Inflation - Strong Growth Leads To High Costs

Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc | hoang_thi_minh_ngoc@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
April. 19, 2008

Story highlights:

• Annual seminar on inflation held by the DSC
• The implications and issues of inflation
• The role of Government in times of inflation
• Advice for students to prepare themselves for the increasing tendency of inflation

On March 25, the Democratic Socialist Club (DSC) held their annual seminar on the issue of Inflation – Against a Backdrop of Growth.

The three guest speakers aimed to help the audience seek, explore and understand the relation of inflation to Singapore’s growth and how it is affecting us.

The Q&A Session	Prof. Sam Ouliaris explains the cause of inflation
(Photos by Chea Singkong)

According to Professor Sam Ouliaris, deputy head of the Department of Business Policy at the School of Business, consumer prices in Singapore have taken a step up owing to its booming economy in the context of rising commodity prices including oil, food and metals.

He also noticed that the current CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation of Singapore is around 7 percent while the core inflation is around 5 percent

This figure is comparatively high compared with US and other Asian countries.

Leong Sze Hian, who served as the President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, implied that inflation led to the rise in cost of healthcare, transportation, tax, electricity and housing.

He added that the Government should have some fundamental policies to compensate for this tendency especially the home ownership policy.

“As I am Singaporean, I do not worry much about accommodation fee; however, the thing relating to inflation that matters to me is university fee,” said Alicia Tan, a student of Temasek Junior College.

Josephine Teo, Assistant Secretary General of NTUC – ARU, talked about the role of the Government in times of inflation.

She said that the Government should use the Central Provident Fund for retiring citizens as it is cheaper compared with using the money from the market.

According to Ms Teo, the Government should also consider promoting home ownership, diversifying good sources, controlling prices, managing exchange rates as well as improving wage growth.

Jonathan Chionh, a second-year student of School of Business as well as the financial secretary of DSC, raised the question of the tendency of inflation rate in the future.

Both Teo and Leong predicted that the inflation rate would continue to increase owing to the current huge and fast growing economy.

Finally, Ms Teo implied that the core matter is how to prepare ourselves for the effects of inflation.

She emphasized that students should never satisfy in investment in education. A budget-to-budget solution is the best way to prepare for the future.

NUS Receives $500,000 Bursary Donation

Lynette Lim | lynette_lim@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
April. 11, 2008

Story Highlights:

• Great Eastern presents gift of $500,000 to NUS in honour of the late Mr. Howe Yoon Chong.
• The gift is part of Great Eastern’s corporate social responsibility.
• The first ten bursaries would be awarded in the next academic year 2008/2009.
• This is Great Eastern’s first such substantial gift to NUS.
• Ministry of Education has also pledged to match dollar for dollar.

National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduates from Singapore and Malaysia in need of financial aid now have another reason to cheer.

In a new initiative to provide financial support for deserving students in NUS, Great Eastern presented a gift of $500,000 to NUS in honour of the late Mr. Howe Yoon Chong, Chairman of Great Eastern from 1992 to 2000.

L-R: Professor Tan (right) and Mr Wong signing the agreement; Professor Tan and Mr Wong (left) exchanging agreements
(Photos by Lynette Lim)

On Apr. 10, Mr. Michael Wong Pakshong, Chairman of Great Eastern Holdings presented a cheque of $500,000 to Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, establishing the Great Eastern-Howe Yoon Chong Bursary.

Wong presented the cheque at a simple ceremony graced by Guest of Honour, Mrs Howe Yoon Chong after a signing of the bursary agreement.

(Mr Wong (left) presenting the cheque of $500,000 to Professor Tan)
(Photo by Great Eastern)

Mr. Howe was an alumnus of the University of Malaya, the predecessor of NUS, and was a strong advocate of educational support for students from poor or disadvantaged families.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics in 1953 and was conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University.

The gift also forms part of Great Eastern’s corporate social responsibility, by which companies give back to society.

“Great Eastern turns 100 this year. We wish to share our joy with the less privileged in our society,” said Wong.

“We hope that our contribution will help to make a difference in the lives of these financially needy students to further their education with no worries,” he added.

