Latest news with #JTC
Straits Times
14-06-2025
- General
- Straits Times
‘I lived on Pulau Samulun, now Jurong Shipyard': Musician remembers life before reclamation
SINGAPORE - Jurong Island, home to energy and chemicals firms with their glittering network of complexes, is not always remembered as such. For musician Mohd Nazir Dolah, it is a lost cluster of islands where the 74-year-old was raised in harmony with a sea teeming with life. Much of his childhood was spent diving in the azure waters off Pulau Samulun and Pulau Merimau, where he lived, with goggles fashioned from wood and rubber bands by his father, and sailing around on a small boat known as the kolek. Pulau Samulun was turned into Jurong Shipyard, while Pulau Merimau is one of 14 islands reclaimed by the government for its vision of a regional chemical hub. With the sea in his backyard, Mr Nazir said in Malay: 'Since I was six, I was eager to swim in the sea whenever I had the chance.' As Singapore's offshore islands were developed by the Government, Mr Nazir was among scores of villagers who were re-located to the mainland. On June 14, they gathered at a festival, named Hari Orang Pulau (Islander Day), at West Coast Park to celebrate their heritage and history through workshops, performances and talks. At the day-long event by ground-up initiative Orang Laut SG, researchers urged attendees who once lived on the islands to record their stories, noting the dwindling community harbouring these memories. The sea was more than a playground for the islanders, recounted Mr Nazir . It was a cornucopia of fish, crabs and shrimp that his family depended on for a living. 'I loved to eat raw prawns when they fall off the net. My father didn't get mad at me,' he said with a smile. 'They were very sweet, very tasty.' The clear waters off the reclaimed island of Pulau Samulun were particularly plentiful with catch, he added. 'My mother would say, 'We're not rich, but we're happy'.' By the time he turned 13, the village chief told the villagers that the Government wanted to take the island, offering each family a house and a few thousand dollars in compensation, he said. There was even an offer from Malaysia to move to Pahang, where they would get a plot of land to grown palms. Some islanders contacted a lawyer as they felt the money was insufficient, while others simply did not want to move. But his family followed the village chief's instructions, and moved to Pulau Merlimau, where his father worked for JTC as a surveyor. It was there that Mr Nazir started to pursue his dream of appearing on radio and television with his family band that specialised in ghazal, a genre of traditional Malay music. The band was so popular that they would travel by boat to Pulau Bukom, Pulau Sudong and other islands in the south to perform for weddings and competitions. But life on Pulau Merlimau came to a swift end. At the age of 20, Mr Nazir and his family moved to the mainland when Pulau Merlimau was reclaimed for the creation of Jurong Island. When asked how he felt now that the islands of his youth were gone, he said: 'It's just memories now.' After moving to the mainland Singapore, Mr Nazir would tell others that he is from Jurong Shipyard, because hailing from the islands was seen as a source of shame. The leader of the family band Orkes Melayu Mutiara said: 'It was sad that people looked down on us for being island people, but we couldn't run away from that reality.' His mindset changed only recently, through a movement by descendants of islanders, like Orang Laut SG founder Firdaus Sani, and his daughter Irma Yanti, who view their roots as a badge of pride. Said Ms Irma, 43, a vocalist for the band: 'For me, even though I have never been (on the island) before, I feel that we have this sense of history because of my father.' On June 14, Mr Nasir, his daughter and the rest of the band would help revive another tradition from the islands here by leading the Joget Dangkung. The communal dance was once a staple at weddings in Singapore's Southern Islands and continues to be practiced in Indonesia's Riau archipelago. These days, when asked where he is from, Mr Nazir has a different answer: 'I lived on Pulau Samulun, now Jurong Shipyard.' He told ST: 'Now I am proud. 'Now we have a day for island people, so everyone knows where we come from.' Additional reporting by Hadyu Rahim and Amirul Karim Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Hans India
10-06-2025
- Hans India
As schools set to reopen in state, buses still unfit to ferry students
Hyderabad: In view of the reopening of schools, vehicles transporting students must necessarily possess valid fitness certificates. As several thousands of buses are yet to obtain the certificates, the Transport department has ramped up fitness inspections of school buses to ensure student safety. Worried parents are feeling anxious with schools set to reopen on June 12, many school buses, which their children depend on for transportation, reportedly did not secure the required fitness certificates from the transport department for the academic year. According to the transport department, of the total 25,677 buses operated by educational institutions across the state, only 17,020 of these buses have obtained fitness certificates so far. As per the rules, an annual fitness certification is required for all vehicles, assessing their mechanical state and safety attributes prior to being authorised for student transportation. Joint Transport Commissioner (Vigilance & Enforcement) Mamindla Chandrasekhar Goud urged the remaining 8,657 buses to immediately obtain fitness certification from their respective transport department offices. The JTC has strictly warned that school buses older than 15 years must not be operated under any circumstances. 'If such aged or unfit vehicles are used to transport students, not only will the vehicles be seized, but legal action will also be initiated against the respective managements,' he added. Chandrasekhar reiterated that the responsibility of maintaining educational institution vehicles lies solely with the school management. He advised that buses must be kept in good condition and experienced drivers must be employed. He also added that there will be checks on vehicles carrying students beyond their permitted capacity. The Joint Transport Commissioner stated that special inspection drives have been ordered across all districts. District-level transport officials are conducting meetings with school managements and drivers in their respective areas, he added. Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union, General secretary M Dayanand said that as per the Motor Vehicles Act, bus drivers must have a valid heavy vehicle driving licence and be under 60 years of age. However, this has not been followed by the institutions, and they are hiring unprofessional drivers, he pointed out. Additionally, an attendant must accompany students on every trip. Buses must be equipped with essential safety items such as a first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, and up-to-date documentation, including registration papers and a valid fitness certificate. The Transport Vigilance & Enforcement wing must ensure that the safety guideline issued by the transport department must be followed to ensure the safety for the student's transportation, said Dayanand.
