Singapore
An update from the
Singapore Embassy
AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER 2011
Dr Tony Tan is Singapore’s New President
Photos courtesy of Singapore Press Holdings
He is sworn into office on September 1st, replacing
former President S R Nathan
On August 27th, Singaporeans went to the polls to cast
their vote for the country’s
Presidential elections. After a
recount, Dr Tony Tan emerged
as the victor, polling 35.2 percent of the votes.
Dr Tan Cheng Bock was a
close second, polling 34.8 percent. A third candidate, Mr Tan
Jee Say, received 25 percent of
the votes while the final candidate, Mr Tan Kin Lian garnered 4.9 percent. A total of 2.1
million votes were cast.
In a statement the following
morning, Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong acknowledged
that voters faced ‘a difficult
choice’ between Dr Tony Tan
and Dr Tan Cheng Bock.
“Nevertheless, under our firstpast-the-post system, the election
has produced an unambiguous
winner, who has the mandate to
be the next president.”
He added: “Now that the
election is over, we should all
come together again as Singaporeans, to tackle the challenges that Singapore faces,
and take our nation forward.”
Swearing In
As dusk fell on Singapore on
September 1st, Dr Tony Tan was
sworn in as Singapore’s seventh
President in a stately ceremony
inside the Istana, where he
Continued on next page ➤
Dr Tony Tan (center) being sworn in as Singapore’s seventh President, with Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong (left) and Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong (right), who presided over the swearing-in
Ambassador Chan Heng
Chee was given Singapore’s top
civilian honor in the National
Day awards list in August this
year.
She was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, the highest among the National Day
awards given to 3,010 people in
recognition of their outstanding efforts in public service, community work and other fields.
Ambassador Chan was
lauded for her contributions to
Singapore’s diplomatic service,
which began in 1989 when she
became Singapore’s Permanent
Representative to the United
Nations, and at the same time,
the High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico.
In 1996, she was appointed
Singapore’s envoy to the U.S.,
where she is now the second
longest-serving Ambassador in
the diplomatic corps, behind
the ambassador of Djibouti,
and the longest-serving woman
Ambassador.
Photo courtesy of Singapore Press Holdings
Ambassador Chan Awarded Singapore’s Highest Honor
Ambassador Chan said she
was surprised when she was
told about the award by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA). It is her third National
Day award. She received the
Public Administration Medal
(Gold) in 1999 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2005.
She said that “When you are
a diplomat representing your
country, you don’t think of getting recognition or rewards.
“It is mainly the mission at
Continued on next page ➤
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee
Dr Tony Tan is
Singapore’s New
President
Ambassador
Chan Awarded
Singapore’s
Highest Honor
continued from page 1
continued from page 1
Photo courtesy of Singapore Press Holdings
pledged that he will represent
Singaporeans from all walks of
life and of all political views.
Speaking in his typically
measured tone, Dr Tan, 71, also
vowed to use the office of the
presidency to build a constructive relationship with the Government, as well as work with
civil society and community
groups to advance the interests
of all Singaporeans.
He was flanked on each side
by Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong and Chief Justice Chan
Sek Keong, who presided over
the swearing-in at the Istana’s
State Room, witnessed by Cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament, diplomats and members of the Council of Presidential Advisers, as well as business, religious and community
leaders.
It followed a welcome parade
with a 96-strong guard of honour that had earlier done the
honours in a farewell parade for
President SR Nathan, 87, who
stepped down on August 30th
after 12 years in office.
Members of the Cabinet
President Tony Tan, accompanied by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, inspecting the guard of
honour at the welcome parade at the Istana for the swearing-in ceremony
stood at the Istana car porch
waving their goodbyes as Mr
Nathan and his wife were driven to their home in Ceylon Road.
Moments later, Dr Tan
arrived with his wife Mary, 70,
and he inspected the guard of
honour under a warm night sky.