Great Eastern will award the first ten bursaries in the next academic year 2008/2009 as part of their centennial celebrations.

The $500,000 gift, matched dollar for dollar by the Ministry of Education, will allow the awarding of 20 bursaries from 2010 onwards.

Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and Malaysians are all eligible for the bursary.

As Great Eastern is a market leader in Malaysia as well, Malaysian students at NUS will receive 20 percent of the bursaries.

The bursary will support recipients from their first year to the year of graduation as long as they meet the financial means testing in subsequent years.

According to Professor Tan, the means testing calculates the per capita family income, and the typical monthly income eligible for a bursary is $1,200.

At the ceremony, Professor Tan thanked Great Eastern for this gift, which is Great Eastern’s first such substantial gift to NUS.

“In honouring its late Chairman Mr Howe Yoon Chong, whose strong belief that nothing other than personal ability should determine one’s access to education rings true with NUS’ one commitment, Great Eastern has expanded the opportunities that a great education can bring,” he said.

NUS One Of First In Asia To Launch Microsoft DreamSpark

Stacey Wong | h.y.w@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

Story Highlights:

• Professional level software now available free of charge for NUS students
• NUS Deputy President pleased to be part of the programme
• DreamSpark programme to be rolled out in three phases
• International Student Identity Card as proof of verification for download now available for sale in the Science Co-op.

How would you like a free copy of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008? How about the entire Microsoft Expression Studio or the ability to turn your dream game into reality with XNA Game Studio 2.0?

These commercial level developer and design tools will now be available to current National University of Singapore (NUS) students at no charge.

NUS Deputy President Mr. Joseph P Mullinix (extreme left) and NTU Associate Provost Professor Er Meng Hwa (extreme right) inking the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Centre: Barney Lau, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore

To spark the dreams of young talented minds, Microsoft is offering a bundle of cutting-edge professional level design and development software to aid and empower students in their school assignments, project works or purely for experimentation purposes.

NUS is one of the first two institutions in Southeast Asia and one of the foremost in the Asia-Pacific to partner Microsoft to launch Microsoft DreamSpark, a completely free initiative to drive technological innovation worldwide.

NUS Deputy President Mr. Joseph P Mullinix and NTU Associate Provost Professor Er Meng Hwa inked the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Microsoft Centre on Thursday, April 10.

Mr. Mullinix said, “ We are happy to be part of this global DreamSpark programme, it is a great initiative to make sure students have the tools they need to test the boundaries of how technology can change peoples’ lives as well as their own.”

Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kevin Turner who witnessed the signing ceremony affirmed, “Microsoft believes in the power of technology to transform education, we believe this will go a long way in improving learning outcomes for local students.”

By the end of 2008, the DreamSpark programme will potentially reach 120,000 tertiary students in Singapore.

The DreamSpark programme will be rolled out locally in three phrases, offering the same fully loaded Microsoft software that professionals pay a sizable sum to get.

The first phrase of rollout, due for completion in June 2008, will see students of NUS and NTU accessing the plethora of cutting-edge tools and technology.

In other words, NUS students can only achieve “verified” student status and start downloading the professional level software from June this year.

Microsoft is currently working to set in place the necessary local student identity-verification technology infrastructure to provide students with access to DreamSpark.

One such technology is available at STA Travel, located at the Science Co-op beneath LT 27, in the form of an International Student Identity Card (ISIC).

The ID number available on the card, which will cost 15 dollars, will serve as proof of verification of one’s student status and permit any active NUS student to sign up online at https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/ to access, download and use the different software immediately.

Microsoft’s new offer not only allows students to unlock their creativity but more importantly, allow students to gain a head start in their careers.

VIPs: Various heads of local tertiary institutions and polytechnics in a group shot after the signing

Barney Lau, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore said, “Students are gaining access to professional commercial grade development and designer tools. These are not theoretical programmes but software that are actually implemented in the commercial world.”

Final year Computer Engineering student Wilson Loo, a student partner of Microsoft said, “This is a very interesting initiative. With this launch, anyone can use the tools today and that really bridges the boundary.”

“It really helps students to jumpstart their careers, it’s not just about what we learnt in class per se but applying that in the practical context,” added Loo.

