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Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Singaporean Robert Sim receives one of Wikipedia's highest honours for his work on online platform
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – When Mr Robert Sim first pressed the 'edit' button on Wikipedia as a secondary school student in 2006, he was simply fixing spelling mistakes and broken links. Nearly two decades later, the 37-year-old digital analytics consultant would go on to receive one of the online encyclopaedia movement's highest honours: the Wikimedian of the Year award. Wikipedia, supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, is run and edited by volunteers. The Wikimedia Foundation award was presented to Mr Sim by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on Aug 6 during the annual Wikimania event, which was held in Nairobi, Kenya. 'It's surreal,' says Mr Sim, who has made more than 79,000 edits to Wikipedia. 'I didn't expect myself to be considered in the first place.' Mr Sim tells The Straits Times that he started getting serious about contributing to the platform only in 2019. Back then, he noticed that many Singapore-related articles were outdated, frozen in time after an initial wave of enthusiasm to create entries in the 2000s had fizzled out. One of his key achievements was updating the 'Index of Singapore-related articles'. Running a custom script to consolidate them, what he initially thought would be 7,000 articles jumped to more than 11,000 – which meant Singapore's editors had their work cut out for them. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore Parliament releases seating plan for 15th term: Find out who is sitting where Singapore District judge signals sterner penalties for vaping offences, cites public concerns Singapore Alleged vape seller faces new charge after he was found with more than 190 Kpods Singapore 3 people taken to hospital after fire at Bukit Purmei flat Singapore Police looking for car driver after hit-and-run incident with lorry in Kallang Life Bucking sluggish retail, Singapore brands commit to wowing with experience-driven physical stores Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Continuing to ensure credibility non-negotiable for Straits Times: Editor Jaime Ho Today, that index stands at over 14,000 articles, a modest slice of the over seven million articles on English Wikipedia. Mr Sim, a Singapore Management University graduate, estimated spending around 10 hours a week to edit Wikipedia. Mr Robert Sim (right) at Wikimania Singapore in 2023. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ROBERT SIM His other achievements include helping to launch the Wikimedians of Singapore User Group – which organises meet-ups for local editors – co-creating the Wikimania conference in Singapore in 2023, and becoming one of English Wikipedia's now-837 administrators in 2024. While the editors here sometimes have in-person meet-ups, Mr Sim says the usual profile of a Wikipedia editor is an introvert – meaning that much of his or her interactions take place online over messaging platforms Telegram and Discord. Though now lauded for his Singapore-related editing, one of the articles that first got him 'hooked' on Wikipedia was the page for K-pop singer Goo Hara. The star's death in 2019 sparked public outcry, activism and legislative changes in South Korea – a legacy that Mr Sim was keen to capture in her page. He spent two years meticulously improving the article and updating its sources before it achieved 'Good Article' status, a designation used by Wikipedia for articles that are well-written, verifiable and have undergone peer review. He was also the user who first created the article for the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (Pofma) Act. This led to one humorous exchange in 2023 when someone asked him if he knew about Pofma by sharing a link to the Wikipedia article. 'Yeah, I wrote this article,' Mr Sim quipped at the time. In Mr Sim's eyes, the online encyclopaedia – which turns 25 in 2026 – has only grown over the decades since its inception. The site now represents 'the first log of information in our world', says Mr Sim, being one of the most frequent top search results that one sees when googling any subject. An image first uploaded by a Wikimedia user in 2006 was used during the 2025 National Day Rally. PHOTO: ST FILE 'It's like a window, a snapshot of what the world understands,' he adds. Still, gaps remain on the website. For one, much of the public does not understand how reliant on volunteers Wikipedia is. 'You mean we can edit on Wikipedia?' is one response that Mr Sim says he often encounters when discussing the platform with others. 'The more people that we have contributing on Wikipedia, the more complete the information that we have.' For those interested in contributing, Mr Sim's advice is to start small by amending errors when they see it. Those who prefer not to write can also find other ways to contribute, such as uploading photos on Wikimedia Commons, a repository of freely usable media files, so that images can be used on articles and elsewhere. One such picture was even used during the Aug 17 National Day Rally. When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong made mention of a time when young Singaporeans would visit Changi Airport to watch planes as a pastime, the image used was first uploaded by a Wikimedia Commons user named Mailer Diablo in 2006. According to Wikimedia Statistics, Singapore ranked eighth globally for English-language Wikipedia in pageviews in July. With 101 million views, the Republic trailed behind the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Australia, Germany and Brazil.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Indonesia deputy minister arrested as part of anti-graft probe, agency says
JAKARTA: Indonesia's anti-graft agency has arrested the country's deputy manpower minister in connection with an investigation into alleged extortion, the agency's deputy head said on Thursday (Aug 21). Deputy minister Immanuel Ebenezer, a member of President Prabowo Subianto's party Gerindra, became the first member of Prabowo's cabinet to be arrested for graft. Prabowo, who was sworn in last October, has campaigned against corruption in and out of his government. Fitroh Rohcahyanto, the deputy head of Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission, told Reuters that Immanuel's arrest was related to an investigation into allegations of irregularities in the ministry's issue of safety permits. He provided no other details. The manpower ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment and it was not clear if the deputy minister has been charged with any offence. Reuters was not immediately able to contact Immanuel's lawyer. Last year, Indonesia was ranked at 99 out of 180 countries on global graft watchdog Transparency International's corruption perception index.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
After Shaolin Temple scandal, China's Buddhists urged to obey the law and pay taxes
The Communist Party's policy of 'Sinicising religion' aims to bring all doctrines and practices into line with its ideology and ensure loyalty to the party and state. In a 2021 national conference on religious affairs, President Xi Jinping said religious groups should strengthen their self-management. He also stressed the need to improve the rule of law in governance of religious affairs. Shi, known as the 'CEO monk', is facing a criminal investigation over accusations that he embezzled project funds and temple assets. He is also accused of maintaining improper relationships with multiple women and fathering children with them, according to a statement released by the temple last month. The association has cancelled Shi's ordination certificate. Shi is known for transforming the 1,500-year-old temple in central China's Henan province into a multibillion-dollar global brand. Under his leadership, the temple appeared in films and launched an online shop, and Shaolin kung fu was the subject of multiple books. His critics had accused him of over-commercialising the Shaolin brand, including his plans to build a complex in Australia encompassing a temple, a four-star hotel, kung fu academy and educational facilities. Shi Yinle, who was leader of the White Horse Temple, also in Henan, for 20 years, has been appointed the new abbot of Shaolin Temple. In media reports, he has been portrayed as a sharp contrast to his predecessor. During his time at White Horse Temple, he kept a low profile and was photographed operating a bulldozer during wheat planting season. When asked to comment on the commercialisation of Shaolin, he said that White Horse Temple had 'insisted on following Buddhist traditions to preserve Buddhist culture'. In a visit to Shaolin last week, Guangzhou-based Time Weekly magazine reported that the temple had stopped taking donations from tourists, and QR codes posted in the temple had been disabled. Incense has also become free of charge to temple visitors, according to the report.
