world

Updated: Jul 01, 2017 21:02 IST

Thousands of Singaporeans dressed in pink packed a city park on Saturday for a gay-rights rally under tight security after the government banned foreign participants.

Singapore’s Pink Dot rally started in 2009 and has historically attracted crowds of up to 28,000 despite a backlash from conservative groups in a state where protests are strictly controlled.

But those taking part in this year’s rally had to show identity cards to prove they were citizens or permanent residents before being allowed into a barricaded zone.

They included both gay and straight Singaporeans, families with small children and Muslim women in veils, with many sitting on picnic mats under the scorching sun.

Adeline Yeo, an art director whose Polish partner was unable to attend and had to follow developments from a nearby bar, lamented the new regulations.

“It’s disappointing because we went from marching in London Pride last year right behind (London mayor) Sadiq Khan to having to celebrate separately,” she told AFP.

Apart from a ban on foreigners attending this year’s rally, overseas companies were also banned from providing sponsorship.

Singapore has long taken a hard line on what it considers foreign interference in domestic politics and has often been criticised by human rights groups for clamping down on political freedoms.

Multinationals like Facebook, Google and Goldman Sachs had funded previous editions as part of their equal- opportunity initiatives.

Under a law dating back to British colonial rule, sex between men is technically still a criminal act in Singapore but the statute is not being actively enforced.

Open support for gay rights has meanwhile grown in recent years, aided by changing social norms among the younger generation and a large influx of tourists and expatriates.

First Published: Jul 01, 2017 21:02 IST</s>Supporters attend the annual 'Pink Dot' event in a public show of support for the LGBT community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore on July 1, 2017. | AFP

SINGAPORE: Thousands of Singaporeans dressed in pink packed a city park on Saturday for a gay-rights rally under tight security after the government banned foreign participants.

Singapore's Pink Dot rally started in 2009 and has historically attracted crowds of up to 28,000 despite a backlash from conservative groups in a state where protests are strictly controlled.

But those taking party in this year's rally, which promotes 'freedom to love', had to show identity cards to prove they were citizens or permanent residents before being allowed into a barricaded zone.

They included both gay and straight Singaporeans, families with small children and Muslim women in veils, with many sitting on picnic mats under the scorching sun.

Adeline Yeo, an art director whose Polish partner was unable to attend and had to follow developments from a nearby bar, lamented the new regulations.

"It's disappointing because we went from marching in London Pride last year right behind (London mayor) Sadiq Khan to having to celebrate separately," she told AFP.

Organisers declined to issue a headcount for the event but an AFP reporter estimated about 8,000 people were already in the park when the three-hour event started at 5pm (0900 GMT). It was full within two hours.

It culminated in a rainbow-coloured formation with torchlights after dark.

Apart from a ban on foreigners attending this year's rally, overseas companies were also banned from providing sponsorship.

Singapore has long taken a hard line on what it considers foreign interference in domestic politics and has often been criticised by human rights groups for clamping down on political freedoms.

Multinationals like Facebook, Google and Goldman Sachs had funded previous editions as part of their equal-opportunity initiatives.

Under a law dating back to British colonial rule, sex between men is technically still a criminal act in Singapore but the statute is not being actively enforced.

Open support for gay rights has meanwhile grown in recent years, aided by changing social norms among the younger generation and a large influx of tourists and expatriates.</s>The ban was announced after last year's Pink Dot event in effort to stop "foreign entities" from interfering in domestic issues.

"For events like the Pink Dot, foreigners are not allowed to organize or speak at the events, or participate in demonstrations," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement announcing the new policy. "These are political, social or moral choices for Singaporeans to decide for ourselves. LGBT issues are one such example."

Pink Dot, which plays on Singapore's "Little Red Dot" nickname, is a non-profit that promotes LGBT equality in Singapore and has held an annual celebration for the past eight years. Pink was chosen because it is the mix of the colors of Singapore's national flag -- red and white.

"Pink Dot stands for an open, inclusive society within our Red Dot, where sexual orientation represents a feature, not a barrier," the group says in its mission statement.