However, Microsoft stresses that design and gaming tools accessible under the DreamSpark initiative are only for academic purposes.

Students are encouraged to develop applications by leveraging on these free-access tools and share them freely with their friends.

Microsoft has in place a separate set of programmes for start-ups to develop applications that could potentially be used for commercial development.

Lau said, “The purpose of this programme is really to help students gain access to technology for assignments and research.”

“We believe that this initiative would be landscape changing as there are no constraints. It fosters innovation, promotes experimentation and is going to create a lot of opportunities for students.”

“At the end of the day, it is the students and universities that gain,” Lau added.

As part of the program, students can access Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition and the entire suite of designer tools in the Expression Studio, including Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design and Expression Media.

Microsoft is also making XNA Game Studio 2.0, SQL Server Developer Edition and Windows Server Standard Edition available.

Students are eligible for a free 12-month academic membership in the XNA Creators Club.

 

More FAQs can be found at https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/FAQ/Students.aspx

NUS Undergraduates Raise Alert To Need For Marine Conservation In Singapore

Teo May Lian | teomaylian@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUS Students’ Union Publication

Story highlights:

• NUS students campaign for marine conservation in Singapore.
• Campaign aims to raise awareness and educate NUS students.
• Organisers hope to motivate students to participate in marine conservation activities.
• NUS students pledge their support for marine conservation.

After implementing movements to reduce plastic usage and to save paper, undergraduates at the National University of Singapore (NUS) are now raising the alert to the need for marine conservation in Singapore.

Code Blue, a marine conservation campaign, aims to raise awareness and educate NUS students on the need for marine conservation and subsequently, encourage them to support or participate in marine conservation activities.

As part of the campaign, there was a full day exhibition on March 31, and April 1 at the Central Forum in NUS. There were mass displays of pictures that showed litter along beaches in Singapore.

Display of turtle trapped in abandoned plastic bag	Display of dolphin trapped in abandoned plastic litter
(photos by Teo May Lian)

Code Blue is organized in conjunction with International Year of the Reef 2008, a global campaign for marine conservation.

According to Kenneth Lee, project director of Code Blue, few people are aware of the diversity of marine life supported on the beaches in Singapore and offshore islands.

“Not many people are aware of the situation of littering on our beaches as well,” added Chia Jialin, art director of Code Blue.

“With Code Blue and the exhibition, we hope students will realize the intensity of the problem,” she said.

The exhibition featured water tanks containing various kinds of rubbish found along local beaches such as a motorcycle helmet, toys and even underwear.

Mass display of pictures of litter-strewn beaches in Singapore and offshore islands	Water tank display containing bra, underwear and condom package found along beaches
(photos by Teo May Lian)

According to Belmont Lay, assistant project director of Code Blue, there are many existing marine conservation activities, such as leading tours as an Underwater World Marine Conservationist.

There are also programmes like ‘Naked Hermit Crabs’, which gathers participants to take part in boardwalks along beaches of Chek Jawa and Semakau every last Sunday of the month.

Lee hopes the campaign can be a platform to bring students to all these external organizations, as many are still unaware of such activities.

“After gaining this knowledge, we hope they [students] will also pledge and take part in the existing activities,” Lee said.

So far, about 550 people have pledged their support, both on paper cards and on the website.

The team is hopeful that they will be able to reach their target of 600 pledges by the end of the campaign.

Students pledging their support for marine conservation and signing up for activities

Juzailah Md. Amin, 23, a fourth-year student from the School of Design and Environment, said that she is willing to do her part to conserve the environment.

She added that she felt the exhibition was creative and useful in promoting awareness among students.

“Through this, students are more aware of what is happening,” she said.

“If not, people will never know what it’s [beach littering] like.”

“We are not only targeting NUS students. Code Blue is open to anyone interested in this case,” said Kenneth Phua, assistant director of public relations of Code Blue.

“Through this campaign, we are also recruiting people to take up leadership roles in the group after we graduate,” said Phua.

“We will definitely keep the group alive after this campaign,” he added.

Code Blue is a marine conservation campaign organized by a group of third- and fourth-year communication and new media (CNM) students.

