EU announces 2.3 billion euros in Ukraine reconstruction support
ROME - The European Commission announced 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in support to Ukraine on Thursday to help it rebuild after the damage caused by Russia's full-scale invasion.
The funds include 1.8 billion euros in loan guarantees and 580 million euros in grants from international and bilateral public financial institutions, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a conference in Rome on plans for Ukraine's reconstruction.
Hundreds of Russian drones and more than a dozen missiles bore down on Kiev on Thursday, killing two people in the second massive air strike in two days, as Ukraine sought critical aid from its partners at the meeting in Rome.
The 2.3 billion euros is part of the Ukraine Investment Framework, which von der Leyen said is expected to mobilise up to 10 billion euros of investments in Ukraine.
She also announced the creation of a new equity fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, backed by the European Investment Bank, France, Germany, Italy and Poland.
With an initial capital of 220 million euros, the fund aims to mobilise 500 million euros by 2026, the Commission said. REUTERS
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Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
On the food trail in the Little Red Dot
Fast-food chain McDonald's opened at Liat Towers in 1979, and the headline in the Oct 22 edition of The Straits Times was 'Hi there, Mac!'. SINGAPORE - Singapore's gleaming skyscrapers, handful of world-class tourist attractions, and relentless efficiency make it an easy place for doing business and to visit on holiday. What gives the city soul, however, is its hopping food and bar scene. The Straits Times has played an outsized role in shaping the Singapore food landscape. After all, it has had to answer to, and exceed the expectations of, a nation of opinionated foodies. Russian Dressing and Sunshine Cocktail What did people in Singapore eat in 1845, when the paper made its debut? The Straits Times provides some clues, not in features or reviews, but in advertisements. On the front page of the first edition, July 15, 1845, is a tiny ad that reads: 'FOR SALE. Two Guzerat milch goats with three kids: all in excellent condition. Apply to the printer of this paper.' Goat milk, it would seem, featured in the diet at the time. On Nov 4 that year, & Co, 'wholesale and retail provisioners', located at No. 23 Kling Street, announces it has received shipments of a long list of food and drink. The goodies for sale include Wyatt & Co's English pickles, Finest Durham Mustard , Tart Fruits in Fine condition and Prime Wiltshire Bacon. Milk goats for sale on the front page of the first edition of The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce on July 15, 1845. PHOTO: ST FILE Food, if it is mentioned at all, is in a news or business context, with purveyors taking ads listing what they have to sell, and the paper tracking the prices of fish, vegetables and other food products. It is only in the 1930s that the first recipes appear. By this time, the paper has women's pages, focusing mostly on fashion and make-up. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat The Sept 26, 1931, edition carries, at the bottom of a page dominated by a story about 'Bustles without the whalebones', recipes for Ice Fruit Drinks – Raspberry Soda; Grape Nectar, which calls for 'two breakfast cups of warm grape juice'; and Sunshine Cocktail, made with 'organes' (presumably oranges), lemon and apricot juices, and mint. The Sept 26, 1931, edition carries recipes for Ice Fruit Drinks – Raspberry Soda, Grape Nectar and Sunshine Cocktail. PHOTO: ST FILE This pretty much characterises food writing from the 1930s to the 1960s. Recipes are spotty, usually British or French. On Nov 10, 1940, below a story listing cosmetics king Max Factor's beauty tips, are recipes for Russian Dressing, Olive Sauce and Tomato Salad. In the first half of the 1970s, with the women's liberation movement that began in the late 1960s prompting more women to join the workforce, tensions in the kitchen reverberate in the food writing of that time. Some of this is captured in her Sunday column, Adventure in Food, by one Mary Kogan. On April 27, 1975, she tells the story of her outraged friend, a working woman, who has put a sign in her kitchen saying: 'The opinions expressed by the husband in this house are not necessarily those of the management.' She will only take it down when her husband agrees to help out in the kitchen. '...it does reflect the fact that woman's (sic) grievances are at least beginning to be taken seriously, and with new-found understanding', is Ms Kogan's rather optimistic view of the tension that still exists today. Shaping Singapore's foodie culture Foodies perusing the Sunday food pages from the late 1970s through to the early 2000s will see how much the paper has shaped their approach to and appreciation for food. It is a time of discovery and learning, for both writers and readers. After decades of treating food as a good-to-have at best and an afterthought at worst, The Straits Times starts getting serious about food in the late 1970s. Those European-centric recipes make way for Asian ones. Food journalism and restaurant reviewing become viable careers. The British journalists and editors who had run the paper make way for local staff, who edit the paper differently. Food writing takes on a distinctly Singaporean flavour. Instead of being preoccupied with what is happening in Europe, the focus moves to Singapore and Asia. When Japanese department store Yaohan opens its first store at Plaza Singapura on Sept 14, 1974, and its second in Katong on Aug 28, 1977, there are stories about its innovations. These include produce weighing machines that dispense stickers with the prices on them, and the soft Japanese-style bread – including the popular an pan that customers queue hours for – that has become ubiquitous in Singapore. A Japanese food fair at Yaohan at Plaza Singapura in 1980. Yaohan opened its first outlet in Singapore at the mall on Sept 14, 1974. ST PHOTO: CHUA PENG TEE When fast-food chain McDonald's opens at Liat Towers in October 1979, the headline in the Oct 22 edition of The Straits Times Section 2 is 'Hi there, Mac!'