Latest news with #Seah
The Star
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Seah Kian Peng to be nominated again as Speaker of Singapore Parliament; Indranee Rajah will remain Leader of the House
SINGAPORE: Seah Kian Peng will be nominated for re-election as Speaker of Parliament when the House reopens on Sept 5, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Friday (June 20). He is the current Speaker and has served in the role since 2023. Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah has been designated by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as Leader of the House, the PMO added in its statement. Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad will remain Deputy Leader. In a letter to the Clerk of Parliament – the most senior official in the secretariat supporting the House – PM Wong said the Government will propose Seah's election and that he has designated Indranee and Zaqy for their roles. In a Facebook post on the same day, PM Wong added that Seah has since 2023 brought 'a steady hand and thoughtful leadership to the House'. PM Wong said: 'He has presided over our debates with fairness and ensured that proceedings are conducted with dignity and decorum. I am confident he will continue to discharge his responsibilities with distinction.' In a Facebook post after the announcement, Seah thanked the Prime Minister for his confidence, support and nomination. He added that he is grateful for the support of MPs past and present, and thanked his two deputies and colleagues from the Parliament Secretariat. Seah is assisted by two Deputy Speakers, Christopher de Souza and Jessica Tan. Deputy Speakers, who take over when the Speaker is absent, are also elected when a new Parliament sits. He said: 'If elected, I will as always endeavour to do my best and discharge my duties and responsibilities to the best of my ability.' Zaqy, who is also an MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, told The Straits Times that he is thankful for PM Wong's trust in him. He added that with a renewed slate of MPs, including many first-time parliamentarians from both the PAP and the opposition, a broader range of perspectives and voices in the House can be expected. He said: 'We probably have about 20-30 per cent new MPs in Parliament this round, and I hope that this diversity will bring fresh energy and ideas to our national conversations.' Singapore elected 97 MPs at the polls, and two Non-Constituency MPs were later appointed from the Workers' Party. Of these, 29 are rookies. Zaqy added that many MPs were elected campaigning on various concerns and issues such as cost of living, jobs and economic uncertainty amid global tensions. 'Alongside these bread-and-butter issues, we'll also need to tackle longer-term challenges such as climate change, social mobility and ageing. Looking forward to a robust and constructive parliamentary term ahead,' he said. There are no term limits for both the Speaker and the Leader of the House. The Speaker is in charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat, and presides over its conduct. He or she decides who has the right to speak and puts the question for the House to debate and vote on. The Speaker also acts as the representative of the House in its relations with other Parliaments and welcomes visiting dignitaries. He or she represents Parliament at national events and during official visits abroad. The Leader of the House is responsible for arranging government business and the legislative programme of Parliament, and proposes appropriate actions to be taken on procedural matters arising in Parliament. He or she also moves procedural motions, such as to extend the times of sittings beyond the usual. For example, during her term as Leader, Indranee has addressed and issued notes on MPs' behaviour, and wrapped up or extended debates on key issues like the Budget and the 14th Parliament's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seah, who is an MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, has served as Speaker since 2023. He was nominated and elected following the resignation of the previous Speaker, Tan Chuan-Jin, after an affair he had with fellow MP Cheng Li Hui was made public. Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and National Development and an MP for Pasir Ris-Changi GRC, has been Leader of the House since 2020. She took over from Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu. The opening of a new Parliament following a general election traditionally begins with the election of the Speaker. In 2025, this will happen on Sept 5, following the polls held on May 3. The MPs will then be sworn in, and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam is scheduled to deliver an address to the 15th Parliament. The President's Address will set out the agenda and plans of the Government for its five-year term. - The Straits Times/ANN
AsiaOne
16 hours ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
PM Wong to nominate Seah Kian Peng as Speaker of Parliament, Indranee Rajah as Leader of House, Singapore News
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong intends to nominate Seah Kian Peng as Speaker of the Parliament and Indranee Rajah as Leader of the House when Parliament convenes in September. This was announced through a statement by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Friday (June 20). The 15th Parliament is set to meet for the first time on Sept 5, following the last session in April 15 when the 14th Parliament was dissolved ahead of the General Election. Seah has served as the Speaker since 2023, and has "presided over our debates with fairness and ensured that proceedings are conducted with dignity and decorum," said PM Wong in a Facebook post on Friday (June 20). "I am confident he will continue to discharge his responsibilities with distinction." In a Facebook post on Friday, Seah thanked PM Wong for his "confidence, support and nomination" and expressed his gratitude to the Members of the House, past and present, for their support. "I also have my two Deputy Speakers and colleagues at Parliament Secretariat to thank for their solid support to me since I assumed this appointment in August 2023," he wrote. "If elected, I will as always endeavour to do my best and discharge my duties and responsibilities to the best of my ability." Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development, has served as Leader since 2020 and will remain so. Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment, Zaqy Mohamad, will also be nominated to continue his role as the Deputy Leader. The 15th Parliament will have 99 MPs consisting of 97 elected MPs — 87 from the People's Action Party (PAP) and 10 from the Worker's Party (WP) — and two Non-Constituency MPs, Andre Low and Eileen Chong, both from WP. [[nid:718519]]
Tourism Breaking News
10-06-2025
- Business
- Tourism Breaking News
ITB Asia 2025 to focus on ME and GenZ travellers
Post Views: 28 TTME in an exclusive interview with Darren Seah – Executive Director – ITB Asia shared that this year their focus shifts in the industry—particularly the growing influence of the Middle East market and the rising power of Generation Z travellers. The Middle East continues to play a pivotal role in shaping Asia-Pacific's travel dynamics. With a reputation for luxury, experiential travel, and high-value outbound tourism, the region's significance is only increasing. Seah shared, 'Oman is joining us this year, and we're in active discussions with other Middle Eastern destinations including the UAE.' He further added, 'We were recently in the UAE, engaging with key stakeholders to strengthen regional collaboration.' This growing engagement aligns with the broader tourism strategies of countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—each investing heavily in hospitality infrastructure, cultural offerings, and mega-events, as part of long-term national visions such as Saudi Vision 2030. For ITB Asia, this means not just showcasing the region as a destination, but also as a vital source of outbound travellers seeking immersive, high-quality travel experiences across Asia-Pacific.