PM Lee, in his speech, said
Dr Tan was taking office at a
critical point in Singapore’s economic and socio-political devel-
opment owing to the global economic uncertainties and changing political landscape.
“As our President, you have
an important contribution to
make in promoting national unity,” said Mr Lee.
He added that Singapore
would need to continue to develop and adapt the elected presidency to build a more resilient
and stable political system.
hand. So much of what a diplomat does is not visible and you
don’t tell the whole world what
your agenda is.”
Ambassador Chan was a
political science professor at the
National University of Singapore and headed several thinktanks in Singapore before she
was seconded to the MFA for
her diplomatic postings.
She was founding director
of the Institute of Policy Studies in 1988 and served as director of the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies from 1993 to 1996.
Crediting her award to the
‘good teams’ both at the
embassy in Washington DC and
the Foreign Affairs Ministry in
Singapore, Prof Chan added
that an ambassador must be
active and full of initiative, too.
“Things don’t just happen.
The ambassador makes it happen,” she said.
“For me, I am assisted by the
good reputation of Singapore in
the United States. We are seen
to be an effective country.”
DPM Tharman Chairs IMF’s Policy Steering Committee Meeting
the G-20 finance ministers’ meetings and related roundtables
which discussed options to tackle
the weakening economic growth
while ensuring credible, mediumterm fiscal consolidation plans.
Following the meetings, the
IMFC, which steers policy at
the International Monetary
Fund, said in the statement that
it agreed to ‘act decisively to
tackle the dangers confronting
the global economy’ and will
‘act collectively to restore confidence and financial stability,
and rekindle global growth’.
Photo courtesy of IMF
Singapore’s Finance Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was in Washington from
September 22 to 24 to chair the
International Monetary and
Financial Committee’s (IMFC)
meeting. (The IMFC comprises
24 members who are central bank
governors and ministers, drawn
from countries reflecting the composition of the IMF Executive
Board—which includes U.S., UK,
Germany, France, China, Japan.)
Mr Tharman, who is also
Deputy Prime Minister and
Manpower Minister, attended
IMFC Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam (left) and International Monetary Fund’s Managing
Director Christine Lagarde and hold a joint press conference after the IMFC Meetings at IMF
Headquarters in Washington, DC.
Celebrating 46 Years of Singapore
On August 2nd, more than 400 guests and well wishers gathered at the Singapore Embassy to join in the combined celebrations for Singapore’s 46th National Day and Armed Forces Day.
Among the guests were notables such as Senator James Webb,
Senator for Virginia and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Asia Pacific Sub-committee and his wife Mrs
Hong Le Webb; Congressman Cliff Stearns, Representative for
Florida’s 6th District and Co-Chair of the Singapore Congressional Caucus; Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn; Ambassador Capricia Marshall, United States Chief of Protocol. Ambassadors from many embassies in Washington DC also turned up.
Ambassador Chan started the evening’s proceedings with a
speech which gave an update on developments in Singapore over
the past one year. She noted that after a stellar year in 2010,
growth in Singapore for 2011 was expected to moderate to around
5-7%. The country was also continuing with the strategy of investing in the national infrastructure and focusing on getting macroeconomic policies right in order to lift productivity and position
our workforce for the challenges and demands of the 21st century.
With the General Elections happening recently in May, Ambassador Chan took the opportunity to update guests on the political
developments in the country. She noted that there was a new political landscape with the emergence of` a new generation of younger
voters. More vigorous debate of policies was to be expected she said.
Ambassador Chan announced that bilateral relations between
Singapore and the United States continue to remain strong and
made significant progress this year. Both countries are working
toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement along with 7 other countries; and the two countries also share a convergence of
strategic perspectives in a dynamic and changing Asia. She ended
by reiterating that Singapore remains committed to maintaining
the strong bilateral relationship and to promoting prosperity and
stability in the region.
