National Day heartland celebrations will see 60 SAF and Home Team vehicles forming mobile column
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CNA
10 hours ago
- CNA
22 drivers nabbed for providing illegal ride-hailing services in Singapore, to and from Malaysia
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) caught 22 drivers for providing illegal ride-hailing services within Singapore and to or from Malaysia, and impounded their vehicles, it said on Saturday (Jul 12). The drivers were booked at Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay in an operation on Friday, following tip-offs from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and members of the public, LTA said in a Facebook post. It added that commuters should not use such services as they lack proper insurance, pose safety risks to passengers and affect the livelihoods of licensed drivers. In response to queries from CNA, an LTA spokesperson said that only licensed providers from both Singapore and Malaysia can provide cross-border services, with each country given a quota of 200 taxis for such services. There are close to 300 Singapore- and Malaysia-registered taxis currently licensed for such services, added the spokesperson. Licensed taxis must use designated pick-up and drop-off points – the Ban San Street terminal in Singapore and Larkin Sentral in Johor – when outside their home country, but can take and alight passengers anywhere within their home country. "This arrangement ensures that foreign taxis do not ply the roads illegally to provide point-to-point services outside their home country," said the spokesperson. LTA said it will continue to take "firm action" against illegal point-to-point services, including illegal cross-border transport services. CROSS-BORDER TRANSPORT SERVICES Under the Road Traffic Act, all vehicles, including foreign-registered ones, must have a valid Public Service Vehicle Licence (PSVL) to provide taxi or chauffeured private-hire car (PHC) services. Offenders may be fined up to S$3,000 (US$2,340) or given a six-month jail term, or both. They may also have to forfeit their vehicles. Since 2022, 94 drivers have been caught providing illegal cross-border passenger transport services using foreign-registered vehicles, and all had their vehicles impounded, said the LTA spokesperson. "It is illegal for Malaysia-registered private cars or PHCs to provide cross-border or ride-hail services within Singapore," added the spokesperson. Besides a PSVL, Malaysia-registered taxis must also obtain an ASEAN Public Service Vehicle Permit to operate across borders. In a Facebook post on LTA's operation, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling said: "Foreign-registered vehicles providing illegal private-hire car services harm the livelihoods of our local taxi and private-hire car drivers." She added that LTA will increase the coverage and frequency of its enforcement actions against such illegal services, and that it will not hesitate to push for heavier fines or to impound vehicles used for such services or seek their forfeiture.
Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Straits Times
Exhibition marking The Straits Times' 180th anniversary opens on July 12 at Jewel Changi
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The exhibition is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest. SINGAPORE – An avid reader of the news, Mrs Wendy Yap took a bus on Saturday to Jewel Changi Airport, to be among the first at The Straits Times' 180th anniversary exhibition. The 57-year-old primary school mathematics teacher said she has the ST app, but still prefers the physical copy. 'It is my routine to read ST every morning. Once, the newspaper wasn't delivered to my home and I felt like something was off that day,' said Mrs Yap, who added that she feels a sense of pride when the newspaper is distributed to passengers on all Singapore-bound SIA flights. She especially likes the human-interest reports and enjoys trying food recommendations published in ST's Life! section. Mrs Yap highlighted two stories in particular: Mr Ricqo Rafiezuwan , who used to be a stateless unemployed youth, and is now a permanent resident and Mr Hsu Hu-Chin, who found his mother – a former SIA stewardess - after his story appeared in ST . 'I wanted to be at the exhibition to see more of the stories ST has covered over the years - different events in history and how the stories actually unfolded. 'I'm glad ST's articles has had an impact on people's lives,' she said, adding that she looks forward to reading profile features every weekend. The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Like Mrs Yap, several other visitors at the roving exhibition at South Gateway Garden at Jewel Changi Airport, said they were intrigued by the range of stories the publication has covered over the years. Ms Cheong Yin Ping , a r etired bank worker in her 60s , liked the interactive features, which she felt would do well in keeping the younger visitors engaged. Her favourite part was when she created her own front page. 'In this age, people usually need instantaneous response, since their attention spans are shorter,' said Mrs Cheong. Others like Mr Albert La i liked the interactive display comparing photographs of places in Singapore then and now, including landmarks like Clarke Quay, Bukit Batok Hill and the Padang. 'Because we forget the past sometimes, and now (this display) helps us to remember and see the changes,' added the 52-year-old sales executive . For J arred Loo , 17 , his favourite part of the exhibition was the comic-book style panels that showed how the newsroom transformed from producing print-only papers to multi-media news formats. The secondary school student said he has often reads ST, to expand his knowledge of current affairs. Visitors at an interactive section of the exhibition. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set. Titled Heartbeats and Headlines: 180 Years of Telling The Singapore Story , the roving exhibition organised by ST is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest. Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced: war and occupation in 1942 , the beginning of Housing Board flats in 1960 , the nation's dramatic exit from Malaysia in 1965 , the very first MRT trains starting service in 1987 , as well as national football team Singapore's Lions' victory in the Malaysia Cup in 1994, which sparked the rise of the 'kallang roar'. It also showcases headlines that ST delivered when the world ushered in the millennium, ranging from the Singapore Airlines SQ006 crash in Taiwan in 2000 , the nation's largest manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari who broke out of detention in 2008 , Singapore's first Olympic gold medal won by national swimmer Joseph Schooling in 2016 , the pandemic Covid-19 that brought the world to a standstill from 2020 to 2022 , to the present. The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20, and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3, before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The exhibition also chronicles the evolution of ST from a newspaper of record to a multi-platform media outlet in today's digital age. One section displays readers' fondest memories of ST, and the lives of those transformed after being featured in its pages. The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20 , and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3 , before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17 .
