Latest news with #EugeneTan
Daily Express
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Express
Sabah dive club to hold safety talk after recent fatalities
Published on: Saturday, June 07, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025 Text Size: For illustrative purposes only. - Getty Images/iStockphoto KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Dive Squad Club will host a diving safety awareness talk on July 20 following several recent scuba-related fatalities locally and abroad. Club president Sim Fui said safety must always remain a diver's top priority, warning that fatal incidents often stem from neglecting basic procedures. Advertisement He cited recent cases, including a Malaysian diver who died in strong currents near Pulau Weh and two Chinese nationals who drowned in separate Sabah diving mishaps. Two experts, Dr Eugene Tan and Warrant Officer Almudi Eskal from the Armed Forces Hospital, will lead the session focusing on medical emergencies and technical diving safety. Details of the talk will be announced via the club's official Facebook page. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
CNA
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Cabinet line-up to have 9 new political office holders, includes 7 new faces
The new Cabinet line-up has nine new political office holders, including seven who are newly elected MPs. Eugene Tan, Associate Professor from the SMU's Yong Pung How School of Law, talks about how PM Lawrence Wong spoke about how leadership renewal was a priority for him, but the Cabinet is still made up mostly of 3G and 4G leaders. Professor Tan explains how this does not affect leadership renewal timelines.
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘Natural that voters want it all': Why specific estate plans still mattered in GE2025
The results of GE2025 show that a considered town plan and municipal management chops have become baseline expectations for many voters here. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN News analysis 'Natural that voters want it all': Why specific estate plans still mattered in GE2025 SINGAPORE – More sheltered walkways and cleaner estates may appear as rather provincial concerns, but the results of the 2025 General Election show that a considered town plan and municipal management chops have become baseline expectations for many voters here. Much has been written about how the Singaporean voter has become more discerning in assessing the calibre, credibility and ground presence of candidates seeking election, but understated is his desire for his neighbourhood to continue being improved, with a well-run town council being a given. While the national swing towards the PAP can broadly be seen as an endorsement of its call to assemble a strong leadership team in the face of external challenges, analysts noted how the ruling party got down to brass tacks when it came to constituency-level report cards, in terms of specific projects delivered and those to come. Conversely, political parties that glossed over municipal plans or were perceived to have a credibility gap in carrying out said plans suffered at the polls. Associate Professor Walter Theseira noted that while all opposition candidates would claim the ability and willingness to confront the PAP in Parliament, the emphasis on town council matters during the campaign reminded the public to consider the credibility and quality of each candidate in delivering on the basics. 'It is natural that voters want it all: They want quality representation of their views in Parliament as well as effective ground management,' said the Singapore University of Social Sciences economist. He added: 'Town council management can't be separated from the overall quality of the candidate as well as the party backing them.' Contributing factor in SMC outcomes Singapore Management University (SMU) law don Eugene Tan said municipal issues will continue to feature at the local level of each general election, even if in the grander scheme they do not weigh as heavily on voters' decisions as other issues. This was why the PAP took pains during – and even before – the hustings to tell residents in the six new single-member constituencies created ahead of the election that their estates would continue to be well taken care of. For instance, under this group representation constituency-plus-one narrative, residents in Jalan Kayu SMC continue to be part of Ang Mo Kio's 'extended family' while those in Queenstown SMC are 'part of our team of brothers and sisters' in Tanjong Pagar GRC, according to PAP candidates. This narrative was most clearly articulated when Health Minister Ong Ye Kung urged voters to keep Ms Poh Li San part of the 'Sembawang family' by voting for her over Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan. During campaigning, Mr Ong – who anchors neighbouring Sembawang GRC – said Dr Chee did not want Sembawang West SMC to be part of the bigger Sembawang family, as this would be politically disadvantageous for Dr Chee. This came after Dr Chee criticised Mr Ong's plan to assign Woodlands Galaxy Community Club – which falls just outside Sembawang West's boundaries – to the new SMC. 