After this, Senator Webb and Congressman Stearns took turns
to speak about the longstanding and broad-based relationship
between Singapore and the United States. They both acknowledged the friendship that Singapore has shown towards the United States and then, befitting of the occasion, both men raised their
glasses to propose a toast to Singapore.
Congressman Cliff Stearns (left), Representative for Florida’s 6th District and Co-Chair of
the Singapore Congressional Caucus wtih
Ambassador Chan and Virginia Senator and
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Asia Pacific Sub-committee James
Webb (right) and his wife Mrs Hong Le Webb
Ambassador Chan welcoming Deputy Secretary
of Defense, William Lynn, to the reception
Ambassador Chan with Senator James Webb (middle) and Congressman Cliff Stearns (right) as
they raise their glasses for a toast to Singapore
Mr Shanmugam Attends First General
Assembly as Singapore Foreign Minister
Singapore’s Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam called on
the United Nations to adjust its
processes to the new environment in a statement at the 66th
session of the UN General
Assembly on September 27th.
“Globalisation and economic
resolutions, which we debate
year after year, and present
realities.
“While established processes
are important, this should not
hamper innovative thinking and
solutions,” he noted and said
that definitive timelines and
Foreign Minister K.
Shanmugam with
Deputy Secretary of
State, Mr Bill Burns
integration have redefined global governance and decisionmaking,” said Mr Shanmugam.
He noted that there are several challenges facing the
world. Problems emerging from
the financial crisis of 2008 had
been compounded by natural
and
man-made
disasters.
Alongside water security, climate change and sustainable
development are long-term issues
that need serious attention.
”The efficiency of responses
should be reviewed and
improved upon,” he said. “At
present, there is a disconnect
between the proliferation of
specific objectives to resolutions
should be set.
“Let us focus on what needs
to be done, who should do it
and when it should be done by.
That will ensure that there are
targeted outcomes and real
implementation,” he added.
On the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly, Mr Shanmugam also met with Deputy
Secretary of State, Mr Bill
Burns. They reaffirmed the
positive state of bilateral relations between both countries
and exchanged views on matters of regional and international concern.
National Export Initiative Advances U.S.-Singapore Economic Ties
by David Adelman, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore
for U.S. products and that U.S.
exports to Asia now exceed
U.S. exports to Europe. I’ve
seen first-hand the dynamic
nature of the Singaporean
economy, and I was pleased to
share my enthusiasm for this
important market and region
with my fellow Americans.
On September 14, we successfully completed the first
stop on the tour in Lansing,
Michigan. Lansing is a great
college town and the home of
Michigan State University. We
had an excellent turnout in
Lansing, with a terrific mix of
business, academia, and government attendees. I believe
that the strong partnership that
exists in America between business, academia, and government is one of the hallmarks of
the U.S. economy. The audience was sophisticated and
deeply interested in Singapore
and Southeast Asia. After sharing the President’s agenda for
the NEI in the morning session,
I participated in an active
breakout session with local college students and academics. At
lunch, I discussed President
Singapore Invited to Major Economies Forum
On the invitation of the United States,
ed Nations Framework for Climate
Minister for the Environment and
Change (UNFCCC).
Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrish-
The 11th meeting of the MEF saw
nan, attended the 11th Meeting of
major economies exchanging views on
the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on
the implementation and operationalisa-
Energy and Climate Change in Wash-
tion of the Cancun decisions adopted
ington DC, from September 16 to 17.
at the 16th Conference of the Parties
Initiated by the United States in
to the UNFCCC in Mexico last year.
2009, the MEF brings together seven-
While not a member of the MEF, Sin-
teen major economies in an informal
gapore was invited along with other
format to discuss issues relating to
non-members to attend the meeting as
the international climate change
a special participant. This was the fifth
negotiations occurring under the Unit-
time Singapore participated in the MEF.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of State
It was of course still dark as
I boarded the plane on the
morning of September 13, but
those of you who have traveled
out of Singapore on an early
morning flight know how
peaceful this time of day can be.