. The story, by one Anita Evans, has a picture of customers in bell-bottoms queueing up to order the burgers and fries that are part of the 'experience'. 'Hawker stalls were never like this. In McDonald's, a uniformed phalanx of teenage serving 'crews' produce uniform food of a uniform taste, colour and size by means of highly sophisticated computerised cooking machinery,' Evans reports. It is on July 29, 1979, that food writer Violet Oon makes her debut in The Sunday Times' Timescope, with a two-parter about eating in Thailand. In her weekly Pot Luck columns, she writes about eating in the Philippines, London and France, and also covers substantial ground in Singapore. Hawker food, posh food, ultra-luxe food, she offers a smorgasbord for readers to learn from. For years, former journalist Violet Oon was the most famous food writer in Singapore. After she stopped writing for ST, she went on to be a food consultant, and is now a restaurateur, with her Violet Oon Singapore brand. PHOTO: COURTESY OF VIOLET OON At around the same time, another food writer rises to prominence at the paper – Ms Margaret Chan, whose food reviews also run the gamut of high, low and in between. Alongside them are journalists such as fashion writer Lim Phay-Ling, who through the 1980s and 1990s would also write about food. These include a multi-page feature about Singapore kopi culture. Lifestyle writer Lee Geok Boi's recipes reflect the way Singaporeans eat – multiculturally, unencumbered by borders, and back then, with no concern about cholesterol levels. On July 16, 1989, she gives recipes for offal dishes – Dou Miao With Intestines, and Braised Tongue With Potatoes and Chicken Liver With Spinach Fettuccine, a trio that spans East and West. On Oct 28, 1990, she writes about using the right cuts of meat for classic dishes, with recipes for Pork Chops With Tomatoes, Pot Roast Beef and Sloppy Joes. Her intricate recipes come with few photographs, unheard of today. Readers want to see the finished product, at least, before committing time, money and effort into cooking and baking. In 1994, Ms Sylvia Tan , then an editor in the news section of the paper , starts writing her cooking column, Mad About Food. Her recipes, drawn from her travels and Peranakan heritage, resonate with readers despite having no photographs, only illustrations. For a new generation of budding cooks, her simplified Peranakan recipes are approachable, and written without the weight of a Nonya matriarch's expectations. From the 1980s, to reflect the population's aspirations, the paper has weekly columns about wine and other alcoholic drinks, helmed at various times by the likes of well-known wine experts such as Mr Ch'ng Poh Tiong, Dr N.K. Yong and Mr Edwin Soon. Buffets to omakase If the late 1970s mark the first peak of the paper's food coverage, then the paper hits peak food again on Sept 28, 2003, when the new look Sunday Times, with a new masthead and Lifestyle section, renamed from Life!, debuts. The Taste pages offer a buffet of stories – on disappearing foods like ah balling, sugee cake and lei cha fan and where to eat them; the increasing appetite for what is at the time exotic vegetables, including romaine lettuce, Truss tomatoes, portobello mushrooms and red radishes; and eateries selling bull, turtle and crocodile penis soups. Food features are also making it onto the Lifestyle cover. In the mid-2000s, with another revamp of The Sunday Times, there is even more food content. Feature stories cover the full taste spectrum. There are stories about healthier hawker food; old-school hawker food; grumpy hawkers; the multiple waves of bubble tea, Korean restaurants and hotpot restaurants; the rise of the home barista; primers on luxe food such as white truffles; inexpensive food in the Central Business District; the rise, and subsequent fall, of supermarket sushi; the rise and rise of high-end sushi; the growing appetite for tasting menus and omakase meals in restaurants; the obsession with Japanese beef; food fads – salted egg yolk croissants, rainbow cakes, and sourdough bread; among other things. Knowing what makes a Singaporean's heart beat faster, the paper comes out with Love Mee on April 15, 2007, a feature about instant noodles. It features 50 recipes from chefs and its food writers for how to cook this Singapore favourite creatively. It is later published as an e-book. On April 15, 2007, the paper published a feature on instant noodles. Chefs and the paper's food writers offered creative recipes on cooking the noodles. Straits Times Press later published this as a book, Cook Mee. PHOTO: STRAITS TIMES PRESS New columns come thick and fast. There is Singapore Cooks, featuring recipes by readers. Foodie Confidential, continuing on from the 2003 revamp, branches out to also feature chefs and bartenders. Other columns continue the mission of decoding food for readers. There is Cheat Sheet, offering primers on topics such as different varieties of bananas, durians, peppercorns and olives. Eater's Digest has writers taking turns to review cookbooks, cooking from them so readers know what books to buy or avoid. Reviews continue, with Mr Wong Ah Yoke anchoring the main restaurant review; several writers taking turns to unearth budget eats for Cheap & Good; and for a spell, Zi Char Review for belt-tightening