Student Ashleigh Ng, 15, waves a rainbow flag while singing along at a concert during Saturday's Pink Dot gay pride event. Singapore is a socially conservative country and has long been criticized for its anti-LGBT policies. Under Singapore law, sex between men is punishable by up to two years in jail. The ban on foreigners at the celebration meant only Singaporeans and permanent residents could participate. Barricades and police checkpoints were in place to check citizen identification cards. "Pink Dot 2017 organizers have no choice but to adhere to this regulation," the group stated in response to the ban. "Unfortunately, this was a decision that was taken out of our hands." "Singapore's demand that foreign companies stop sponsoring Pink Dot encourages corporations to discriminate against LGBT people," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This is not only reprehensible toward LGBT people, but to corporations that have pledged to eliminate bias in their corporate practices." Pink Dot 2016 was sponsored by corporate giants like Google, Facebook and Goldman Sachs. As a result of the ban, organizers were forced to rally Singaporean businesses in order to fund the event. The group 'Red Dot for Pink Dot' was established to organize funding from local businesses. "The Red Dot For Pink Dot campaign aims to be the platform where other Singapore business leaders from every industry can lend their support to both inclusiveness and diversity in Singapore," the organization said in a statement. Saturday's Pink Dot gay pride rally attracted 20,000 attendees, organizers said. Attendees peacefully rallied with homemade pink signs with slogans such as "Love has no boundaries! Love everyone as they r!" Participants sang a rendition of Singapore's national anthem "Majulah Singapura." As nighttime fell, participants held up colored lights to create a rainbow in a sea of pink lights. "We also hope this will send a message to everyone that the #FreedomtoLove is not a foreign value but one that all Singaporeans share," the group tweeted.</s>MOVE OVER: It's the law!</s>SINGAPORE: Six local companies have come together to bid for high-speed rail projects, starting with the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail ( KL-Singapore HSR), the companies announced together with IE Singapore on Sunday (Jul 2).

According to a joint media release, the companies are Clifford Capital, DBS, Sembcorp Design and Construction, SMRT International, Surbana Jurong and Singapore Technologies Electronics.

IE Singapore has brought them together as part of "its role to help Singapore companies capture global opportunities".

"The partnership leverages unique strengths of each company, enabling them to expand into the high-speed rail segment. Together, their solutions cover the entire value chain of financing, design, construction, system integration, operations and maintenance," the release read.

The companies plan to partner international players to jointly participate in the KL-SG HSR.



"By banding together, we have a stronger value proposition, combining many years of track record across the rail value chain," said Mr Yam Ah Mee, CEO of Sembcorp Design and Construction. 



"We plan to work with international partners with relevant rail experience as we participate in various aspects of the KL-SG HSR. Our wealth of local operating knowledge in Malaysia and Singapore is complementary," Mr Yam added. 



Mr Kow Juan Tiang, director of the Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Group, IE Singapore, said: "Transport infrastructure accounts for 25 per cent of the US$4.3 trillion in global infrastructure spending in 2016. The high-speed rail sub-segment is a key growth area.

"Singapore companies can access this space through this strategic project between Malaysia and Singapore. This partnership between the six companies is crucial for building capabilities in new infrastructure verticals."

The KL-Singapore HSR is slated to be operational by end-2026.

The Land Transport Authority and Malaysia's MyHSR Corporation will conduct an industry briefing on Wednesday to outline parameters of the upcoming AssetsCo tender for the KL-Singapore HSR.



The AssetsCo (assets company) will be responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining all rolling stock as well as rail assets such as power, signalling and telecommunications.



The tenders for the project are expected to be called by end-2017.</s>Avionics giant Thales has expanded its MRO facility in Singapore to make the facility the company's largest repair-activities center worldwide.

The newly expanded facility at Changi North Rise consolidates all of Thales' avionics production and MRO activities in Singapore under one roof for better synergies and process optimization.

Thales has also invested in equipment and human capital at its Singapore facility, as it builds for future growth. The company's aim is to grow its local industrial footprint in Singapore in order to build avionics production and MRO capacity for the future.

The company says that in the past year it has grown its repair volume in Singapore by over 30 percent.

Thales worked closely with the Singapore Economic Development Board to complete the expansion of its Changi avionics MRO facility.