I was treated to the breathtaking sight of a brilliant full moon
off the left side of the plane and
a crimson sunrise to my right. I
traveled to the United States
for the “Five-Cities-Five-Days”
National Export Initiative
(NEI) Outreach tour, during
which I visited Lansing, Michigan; St. Paul, Minnesota and
St. Louis, Missouri. The U.S.
Embassy’s Senior Commercial
Officer, Patrick Santillo, joined
me and also visited Charleston,
West Virginia and Cincinnati,
Ohio. We met with U.S. companies in America’s heartland to
talk about exporting to Singapore and Asia. We shared with
them information on Singapore’s unique position as the
crossroads in the region and
encouraged them to come and
take a look. I knew they would
be interested to hear that Singapore is the tenth largest market
Ambassador Adelman (right) presenting Export Achievement Certificates to Michigan firms that
have been active in exporting to the region
Obama’s foreign policy goals in
Asia as well as how the U.S.
Embassy in Singapore is helping to assist U.S. companies
doing business in the region. All
in all it was a very good day in
a very interesting part of America. I was delighted to end the
event by presenting Export
Achievement Certificates to
three local Michigan firms that
have been active in exporting to
the region. Based on the
vibrant discussions during the
entire program, I am confident
we’ll see a number of the participants in Singapore in the coming months.
Mdm Halimah Yacob and Ambassador
Chan at the APEC Women’s Summit
Mdm Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, was in San Francisco from September
13 to 16 to attend the APEC 2011 Women and the Economy Summit. She participated in a High-Level Policy Dialogue on Women
and the Economy on September 16 chaired by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
In the delegation accompanying Mdm Halimah was Ambassador Chan Heng Chee; Mrs Laura Hwang, President, Singapore
Council of Women’s Organisations and Ms Elim Chew, Founder
& President, 77th Street (S)Pte Ltd.
The summit featured an impressive list of speakers including
Cherie Blair, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, UK;
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President of the United
States and Chair of the White House Council on Women and
Girls, and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International
Continued ➤
Monetary Fund.
World Bank to Set up Knowledge
Hub in Singapore
The World Bank and its varied units
will draw on Singapore’s infrastructure
expertise to set up a hub that will help
developing countries.
The new ‘knowledge’ centre, which
was outlined by World Bank president
Robert Zoellick at a conference in the
country on September 6th, will see its
staff strength grow to about 70.
“We need to unlock private-sector
interest in infrastructure and bring more
investors to the table,” said Mr Zoellick,
who signed an agreement on the same
day with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the
World Bank-Singapore Infrastructure
Finance Summit.
“We need an integrated approach to
support practical solutions for jumpstarting the public-private partnership
market. Our new hub can help meet
those needs.”
The World Bank’s presence in Singapore will be expanded, to include its private-sector investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and its
political risk guarantee arm, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga).
Miga will facilitate private investments from Asian investors in infrastructure by issuing risk guarantees for
funding institutions. The IFC will work
with Singapore-based firms to invest in
emerging markets.
To bring specialist knowledge on
development issues closer to the region,
Mr Bert Hofman, the World Bank’s
chief economist for East Asia and the
Pacific, will now be based in Singapore,
heading the Singapore office. This is the
first time the World Bank is siting the
chief economist for a region outside
Washington DC.
Mr Zoellick added: “Our chief financial officer, treasury, accounting, and
corporate finance and risk management
departments and our information communications technology office will also
station staff here in Singapore.”
This hub is the first of its kind outside Washington, DC. The World
Bank’s presence in Singapore now consists of a centre to help developing
nations address their urbanisation challenges, drawing on Singapore’s experience in this area.
