8/8/2019 Tying Up With Foreigners is a Plus

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NEWS8today thursday au gust 12, 2010

Court rules on ownership of PKMSbuilding but party feud unresolvedSINGAPORE The two factions vying for

control of Singapores only Malay-based

political party have met in court but a reso-

lution of their four-year-old feud is still

nowhere in sight.

On Tuesday, council adviser Osman

Hassan and three other leaders of the

Singapore Malay National Organisation

(PKMS) sought a High Court order for rival

faction president Borhan Ariffin and two

other trustees to cede control of the PKMS

Building in Changi Road.

In what is seen as a setback to

Mr Borhans bid for party control, Justice

Lai Siu Chiu ordered him to sign over the

trust deed, thereby handing over control

of the PKMS Building to Mr Osman and

his committee.

They were given 15 days to so, failing

which the Registrar of the Supreme Court

will sign the deed on their behalf. Mr Borhan

and his team were also ordered to pay costs

and disbursements amounting to $2,500.

When contacted, a representative from

Mr Borhans team said they are appealing.

MediaCorp understands that Mr Borhan,

as well as council members Muhamad Ali

bin Aman and Atan bin Rafiee, are listed as

the title deed owners of the PKMS Building.

Until 2006, Mr Borhan was the party

president but things changed when

Mr Osman and his faction seized control at

an annual general meeting that same year.

Since then, both sides have been

engaged in an ongoing battle for control.

After the hearing, Mr Osmans lawyer,

Mr PE Ashokan, said his clients who

include current president Ali Asjadi and

former secretary-general Malik bin Ismail

were happy with the outcome.

He said: The judge made the right

decision and it is quite clear Mr Borhans

faction has challenged Mr Osmans author-

ity as PKMS leader and failed. Therefore, I

dont see any merit in any intended appeal.

Mr Osman stepped down from the pres-

idents post last week to become council

adviser. Mr Ali was elected to replace him.

That same week, Mr Borhans faction also

held its own extraordinary general meeting.

Last September, the feud took a turn for

the worse when a group from Mr Borhans

faction tried to change the locks on the doors

of the party office at the PKMS Building.

Members from both sides clashed as a

result. In the end, 21 party members were

arrested for rioting, and 12 were charged

in court in March.

Investigations are in progress.

Zul othman

Tying up with foreigners is a psay local grads who have don

ng Jing yngjingyng@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE Some Singaporean graduates

building local start-ups have found that a

good first step is to give it an international

flavour by forging business partnerships

with friends of various nationalities they

have met on campus.

Those whom MediaCorp spoke to say

they are starting to see more of such local-

foreign tie-ups.

Take, for instance, National Univer-

sity of Singapore alumnus Leon Leong, 28,

whose business team comprises a Vietnam-

ese, a Malaysian, a Chinese and another

Singaporean.

Because of the diversity our team has,

were able to tap into overseas markets

that wed never be able to do alone, said

Mr Leong, whose five-year-old company

Techsailor focuses on social marketing

strategies and has branched out to China

and Malaysia.

He added that the different back-

grounds and cultures of his team members

have benefited the company.

His business partner, Mr Nguyen Khanh

An, 27, agrees and feels that he has learnt

much by working with team members who

have had more overseas exposure.

The Vietnamese, who had to serve a

three-year bond working in Singapore after

completing his studies at the NUS, said

that a start-up allowed him to have more

freedom to execute his ideas.

Initially, there was a clo

tainty, admitted Mr Leong, wh

sales and marketing director.

to keep an open mindset, ac

ences of culture and be more

Mr Ngyuen, whose role is

added: Youll not be comfortab

single foreign student but you

find the right people to work w

Dr Lily Chan, chief executiv

terprise, believes that local-fore

tie-ups are a natural trend due to

students. This is a good trend

these young start-ups will hav

ternational outlook from Day O

Some of these graduates ar

on incubator funding. This wa

Mr Leongs team.

Singapore Management

alumni Keith Ng, 28, and Dam

27, also founded a business la

funds from the Media Devel

thority and incubated at the

company, Socialico, develops

forms and games.

Mr Ng said the key to such

in establishing company norm

start, which could differ acro

he said.

Professor Desai Narasimh

of the Institute of Innovation a

neurship at SMU, said while m

are embarking on business ve

still too early to tell whether

local partnerships are a trend

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The judge made the right

decision and it is quite clear

Mr Borhans faction has chal-

lenged Mr Osmans authority

as PKMS leader and failed.m PE ak, we f PKmscc ve o h