Lai liao, lai liao

GOOD morning! According to our resident Singlish expert Gwee Li Sui, “lai liao” is used specifically to signal how something expected has come to pass. It marks the end of sianness and speculation. Here’s lai liao in the news this Monday:

Lai liao #1: Zika. Well, more specifically, Zika prep. The People’s Association for the first time on Sunday organised a Zika awareness seminar where more than 500 women participated. At the event, Senior Minister of State (Health) Amy Khor said that given Singapore’s popularity as a tourist spot and that it is also a major travel hub, Zika’s appearance in the country is “inevitable”. As it is, our neighbours – namely the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam – have reported cases of the disease, which researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed is linked to infants born with microcephaly. Two weeks ago, Vietnam reported its first case of Zika.

Lai liao #2: Higher parking fees; less parking spots. It’s already been said – in Parliament, no less – that there might be fewer parking spaces in the future and that parking fees may rise. Now, experts have come out to say that this may be just what Singapore needs to really become car-lite. Parking policy expert Paul Barter from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy even suggested that the G should abolish minimum parking provisions for developers. Just like London and Berlin, he said, in a Straits Times article. “This policy actually encourages car ownership and driving,” Dr Barter said. Can’t a car owner get a break?

Lai liao #3: Changes in the presidency is nearing – in another step forward in the process, public hearings for the Constitutional Commission’s review of the Elected Presidency start today. Some 19 contributors including former Cabinet Minister S Dhanabalan, Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan, and advocacy groups such as Maruah, are slated to speak in the four hearings. The Workers’ Party has declined the Commission’s invitation to speak and have said it intends to debate the issue in Parliament.

Lai liao #4: Shell companies in court. In this case, Lim Kien Peng, 46, had set up a shell company and recruited 30 Chinese nationals to work for the non-existent construction firm between May and November 2013. In reality, there were no jobs and the workers were left to fend for themselves. At least two of them were found by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to have paid $8,000 each for Lim to get them work passes. Lim was jailed for 27 months on Tuesday. He was charged with 30 counts of obtaining work passes for foreigners for a business that didn’t exist, and convicted of five.

Lai liao #5: Drone strikes. On planes, that is. We’ve heard of bird strikes, which can be pretty dangerous for planes. But with the increase in drone use, the numbers of near-misses have also gone up. And now, we’ve got a hit – British police said that a British Airways plane struck an object believed to be a drone on Sunday as it was coming in for landing at London’s Heathrow Airport. The object struck the nose of the plane, which landed safely. Investigations are ongoing. There have been 23 near-misses between aircraft and drones in the UK, between April and October last year, air safety agency UK Airprox Board said in an AFP report.

 

Featured image from TMG file. 

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