SINGAPORE: Professor Eddie Kuo, the founding dean of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), died on Monday (Mar 23) at the age of 85.

In a post on Facebook, WKWSCI said that Prof Kuo was a "pivotal figure" who shaped the school in its earliest years and laid the groundwork for its growth.

"His contributions to NTU and to the development of communication as a discipline in Singapore have left a lasting legacy," it said.

"He will be remembered with great respect and affection and will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him."

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Emeritus professor at NTU Ang Peng Hwa, who succeeded Prof Kuo as dean of WKWSCI, then called the School of Communication and Information, said that he was saddened to hear of Prof Kuo's passing

Prof Ang said that Prof Kuo "played a defining role in the development of communication studies in Singapore", and that he helped establish WKWSCI as a leading institution in Asia.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Professor Kuo during my time at NTU. He created an environment where ideas could be explored seriously and respectfully. He defended both faculty and students when we were accused of being 'overly critical'," said Prof Ang.

"His contributions to the university and to the broader field of communication will have a lasting legacy."

Prof Kuo was also an honorary advisor for the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

In a statement, SUSS said that Prof Kuo was "a respected academic who made significant contributions to the study of language policy and national integration, as well as to the sociology of multilingualism and communication studies".

"In recent years, he also championed the concept of 'Cultural China', which has guided and enriched the work of the CCS," it said.

Prof Kuo served as academic advisor for SUSS from 2008 to 2022. He served as the founding director of the CCS from 2012 to 2016, and most recently, as its honorary adviser from 2023.

Through his steadfast support of key initiatives, Prof Kuo made meaningful contributions to SUSS, the university said.

"He was a strong advocate of the SUSS Student Care Fund since its inception, which provides critical financial assistance to students facing sudden hardship arising from unexpected life circumstances," SUSS added.

Prof Kuo also contributed to the Eddie Kuo Fund for Chinese Studies, which advances the study and appreciation of Chinese language, literature, culture and the arts in Singapore and the region.

"SUSS is deeply grateful for Professor Kuo’s contributions, leadership, and dedicated support. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones," it said.

In a post on Facebook, the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences said that Prof Kuo was "a visionary scholar and foundational figure in Singapore's academic landscape".

Before his role as founding dean at WKWSCI, Prof Kuo served as head of the university's sociology department and director of its mass communication programme, the faculty noted.

"His intellectual contributions and deep commitment to understanding Singapore’s society, language and media have left an indelible mark across institutions over generations," it said.

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Heart Foundation plans to open its fourth wellness centre in Bedok by the end of next year, as part of efforts to combat cardiovascular disease and ease the strain of an ageing population.

The leading social service agency for heart health currently has three branches in Bishan, Bukit Batok and Bugis.

These centres provide equipment and expertise to help patients maintain healthy habits and manage their risk factors.

The new centre in the east will allow the agency to support more patients, said Singapore Heart Foundation CEO Geoffrey Ong.

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“We know there are clients there, and some of them find it daunting to travel all the way down to the central or even to the west of Singapore for rehabilitation,” he told CNA.

The agency is also partnering with organisations such as Sport Singapore to bring its services closer to both existing and potential clients, he added. 

RAISING AWARENESS OF HEART HEALTH

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death in Singapore, accounting for about one in three deaths.

While this proportion has declined slightly in recent years, the pace of improvement has been gradual.

From 2021 to 2024, the share of deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease fell from around 32 per cent to about 30.5 per cent.

Still, more can be done, stressed Mr Ong, adding that the agency aims to continue raising awareness of heart health.

It has expanded its outreach programmes, including teaching children as young as five how to respond in a cardiac emergency.

Children are taught what blood pressure is, how to read and take measurements, and how to recognise cardiovascular diseases.

Mr Ong added that the foundation also loans blood pressure monitors to these children so they can take the devices home to demonstrate to their parents and grandparents.

“We find that that is very powerful, which is why we want to start educating the young as soon as possible,” he said.

“Hopefully that will start them thinking to inculcate healthier habits as they grow up.”

From recognising the signs of cardiac arrest to calling 995 and alerting an adult, these efforts are part of a broader plan to grow the foundation’s pool of emergency responders.

“At that age, we don't expect them to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). But we want them to realise that actually a lot of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home, and it can happen to anyone,” said Mr Ong.

“So, we want to teach them and educate them how to react in such a situation.”

SUSTAINING LIFESAVING EFFORTS

In the interview, Mr Ong called for more volunteers who can step in during emergencies, as well as donations to sustain initiatives focused on prevention and reduce long-term healthcare costs.

“We want to train as many people as possible to be first responders, to know how to respond, how to react, and how to support this group of people,” he said.

He shared that the foundation is reaching out to institutes of higher learning and corporates with its Restart A Heart programme, a simplified CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training course that equips laypersons with essential lifesaving skills.