Photo courtesy of Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore’s Deputy
Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
(right) and World Bank President Robert Zoellick
at the World Bank-Singapore Infrastructure
Finance Summit
Mdm Halimah Yacob and Ambassador Chan at APEC Women’s Summit
➤ At a Partner Policy Discussion Breakfast on the sidelines of the Summit, Ambassador Chan spoke on the topic of encouraging science technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education for women and girls. She shared Singapore’s experience at achieving a successful environment for Math & Science education. She also
noted that in Singapore, female students were equally competitive in STEM subjects
(in terms of enrollment numbers and grades) as their male counterparts.
While in San Francisco, Mdm Halimah and Ambassador Chan also took the opportunity to meet with Singaporeans living in the Bay Area.
UN Completes
Singapore Human
Rights Review
The first review
by the United
Nations of Singapore’s human rights
record ended on
September 22nd
with the adoption
of a report summarising the process and
the Republic’s appearance before member states in May.
The UN Human Rights Council subsequently adopted the Working Group
report on Singapore’s review at its 18th
session in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Working Group report now
becomes the basis for Singapore’s next
human rights review, which is due in five
years. This is under a process known as
the Universal Periodic Review, which
subjects all UN member states to a peer
review of their human rights situation.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 21st said that
the Working Group report contains a
summary of the proceedings from a
three-hour interactive session with member states in May. At that session, the
Singapore Government’s report on
human rights in the country as well as
input from several local civil society
organisations were presented and discussed.
These organisations included the
Association of Women for Action and
Research, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Federation, and the Humanitarian
Organisation for Migration Economics.
Ambassador Ong Keng Yong said at
the session that Singapore’s approach to
human rights was the result of its unique
historical, political and cultural circumstances. The pace and direction of
change would be decided by Singaporeans themselves and happen when a
majority desires it, he added.
Singapore is the 168th country to go
through this process. Other countries
reviewed at the same session included
Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Sudan and
Sierra Leone.
Business Briefs
More Trade and Investment
with U.S. on the Cards
The Singapore Business Federation
(SBF) signed a statement of intent
with the U.S. Foreign Commercial
Service (USFCS) on September 27th
to cooperate on promoting more
bilateral commercial activity between
the two nations.
The statement of intent was signed
in support of the U.S. National Export
Initiative, which aims to double
exports and support two million new
jobs in the country by the end of
2014.
USFCS director-general, Mr Suresh
Kumar—also the assistant secretary
of commerce for trade promotion at
the U.S. Department of Commerce—
and SBF chief executive Ho Meng Kit
attended the signing ceremony at the
U.S. Embassy in Singapore.
The SBF said the increased bilateral
commercial activity will largely focus
on nine industries here: electronics, oil
and gas, aircraft and parts, renewable
energy, information and communication technologies, scientific instruments, health care, education, and
franchising.
Certificates of Appreciation were
also handed out by the U.S. Embassy
to firms that have worked closely with
it to import U.S. products to Singapore. The four companies are Keppel
Fels, which makes oil rigs; Lanworks,
which imports network monitoring
software; Precision Technologies,
which imports products related to
defence and aerospace; and consumer
goods retailer Mustafa.
Mustafa regional director Sheik
Rajena told the Singapore media that
its U.S. imports are up over time.
Singapore Moves to 2nd Spot
in Global Competitiveness
Ranking
Singapore has claimed second spot in
the annual ranking of the world’s most
competitive economies, according to the
World Economic Forum (WEF) survey
released on September 7th.
Switzerland was judged most competitive economy and European countries
continue to dominate the rankings. Sweden placed third, Finland fourth while
Germany was sixth and the Netherlands
seventh. The United States was placed
fifth and Japan remains the secondranked Asian economy at nine.
The WEF measures an economy’s
productivity and capacity for sustainable
growth over the next five to 10 years.
It studied publicly available data and
polled more than 14,000 business
leaders from 142 countries.
Singapore’s strong showing came on
the back of its sound public institutions,
which were judged tops for efficiency
and a lack of corruption.
In terms of goods market efficiency—which weighs factors such as the
prevalence of trade barriers and the
intensity of local competition—Singapore was ranked first while coming in
second for labour market efficiency.