times and Posh Nosh, a snack recommendation column, both helmed by this writer. The OG food influencers In American gang and later rap parlance, OG or Original Gangster describes a 'highly respected originator'. Before the flood of people self-identifying as food influencers, there are Violet Oon, Margaret Chan and Wong Ah Yoke. At the height of their power, they could make or break a restaurant or hawker stall, whether they want to admit it or not. Readers would turn up at the places they review, toting newspaper cuttings and ordering exactly the dishes they praise. Ironically, they hone their craft elsewhere before joining The Straits Times. Ms Oon gets her start at New Nation and The Singapore Monitor; Ms Chan at New Nation; and Mr Wong at The Singapore Monitor and in magazines. Ms Oon, 76, now a restaurateur, falls into food reviewing in the 1970s for New Nation, quite by accident. She says that at the time, with expatriate staff at the papers leaving their jobs, Singaporeans take over as editors. The paper's Eating Out column had been helmed by New Zealand-born Wendy Hutton, and she takes over it in 1974. There is some fanfare when Ms Oon debuts in The Sunday Times, with the paper announcing her arrival this way: 'Starting today, Singapore's favourite food writer in The Sunday Times...' Mr Wong joins The Straits Times as a sub-editor in 1992, and becomes part of a group formed in the early 1990s to review restaurants. They use the nom de plume, Mah Kan Keng, an approximation of Makan King. The reporters take turns to write the reviews, incorporating views from the others at the meal. Anonymity and tasting in a group would ensure fairness. Hilarity ensues when readers write in to Mr Mah, Madam Mah, Ms Mah and 'Dear Kan Keng'. The column hums along until, as Mr Wong, 64, puts it: 'The other writers had to do this on top of their other work and they dropped out one by one until I was the only one left.' Even then, he continues writing under Mah Kan Keng. It is not until March 29, 1998, that he has his first review printed with his byline, for a weekly column called Eats. His tenure as the food critic of The Straits Times continues until he retires in 2023. Straits Times restaurant critic and food writer Wong Ah Yoke with a framed copy of a customised Life cover when he retired in 2023 after 31 years with the paper. ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN Anonymity is not an issue with Cheap & Good, the other review column helmed by writer Teo Pau Lin for about a decade from 1995, and then by a series of writers from around the newsroom. She scours Singapore for egg tarts, laksa, rojak, vadai and Thai-style beef noodles, among other things. Ms Teo, 54, who leaves the paper in 2010 to start a cake business, says of her reviews: 'It always resulted in dramatic increases in business for the hawkers. The queues would be super long for at least a week or two. The hawkers would be overwhelmed and overworked, and I always made sure to warn them beforehand to get more manpower on the day the story comes out.' What accounts for the raging interest in food? 'It is an instant buy-in to sophistication,' Ms Oon says. 'To become sophisticated about art or dance would take years of study. But with food, anybody could be sophisticated. Every cabby can tell you where the best places are for steamed fish. A Prada bag costs $4,000. A prata is $2.' Ms Oon and Mr Wong say their training as reporters helps them in the early days. They widen and deepen their own knowledge about food in tandem with readers. Those early reviews, they say, are more reportage than critique. 'In those days, chefs would take you into the kitchen and show you things,' Mr Wong says. 'That's how I learnt. You never pretend you know something when you don't. The voice came later.' Both demur when asked if they can 'break' a restaurant. Mr Wong says: 'I wouldn't say that. I can affect their business a little, but not enough to shut them down.' But a bad review can have consequences, as the Katong laksa war of 1999 shows. The Sunday Plus cover story on Nov 7 by reporter Lea Wee is about four stalls in Katong claiming to serve the original version of the dish. Ms Oon, a food consultant at the time, tries all four versions and gives Original Katong Laksa, at the corner of Ceylon and East Coast roads, the best score. The Sunday Times' feature on Nov 7, 1999, about the laksa war in Katong. PHOTO: ST FILE Fast forward to the next Sunday, Nov 14. In a follow-up, reporter Karl Ho reports that business at two of the stalls Ms Oon pans is badly affected. One of the stallholders regrets talking to the paper . 'I beg you, tolong, tolong,' she pleads. 'Please don't write anything about me and my stall any more.' Today, it is commonplace for chefs and restaurant owners to talk about their craft in the media. Back then, it is not. The work of these, and other food writers in the paper , help to raise the profile of hawkers, chefs and restaurateurs in Singapore, making stars out of some of them. On May 8, 2005, Mr Wong's review is on Pu Tien, a restaurant in Kitchener Road serving Hing Hwa cuisine, from a small dialect group in Fujian. Cue stampedes to the restaurant for its homespun food. Mr Fong Chi Chung, 56, is the owner and he now presides over the Putien empire, with more than 100 restaurants, in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. There are 17 in Singapore alone. He says: 'I didn't know who Ah Yoke was back then. I wasn't English-educated so I didn't read English newspapers. The article about Putien was published around Mother's Day that year. Wow, the moment the article was out, the restaurant was suddenly packed! There was a huge crowd lining up outside the restaurant, and I was a bit shocked when I saw it.' Another discovery is Artichoke, a five-month-old Middle Eastern restaurant at Sculpture Square when Mr Wong reviews on Jan 23, 2011. It is now at New Bahru in Kim Yam Road. 