News Today

Lying over visit passes: ICA officer charged
AN IMMIGRATION and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer was charged in court yesterday with two counts of helping two Filipinas get visit passes by lying that they would be staying at his home.Mohammad Radzi Mohd Kassim, 34, is accused of abetting Pauline... [Read more]

Forum on what it means to be moderate Muslims
CONCERNED that extreme views abroad may influence Muslims here, Islamic religious leaders are setting out to explain that being moderate is an essential part of being a good Muslim.The term 'moderate Muslim' has been debated within the community and abroad, with... [Read more]

British teens urged to learn Mandarin, Urdu
LONDON - THE British government has embarked on an initiative to boost the economy through the learning of 'economically useful' languages.These are expected to include Mandarin and Urdu, alongside the traditional favourites of French, German and Spanish. In the first part... [Read more]

S'pore, Manila 'can build on longstanding ties'
MANILA - VISITING President SR Nathan spoke last night of longstanding ties between Singapore and the Philippines, and opportunities to take it forward in areas such as tourism. He also cited the two countries' role as founding Asean members who helped... [Read more]

Walkouts can cause bigger trouble
AFTER 16 years as a player and 33 years as a manager travelling to all corners of the globe, the 65-year-old Alex Ferguson must have seen it all. Then came Tuesday. 'I have never seen anything like that in football,' said... [Read more]

Games of chance in Taiwanese politics
TAIPEI - TAIWAN'S rival political camps yesterday found a 'novel' way to resolve a deadlock over the redrawing of electoral boundaries for the year-end legislative polls - through finger-guessing games and drawing lots.The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main... [Read more]

Federer ties with Connors
NEW YORK - ROGER Federer is set to break Jimmy Connors' record for consecutive weeks atop the men's tennis rankings. The Swiss took over the world No. 1 spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour rankings on Feb 2, 2004.... [Read more]

'Amazing race' to raise funds for special school
YESTERDAY afternoon, 48 tertiary students started a three-day, two-night challenge styled after the Amazing Race reality show. The youths, just like the TV programme's participants, are aiming for money - but to raise them for charity. The eight teams in the... [Read more]

Sports World
ENGLAND TRIUMPHSYDNEY: England ended a run of nine straight losses to Australia with a 92-run win in a tri-series one-day cricket international yesterday.That kept alive their chances of leap-frogging New Zealand into the best-of-three finals.Ed Joyce belted 107 to help England... [Read more]

Move to prevent 'cheap sale' of state assets
SHANGHAI - CHINA yesterday announced new rules aimed at guaranteeing that state assets identified as key to the nation's economic security are not sold too cheaply to foreigners.Private deals will be strictly controlled and will require approvals from national and provincial... [Read more]

Jakarta bans sand exports, cutting off S'pore's main supply
JAKARTA - INDONESIA has banned the export of some sand and soil products in what it says are efforts to prevent further damage to its environment and to protect its boundaries.The move would cut off the main supply of land sand... [Read more]

Ingredients to make National Education succeed

DR AMY Khor's parliamentary speech on National Education (NE) strikes a chord with me. I believe the NE committee should look into these areas if it wants to rid the programme's 'boring' or 'propaganda' tag: philanthropy, the kampung spirit of selflessness, the thinking of our country's leaders, and globalisation.

The Government's call for more philanthropists can be made more effective if action is taken to educate our young about the need to give back to society through citing the actions of today's philanthropists. This provides reinforcement to families who are already educating their children about it.

Sunday Times columnist Mathew Pereira wrote this month about his Singaporean friend who had second thoughts about coming home as he felt his countrymen do not bother to build bonds with others. What if this thinking exists in a considerable number overseas?

We are known globally for our many achievements. But this will be affected in the long run if our social fabric is weakened eventually - when people build 'walls' between one another.

We need to revisit the kampung spirit of earlier generations where everyone would make an effort to help those around them who are in need, even mere acquaintances. One country to learn from is South Korea. At least two of my friends were impressed by the generosity of Korean companies in sponsoring their country's student community during a student cultural day in a Chinese university, and the strong family spirit felt during a home stay with Koreans while attending a National Youth Council-related event last year.

What is needed lastly is up-to-date literature: readings about our leaders and their thinking, and influential writers such as Thomas Friedman. Our young are just a click away from the Internet. They can read and hear almost anything - even the utterly baseless. Political opponents may disagree, but no one can deny that we got to where we are because of the minds of leaders such as Messrs Lee Kuan Yew, S. Rajaratnam and Goh Keng Swee.

I reckon half the students here do not even know who the last is. More importantly, what students need to know to survive is the globalisation system that we live in - where cruel competition comes not only from within, but from the world.

The road is long but I believe NE can eventually be a success.



Daniel Ong Kian Hong

Mardan poised to challenge for lead

THE Clariden Leu Singapore Masters' field is stronger and defending champion Mardan Mamat has been in poor form.

But the message after Day 1 is clear: write the Republic's No 1 golfer off at your own peril.

Staring at the Laguna Masters Course's second green in ankle-high rough yesterday, his title defence seemed bound for an early bogey.

But Mardan bailed himself out.

He sent his wedge shot to 20 feet of the par-five hole before two-putting to save par.

Said the 39-year-old: 'That was a tricky but crucial save. It gave me the momentum to do well.'

Four birdies in a blemish-free 68 opening round at the tougher Masters Course ensured he is tied-15th among the record 204-man field.

He is four strokes adrift of joint-leaders Liang Wenchong of China and Marcus Fraser of Australia. Both managed 64 at the Classic Course.

One stroke behind the leading duo are Japan's Shingo Katayama, India's Jyoti Randhawa and Scotland's Barry Hume, who all played at the Classic Course.

