Singapore PR to ASEAN Bids Farewell to ASEAN SG
The outgoing Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to ASEAN, Ambassador Lim Thuan Kuan, called on the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh, today to bid farewell. Ambassador Lim is to shortly leave Jakarta to assume the post of the Ambassador of Singapore to India.
SG Minh thanked Ambassador Lim for his dedication, contribution and service towards the work of ASEAN since the establishment of the Committee of Permanent Representative to ASEAN (CPR) in 2009. The Secretary-General also thanked the Ambassador and the Government of Singapore for their continued support and assistance to the ASEAN Secretariat, in particular in strengthening the ASEAN Secretariat.
Reference: http://www.asean.org/news#
ASEAN Community 2015 and Beyond
“The ASEAN Foreign Ministers discussed strategic and political-security issues that are critical to the resilience and relevance of ASEAN, as well as issues of common concern and interest to the region,” said H.E. Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN, at the Post-46th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) / Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) / 20th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) / 3rd East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (EAS FMM) and Related Meetings Briefing, held today at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.
Reference:http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-community-2015-and-beyond?category_id=27
New home loan rules may cause 15% fall in demand: analyst
SINGAPORE: Property analysts said the new property loan curbs could cause housing demand to drop by up to 15 per cent over the next few months.
On Friday evening, Singapore’s central bank introduced a Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework and tighter Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits on housing loans.
Analysts said these new rules, which take effect on Saturday, will hit property investors the hardest.
Property analysts said the new rules will not significantly affect genuine house hunters, or those looking to upgrade from their HDB flats.
By Saturday evening, all 738 units at private residential project J Gateway were snapped up.
Over at the Jewel, Buangkok’s new condominium, 80 per cent of its 350 units were sold.
But it is a different story for property investors looking to buy a second or third property.
The TDSR framework will apply to loans for the purchase of all types of property, loans secured on property and the re-financing of all such loans.
Analysts said these latest measures will also close loopholes used by some investors to circumvent the existing rules.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the move aims to encourage financial prudence and cool demand.
Reference:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-home-loan-rules-may/728792.html
Malaysian women’s death reportedly blame on haze
Smog from slash-and-burn agricultural fires in Indonesia has been blamed for killing an asthmatic woman in southern Malaysia, the first reported death attributed to the crisis.
The Sun newspaper said Li Cai Ling, a resident of the southern town of Muar which saw intense air pollution at the weekend, died on Sunday with a medical report blaming the polluted air.
Singapore initially bore the impact of Southeast Asia’s worst smog crisis for years with pollution reaching record levels last week. Favorable winds have since cleared the air over the city-state but southern Malaysia remains choked by smoke.
Pollution increased to hazardous levels in some parts of the country in recent days, with southern Malaysia seeing its worst air quality in 16 years last weekend.
The smog has eased but continued to hang over some areas including the capital Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
The situation has also forced newly-promoted English Premier League side Cardiff City to cancel a Malaysia visit that was set to begin this week.
The club said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday that it has abandoned the scheduled week-long trip to Malaysia, home of its billionaire owner Vincent Tan “due to the current poor air quality in the region”.
“It has been decided for the welfare of all concerned to delay the trip,” Tan said in the statement.
Several team representatives including manager Malky Mackay and forward Craig Bellamy were to leave for Malaysia on Thursday for a visit intended to promote the club to the country’s football fans.
The air pollution has also forced the cancellation of other sporting events in Malaysia including a marathon in Kuala Lumpur and a national-level competition for disabled athletes.
Reference: http://www.aseanaffairs.com › Daily News
Updates – Vietnam, Corruption Prevention
Corruption prevention to be taught in senior high schools
HA NOI — Corruption prevention will be taught at high schools and educational institutions from the new academic year, following the success of a three-year pilot scheme.
Conditions were now in place to introduce anti-corruption courses into curriculums from senior high school level, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in his directive on the issue.
The Government Inspectorate would release training instructions for teachers, Dung said. It would also introduce an anti-corruption column on its website, offering information, advice and case studies of corruption cases to be used as reference material.
Ministries, State agencies and provincial and city People’s Committees were responsible for overseeing the implementation of the directive at educational and training facilities under their management.
The inspectorate stated that corruption cases in Viet Nam were on the rise and were unpredictable and complicated in scale and nature.
Last year, State bodies uncovered 49 cases of corruption involved 67 people plus property worth VND132.7 billion (US$6.3 million).
In an interview with the local media in February, deputy inspector-general Tran Duc Luong said the pilot scheme had resulted in a series of documents for trainers and training.
He said the scheme, together with many other drastic measures, would mark new progress in the fight against corruption. — VNS
Reference:http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/Corruption-prevention-to-be-taught-in-schools/20136/35648.vnplus
Chairman’s Statement
Chairman’s Statement of The 22nd ASEAN Summit, “Our People, Our Future Together”
The following chairman’s statement at the 22nd ASEAN summit, held in Bandar Seri Begawan on 24-25 April 2013, was “Our People, Our Future Together”.
ASEANOurCommunity 