New Paper
15 hours ago
- New Paper
NDP celebrations to be held at 5 heartland sites on Aug 10
Singaporeans can enjoy the National Day Parade (NDP) festivities closer to home on Aug 10, with celebrations taking place in Bishan, Punggol, Yishun, Geylang Serai and Bukit Gombak. The heartland celebrations will include a mobile column featuring 60 different assets that will make pit stops and a fighter jet fly-past. At the Bishan site, there will also be a display jump by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) parachute team Red Lions. From 4pm to 9pm on Aug 10, the celebrations will take place at the open field next to Bishan Junction 8 mall in the Central District, at the open field next to One Punggol in the North East District, and at the open field next to FutsalArena @ Yishun in the North West District. Festivities will also be held at the open field beside Wisma Geylang Serai in the South East District and at Bukit Gombak ActiveSG Stadium in the South West District. Members of the public can collect tickets to the heartland celebrations at any of the 113 community clubs from July 8, on a first come, first served basis. Each person can collect up to two tickets, and every attendee will receive an NDP pack. The mobile column will return to the heartland in 2025, after its last appearance in 2020. The 60 assets - from the SAF, Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force - will form five convoys. They will depart from the city centre, each heading to a different heartland site where it will be set up as a static display. The convoys will clock a distance of 180km in total. A live tracker will be available on the NDP website to facilitate real-time tracking of the mobile column's routes. Along the way, the five convoys will make pit stops to allow the public to have a closer look at the assets for up to 80 minutes. These pit stops will be from 2.10pm to 3pm at Jurong Town Hall bus interchange; from 2pm to 3pm at Kranji Primary School; from 2.20pm to 3.40pm at CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) and CHIJ Secondary School; from 2.50pm to 3.40pm at Hougang Bus Park; and from 1.30pm to 2.50pm at the Tampines Concourse bus interchange. The cut-off timing for entry to each pit stop is 10 minutes before the closing time. Speaking to reporters at an NDP media event on July 8, Colonel David Kwek, co-chairman of the NDP 2025 Heartland Celebrations Committee, said that bringing the mobile column to the major residential districts would allow Singaporeans to welcome the military assets from their windows or doorsteps. Lieutenant-Colonel Chek Wei Lun, chairman of the mobile column-to-heartland committee, noted that this is the first time pit stops will be open to the public for viewing the assets up close and taking photographs. He added that the five routes were selected to ensure that the mobile column passes through heavily populated areas and that the roads are wide enough to accommodate the military assets. From 6pm to 6.30pm, four F-16 fighter jets will fly in a diamond formation through the heartland, looping around each site twice. The display jump by the Red Lions will take place only at the Bishan site, with seven parachutists landing at around 4pm. On the choice of Bishan, COL Kwek said this was the only heartland site with enough space and entry points that could accommodate the landing of the parachutists. In the Central Dictrict, there will be a digital installation featuring 60 stories of residents who have made contributions to the community. Among the featured residents is Mr Mohammed Salihan Wahid, 27, who has been designing and painting wayfinding murals for various Housing Board blocks in Jalan Kayu. These murals will be ready in early August, in time for the heartland celebrations. Mr Mohammed Salihan Wahid, 27, holding up a miniature version of the Thumbs Up for SG60! artwork at the Central Singapore booth. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI The freelance artist hopes that the murals of food and familiar Singapore icons will be relatable and useful for elderly people with dementia, as well as others who are not familiar with the area. In the North East, residents can light up lanterns and send their good wishes in glowing message bottles. In the South West, floating lanterns with residents' good wishes will be exhibited. Mr Ang Ying Thye, co-chairman of the South West District Committee, said the heartland celebrations there will feature a hair salon for elderly residents with mobility or financial constraints, as well as a calligraphy booth helmed by Mr Lee Jun Le, an 18-year-old artist with autism. "What we wish to showcase... is that no matter who you are, you have a part to play in community building. Through being inclusive, we can understand each other better, and there will be harmony," Mr Ang added. South East District residents can also enjoy a skating experience. The North West District will showcase community-created works of art depicting local landmarks. All the five district celebrations will feature a drone show. One of the volunteers involved in planning the activities for the South East District is Ms Anne Saphrin Alex Sathyan, 21. Ms Anne Saphrin Alex Sathyan, 21, who designs some of the drone displays in the drone show, at the South East District booth. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI As a designer of the elements in the drone show, the university student chose to feature the national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim, in many of her designs. One of them depicts the growth of a little butterfly, symbolising the nation's development over the years. COL Kwek said: "It is our hope that we can bring the spirit of National Day to as many Singaporeans as possible, into their homes and neighbourhoods."