'Business wasn't great. I could see my bank account dwindling, and we had maybe a runway of four, five months to tahan or close in under a year,' says owner Bjorn Shen, 42, using the Malay word for endure. He says the restaurant starts getting calls from people wanting reservations when the review comes out. 'The snowball started rolling from that day onwards,' he adds. 'It gave more people the chance to try our food. Most people liked the food, and that gave us the confidence to continue doing what we were doing.' Everybody's a food critic Anyone with a smartphone and an Instagram account can be a food critic now. Restaurant publicists invite them to media events and tastings, alongside legacy media. The publicists hand out 'tasting notes' of the meals, to make it easy for influencers to put together content. The Straits Times food writer today has a lot more competition. But she has all the tools that influencers have – smartphones, social media accounts, name recognition; and some that they do not – hard-driving bosses who question facts and story angles, and demand sharper reporting; newsmakers who flag errors or retaliate against unflattering copy; readers who hold them to a higher standard than they do influencers, and who have no qualms about calling out lax reporting or bad judgment. Food writer Cherie Lok, 27, a January 2024 hire, says: 'I've come to realise that our responsibilities are manifold. We need to track industry news, illuminate issues, highlight key personalities, entertain with punchy, vivid writing, and tell people what's worth eating. 'That last bit is particularly hard to do in an era where everyone has an opinion on food and a platform through which to broadcast it. The kind of trust that readers place in veteran writers like Ah Yoke isn't easily earned and can only be built up with time.' Ms Eunice Quek, 38, social media editor at Life, is tasked with growing ST Food's social media accounts. The one on Facebook has 61,000 followers, and the one on Instagram has 24,000. She has been a food writer since joining in 2009, and remembers the food writer pep talk. 'Responsibility to readers, to always try to approach a story from the consumer's point of view,' she says. 'To cover all ground. Legwork is of the utmost importance. Where possible, taste the food that we write about, visit the locations to have a sense of place.' She starts reviewing for Cheap & Good in 2011. 'It was very exciting for me but I also knew that with great power comes great responsibility,' she says. 'I became a lot more mindful and careful with what I wrote, as it was a reflection of myself, and could make an impact on the businesses.' This is something she hews to when it comes to her social media strategy. 'Featuring food first, nothing too clickbaity,' she says. 'The posts must be a fair representation of the stories everyone writes. Everything is 'very ST'. But I do try to have some fun with captions and photos while remaining 'very ST'.' That sense of responsibility food writers never shrug off stands them in good stead. Putien's Mr Fong says: 'I believe that credible media figures are trustworthy, so I don't think their influence has diminished. Their credibility is built from years of accumulated expertise and unique writing skills that enable them to write engaging stories and gain loyal readers.' The next course The launch of the Singapore Michelin Guide in 2016; the multiple waves of celebrity chefs from overseas opening restaurants here; the rise of the Singaporean chef, food fads, food feuds; the rise of private dining businesses; the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on restaurants – the work of pointing readers in the direction of good food, of showing them the length and breadth of the food scene here, continues. Through the years, a clear pattern emerges. Food trends, peaks and troughs, they happen in cycles. The food scene has had one of its worst years in 2024, with diners deserting restaurants, preferring to save their strong Singapore dollars on post-Covid wanderlust. Of course, it has happened before. In the Feb 1, 1998, edition, in the thick of the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997, Sunday Plus runs a story about how fine-dining restaurants have been hit. It lists a number of such restaurants that have shuttered, and how the ones still open are lowering their prices. That story sounds eerily like the ones in the paper in 2024. The story quotes chef Justin Quek, then managing director of Les Amis, saying: 'Our New Year's Eve menu last year was priced at $265. In 1994, we charged $1,000. We can't do that any more. We want to be friendly to the market.' That strategy still works today. Chef Joel Ong, 37, co-owner of Enjoy Eating House, a casual restaurant in Stevens Road, says: 'If we provide good value to our customers, there is a higher chance of them returning or recommending us to their social circle.' What he says applies to food coverage in The Straits Times. Value is a loaded word. For some, a fast-food meal represents good value – burger, fries and a milkshake – served fast and efficiently. Food coverage can be that way. In its history though, The Straits Times has chosen another route. Call it the hawker route. It is not uniform and consistent in taste, colour and size. Instead, it is many-splendoured in its variety, and in its ability to adapt and change to suit the circumstances of the day, to meet the expectations of its readers. That is how it has been able to appeal to the soul of a nation obsessed about food. In good times and bad, through lean years and fat, people gotta eat. In good times and bad, through lean years and fat, The Straits Times shows them how, where and why.