Hindustan Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Amit Shah likely to visit Lucknow, distribute appointment letters to new UP police recruits in June 2nd week
Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to be in the state capital in the second week of June to hand over appointment letters to over 60,000 new Uttar Pradesh police recruits who were selected via the police constables' recruitment examination that was held successfully in August 2024 after a question paper leak in February 2024. While the political nuances of Shah's visit cannot be overlooked as panchayat polls in the state are due early next year, the event is more significant for sending the message that the BJP government is committed to creating job opportunities for youths. The question papers of the police constables' recruitment and Assistant Review Officer and Review Officer exams were leaked in February 2024, giving the opposition ammunition to target the Union government as well as the state government. Recruitment to the post of 60,244 police constables is one of the biggest by any government in recent times. 'The Union home minister is likely to distribute the appointment letters to the new police recruits in a grand event planned at Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Ekana Stadium in Lucknow next week,' confirmed senior police officials engaged in making arrangements of the event. An official said the home minister will share the dais with chief minister Yogi Adityanath. A senior police official confirmed preparations for the event are in full swing. The event is proposed in the second week of June, as per the directions of the CM and the date will be finalised on the availability of the Union home minister, he added. He said the new UP director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Krishna has written a letter to all district police chiefs, as well as all police commissioners, to expedite the steps required from the home districts of police recruits to facilitate the process. The letter stated that the allocation of cadres for 48,196 male and 12,048 female candidates should be completed soon. The files of selected candidates should be made available to the Joining Training Course (JTC) district by June 3, the letter added. The selected candidates will be summoned for a short period and they will be informed about the details of the programme. In the letter, the DGP explained that the male candidates are required to wear full-sleeve white shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes, while female candidates should wear plain salwar suits or sarees. He said the home districts will make arrangements for the candidates to travel to Lucknow and back, and the Lucknow police commissioner will make arrangements for their stay. The recruitment process was successfully completed under the leadership of Rajeev Krishna as director of UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) after the removal of the previous director Renuka Mishra following question paper leak of the written examination held on February 17 and 18, 2024. Although the board then denied the leak, the state government cancelled the written examination after getting sufficient evidence on February 24 and directed to reconduct the written exam within six months. The written examination was successfully conducted in August 2024 under heightened security. .
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Chipmaker Frencken to build new $63 million plant in Kaki Bukit
The new facility will 'lay a stronger foundation' for the mainboard-listed company to continue to expand its mechatronics business in Singapore. PHOTO: BT FILE SINGAPORE - Singapore-listed semiconductor maker Frencken will invest $63 million to build a new and larger five-storey manufacturing facility in Kaki Bukit. The new site will be built on a plot of land leased from Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) to its subsidiary ETLA for a period of 33 years, from Aug 18, 2025, the group said in a bourse filing on June 3. The new facility will 'lay a stronger foundation' for the mainboard-listed company to continue to expand its mechatronics business in Singapore. The new facility will expand its production resources to support existing and new programmes, as well as strengthen its position with key customers in the coming years, it added. In particular, the new plant will have larger clean rooms, allowing the group to scale up its business with key wafer fabrication equipment customers. 'The group believes Singapore will remain a vital and strategic base for its manufacturing operations and future growth,' said Frencken in the statement. 'The new facility will continue to ensure the group's proximity to its semiconductor customers in Singapore.' Once it is completed, Frencken plans to progressively relocate and consolidate its manufacturing operations in Singapore, which are currently in separate facilities in Changi North and Seletar Aerospace Link. Frencken will fund the construction and fit-out work of the new plant through internally-generated resources and borrowings. As part of the lease agreement with JTC, ETLA has to invest at least $19.5 million, of which $13.3 million must be spent on new plant and machinery. This investment must be fulfilled within three years of the commencement date. The remaining amount can consist of the net book value of ETLA's existing plant and machinery that will be relocated to the new site. The Kaki Bukit plot has a land area of 12,318 square metres (sq m), and is expected to be developed to a gross plot ratio of not less than 2.19 but not exceeding 2.5. The facility is estimated to yield a gross floor area of 28,594 sq m, subject to the final design and development plans. Construction will begin in the third quarter of 2025, and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027. Shares of Frencken closed flat at $1.14 on May 3 before the announcement. THE BUSINESS TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JTC PLC's (LON:JTC) recent 4.9% pullback adds to one-year year losses, institutional owners may take drastic measures
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, JTC's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions 53% of the business is held by the top 11 shareholders Insiders have bought recently We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for JTC in our free report. Every investor in JTC PLC (LON:JTC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 68% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk). As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by UK£75m. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 2.9% for shareholders. Also referred to as "smart money", institutions have a lot of sway over how a stock's price moves. As a result, if the downtrend continues, institutions may face pressures to sell JTC, which might have negative implications on individual investors. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about JTC. See our latest analysis for JTC Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. JTC already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of JTC, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. JTC is not owned by hedge funds. FMR LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 6.6% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.6% and 6.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Nigel Le Quesne, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer. Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 53% of the ownership is controlled by the top 11 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. We can report that insiders do own shares in JTC PLC. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own UK£112m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. With a 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over JTC. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph. But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