Singapore also led the world in terms
of financial market development and
ranked third for infrastructure.
But it did not fare as well in other
areas. It was eighth in innovation, 10th
in technological readiness, 15th in business sophistication and 37th in market
size
“In order to strengthen its competitiveness further, Singapore could encourage even stronger adoption of the latest
technologies as well as measures that
support the sophistication of its companies,” said a WEF statement.
Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio
GRC, Mr Inderjit Singh, noted that Singapore only started emphasising innovation
about 10 years ago and has yet to see
similar results when compared to similarsized countries like Finland and Israel.
“In the early days, it was mainly
multinational corporations or government
linked companies. But we’ve made a lot
of progress and have started emphasising
innovation, with the environment more
friendly now with the availability of seed
funding,” he said.
“Some of these firms will eventually
be winners”, said Mr Singh, who is also
a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Finance as
well as Trade and Industry.
Singapore is Asia-Pacific’s
Most Competitive IT Market
Singapore has overtaken Australia to
become the most competitive IT market
in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a
study by the Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU).
Worldwide, Singapore moved up six
places to third spot, after traditional
heavyweights the United States and
Finland.
The fourth report from EIU, called
Investment For The future: Benchmarking
IT Industry Competitiveness 2011,
scores 66 countries on six key indicators.
They are overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital,
legal framework, government’s support
and research and development (R&D)
landscape.
The EIU is the business information
arm of publisher The Economist Group.
Last updated in 2009, the study was
sponsored by anti-piracy trade group
Business Software Alliance.
In 2009, Singapore took the
No. 2 spot in the Asia-Pacific region
and ninth worldwide. This year, it
surpassed Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark to claim the
global No. 3 spot.
This is a result of Singapore making the right investments in the right
areas, said Mr Roger Somerville,
senior director of policy at BSA AsiaPacific.
Particularly, the country scored
well in categories like R&D and government support which were given a
much higher weightage in the final
computation of scores than other
indicators like legal framework.
The Government’s drive to wire
up the country, resulting in high PC,
broadband and cell phone ownership,
also helped raise Singapore’s overall
scores.
Singapore also did significantly
better than before in human capital,
measured by the number of people
in higher education and the number
employed in IT-related jobs said Mr
Somerville.
But the country still lags behind
others like Australia, the United States
and the Netherlands in the maturity
of its legal framework. This category
examines, among other things,
the presence of data privacy and
intellectual property laws and their
enforcement.
The U.S. has consistently retained
its pole position as the world’s most
competitive IT market since the study
was introduced in 2007.
Copyright Singapore GP
Stunning Spectacular:
Singapore Formula1 Nightrace 2011
Copyright Singapore Tourism Board
Fireworks peppered the night sky over Singapore’s Marina Bay
on September 25th, as the nation and the fastest Formula One
driver on the planet toasted to success at the SingTel Singapore
Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel, the driver for the Red Bull racing team led the
race from pole to flag for his maiden win on the glittering and gruelling Marina Bay street circuit.
The race was another visual and sporting feast that has delivered on all counts for the fourth year running.
The night’s action-packed race, which saw German driving ace
Michael Schumacher escape injury after a nasty crash into the barriers, was watched by an estimated 100 million people. The Singapore city skyline—a bewitching blend of colonial buildings and
ultra-modern skyscrapers—sparkled in the high-definition images
that were beamed across the world.
Even amid fears of a global recession, organisers were able to
attract a capacity crowd of more than 82,500. It is estimated that
more than half were foreign guests, and with the hospitality suites
all but sold out this year, the Singapore race has retained its lustre
and won over new fans.
Said Englishman Terry Stevens, 44: “Monaco has its own aura,
The Forumla 1 cars racing on the Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore
but there’s just something more special about Singapore—not just
the lights, but the overall atmosphere and the experience for both
the drivers and fans. It just takes your breath away.”
The sport’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone said that the Republic
remains the ultimate event on the 19-race F1 calendar.