'Better for him that Sembawang West, you become a lonely island, cut off from the rest of Sembawang Town,' Mr Ong said at a PAP rally. Ms Poh edged out Dr Chee with 53.19 per cent of the vote. Professor Tan said that having an SMC pegged to a GRC is meant to assure voters that estate management and improvement will be properly taken care of. This is a plus point but not a game changer, and the election results validated MPs who had walked and worked the ground over the past electoral cycle, he added. This was most evident in the new Queenstown and Jurong Central SMCs, where the vote shares of the two incumbent PAP MPs – Mr Eric Chua and Mr Xie Yao Quan repectively – exceeded 80 per cent, albeit against smaller opposition parties. Another example was the rematch in Bukit Panjang SMC, where PAP stalwart Liang Eng Hwa bettered his result compared with the close fight in 2020 when he first stepped into the single seat. Mr Liang took 61.41 per cent of the vote this round, against SDP chairman Paul Tambyah. Dr Tambyah said during the hustings that estate projects and services would continue even if SDP candidates prevailed over their PAP opponents. This drew a response from Mr Liang who said Dr Tambyah was 'naive' to think that constituency projects would continue on 'autopilot' under a new MP. This was as MPs play an important role in advocating for residents as well as working with the Government to bring needed projects to the constituency, he argued. Municipal record helped WP fend off jabs Meanwhile, the WP's ability to consolidate and improve its position this election suggests that voters agreed it was doing a good job in town council management, as well as politically, said Prof Theseira. The WP made sure to highlight its performance in recent town council report cards to tell voters it had overcome the difficulties it faced in Aljunied after 2011 – which resulted in long-running civil suits that were settled in 2024 – and that towns under its charge were as competently managed as those under the PAP. During the campaign, the WP's He Ting Ru had said Sengkang Town Council, which she chairs, achieved the top (green) banding for estate cleanliness in the Ministry of National Development's town council management report since the WP took over management of the town. A day later, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarked at a doorstop in the WP-held Aljunied that 'yes, all the markers are green, but some markers are greener than others'. In later rally speeches, the PAP took aim at the WP's estate management in Sengkang GRC, alleging that basic standards had slipped. Prof Theseira said the WP's vote share showed that it was able to shrug off the narrative that it was not able to competently and transparently manage town councils. Conversely, voters appeared to have penalised opposition parties that did not put enough emphasis on competent town management. PSP chief Leong Mun Wai, who was one of five candidates who lost in West Coast-Jurong West GRC, said the main role of an MP is to debate national policies and not be estate managers who are interested only in local issues. He was responding to a comment by his PAP opponent, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who said residents should ask contesting parties about their plans for the constituency. SMU's Prof Tan called the PSP's approach 'untenable' and that its lack of sensitivity to municipal concerns may have contributed to its poor showing. '(PSP) seemed to have ignored voters' concerns about estate management and improvement… For the voters, if the MPs are not going to take care of their estates, who will?' he asked. Mr Leong's PSP team lost to Mr Lee's PAP slate, which polled 60.01 per cent of the vote this round, up from 51.68 per cent in 2020. Ground knowledge may have also been why Mr Darryl Lo, an independent candidate and unknown before the election, managed to secure 23.47 per cent of the vote in Radin Mas SMC, compared with People's Alliance for Reform's Kumar Appavoo's 7.36 per cent. While it was Mr Kumar's fourth general election, Mr Lo grew up and lived in Radin Mas, and ran a campaign that had both policy ideas and estate-level suggestions, including cleanliness issues in the Bukit Purmei area and to have a dog run in the constituency. Mr Lo's vote share beat out the performance of many of the smaller opposition parties in single seats, and contributed to independent candidates turning in their best election results here in over five decades. 'One can read much into how voters preferred a young but well-qualified, on paper, candidate in Radin Mas to an opposition candidate who had contested the area multiple times prior,' said Prof Theseira. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Tastemakers: Ex-teacher sells modernised nasi padang to preserve parents' food legacy
Mr Eugene Tan, co-owner of Serangoon BBQ & Curry, and nasi padang bowls sold at his outlets. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO SINGAPORE – While his classmates spent weekends at play and enjoyed family outings during school holidays, Mr Eugene Tan's boyhood memories are of cutting long beans and gutting fish at his parents' nasi padang stall. By age 13, he was dispatching live crabs. His brother, who is two years younger, began helping out too, at age seven. 'Our school holidays were spent doing 'child labour' and 'interning' at our parents' stall,' says Mr Tan, a 46-year-old former teacher. At first, it felt novel. 'When I was 12, it was fun learning how to clean seafood,' he says. His brother was eager to fry eggs and omelettes. But they quickly realised that once they mastered a task, it became part of their responsibilities. The worst job was cutting 4kg of long beans at a time, Mr Tan recalls with a grimace. It was difficult slicing them so precisely that his parents would not scold him for wasting edible ends. 'They were frugal and very conscious about cost and minimising food wastage,' he says. The work was demanding, but after initial resentment, Mr Tan appreciated the time spent with his parents, Mr Tan Tiam Bock, 74, and Madam Cheong Chiew Leng, 70. He also developed a deep respect for the dishes they cooked at Serangoon Nasi Padang, first opened at the now-defunct Somerset Eating House in 1983. One of his happiest memories is his father taking the family to Commonwealth Crescent Market for fish head beehoon at 9pm after work, which both he and his mother loved. Mr Tan and his brother used to help out on weekends and during their school holidays. By 15, he understood why his parents needed help. 