah and Expo stations. Normal train services progressively resumed from 9.15pm, Mr Lam added.

Some commuters affected by the incident on Tuesday evening took to social media to voice frustration with what they said was SMRT’s lack of online communication.

TikTok user ryhansamadi posted about his experience at Paya Lebar station, saying that some people were left feeling lost as some trains switched directions. 

LTA said on Wednesday that the shuttle train ensured services remained available end-to-end during the brief delay.

"As the incident was already being rectified, SMRT focused on communicating information such as alternative travel routes to affected commuters at the station. This was supported by staff and crowd marshallers on-site to guide commuters on how to continue their journeys."

SINGAPORE: Fresh off a strong market debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), medtech firm UltraGreen.ai is well-positioned to use Singapore as its base as it seeks to grow in Asia, said its CEO.

Speaking to CNA on Wednesday (Dec 3), the day of its initial public offering (IPO), Mr Ravinder Sajwan said Singapore was the natural place for UltraGreen to go public.

“We have large growth segments in Asia we want to launch, and having a company based in Singapore gives us credibility from a local perspective,” he said.

“I personally am a PR (permanent resident) in Singapore. Our family office is Singapore-owned. So our strategy was, Singapore is our home - we wanted to do it here.”

The firm, which specialises in supplying fluorescence-guided surgery tools and indocyanine green (ICG) dyes, surged as much as 10 per cent above its IPO price of US$1.45, opening at around US$1.60.

The company raised about US$400 million, making it Singapore’s largest non-REIT (real estate investment trust) IPO since 2017 and valuing it at around US$1.7 billion.

“We call ourselves UltraGreen because we have taken your blood, turned it green and applied AI to it,” Mr Sajwan said.

KEEPING SURGEONS AT THE CENTRE

Mr Sajwan said the company’s growth has come from working in partnership with surgeons.

“Most top fluorescent guided surgeons in the world work with us … They do a lot of clinical work to tell us how this product performs in different applications, we use that data then to decide what markets to go after.”

Surgeons also shape UltraGreen’s software development.

“They will also tell us what is missing in the market … that allows us to then decide what we need to fill the gaps with in software,” said Mr Sajwan.

“Surgeons give us great clinical data. Then we have software which goes in and adds more precision to it, and you create adoption that way.”

This strategy has paid off, despite the healthcare sector’s generally slow adoption of new products, he added.

The company has grown from selling 20,000 vials of ICG dye in 2016 to around 1 million last year.

UltraGreen is also building an artificial intelligence-powered platform to help analyse real-time data during procedures.

TURNING BLOOD “GREEN”

ICG dye helps surgeons to visualise blood flow, tissue and even tumours in real time.

While it is a “very simple molecule”, it is “extremely complex” to manufacture, said Mr Sajwan.

It was invented by photography firm Kodak in 1959 to process black-and-white images.

“The unique thing about ICG is that it binds to the blood plasma, so if you inject it in the human body …  it will bind to blood plasma, and this blood plasma carries the ICG everywhere your blood flows.”

When surgeons illuminate the dye with a near-infrared camera, “it will excite the green dye, and your blood turns green”.

This allows doctors to tell apart healthy tissue from unhealthy tissue and see how fast blood is moving, making surgeries safer.

Alongside the dye, UltraGreen has also developed its own low-cost imaging hardware, which Mr Sajwan said is designed to remove a major barrier to adoption in Asia.

Traditional imaging systems can cost up to US$500,000, Mr Sajwan added.

“We took a different approach. We developed our own camera, an extremely low-cost device which allows us to give the product literally for free so people can use the dye, get it adopted, see the clinical benefits, and that allows us to expand in Asia.”

“That allows us to operate outside of (the) surgical theatre in smaller clinics.”

FUTURE NASDAQ LISTING?

Asked if the company would pursue a listing on United States-based NASDAQ in the future, especially as Singapore and the US exchange recently streamlined dual-listing rules, Mr Sajwan said that doing so would require “meaningful value” first.

“The question becomes, at what point does it become relevant in NASDAQ? If you notice companies in NASDAQ, they tend to be very tech-heavy, which means you've got to have a lot of data,” he noted.

Mr Sajwan said this led to the company’s strategy of aiming to succeed in Singapore and building a data platform, before it eventually decides whether to list on NASDAQ.

“But we're very flexible, because we don't need the money and we have enough cash we generate every year to build our business without actually having to do another listing for a while if we don't want to,” he added.