Since Singapore’s debut in 2008, venues such as the dusk-tonight race in Abu Dhabi, as well as a grand prix in South Korea
and India, have been added to the F1 calendar.
But when asked by a local reporter if Singapore is still the
crown jewel of F1—a description Mr Ecclestone coined four years
ago—he replied: “Yes, for sure.”
The circuit entertainment scored top marks as well. Metal
giants Linkin Park rocked a record 50,000 fans at the Padang last
night as part of the organisers’ $5 million music-and-stage line-up.
There was plenty of star wattage at the paddock too, where
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, American rapper Ludacris and
British singer-producer Taio Cruz were spotted mingling with the
teams.
Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner paid tribute to the
hosts for yet another splendid spectacle. He said: “It’s fantastic as
usual, a great track, and it’s still one of the highlights of the year.
I love it.”
Aerial view of the Marina Bay street circuit
Violinist Lee-Chin Siow was awarded the Individual Artist Fellowship in the category of Music Performance by the South Carolina Arts Commission Board. Three other artists were also awarded Fellowships in the categories of Visual Arts, Music Composition and Craft.
Here is the full list of this years’ fellows:
Visual Arts: Jonathan Brilliant, Richland County
Craft: Russell Biles, Greenville County
Music Performance: Lee-Chin Siow, Charleston County
Music Composition: Mark Kilstofte, Greenville County
Lee-Chin Siow, Charleston County—Music Performance Fellow
Lee-Chin Siow is director of strings and professor of violin at
the College of Charleston. She studied violin performance at
Curtis Institute of Music,
Mannes College of Music
and Oberlin Conservatory of
Music. In 1994, she won gold
medals in the Henryk
Szeryng International Violin
Competition and the Louise
D. McMahon International
Violinist Lee-Chin Siow performing
Music Competition for Strings.
A Singapore native, Siow remains active with the arts in her
home country, winning the National Arts Council’s Young Artist
Award in 1996. Recently, she was the featured soloist with the
China Radio-Film Symphony Orchestra in a concert celebrating
the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and
Singapore.
Photo courtesy Daniel Schloss
Singaporean Violinist Recognized by South Carolina Arts Commission
Singapore
Singapore Embassy, 3501 International Place, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Singapore is published by the Singapore Embassy.
All comments, inquiries and requests for additional information may be forwarded
to Mr. Jerome LEE at (202) 537-3100, by email at [email protected]
or by fax to (202) 537-0876.
Stay connected with the Singapore Embassy:
@SingaporeEmbDC
SingaporeEmbassyDC
AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER 2011
All photos courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Takeout in NYC
The Singapore Takeout, a traveling pop-up kitchen on a global tour, was in Gansevoort Plaza in New York City from September 16th to 18th, to the delight of foodies in NYC. The kitchen
served up meals to more than 1200 delighted patrons over the
three days.
Singaporean chef Malcolm Lee, from the Candlenut Kitchen
restaurant in Singapore, served modern interpretations of authentic Peranakan dishes alongside chef Anthony Ricco, from Spice
Market in New York City. Lee and Ricco were joined by two other chefs from New York:
Ed Cotton of Plein Sud
and chef Dominique Ansel
of Daniel.
Lee was a crowd-pleaser with his twist on the traditional laksa, and his Candlenut’s Pork Buns, panseared slow braised pork
belly served with blue gin-
The outdoor atmosphere at the Singapore Takeout
ger lemongrass soy pork reduction, also hit the spot. Ricco’s
strong South East Asian influences came through in his bold
flavored Newton Circus Skate,
inspired by the famous hawker
spot in Singapore.
Chef Anthony Ricco (Spice Market) prepares to serve his Newton Circus Skate to the crowd
Chef Anthony Ricco’s Newton Circus Skate—
the skate is oven roasted with a chili glaze and
served alongside a fresh cucumber, mint and
lime salad.