E4,5,6

Why the need to preserve UNESCO heritage hawker food?   Not like Sinkies willing to take low pay work as labour in construction, fishing, etc. So why they willing to operate hawker centres if low pay? Just like rest of SG has moved on to other jobs including food delivery and PHV (which again doesn't pay enough for more than 75% of the ones employed), the ones employed in the sector should move on too.    Even if raise prices, what will be the outcome? The author never say what the rate of closures is in the "restaurant" sector - it could be worse. As usual, it is expectation of running a hawker biz vs how much the actually make from it after setting their own pricing. Nothing stopping all these heritage hawkers who have worked for decades to come together rent their own 10 shop restaurant, pay for those rents and utilities and price their food accordingly at $25 and see how they fare.    Author say change kopi price from $1 - $1.30 over 5 years people angry. NSF pay increase 30% over last 5years bo? Artificially depressed salaries at the lower end of the spectrum and then use top 10% compensation increase to say that median salary and GDP is going up up up 

Haze update: Air quality is now unhealthy in 3 parts of Singapore. PSI readings hit 123 in central, 105 in west and 102 in east at 6am. https://cna.asia/4je4Mco

🤔 Hear me out: Singaporeans should pay more for hawker food Should hawker food be kept at 20th century prices? If we're prepared to pay higher prices at cafes, what about supporting hawkers who've head to deal with rising costs? READ: https://asia1.news/4cQfaDs Follow @AsiaOnecom for all the latest updates. Here's the full article details 👇       📰 Article Overview   Title: Hear me out: Singaporeans should pay more for hawker food Author: Christopher Toh Published: 19 Sep 2026, 10:00 AM Source: Wonderwall.sg / AsiaOne       ✍️ Core Argument   Singaporeans should be willing to pay higher prices for hawker food — not just lament when stalls close — because costs have risen sharply while our mindset remains stuck in the past.   📌 Key Points   1. Our Expectations vs Reality   - 1960s–70s origins: basic stalls, subsidised/controlled rent, low overheads → low prices were sustainable - Now: ingredients, utilities, rent, wages all up — but we still expect "20th-century prices" - Example: kopi-o kosong up from $1 → $1.30 over 5 years = ~6 cents/year — yet people react as if it's outrageous - Double standard: $19 pasta = fine in a restaurant, "too expensive" at a hawker centre   2. We Undervalue Hawker Skills   - An elderly Malay food seller closing: children won't take over — customers "don't respect" hawkers - Mastery like wok hei takes years, yet we treat dishes as "cheap" — happily pay $15 for mala but baulk at $6 char kway teow - Hawkers deserve the same respect as formally trained chefs   3. Survival of UNESCO Heritage at Stake   - Hawker culture is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list - If trade doesn't pay decent livelihood → fewer young successors → culture fades - Affordable basics must stay, but those who can afford it should pay fairly   4. Bottom Line   Praise won't pay the bills. Without fairer prices, more closures will follow — and we'll lose the heritage we claim to cherish.       💬 The Question   Should hawker food be kept at 20th-century prices? If we're prepared to pay higher prices at cafes, what about supporting hawkers who've had to deal with rising costs?   Full article: https://asia1.news/4cQfaDs          

Why AI giants are choosing Singapore to turn models into real-world tools   https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368089/why-ai-giants-are-choosing-singapore-turn-models-real-world-tools?utm_source=rss_feed   Here's the full detailed article based on the SCMP piece you provided:       Why AI giants are choosing Singapore to turn models into real-world tools   Source: South China Morning Post — This Week in Asia Economics Author: Jean Iau Published: 9:00am, 20 Sep 2026 Reading time: 3 minutes       Introduction   Singapore is emerging as a regional hub — not for training the most advanced AI models, but for the increasingly critical work of deploying and adapting them into practical, real-world tools. Major global AI firms are setting up offices here, bringing new opportunities and questions about how these investments will benefit local workers.   Growing presence of global AI firms   - Jordan Seow, a 29-year-old 2021 National University of Singapore business analytics graduate, joined OpenAI in June 2025 as its first locally hired forward-deployed engineer in Asia-Pacific. He works directly with clients to integrate AI solutions into their systems. - Anthropic became the latest major AI firm to announce a Singapore office, advertising nine roles in applied AI, finance, marketing, public benefit and sales. - OpenAI committed over S$300 million (US$235 million) in May 2026, establishing its first Applied AI Lab outside the US, with plans to create 200+ Singapore-based technical roles. - Others with a presence: Google DeepMind / Google Cloud, Microsoft (investing US$5.5 billion in cloud & AI infrastructure through 2029), Meta Superintelligence Labs. - Google Cloud opened an engineering centre in partnership with local giants Grab and DBS.   Why Singapore?   1. Geopolitical neutrality & market access   - Amid US–China tech rivalry, Singapore offers a stable, neutral base and direct access to Southeast Asia’s 660-million-person digital economy. - US firms can recruit international engineers without the tight visa restrictions, high fees and long wait times common in the US.   2. Pro-business, pro-innovation environment   - Regulatory stability, strong IP protection, and a highly skilled workforce. - Government backing: - Tech.Pass → replaced Jan 2027 by One Pass, dedicated for AI & tech specialists. - National AI strategy target: help 10,000 enterprises adopt AI meaningfully in 3 years. - Starting 2027: enhanced tax deductions for businesses investing in AI adoption. - EDB goal: become the world’s most AI-powered economy.   3. Specialisation in deployment, not just training   “Frontier pre-training is not here… What is being built here is the layer that turns a model into something a bank, a hospital or a ministry can run in production.” — Laurence Liew, Director of AI Innovation, AI Singapore   Singapore’s strength is applied AI, deployment engineering and enterprise integration — taking finished models and making them work for real organisations. This is where the bulk of the industry is focused.   Jobs and local talent: who gets hired?   - Early stages: roles often filled by relocated staff from HQ. As operations mature, local hiring grows. - AI Singapore apprenticeship programme: trained 500+ apprentices, adding 100+ yearly; 99% placed within 6 months. Companies including OpenAI recruit directly from this pipeline. - Some government grants include local hiring requirements. - New career paths: roles combining technical skill, customer engagement and practical implementation — not just pure research or software engineering.   Challenges ahead   - Balancing foreign investment with local opportunity: gains will be gradual rather than immediate top-level leadership roles. - Managing AI risks: as AI enters finance, healthcare and public services, Singapore balances openness with accountability — ensuring organisations deploying AI are answerable for its use.       “Remain open to innovation, but ensure that organisations deploying AI are accountable for how these systems are used.” — Stefan Winkler, Head of AI & Data Science, Singapore Institute of Technology