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
The Straits Times: what it means to be a trusted voice for Singapore in a changing world
ST has a role to play as a unifying force beyond its mission of being the chronicler of the Singapore Story. The following is an edited speech by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at The Straits Times' 180th anniversary dinner on July 11. I am delighted to join all of you this evening for a truly remarkable milestone – the 180th anniversary of The Straits Times. Not many organisations endure for 180 years – let alone in the fast-changing media world. That The Straits Times has done so speaks volumes about its relevance, its resilience, and its remarkable ability to evolve. It began in 1845 as an eight-page English weekly – then called The Straits Times and Journal of Commerce – catering to the European community in colonial Singapore. Today it is the oldest English-language newspaper in East Asia – older than even global titles like The New York Times and the Daily Mail. It has built up a loyal readership across generations – in Singapore and around the world. The Straits Times has chronicled every chapter of the Singapore Story. Through the colonial era. Through our battles against communism and communalism. Through Merger, Separation, and the struggles of early independence. And through our nation-building journey – reflecting both our achievements and the many challenges and trials we have overcome, from economic downturns to terrorist threats and pandemics. As our newspaper of record, you have not only reported the events of our time. You have also captured the spirit of every generation – our hopes, our fears and our aspirations. And you have never stood still. You have embraced change and innovation – experimenting with new formats and technologies, adopting digital tools and online platforms, and rethinking how stories are told. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat And so The Straits Times has become more than just a newspaper. You are a trusted voice for Singapore – explaining the issues of the day, helping us make sense of a complex world, connecting Singaporeans to global developments, and carrying Singapore's perspectives beyond our shores. That is why I was heartened to learn that the Reuters Institute had recently ranked The Straits Times as the most trusted news brand in Singapore. This is no small feat – it is a strong affirmation of your integrity and professionalism, and your commitment to credible, quality journalism. So tonight, we honour all who have contributed to this remarkable legacy – past and present. Your efforts have shaped The Straits Times into the national institution it is today. Congratulations and thank you all for your contributions! Navigating the Next Bound Of course, a significant milestone like this is not just a reason to celebrate; it is also an occasion to look forward – and reflect on what lies ahead. Over the past decades, the media landscape has gone through multiple revolutions – from the age of print to radio and television, to the rise of the internet and now the era of social media. Each wave brought significant disruptions, but also new opportunities and possibilities. Today the pace of change is faster than ever. News is no longer confined to broadsheets or the evening bulletin. It flows 24/7 across apps, platforms and borders – and it is consumed in a range of formats, or even summarised by AI. Audiences are no longer passive consumers. Because anyone can be a content creator. And with so many options, people expect content tailored to their interests, delivered in their format of choice. So around the world, including Singapore, we see these trends taking hold. Fewer people turn to print newspapers or TV for news and current affairs. More are getting their updates from digital and social media platforms. This is true for all of us. I have experienced these changes myself. Like all of you, many Singaporeans, I grew up with The Straits Times at home. As a boy, I did not pay much attention to the main stories or the editorials – I went straight to the comics and sports pages. But habits do change. Especially after I started working, I started reading more; perhaps, I got more interested in news and current affairs because of work requirements too. But then, reading the newspapers became a daily ritual. I would spend half an hour or more each morning reading The Straits Times cover to cover. And I would enjoy doing that. Look forward to it every morning. But over the last decade or so, with the rise of social media, my reading habits have changed yet again. Today, I still read The Straits Times, but not the printed edition. I access everything from the app either on my tablet or phone, and I keep up with breaking news through the day. And I must confess, The Straits Times is no longer my only morning companion. I have many others. I access current affairs and news from a variety of sources – both local and international. I follow commentary from individuals writing on Substack, I listen to podcasts, I watch video clips on YouTube. So it is a much more varied information diet. I am sure my experience is not unique. I suspect it is true for many others. So what does this mean for The Straits Times? Your competition is global. You are competing not just with other traditional media outlets, but also with the best content creators worldwide, and everything else on people's screens, for their time and attention. And you have to adapt to this new media environment. Your key strength is your deep and consistent coverage of Singapore, and our region, South-east Asia. So in matters of national importance – whether it is a crisis like Covid-19, or major events like the general election – people still turn to you as the trusted source of information, and your direct readership goes up. But even at other times, much of what