Top names such as England's David Howell (71), Wales' Ian Woosnam (73) and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke (74) failed to impress.

This leaves Mardan well-poised to make a charge up the leaderboard of the US$1.1 million (S$1.7 million) event today, when he tees off at the easier Classic Course.

His four-under 68 was the day's lowest at the Masters Course.

He said: 'I kept calm, was patient and did not try too hard.'

Then there was the yellow shirt.

That was the same colour he wore when he became the first Singaporean to win a European Tour event last year.

He said: 'That's my lucky colour.'

Accurate approach shots and calm putting from the visibly relaxed Singaporean saw him picking up birdies at the fourth, eighth, 11th and 16th.

Said Thai Thongchai Jaidee, who carded a 69: 'It's his home course, he knows all the greens inside out.

'He's the favourite.'

However, that did not seem the case before the tournament.

Since Mardan's historic win a year ago, he has made only one top-10 finish.

He missed the cut in eight of the other 15 events, including last week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket.

But he answered his critics yesterday when he was the only Singaporean in the top 150.

He continued his fine form on the Masters Course, which saw him clinching the crown last year after leading from start to finish.

In his last five rounds, he has managed to go 16 under par.

His best score at the Classic is a 67, which he shot in 2000 at the Mandarin Oriental Open.

China's Liang made the most of the Classic's wider fairways, notching eight birdies between the fifth and 15th holes.

His red-hot form made up for the withdrawal of compatriot Zhang Lianwei, who was forced out by an eye infection.

The 2003 winner was joined on the sidelines by Australia's Tony Carolan (personal reasons), Japan's Tadahiro Takayama (flu) and Australia's Matthew Millar (wrist).

Despite their absence, some 4,000 spectators were still treated to a flurry of action at the two Laguna courses yesterday.

They included ex-Liverpool star striker Ian Rush, who is here as an ESPN Star Sports guest presenter.

alfoo@sph.com.sg

Singapore Masters, Day 2
Live, Ch5 and Ch24, 2.30pm

Poly route shut for average students

AVERAGE O-level students with an aggregate score between 18 and 20 points are finding it harder to get places in the polytechnics despite having passed all six subjects.

In the past, polytechnics had been an avenue for these students to build on their education.

As my daughter, who had an aggregate score of 20 points, was eligible for many courses listed on the results slip, we put down nine out of the 12 choices given because she was interested in those courses.

However, she got none of the nine choices. She was informed by the Ministry of Education that this was because the courses she selected had a low cutoff aggregate point. This fact was not made known on the registration booklet or form.

She was also told that students with points as low as 11 or 12 were now applying to the polytechnics instead of the junior colleges.

If this becomes a trend, then it is an issue to be looked into, and the enrolment at polytechnics should be increased.

Average students who fail to make it to courses of their choice have to settle for courses for which they have no interest, or go overseas if the parents can afford the expense.

Being a Singaporean, I believe that students should be given the opportunity to pursue further education here, rather than elsewhere.

Could the authorities please look into this matter?

K. Mathiyazhaki (Ms)

Other AWOL cases

Masrezwan Masturi (2000)

He was the first player to be sacked by then-national coach Jan Poulsen for indiscipline.

He skipped Tiger Cup training sessions, claiming an ankle injury, but did not attend physiotherapy sessions.

Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin (2004)

Winger was axed from national team after missing three of six training sessions for a World Cup qualifier against Oman.

In 1999, he was punished with a five-day stay at the SAF detention barracks, after skipping national pre-Olympic training and failing to show up for an SAFFC photo shoot.

Itimi Dickson (2006)

The Nigerian-born midfielder was slapped with a hefty six-month suspension from the national team, after missing two weeks of training for the Asian Cup qualifiers. He returned to the team after the ban.

Clariden Leu Singapore Masters

Dates: Thursday to Sunday

Venue: Laguna National Golf and Country Club

Thursday and Friday: Masters and Classic courses

Saturday and Sunday: Masters course only

Tee-off: 7.40am

Tickets (through Sistic):

Thursday and Friday: $15 per day; Saturday and Sunday: $40 per day

Season pass: $80

Under-16s: free

Under-21s and seniors (over 60): Thursday and Friday free

Ladies: Friday free

Transport: From Singapore Expo MRT and car park J to Laguna National, 7.30am to 6.30pm

Thursday and Friday: Every 15 minutes

Saturday and Sunday: Every 10 minutes

News Today

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Gascoigne to act in sci-fi horror movie
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An Asian triangle to watch out for
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Video game maker raided for using illegal software
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Equal prize money for women
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China's role as go-between no longer crucial
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Bouquets
CELLPHONE FOUND, THANKS TO STAFF OF FAST-FOOD OUTLETON FEB 2, I left my mobile phone at McDonald's at Centrepoint after having breakfast there. I only realised this later, at the National University of Singapore campus, and had to get my husband... [Read more]

OCBC to buy Indonesian debt underwriter
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Manufacturing attracts record $9b investments
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA drew a record RM20.2 billion (S$9 billion) in foreign investments in its manufacturing sector last year, but is facing more competition for funds. All in, 1,077 manufacturing projects worth RM46 billion were approved last year, far exceeding... [Read more]

$89,000 village for the poor in wife's name
FILIPINO stock trader Rudy Abad's story has been one of tragedy and triumph, riches and rags, love lost and hope discovered. These are imbued in the Maria Rose Abad Village, a settlement on Manila's outskirts which the 60-year-old helped build in... [Read more]

Tsang envisions HK as China's key financial hub
HONG Kong must continue to thrive as a financial hub and at the same time take steps to ensure that the rich-poor wealth gap does not worsen.These were among the key goals for the city's Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who launched... [Read more]