SGX GAINING MOMENTUM

Last month, SGX announced a partnership with NASDAQ to make it easier for companies to pursue dual listings. If the tie-up is successful, issuers will only need to submit one set of offering documents to list on both exchanges.

Analysts say this will help to build the positive momentum already being seen in the local bourse.

UltraGreen’s choice to anchor in Singapore also comes as SGX enjoys one of its busiest years in recent memory.

More than 30 companies are currently in the pipeline to list on the bourse, SGX said in August.

A Deloitte survey found Singapore led Southeast Asia in post-IPO proceeds this year, raising US$1.6 billion, boosted by major REIT listings.

SINGAPORE: A cleaning supervisor allegedly splashed her subordinate's face with water containing cleaning chemicals.

The subordinate, who is deaf and mute, purportedly suffered a chemical injury to her corneas in both eyes. 

The supervisor, Priya Ramasantheran, 36, is facing three charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the alleged victim, who is considered a vulnerable person.

She has claimed trial and on Wednesday (Dec 3), the court heard testimony from a colleague of Ramasantheran's who witnessed the incident.

The water-splashing incident allegedly took place at about 2.30pm on Jul 19, 2024 inside a lift in Dulwich College.

The court heard that the woman later reported the incident to her manager at the end of her shift at around 4pm. Her son then made a police report.

In closed-circuit television footage played in court, Ramasantheran, the alleged victim, the witness and two other workers were seen pushing a cleaning cart out of the lift after the purported incident, with the alleged victim looking agitated.

The witness testified that after entering the lift, Ramasantheran spoke Tamil to another colleague in the lift, and then suddenly splashed the water on the alleged victim.

She said she did not know if there had been an argument between Ramasantheran and the alleged victim that day.

She also said that because the alleged victim was "special" due to her disabilities, the other cleaners did not pressure her to finish tasks and would let her follow them and do things at her own pace.

The other two charges relate to incidents that allegedly took place about six months earlier at the same school premises.

On or before Jan 26, 2024, Ramasantheran also allegedly grabbed and held the woman by the back of her neck, causing pain.

In January 2024, she is also said to have grabbed the woman's shoulder, causing pain.

The trial continues. The penalty for voluntarily causing hurt is jail for up to three years, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.

If the victim is a vulnerable person, the maximum penalty is doubled.

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit Singapore on Thursday (Dec 4) for the 12th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong.

The annual retreat is a key platform for the prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia to take stock of bilateral cooperation, explore new avenues of collaboration, and provide guidance on how to take the countries' relationship forward, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Wednesday.

This year marks 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

On Thursday, Mr Wong will host a lunch for Mr Anwar, before a meeting between both sides’ delegations. Both leaders are also the finance ministers of their countries.

The two leaders will then witness the exchange of memorandums of understanding in mutual areas of interest such as health cooperation and the fight against drugs.

These will “broaden bilateral cooperation and increase the exchanges between both sides”, said MFA.

MINISTERIAL REPRESENTATION

Mr Anwar will be accompanied by Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Fadillah Yusof, Sarawak Premier Abang Johari, Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamad Hasan, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution, Acting Minister of Economy and Second Minister of Finance Amir Hamzah Azizan and Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

The Singapore delegation will also include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam.

Also present at the retreat will be Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu, and Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng.

National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, and Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow will also be in the high-level delegation.

During the last leaders’ retreat in Putrajaya back in January this year, which was the first one between Mr Anwar and Mr Wong as prime ministers, both sides agreed on an “indicative timeline” on determining the precise location of their maritime boundaries in the Johor Strait.

Their joint statement also noted Singapore’s intention to open consulates in Sabah and Sarawak to further deepen the economic and people-to-people ties between Singapore and East Malaysia.

The retreat was supposed to be held in December last year, but was postponed after Mr Wong tested positive for COVID-19.

On a separate issue of airspace management, both sides also agreed that delegation arrangements for the provision of air traffic services over southern Peninsular Malaysia do not affect sovereignty.

The two leaders also gave an update on the implementation of the International Court of Justice judgment on Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait.

TRAFFIC DISRUPTIONS

As part of security operations for the retreat at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore hotel, police said earlier this week that they would be conducting security checks in the vicinity of the venue.

“Members of the public are advised to comply strictly with the instructions of the police and any non-compliance will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law,” they said.

To facilitate the hosting of the event, a section of Temasek Avenue and several lanes along Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue will be closed from 10pm on Wednesday until 11.59pm on Thursday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will also establish a Temporary Restricted Area over the venue from 9am to 5.30pm on Thursday, prohibiting aerial activities like flying kites and unmanned aircraft such as drones within and into the area.