“The expanded Thales facility is a testament to Singapore's continued strength as an aerospace hub for Asia-Pacific and an excellent example of how we can partner OEMs to facilitate their regional expansion,” says Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Singapore accounts for a quarter of all MRO output in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Thales.

“Companies can tap on Singapore's connectivity, pro-business environment and pool of skilled talent, to be closer to their customers and harness the growth of the regional aviation market,” says Lim.

In addition to providing avionics repair operations for its own customers, Thales is also operating a Customer Support Center (CSC) for Diehl Aerospace's Singapore subsidiary.

This subsidiary was set up last November to serve Diehl's customers in the region. The Diehl CSC has been operational since 1 January at the expanded Thales facility in Changi North Rise.

Thales estimates that the widened scope of the extended partnership increases its repair volume in Singapore to an estimated 40,000 pieces of equipment per year, making Singapore the Thales Group's largest center for avionics maintenance and repair services worldwide.

Announcement of Thales’ expansion of its Singapore avionics MRO facility follows hard on the heels of two announcements by SIA Engineering at last week’s Paris Air Show of new collaborations with Boeing and GE Aviation, aimed at enhancing that company’s MRO training capabilities and service offerings at its Singapore base.

The Malaysian Government also announced at the Paris Air Show that it was furthering plans to create an aerospace engineering and maintenance park at Subang Airport near Kuala Lumpur.

Additionally, Thales’ decision to expand its Singapore avionics production and repair facility comes in close proximity to a massive avionics-MRO contract award to the company by AirAsia, one of the fastest-growing and largest carriers in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the third week of March, Thales announced that AirAsia had contracted it to provide long-term repair-by-the-hour support for the avionics systems Thales and its ACSS joint venture with L3 Aviation Products are to provide for the 304 Airbus A320neos that AirAsia Group had ordered by that date.</s>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's annual Pink Dot gay pride rally drew thousands of people on Saturday, despite new restrictions aimed at keeping foreigners out of domestic politics and barricades put up around the rally site.

The rally has been held since 2009 under stringent public assembly laws at Speakers' Corner, an area set aside for demonstrations, performances and exhibitions.

But this year, Speakers' Corner was barricaded and participants had to show ID to prove they were citizens or permanent residents before they could enter, with a set maximum taking part.

Under Singapore law, sex between men is punishable by up to two years in jail, though prosecutions are rare. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the BBC earlier this year than he was "prepared to live with (the law) until social attitudes change".

Foreigners have never been legally allowed to join rallies in the city-state, but many have got around the restriction by "observing" such events.

Changes to the law announced in October remove the distinction between "participants" and "observers", the Pink Dot organisers said.

They would not disclose the turnout or what the maximum capacity was on Saturday, but participants said the number was below the 28,000 who took part last year.

"The crowd is less dense this year, but I think we're getting new people," said participant Atiq Lukman. "Every year, I hear of people making this their first Pink Dot."

The level of security also tripled this year, organisers said, with metal detectors and barricades under a law that requires police to monitor events with a crowd of more than 5,000 people.

The government said the move was in response to a growing threat of terrorism.

This year, Taiwan became the first territory in Asia to legalise same sex marriage. In the same week in Indonesia, two men were publicly caned for engaging in gay sex and police have set up a special force to investigate LGBT activity.</s>Barred from taking part in a pride event in Singapore, foreigners flocked to bars and private spaces instead.

Pink Dot — Singapore's only pride event — occurred on Saturday in a designated "free speech" area in the city.

But as the park lit up with a rainbow in a sea of pink, foreigners were barred from the 0.94 hectare (2.32 acre) Hong Lim Park, because of new rules regulating demonstrations in the country.

Several local LGBTQ-friendly outlets and activist groups stepped up in response by hosting a livestream of the event.

"We have friends who are unable to be at Hong Lim Park on 1st July, and being one of the sponsors for Pink Dot, we decided to have a livestream for our friends," said Mira Mekeh, founder of Ladies District, an LGBTQ-friendly bar near Rochor, in the heart of the city.

Mekeh said that she was initially "shocked" when she heard of the new rules barring foreigners in Singapore from the pride event. "We were already thinking how we could help Pink Dot to cater to our foreign friends and supporters who can’t be there," she said.

There were about 50 people in attendance during the livestream, and the bar reached full capacity with up to 200 people after Pink Dot, according to Mekeh.