circulates online still originates from your reports. This credibility is a real asset and competitive advantage. But as media consumption habits evolve, so must you. You will need to keep adapting, both the news products you generate, and also how you reach and engage your audiences. This will not be easy. Adapting to these shifts will involve tough choices. There will be trade-offs to manage, including the risk of cannibalising existing formats, or disrupting longstanding work processes. For example, to stay relevant, you will need to experiment with how content is presented across different platforms. This means rethinking how different formats can best serve diverse audience needs. I believe there will still be a place for print, and we should all do our best to keep print newspapers viable in Singapore for as long as possible. But 10 years from now, the printed Straits Times may well look quite different from what it is today – in style, tone and length. It has to be different, if it is to remain relevant and useful to future readers. What changes should you make in order to stay relevant? Ultimately, only The Straits Times itself can make this call – weighing the opportunities, managing the risks, and evolving in a way that stays true to your mission, while meeting the changing needs of your readers. The Government is not in a position to prescribe the solution, nor will I attempt to do so. But let me offer three broad reflections on what The Straits Times can continue to do to stay relevant in this new media environment. A trusted source First, build on your strengths as a trusted anchor for Singaporeans. Even as reader preferences become more diverse and fragmented, we will need trusted and unbiased source of information. In today's digital environment it is easy to fall into echo chambers, or be fed only what algorithms think we want to see. Singapore needs trusted media that continue to present balanced perspectives, surface different points of view, and hold meaningful conversations – so that we can better understand one another and develop a common understanding of the world. The Straits Times must remain such a unifying force – helping Singaporeans make sense of complex issues, bridging divides, and fostering a shared identity and sense of purpose. Quality matters Second, keep quality at the core of everything you do. Formats may evolve, but quality content never goes out of style. It is not true that people only want short videos or clickbait headlines. Succinct, timely reports will be an important news product. But long-form writing and deep-dive analysis can still draw loyal audiences, but provided the content is of high quality, insightful and well crafted. The temptation will be to chase eyeballs with sensational news. But that is not the path to building trust. In an age of misinformation, The Straits Times must continue to anchor public discourse with clear exposition and reliable facts. Delivering all this consistently requires you to have a strong and capable team – across editorial, production, technical, and business functions. You will need not only professional expertise, but also a clear sense of mission – and the energy and creativity to thrive in a very challenging industry. Your success will not be measured by the size of your profits. But by the trust you earn, the audiences you reach and the impact you make. And to do all these, you must offer competitive career paths and purposeful job responsibilities – to attract resourceful and enterprising young people to join you and help take The Straits Times forward. A Singaporean lens Third, speak with a Singaporean voice to the world. Today, Singaporeans can access news from countless sources. But they turn to The Straits Times for uniquely Singaporean perspectives – that reflect our values, our interests, and our place in the world. You help readers – here and abroad – make sense of global trends through a Singapore lens. As a small country navigating a complex and uncertain world, we need strong, credible institutions that can analyse clearly, explain deeply, and advocate confidently for Singapore's interests. And this is the role that The Straits Times must continue to fulfil. Supporting trusted public media Of course, delivering on this mission requires resources. The business model for quality journalism unfortunately, is coming under strain everywhere in the world. Newsrooms across the world are shrinking and many outlets have become captive to commercial interests. We cannot allow that to happen in Singapore. We do not want our national newspaper to be owned by billionaires with narrow or partisan agendas. Nor do we want public trust in the media to be eroded. That is why the Government is stepping in to support public service media in Singapore – to ensure that quality journalism remains viable, independent and accountable to Singaporeans. And for its part, The Straits Times must make full use of the government support you are receiving to produce a high-quality newspaper for all Singaporeans – one that informs, educates, connects, and holds our society together. And you have our full confidence and support in this mission. So now, more than ever, Singapore needs trusted media – to help us navigate a more complex world, to discern fact from falsehood, and to build common ground in an age of rapid change and complexity. I am heartened to see The Straits Times pressing on – evolving with the times, embracing innovation and staying true to your mission. Tonight, as we celebrate your 180th anniversary, we also launch your new app and website – another step forward in your continuing digital transformation. So finally, congratulations, once again, to everyone at The Straits Times on this milestone. On behalf of all Singaporeans, thank you for 180 years of dedicated service. May you continue to inform, inspire and speak for Singapore – for many more years to come!