They also established a tertiary level chapter of Roots & Shoots Youth United, a subsidiary of the institute created by Jane Goodall aimed at promoting global activities on conservation.

Roots & Shoots is also involved in environmental, humanitarian and nature-conserving issues.

Standees placed on canteen tables at The Deck	Code Blue Team
(photos provided from Code Blue Team)

Many Undergraduates At NUS Not Aware of Earth Hour 2008

Teo May Lian | teomaylian@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

April 4, 2008

Story Highlights:

• Many students are not aware of Earth Hour 2008
• Some students do not think this is useful in environmental conservation
• Some students were keen to participate in Earth Hour 2008
• Some students show interest in environmental conservation activities

The whole hour from 8p.m. to 9p.m. on March 29 marks the annual Earth Hour where countries around the globe can play their part to conserve energy by switching off all the electricity in their homes to save energy.

However, a convenience poll of 46 National University of Singapore (NUS) students conducted by the ridge before Earth Hour day revealed that 54% of those who took the survey do not know about Earth Hour.

Many students surveyed said that they were not aware of this and went on with their studying. They also showed surprise when they heard about Earth Hour.

Many students who reside on campus such as Prince George Park Residence and Sheares Hall were not aware of the campaign either.

According to Naomi Tan, 19, who has vaguely heard about Earth Hour but does not know the full details, she does not feel that this is extremely useful.

“I wouldn’t say I’m apathetic [towards Earth Day], because I do some things to save the earth too on a daily basis. Since all this is just a part of my daily life, Earth Day isn’t really a big deal,” she said.

“I think the only purpose of Earth Day would be to raise awareness, otherwise, I don’t really see a point,” Tan added.

Tan also said that more progress is attainable if everyone does things to save the Earth on a regular basis.

However, despite the low level of awareness of Earth Hour 2008 among NUS students, a large number are supportive towards it and future environmental conservation activities.

Results from the poll that showed that 56% of students surveyed are willing to participate in Earth Hour.

Residents from Temasek Hall reported that the lights along the street in front of it were switched off.

Students in some rooms in every block also switched off their lights and played basketball in the yard.

“As long as I can use my laptop, turning off the light doesn’t matter to me at all,” said Tracey Pham, a Temasek Hall resident.

Student using laptop after switching off lights in the room during Earth Hour 2008	Lights were switched off in some rooms at Temasek Hall during Earth Hour 2008
(photos by Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc)

Vu Hong Nga, a Business student said, “Though it lasts only one hour, it somehow can raise the awareness of protecting the Earth in students.”

Wang Yi, a first-year student from the communications and new media programme, said that she was not aware of Earth Hour because she had checked her email the day after the campaign. However, she thought it was a great idea and also showed interest in joining SAVE.

Earth Hour was first inaugurated in Sydney on March 31 2007 where 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses switched off their lights for an entire hour.

This resulted in a reduction of greenhouse gases, which if sustained for a year, would mean removing 48,616 cars off the road for a year.

This concerted effort encouraged people from other cities around the world to take action and this became a global movement this year.

With additional reporting by Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc (hoang_thi_minh_ngoc@nus.edu.sg) and Kelly Ang (kellyang@nus.edu.sg)

1,992 students not offered campus accommodation this year; OSA’s explanation dissatisfying

Hannah Yan | h_y@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
April. 4, 2008

Story Highlights:

• Statistics of successful and unsuccessful applicants were revealed by OSA.
• Alternative solutions proposed include placing additional beds and factoring in the distance from home to campus.
• Students questioned the fairness of CCA system.
• A committee will be set up to look into RHAPS.

There are 1,992 students with no rooms to stay on Kent Ridge campus after this year’s hostel allocation.

Some went to a dialogue session with the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) held at Prince George’s Park (PGP) Auditorium on April 4 and left with no concrete answers provided.

After the release of results on March 27, many students flocked to the OSA to appeal about the result and ask for an explanation.

However, everyone went back with a different answer and some even received wrong information from the front desk, according to Siddharth Choudhry, a third year mechanical engineering student.