"We do have foreign friends and couples that came down, and despite them being happy [that] there is a place to celebrate Pink Dot, you are able to feel the frustration and the sadness that they can't personally be [there]," Mekeh said.

For Dorothy's Bar, a 15-year-old gay bar located in the city's Chinatown, the number of people was even greater.

About 400 people were there during the day, according to Rob Collins, the bar's owner.

"It was insane," Collins said.

The 43-year-old said that after the rule change, he saw people like himself who "had nowhere" to go.

"My partner and I have been together nine years, yet we can't go [to Pink Dot] together," said Collins.

"I'm from overseas and love this country, [and] so will always stand by the government and their choices," Collins added. "That said, I think in a changing world, this is a backward step and doesn't promote Singapore [as a] global platform."

"[Livestreaming Pink Dot] is for us to say that we love, appreciate, and value their support in our struggle to simply exist," said Norah, a co-founder of She+Pride, a community support group for queer women.

The group held a live-streaming event at LePark, a pub near the city's Chinatown, where about 50 people attended.

"I think people had a lot of [places] to go to," she said, adding that the livestream was also for people who were more "cautious" in their association with the pride event, or for people who were afraid of crowds. "Livestreaming the event will ensure that they can still be with us, if not at the same location, then in spirit."

Pubs along the city's Club Street, also located near Chinatown, also saw a number of people in pink.

While Pink Dot welcomed locations that broadcast livestreams from its Facebook page, organisers have said that they are unaffiliated with Pink Dot itself. The rules on public demonstrations do not extend to private spaces.

When asked about the rule changes, Norah said that her group was "obviously disappointed."

"We believe that it has always been the organiser's prerogative to never breach any regulations imposed," said Norah.

"The struggle is made even more clear and obvious that we need to let our voices be heard and rise above the few that hate."</s>SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - A growing threat of terrorism is putting a strain on Singapore's small and shrinking army, pushing it towards greater reliance on automation and technology such as unmanned patrol systems to protect the island state, its defence minister Ng Eng Hen said.

The Singapore government earlier this month described the terror threat as the highest in recent years.

The emergence of militants loyal to Islamic State in the Philippines, where security forces have been battling since late May to recapture Marawi City, showed the extent of the danger to Southeast Asia, Ng said.

"It's endemic in our backyard, and the incident in Marawi is but another symptom to tell us that," Ng told reporters, adding Singapore was prepared to deploy ships if asked to help patrol near the area.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have stepped up coordinated patrols in the Sulu Sea, separating the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, where Marawi is located, from Malaysian and Indonesian territory on Borneo island.

Ng said it is premature to decide what kind of assistance - aircraft, ships, refueling facilities or medical staff - could be provided, but said it was in Singapore's interests to be involved.

Ng's remarks were made earlier this week but had been embargoed until Friday to mark 50th anniversary of National Service.

In Singapore all males over the age of 18 are required to do two years national service, which involves basic military training for several months before being assigned to either the armed forces, civil defence force or the police force.

With a population of just 5.5 million, Singapore is dwarfed by its mostly Muslim neighbours, and all the countries of the region, including Singapore - which has a sizable Muslim minority of its own - are on guard against radicalisation that could draw people towards militant groups, like Islamic State.

From July, Singapore plans to train 18,000 servicemen annually for homeland security operations.

But its armed forces are expected to sink by one-third by 2030, due to the country's low birth rate.

Ng said that the armed forces plan to increase the use of automation and technology to make up for the reduced manpower.

Singapore's navy, for example, will have two fully autonomous unmanned surface vehicles in operation by 2020.

It is already using artificial intelligence to monitor nearly a thousand vessels passing through Singapore waters daily in order to detect possible threats, according to the defence ministry.

Singapore has a defence partnership with the United States, which allows wider use of the city state's facilities by the U.S. military. It also has defence ties with Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)</s>The Australian government's commitment to innovation has extended to five government funded landing pads around the world where Australian start-ups reside for three months to expand their ideas and establish contacts.

The Singapore landing pad opened in March this year.

On a recent trip to Singapore, Geraldine Doogue visited the site and spoke to some of the brains behind the ideas.
Singapore implements a new law that bans foreigners from taking part in protests.