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
From crisis to comeback: How The Straits Times reported Singapore's economic ups and downs
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The paper has chronicled economic realities. Post-independence, five turbulent periods tested the nation's resilience. The Straits Times has chronicled Singapore's economic highs and lows, capturing pivotal moments with immediacy, insight – and even foresight. Sometimes, a newspaper article can offer a rich and nuanced understanding of a past era that can't quite be captured by a history book. The Straits Times, Singapore's paper of record since 1845, has chronicled the country's economic highs and lows, capturing pivotal moments with immediacy, insight – and even foresight. Take a brief article titled 'Malayan trade in 1930', published on March 13, 1931. Though short, the report offers important clues to the impact of the Great Depression on British Malaya and, by extension, Singapore. The article highlighted how the global downturn, which began in 1929, severely affected the two mainstays of Malayan trade: tin and rubber. Even opium, then still legally traded, was declining as a revenue source. The piece noted that the nascent palm-oil industry could serve as a 'third string' to reduce economic over-reliance on tin and rubber, a hint of the concept of diversification, which would later become a policy mantra for independent Singapore's economic planners. An article, titled 'Malayan trade in 1930', published in The Straits Times on March 13, 1931. PHOTO: ST FILE The writer also looked to Singapore for industrial promise, noting its 'illimitable supplies of cheap labour from east and west – China and India', and the slow but steady emergence of a manufacturing base. The Great Depression, which ended with the onset of World War II, marked the beginning of the end of British global economic dominance. By the end of the war, the United States had emerged as the pre-eminent global power. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Manufacturing took the lead over commodity trade, and the paper continued to document the journey of modern Singapore's economy, through its triumphs and turbulence alike. Here are five key moments: Independent Singapore's first recession (1985) In the two decades following independence, Singapore focused on rapid industrialisation through export-led growth. Foreign investment and labour-intensive manufacturing helped reduce unemployment and raise incomes. But by 1985, its first post-independence economic recession loomed, triggered by external economic headwinds and internal structural weaknesses. Early warnings came from then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In his New Year message on Jan 1, 1985, he cautioned about slowing growth in the US, Japan and Europe and warned of knock-on effects across Asean and developing economies. Among other things, the developed economies had crushed their own economic growth by raising interest rates sharply to control runaway energy prices caused by the 1979 revolution in Iran, a major oil exporter. This led to a drop in global demand, hitting Singapore's export-dependent economy hard. At home, Singapore was grappling with rising business costs after two decades of rapid growth. The construction sector, which had boomed in the early 1980s, also began to contract as projects slowed and oversupply loomed. In March 1985, then Minister for Trade and Industry Tony Tan announced the formation of an Economic Committee, led by then Minister of State for Defence and Trade and Industry Lee Hsien Loong, to study the causes of the downturn and map out recovery strategies. It became clear that unprecedented measures were needed to shore up the economy. The most controversial proposal was to sharply cut employers' Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions from 25 per cent to 10 per cent. The aim was to reduce business costs and restore competitiveness. The proposed cut led to heated parliamentary debates. Even among People's Action Party MPs, views were divided. Public reaction was equally intense. The Straits Times published letters from readers on both sides of the argument. The Economic Committee's report in February 1986 recommended a package of reliefs and reforms that would inject $2.7 billion into the ailing economy and make Singapore a developed country by 1990. The boost came from measures including the proposed two-year cut in employers' CPF contribution, and a 10-point cut in corporate tax and the top income tax rate. On Feb 14, 1986, ST reported on the Economic Committee recommending a package of reliefs and reforms to boost Singapore's economy. PHOTO: ST FILE The committee also said flexibility was needed in all areas of the economy, including government policies and wage structures. 'The effect of these cost-cutting measures will be a temporary drop in the standard of living of Singaporeans,' the report said. 