It is also working with partners such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force, St John Singapore and the Singapore Red Cross to ensure more Singaporeans know how to respond in a cardiac emergency.

Drawing from his two decades in the finance and banking sector, Mr Ong noted that many people “spend days and nights just focusing on the business and the numbers” while paying insufficient attention to their health, particularly heart health.

However, the measures also come with their own set of challenges.

Mr Ong said there is a common misconception that the Singapore Heart Foundation is funded by the government, when in fact it relies largely on donations.

He explained that 99 per cent of its activities and subsidies for clients are supported by donations, which makes funding a key challenge.

“With the right level of financial support, we can do more, we can expand, we can reach out and we help more,” he added.

He also emphasised the importance of taking proactive steps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease: “I find that when … people start early (with prevention), they live a healthier life. Then we can actually reduce the country's health cost burden in the long run.”

SINGAPORE: Singtel said the service disruption on Monday afternoon (Mar 23) was caused by an “international traffic optimisation issue” unrelated to recent outages, and was resolved within 15 minutes.

Reports began to spike on Downdetector, which collates status reports from several sources, from about 3.15pm. Over 9,000 reports linked to the telco had been recorded as of 3.45pm.

Half of these reports involved broadband internet, according to Downdetector, which collates status reports from several sources.

This latest incident came after three consecutive days of mobile service disruptions last week, the first of which resulted in a nine-hour interruption on Mar 16.

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In a Facebook post on Monday, Singtel said: "Separately, at 3.45pm this afternoon, there was a different issue impacting some customers. 

"Our checks indicate an international traffic optimisation issue which was resolved within 15 minutes. Our local network remains stable and is operating as expected," the telco said.

It added that its teams had been working to optimise its mobile network performance and address the issues that led to the recent incidents. This includes vigorously testing its network over the past three days to ensure stability. 

Frustrated customers left comments on Singtel's Facebook page on Monday.

“Appears Singtel broadband is down,” wrote a user named Benny Tan.

Another user named Bernice Tay said: “I am working without the proper connection that affects all my online meetings, email, and even two phone connections!”

Singtel said on Mar 20, following the string of disruptions, that some users may continue to experience intermittent issues over the next few days as the telco works to improve its network.

Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong on Mar 19 apologised for the outages, and said that the disruption that occurred on the first day was due to a "mechanical fault" at one of the company's network facilities.

Separately, on Mar 17, around 2,000 customers faced mobile connectivity issues due to “a software bug from an earlier pre-planned IT system upgrade”.

“This issue was not immediately apparent as it coincided with the earlier incident. Once identified, our teams took immediate action and connectivity was progressively restored, with full restoration completed by around 4pm on the same day,” said Mr Ng.

Following those disruptions, the company carried out some network reconfigurations to "further stabilise and optimise performance”, he said.

During this process, there was a brief spike in network traffic at around 5.30pm on Mar 18. 

These events were unrelated to one another, Mr Ng said.

“We are committed to learning from these events and working with our vendors to further enhance our network resilience and improve recovery times,” he added.

SINGAPORE: Authorities will seek feedback from motor dealers, workshops and electric vehicle owners on three proposed designs for EV licence plates.

This follows a recent announcement in parliament that the government is studying the use of differentiated licence plates to help firefighters easily identify and manage EV fires.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Monday (Mar 23) that they will conduct focus group discussions and online surveys over a month, starting at the end of March.

The three licence plate designs are in shades of green.

"In developing a suitable design for EV licence plates, LTA and SCDF considered their visibility and ease of identification," the agencies said.

"The three proposed designs were developed to be easily recognisable by first responders as well as traffic and enforcement cameras," they added.

"The finalised design will also take into account the operational requirements of government agencies."

Authorities will also seek views on a proposed marking or decal sticker for selected large EVs.

There are currently no plans to fit electric motorcycles and hybrid-electric vehicles with differentiated licence plates as their batteries are typically much smaller and pose lower risks in the event of an accident, said LTA and SCDF.

"We will continue to monitor developments closely and review these exemptions if necessary," they added.

LTA and SCDF said they will engage authorised motor dealers as well as selected signcraft workshops to seek views on the proposed design and approach to implement the differentiated licence plates.

They will also gather feedback from owners of EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEV).

"Adequate time will be provided for existing EV and PHEV owners to replace their current vehicle licence plates," the authorities said, adding that more details on the finalised design and implementation approach will be announced in the second half of 2026.

Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong said in parliament last month that while fires in EVs are less likely than in internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs pose different risks when they catch fire and would require a different management approach.

The number of EVs on Singapore roads has been rising over the years. By the end of last year, EVs formed 7.4 per cent of the total car population here, nearly double the 4 per cent share recorded in 2024.

EVs also constituted about 45 per cent of all new cars registered in Singapore last year, a substantial increase from 34 per cent the year before.