The Sun
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Hartanah Kenyalang hopeful of securing more Sarawak infrastructure projects
KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak-based building and infrastructure construction company Hartanah Kenyalang Bhd expects to secure 10% to 15% of projects with an aggregate contract value of RM451 million that it has tendered for by the end of 2025. 'Many of the projects are open tender, so there are many tenders involved. However, one of the projects related to power substation, I believe we will have a better chance (of securing),' managing director Seah Boon Tiat said after the listing of the company under the construction sector on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia today. He noted that Sarawak produces 3.5 gigawatts of green energy and this is expected to increase to 10 gigawatts in 2030. 'This energy will go to the substation, so our job here is tendering for substation projects and this will benefit our company. We have started tendering for these projects since last year,' Seah said. He added that the Sarawak government has allocated RM1 billion allocated for the development of bridges and road projects. 'Currently we are doing one project and have tendered for another one bridge project as well. It's a design and build type project ... so hopefully we have some chances to follow through with them,' he said. The company has also tendered for water projects in Sarawak, including water treatment plants. Hartanah Kenyalang made a muted debut on the ACE Market, opening at its initial public offering (IPO) price of 16 sen per share. Its share price closed at 14.5 sen. The company raised RM19.3 million through a public offering of 198.4 million shares, representing 32% of its enlarged share capital of 620 million shares. Its IPO was oversubscribed by 5.33 times. At listing, Hartanah Kenyalang's indicative market capitalisation was about RM99.2 million. Hartanah Kenyalang has recorded strong financial growth, with revenue increasing from RM34.1 million for financial year ended Oct 31, 2021 to RM127.6 million for financial year ended Oct 31, 2024, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55%. During that period, profit after tax increased at a CAGR of 24%, growing from RM4.8 million to RM9.2 million. TA Securities Holdings Bhd is the principal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter and sole placement agent of Hartanah Kenyalang's IPO. 'Today, with RM19.3 million in funding raised from our IPO exercise, we are going to utilise approximately RM3 million of the IPO proceeds to purchase six new excavators in order to increase our capacity and productivity,' Seah said. 'We also plan to expand into offering design and build services for our building construction services segments and infrastructure construction services segments by investing in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) System.' Deputy managing director Seah Boon Kee said BIM helps architects coordinate their designs for a building, reduce errors of construction and speed up the process of construction. 'Thus far, we have one state archived project where we use BIM.'
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
T.H.E Dance Company's cont·act festival returns with new collaborative works
Sloth Canon, featuring dancers from Singapore and Vancouver, is one of four new pieces for cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival 2025. PHOTO: CRISPIAN CHAN SINGAPORE – Expect a dynamic new dance work in Sloth Canon, which is built around dancers' personalities and their decision-making in real time, according to co-creator Anthea Seah. She created the piece with Canadian choreographer Josh Martin, co-artistic director of Vancouver-based dance group Company 605. Sloth Canon features three dancers – Billy Keohavong, Haruka Chan and Chang En – from Singapore, and two dancers – Brandon Lee Alley and Rebecca Margolick – from Vancouver. The work is one of four new pieces in the line-up for cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival 2025. Organised by The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company, the annual celebration of new and rising dance talents is on from June 13 to 29. Kuik Swee Boon, 52, founder and artistic director of T.H.E Dance Company, says 2025 is a milestone. The company is marking the 15th anniversary of the festival, so the programme is both a celebration of the past and a look forward at its aspirations. cont·act is one of Singapore's longest-running festivals dedicated to contemporary dance, and Kuik admits there are challenges to organising such an event. He says: 'At present, our most pressing challenge lies in the rising costs of production, which have not been matched by an equivalent increase in revenue or grants.' He adds that slow ticket sales are also 'cause for considerable concern' and attributes this to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Our experiences during local and international tours over the past few years have shown us that this is a global issue. These are fundamental issues faced by the arts community.' Nonetheless, T.H.E. is committed to the festival as a platform for younger choreographers. Hence, Seah, 35, who has been with the company since 2015 and was appointed resident choreographer in April, is working on Sloth Canon. The work will debut in Canada on June 5 before coming to Singapore. It is travelling to Jakarta from June 28 to 29. Seah says discussions on the partnership began in 2022 and has now become a full-fledged co-production between the two dance companies. 'It was an experience watching how Company 605's and our methodologies mesh to make a world. Having dancers from Vancouver as well as Singapore has also been crucial to the collaborative process.' Other smaller collaborative works at the festival include Singaporean Pat Toh and Australian Jenni Large's Mothership and a duet by Singaporean Adele Goh and South Korean Kwon Hyuk under the Open Stage programme. Seah says: 'I hope more Singaporean audiences can come and experience what contemporary dance is. Sloth Canon is based on the human need to make and create something preposterous. I hope people can come and see that reflected, or even just come in to laugh or cry and feel befuddled with life.' Book it/ Sloth Canon Where: Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive When: June 20 and 21, 7.30pm, June 21 and 22, 3pm Admission: $30 Info: Go to Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