'They gave us whatever we needed without spoiling us. I learnt the value of hard work and how money is not easy to come by.' That lesson stayed with him through a 14-year teaching career, a postgraduate scholarship and a switch to the corporate world. But in 2021, Mr Tan left his job as a trainer and business development manager at an aesthetics group, returning to the sambal-scented world of his childhood to preserve his parents' nasi padang legacy. The couple never expected either son to take over the business as they believed a food stall offered poor prospects. Mr Tan had pursued education, inspired by his teachers at Clementi Town Secondary School. With a social science degree and a post-graduate diploma in education from the National Institute of Education, he returned to teach English at his alma mater. He later earned a master's degree in education, curriculum and teaching from the same institute, and became a curriculum policy officer at the Ministry of Education. He had once aspired to be a principal, but his perspective changed in 2017 while teaching General Paper and heading the student leadership and scholarships department at Dunman High School. At 40, he realised he lacked real-world experience outside education and 'felt it was time to move to the private sector to learn new skills'. He received an offer to join SL Aesthetic Group, a Singapore-based medical aesthetics and wellness group, as a trainer and business development manager in 2018. The following year, he took his boss, Dr Gabriel Wong, 39, to his parents' stall, which consistently drew long lunchtime queues at a Bishan coffee shop. Dr Wong praised the food and encouraged Mr Tan to learn the recipes, offering to be his business partner if Mr Tan pursued the idea. In September 2020, Mr Tan's parents sold the stall, including the business name, and retired. Soon after, former customers began calling – the food 'tasted different'. Mr Tan Tiam Bock asked if he wanted to restart the business together. He said yes immediately. By October 2021, they were back and under a new name, Serangoon BBQ & Curry, in Sin Ming Road. Father and son co-owned the stall with $10,000 in shared capital. They reduced the menu and focused on consistency. Mr Eugene Tan, who left SL Aesthetic Group in December 2020, operated using spreadsheets and systems. He wanted to refine and scale the business, but met resistance. He clashed with his parents over reducing food costs from 50 to 40 per cent and raising prices to reflect rising ingredient costs. They also disagreed over food preparation, from grilling chicken to frying eggs. His parents each had his or her own style of cooking. 'When it was my turn to cook, I used a combination of their methods, but they would scold me for not strictly following their individual styles,' he says. His father had learnt to cook in a Sembawang kampung, helping neighbours prepare dishes like beef rendang, sayur lodeh and sambal goreng for Malay weddings. 'My father cooked by feel and experience, but I had to put recipes and quantities down on paper,' says Mr Tan. 'I had to weigh ingredients – it was a painful process. He would insist I use my eyes instead.' Despite the tiffs, learning to cook from his father strengthened their bond. Mr Tan learnt the intricacies of his father's signature dish – sambal goreng – made with long beans, tau kwa and tempeh, each deep-fried separately for the right texture. His father insisted on making sambal fresh daily. 'Though his methods are tedious and not always explained scientifically, I gained culinary skills and deeper respect for his craft. I also learnt patience,' says Mr Tan, who is a bachelor. Mr Eugene Tan has life-size standees of his parents at his Bishan outlet. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO In August 2023, he persuaded his father to invest in a combi oven which cost about $20,000, as it would enable them to cook 100 pieces of BBQ chicken at a time in 18 minutes, with juicier and more consistent results. 'The oven also ended our quarrels about how to grill chicken,' he adds with a laugh. In November 2024, he and Dr Wong opened a fast-casual outlet with the same name at shopping mall Junction 8 with $250,000 in capital. The 490 sq ft outlet seats 20. He ditched the traditional display of trays of food. Instead, orders are made through self-service kiosks and the food is freshly prepared. Customers choose from five mains – including BBQ chicken and beef rendang – and 11 side dishes like sambal goreng and blossom achar. Bowls start at $10.90 for BBQ chicken with curry vegetable, quail eggs balado, sambal belacan and rice. Another popular option is the beef rendang bowl with sambal goreng, blossom achar and rice at $13.90. (From left) Beef rendang, sambal goreng, blossom achar, sambal belacan and rice; and BBQ chicken, curry vegetable, quail eggs balado, sambal belacan and rice, at Serangoon BBQ & Curry. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO Drinks include Calamansi & Sour Plum Slushy and Momo Peach Slushy ($3.90 each). (From left) Calamansi & Sour Plum Slushy and Momo Peach Slushy at Serangoon BBQ & Curry. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO In January, Mr Tan and his father closed the Sin Ming outlet, shifting operations to a central kitchen in Bedok to prepare food for the Junction 8 location and to support future outlets. (His father is no longer a shareholder in the new outlets because he is preparing to retire eventually.) The Junction 8 outlet was halal-certified in March . 'We've always been a pork-free establishment,' says Mr Tan. 