'This is unpalatable but inevitable. It is the only way companies can regain their profitability, so that Singapore can prosper and our incomes rise again.' The recession also triggered a major corporate failure in Singapore. In November 1985, Pan-Electric Industries, a conglomerate involved in marine salvage, hotels and property, went bankrupt with massive unpaid debts. It sent shockwaves through Singapore's stock market and financial sector. Mr Lee Kuan Yew's New Year message in 1986 laid bare the toll: rising unemployment, falling exports and a general sense of uncertainty. But from the crisis came structural reforms that strengthened the economy down the road, including wage flexibility, productivity drives and a shift towards higher value-added industries. Asian financial crisis (1997 to 1998) Singapore's economy rebounded strongly after the 1985 crisis, growing steadily through the early 1990s. But in 1997, a storm swept through Asia's financial markets, sparked by the collapse of the Thai baht on July 2. Thailand's decision to float the baht set off a chain reaction across the region. One headline read: 'Floating baht seen as a devaluation'. In an editorial, the paper asked: 'What else can a beleaguered government do when the economy threatens to seize up with falling exports, massive debts, a growing trade deficit and its currency under relentless speculative attack?' The Singapore dollar was able to avoid a massive decline, thanks to the central bank's policy of managing it against a basket of currencies rather than pegged to the US dollar, as Thailand had been doing before floating the baht. But by the second half of 1998, regional contagion had dragged Singapore into recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 2.2 per cent for the year. 'Singapore in recession', read the front-page headline on Nov 11, 1998. PHOTO: ST FILE Singapore's flexible exchange rate mechanism helped maintain its export competitiveness, resulting in an economic rebound in 1999 led by the manufacturing sector. The recovery was sustained through the year and overall GDP for 1999 grew by 5.7 per cent. The Government also helped by announcing off-Budget measures in June 1998 that were worth $2 billion, aimed at reducing business costs. crash and recession (2001) The burst of the bubble in 2000 marked the end of an era of exuberance in global technology stocks. Over the next two years, trillions of dollars in market value were wiped out. Singapore, heavily reliant on electronics manufacturing and global trade, was not spared. A March 14, 2000, front-page article noted: 'Sentiments were unnerved by the knocking suffered by technology stocks whose meteoric rise in recent months had seemed unstoppable.' The Singapore economy contracted by 1.1 per cent in 2001, a sharp reversal from the 9 per cent growth in 2000. This was exacerbated by the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US which rattled global markets, curbed consumer confidence and slowed down travel and investment. Singapore's downturn was thankfully brief, but it marked another turning point: a further diversification in sources of economic growth by shifting towards services, financial resilience and innovation-driven growth. Global financial crisis (2007 to 2009) The financial crisis began with the collapse of sub-prime mortgage markets in the US and quickly escalated into a global credit crunch following the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers on Sept 15, 2008. Although Singapore's banks had limited direct exposure to US sub-prime assets, the global freeze in lending and plummeting demand for exports hit the economy hard. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Singapore's GDP shrank on a seasonally adjusted basis by 2.3 per cent quarter on quarter, followed by a 2.6 per cent contraction in the first quarter of 2009. Public anger erupted when thousands of consumers lost their savings in complex investment products linked to Lehman Brothers, such as Minibonds and High Notes 5. About 10,000 retail investors, including the elderly and less educated, lost over $500 million in products sold by financial institutions here. On Oct 11, 2008, more than 500 angry investors turned up at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park. Several such protests were held every Saturday in the weeks to follow. The Straits Times reported on these extensively. A special report in the paper on Oct 19, 2008, about the Lehman Brothers debacle. PHOTO: ST FILE The Government launched investigations, which led to penalties for 10 financial institutions, and tighter industry supervision. The Government also pledged $2.9 billion in November 2008, followed by a massive $20.5 billion Resilience Package in January 2009. For the first time in history, Singapore dipped into its national reserves, drawing $4.9 billion to support the economy and jobs. In the end, it needed $4 billion, and was able to return the full amount into the reserves by the end of its term in 2011. The Singapore economy weathered the financial storm better than feared. In August 2009, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that 'the worst is over for the Singapore economy' and that 'the eye of the storm has passed'. In November 2009, the Ministry of Trade and Industry declared that the recession was effectively over. Covid-19 pandemic (2020) The Covid-19 pandemic led to Singapore's worst recession since independence, with the economy contracting by 3.8 per cent in 2020. The 'circuit breaker' period from April to June 2020 severely impacted the food and beverage, retail and travel sectors. The Government responded with a series of stimulus packages totalling nearly $100 billion, or about 20 per cent of GDP. This included a Jobs Support Scheme to subsidise wages and prevent widespread layoffs. For the second time in history, Singapore tapped its national reserves. The Government drew about $40 billion from past reserves for Covid-19 response measures across financial years 2020 to 2022. By late 2021, with high vaccination rates and phased reopening, Singapore's economy began to recover. The rebound was uneven, but GDP grew by 9.8 per cent that year.