According to the OSA, out of 5,175 applicants, 38 percent are unsuccessful, compared to last year’s 33 percent out of 4,707 applicants, marking a 5 percent rise and the highest ever cut-off level of Co-curricular Activity (CCA) points in history.

As some international students demanded, the OSA offered the breakdown of statistics-among the successful senior applicants, 1,001 are local and 2,182 are international; among the unsuccessful, 848 are local and 1,144 are international.

International students and some permanent residents (PR) whose families do not own housing properties in Singapore are especially worried about a roof over head. Some local students said they also have compelling reason to stay on campus.

Some students recommend placing an additional bed to the single rooms.

Associate Professor Tan Teck Koon, Dean of Students, referred to the proposed three-bed room in Nanyang Technological University, which was met with public objection, to show that it is not practical.

Other students suggested giving priority to those living far away or from overseas.

However, Associate Professor Tan said this is a system riddled with loopholes.

He gave the reasons that the OSA will need to check the accuracy of all addresses, and consider local students who live far away but have convenient means of transport.

Associate Professor Tan repeated his advice to students: “go and find a place.” And he advised the students to find a place before the holiday begins.

But for many international students, it is not a simple thing to do.

With the final exams looming, searching for accommodation now does not seem to be feasible. As some will go back to home countries during the holiday, they may not immediately find accommodation after returning. “When I am back to the airport with my luggage, where do I tell the taxi driver to go?” A student asked.

Shahanah Joomun, a second-year computing student from Mauritus, said if she sources for accommodation now, she has to sign a one- or two- year contract and even though she is not staying during the holidays she still have to pay.

The OSA encourages students with financial difficulties to apply for subsidiary loans from them.

Students did not find this as a viable solution either. Taskeen Edoo is a second-year computing student from Mauritus. Her father works on a plantation and her mother does not work. She said, “We came to Singapore with a worry-free mindset that we can get grants and won’t add burden to our families. But if we have to take up another loan, now it just means more burden.”

A student commented: “how could NUS advertise itself as a global university while it cannot satisfy the needs of its own students?” Another student said students today will become alumnus later and when they look back, they may find that they were not treated fairly.

Students can apply to be on the waiting list for campus accommodation.

In the case where some freshmen do not turn up next semester, places originally reserved to them will be released to the current students. The application for waiting list will be opened in August and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis as well as depending on students’ preference ranking of hostels.

Off-campus accommodation opportunities are in a database on the OSA website but it needed to be updated.

Students also questioned the fairness of CCA points system that determines the hostel allocation results.

Dilesh Weerasuriya, a second-year computing student from Sri Lanka, said the residents of PGP are disadvantaged in competing with hall residents for accommodation as halls offer more activities and higher points.

“I was a group leader of orientation camp and I got only one point for it. People staying in hall get eight points out of this. It is unfair because we work equally hard,” he explained.

Students on Industrial Attachment also expressed their concerns. Though they are physically in Singapore, they do not have time to participate in campus activities becausing of work and are not getting the same priority as students on exchange.

The fact that some presidents of clubs abuse the use of points to reward their friends or to import players to participate in inter-hall games has been brought to the Dean’s attention.

According to OSA, in lieu of the increasing demand for student accommodation, they built Prince George’s Park, Ridge View Residence Tower Block, Kuok Foundation House in the 1990s and block leased Boon Lay hostel to house more students in 2007.

After receiving students’ feedback, they also increased the number of shuttle buses from Boon Lay and vamped up the internet system to ensure students residing there have internet access.

Associate Professor Tan said that it is not easy to get a large number of rooms with a reasonable price off campus. With the University Town hostel due to open in 2010, he said: “I’m confident that in 2010 the university can accommodate all international students for their duration of study.”

Near the end of the session, Choudhry said: “we came here to find a solution, but after two and a half hours we are still hopeless.”

The Vice-Dean of students, Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser, said a solution cannot be found overnight and a committee including members of the OSA and NUSSU will be set up to look into Revised Hall Allocation Point System.

Updated on April 14 with clarification from NUSSU that in 2010 the University Town hostel will be able to accommodate all international students instead of all students. NUSSU and OSA will do further studies on room sharing.