'It wasn't difficult to get halal certified since we've used halal ingredients from the beginning in 1983.' In March, he opened a second outlet at Raffles Specialist Centre. The 800 sq ft space, which can seat 40, cost $150,000 to set up. Both outlets are seeing brisk business and are on track to break even within a year, with a projected revenue of $1 million in total by year-end. Still, there have been missteps. Mr Tan once lost his temper with a customer who complained that the nasi padang did not match the menu photos. 'I told her to please never come back,' he says. 'But I regretted it. We depend on customers.' He has since learnt to manage negative feedback more calmly. Running his business has enabled Mr Tan to hone his patience. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO Today, he works 12-hour days with no days off, juggling operations across outlets, filling in for staff and managing social media with Dr Wong. His parents oversee food preparation at the central kitchen. 'Working in front lets me gather feedback and introduce our brand story,' he says. He also draws from his teaching background to manage staff. 'Back then, I was responsible for students' well-being. Now, I focus on staff development and engagement.' He and Dr Wong plan to open another outlet by the end of 2025 , likely in the heartland. Their long-term plan: Eight outlets in Singapore and overseas expansion. Some purists say he is not doing justice to his father's food by modernising it. But Mr Tan stays focused. 'We choose dishes based on popularity and practicality – can we replicate the quality if we scale up?' That mission – to honour his parents' decades of dedication – keeps him going. He even has life-sized standees of his parents displayed at his Bishan outlet. 'Some customers recognise the chicken and my father's cooking even if they don't see him,' he says. 'They realise it's the same dish, just under a different name.' He recalls a couple who had eaten at his father's stall since their school days. Now married, they visited the Junction 8 outlet and told him the food tasted just like they remembered. 'That makes it worth it.' When asked what keeps him going, he does not hesitate. 'I owe it to my parents.' Tastemakers is a personality profile series on food and beverage vendors who are creating a stir. Hedy Khoo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers food-related news, from reviews to human interest stories. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
The Sun
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Malaysian SMEs very concerned about fallout from US tariffs: Samenta
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian small and medium enterprises are 'very concerned' about the potential fallout from US tariffs, with exporters already seeing orders delayed and joint ventures suspended, while non-exporters fear a surge of dumped goods from China that could disrupt the domestic market. Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Samenta) chairman of international trade Eugene Tan said domestic SMEs that directly export to America are already experiencing disruptions in trade flows and cost pressures. 'The situation is a significant concern for those directly exporting to the US. The tariff represents a direct cost. 'Importers bear the cost, but many American buyers push exporters here to reduce prices to offset the tariff impact. Ultimately, the burden falls back on us,' he said during a panel discussion at the 'Beyond the Headlines on US Tariffs: What's Next for Malaysian Businesses and the Global Economy?' forum hosted by Hong Leong Bank Bhd today. Tan stated that the primary concern for SMEs not directly exporting to the US is the broader economic outlook. He emphasised the risk of a potential slowdown, exacerbated by an influx of dumped goods from China flooding the Malaysian market. 'Local SMEs are significantly smaller in scale compared to Chinese competitors. If China begins flooding the market with dumped goods and services, we won't be able to compete.' Tan said domestic SMEs are looking at whether Malaysia has regulations in place to protect local businesses from the impact of the dumping. 'Is there some kind of regulation to protect the local industry, like the services and retail sectors, which are already feeling the brunt of this kind of goods (and services) dumping?' Tan confirmed that a slowdown is already being felt, which signals declining trade activity among SMES. 'There has been an immediate reduction in volumes. We are witnessing orders being put on hold, collaborations suspended indefinitely, and joint ventures delayed. Orders have slowed down across the board. Essentially, all the expected challenges are unfolding right now,' he said. The government recently announced Skim Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan for the manufacturing sector, but Tan said there was no mention of similar support for the services sector. 'One of the biggest concerns among Samenta members is, 'What about us?' Many of them provide services, and the Americans are also cutting back on those. How can we navigate these challenging times if support is only extended to manufacturers and not the services sector?' he said. Hong Leong Bank group managing director and CEO Kevin Lam said that while the new global trade order presents challenges, it also unveils opportunities for businesses prepared to embrace change and reposition themselves. He noted that the initial uncertainty following the 'new trade world order' that began on April 2 was followed by the dynamism and adaptability of Malaysian entrepreneurs in seeking new avenues and innovative solutions. 'During such challenges, decisive leadership and strategic foresight become indispensable for fostering resilience and entrepreneurial responses to potentially significant shifts in the global environment. 'Our collective responsibility is to proactively equip SMEs with the knowledge, resources, and support necessary to navigate these complexities,' he said.
