Year in Review 2013: Top News searches in Singapore

A host of issues and events kept Singapore occupied through the course of the year. Here, we take a look at those that garnered the greatest attention among Yahoo search users in Singapore.
 

1. Haze 

A perennial problem in Southeast Asia, this year’s haze from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia was particularly troublesome to Singapore.

Lasting for over a week in June, the haze was especially thick on certain days. On 21 June, the pollutant standards index (PSI) reading in the city-state hit all-time highs of over 400 around noon, well into the ‘hazardous’ range lower limit of 301. Familiar landmarks were practically invisible, schools closed, and tourism and construction were affected, among other sectors.

The government encouraged the public to wear masks outdoors and stay indoors as much as they could. One particular variety, N95, flew off the shelves; searches for it rose 1.5 million per cent that month. Searches for “psi reading” spiked 4.3 million per cent in June; “singapore haze” rose 650,000 per cent; “sumatra fires” 105,000 per cent; “air purifier” 67,000 per cent.   

The haze cleared towards the end of the month as the hundreds of forest fires were put out gradually by firefighters, cloud-seeding, helicopters dumping water and rain. To address the haze problem for good, Indonesia is pushing to pass a regional treaty by early 2014 that obliges ASEAN nations to prevent burning of fields and forests, provide information to each other and help one another when needed.

2. City Harvest trial
 
Trial is underway a year after the arrest of prominent members of City Harvest Church, including its founder and pastor Kong Hee.
 
Hee, who founded the church in 1989, and five other members were charged with misusing over S$50 million of church money, some of which were allegedly spent to further the career of Hee’s wife, singer Sun Ho. The church remained free to continue its services and activities as it does not face any cases.

Searches for “city harvest trial news” spiked 165,800 per cent in May when the trial began while searches for “sun ho kong hee” rose 2,800 per cent. Serena Wee Gek Yin, the church's former finance manager and among the accused, was also thrust into the spotlight owing to her looks and fashion sense. Searches for Wee increased 289,400 per cent that month.
 
3. Population White Paper
 
When Parliament endorsed the Population White Paper in February, some 4,000 people  gathered at Hong Lim Park to protest.

The paper mapped out preparations for a population of 6.9 million (of which citizens would form 55 per cent) by 2030.

The government, through PM Lee, said that the 6.9 million population figure had been taken out of context, that the paper was not about any specific population size for beyond 2020, but rather that it was being used for the purpose of land use and infrastructure planning.  

Searches for “singapore white paper 2013” rose 10,300 per cent in February; searches for rally organiser Gilbert Goh increased 34,500 per cent and “hong lim park protest” rose by 11,500 per cent.
 
4. Anonymous

On 31 October, a person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and speaking with a digitally altered voice appeared on Youtube saying Anonymous, a global group of hackers, would "go to war" with the Singapore government over new licensing rules for news websites. A day later, someone calling himself ‘The Messiah’ and claiming to be with Anonymous hacked a reporter's blog on the Straits Times news website.

On 7 November, the prime minister’s official website was hacked after PM Lee told the media he would "spare no effort" in going after Anonymous members.

Less than a week later, police charged a 35-year-old man named James Raj with the hacking and said five other men were assisting in investigations. Searches for “the messiah anonymous” rose 35,200 per cent in November; “anonymous hacker” 8,200 per cent and “james raj” 56,900 per cent.
 

5. Flash floods

Similar to occurrences in past years, intermittent flash floods hit various parts of Singapore throughout 2013 following higher-than-average rainfall over a short period of time. In September, searches for "flash floods singapore" spiked 243,800 per cent, and in October, searches for "chai chee flood" rose 2,500 per cent and "sunos flood" 600 per cent.

National water agency PUB has been undertaking various drainage and other infrastructure works to minimise the flooding especially in areas prone to it.
The Meteorological Service forecasts that December and January could have 10 to 20 per cent more rainfall than usual.
 
6. Kovan double murder
 
On 10 July, two bodies, a father and a son, were found in the Kovan area.
A car had dragged Tan Chee Heong, 42, almost 1km from the house of his father, 66-year-old Tan Boon Sin, who was found dead in the garden.

Two days later, police tracked down the suspect to a restaurant in Johor, Malaysia and arrested him. Iskandar bin Rahmat, a member of the Singapore Police Force for 14 years, was the investigating officer when Tan Boon Sin made a theft report nine months before the murder, in November 2012. The other details of Rahmat’s links to the victims are unclear.

Rahmat has reportedly chosen to stand trial; it is set to begin in March.
Searches for “kovan murder” spiked 657,000 per cent in July; so did searches for “iskandar bin rahmat” (297,500 per cent).
 
7. Budget 2013
 
Released every February, the national budget and accompanying goodies like the GST voucher are favourite topics among Singaporeans. Searches for “singapore budget” rose 557,000 per cent that month while “gst voucher” was up 1,100 per cent.

The budget this year aimed to ensure Singapore could achieve quality yet inclusive growth, according to the government. It included measures to make the tax system more progressive, to increase subsidies for lower-income and elderly workers, to mitigate the country's reliance on foreign labour and to improve productivity.
 
8. Peter Lim Sin Pang
 
Former civil defence chief Peter Lim Sin Pang was dismissed from public service in August following his conviction in May of corruptly obtaining sex from a woman whose company later bid for a contract with the SCDF. Pang, who also pleaded guilty to seven more charges of the same nature involving two other women, served a six-month jail sentence, which ended in November. Searches for "peter lim sin pang" rose 1,500 per cent in May when he went to prison.
 
9. Tey Tsun Hang
 
Former law professor Tey Tsun Hang of the National University of Singapore was given a five-month sentence in June for corruptly receiving gifts and sex from then student, Darinne Ko, in exchange for favourable marks. Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye referred to Tey's relationship with Ko as a "professor-student relationship where he as the sole marker (for the subjects Ko was taking under him) had total control and authority over her grades."

Tey is appealing against both his conviction and his jail sentence. Searches for Tey Tsun Hang (69,000 per cent) and Darinne Ko (118,000 per cent) rose the most dramatically in January when the trial started.
 
10. Punggol East by-election
 
The opposition Workers’ Party scored an upset at the start of the year when it won the lone MP seat in Punggol East, Singapore's largest single member constituency. The seat had been vacated by parliamentary speaker, Michael Palmer, who resigned in December 2012 following reports of an extra-marital affair.

Lee Li Lian, a 34-year-old sales trainer, garnered 16,038 votes against PAP candidate Dr Koh Poh Koon’s 12,856 to become the first female opposition member to win a single member constituency since 1965. The margin of victory of nearly 11 per cent between Lee and Dr. Koh surprised many as observers had expected the race to be tight.

Searches for “lee li lian wp” spiked 53,000 per cent in January as did “punggol east election” (95,500 per cent) and “koh poh koon” (123,700 per cent).