Singapore’s table-tennis win triggers fierce debate

Singaporeans’ reactions to the Republic winning the World Table-Tennis Championships has been mixed.







The China-born but Singapore-raised trio of Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Bei Bei stunned reigning champions and arch-nemesis China 3-1 in the final held in Moscow on Sunday.






While some Singaporeans feel that ultimately, it is still a “China versus China” competition and that the win is no big deal, others disagree, triggering a fierce online debate. To date, the post has garnered close to 600 comments within the first 12 hours of the post being published.






One Yahoo! Fit To Post user, Raj, comments, “What’s the point anyways, aren’t this kids Chinese migrants (sic)? Most athletes are imported in Singapore anyways, it’s just a sense of hollow value. Hardly any pride in it.”






Many others, however, beg to differ.






“Regardless of the nationality issue, this achievement is outstanding,” says reader Ignatius Albert Wijaya.






“The players might not have been locals but they train to become the players that they are in Singapore. I hope Singaporeans can show their respect to the players. That’s the least we can do,” he adds.






Judging by the comments on this post, most Singaporeans agree with Ignatius.






Another reader, Chris, sums up the general sentiment, “Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Bei Bei won the game as Singaporeans, sang the Singapore anthem and wore the Singapore flag. Why complain about foreign talent winning the game for Singapore?”






Reaction aside, credit must be given to another stirring performance, in particular from Feng. Once again, just as she did in the 2008 Olympic women’s team semi-finals in Beijing against South Korea, Singapore’s world No 2 rose to the occasion.






First, Feng defeated China’s world No 4, Ding Ning, in the opening singles game but not without first having to engineer a stirring fight-back after having gone down 2 sets to love in the first 15 minutes.






That set the tone for Singapore’s famous victory as Wang then doubled the advantage for Singapore when she scored an upset over world No.1 Liu Shiwen 11-7, 11-8, 2-11, 12-10.






But Sun’s defeat to China’s Guo Yan in four sets, losing 11-6, 6-11, 4-11, 6-11, set up a dramatic finale for Feng to clinch the winning point 3-2 against Liu.






It was sweet revenge for the Singapore women’s team after they lost in the 2008 final and the Olympic final to the Chinese.

AIA Chief Threatens to Quit

AIA’s chief executive has told friends and industry executives


that he would quit if the UK’s Prudential succeeded in its


US$35.5billion (GBP24.6billion) takeover of the Asian


businesses of AIG.


Mark Wilson has said he would step down once the deal


closed because the proposed combination of both Asian


businesses was “unworkable”.


Hong Kong-based Mr Wilson, 43, joined AIA from AXA in 2006


and boasts more than a decade of senior management experience


in the Asian insurance industry.


According to an undisclosed source, Mr Wilson “remains loyal”


to AIA, but does not plan to stay with the merged group


because he feels it is “a disaster waiting to happen”.


How many senior AIA executives, actuaries and agents remain


following a takeover is crucial for the combined group if it is to


execute the integration and deliver the sales increase being


flagged to investors to justify the price.


The news of Mr Wilson’s threatened departure comes amid


Prudential’s battle to win shareholder support for the takeover


and the US$21billion rights issue to fund it ahead of a vote on


June 7.


Investors have expressed concerns about the price tag for AIA


and Prudential’s ability to manage a complex integration in 12


Asian markets.


The uncertainty over Mr Wilson’s future will also cast a shadow


over Tuesday’s dual listing of the UK life assurer in Hong Kong


and a secondary listing in Singapore.


Prudential said on Monday that about 2 per cent of its shares


had been registered in Hong Kong ahead of the listing.


The Prudential prospectus for its rights issue released last


week said Mr Wilson would remain chief executive of AIA after


the takeover. However, it would be relatively unconcerned if he


did leave, according to one person familiar with Prudential.


The company told investors that it had moved quickly to stabilise


AIA by putting retention packages in place for senior


individuals. “Getting the people aspect right is vital and we


have moved quickly to stabilise the AIA business and put in


place appropriate retention arrangements,” Tidjane Thiam,


Prudential chief executive, said at an analyst presentation.


It was unclear whether Mr Wilson was offered these retention


arrangements. But the AIA chief has deep misgivings about


Prudential’s ability to execute the transaction or manage


relations with AIA staff and agents, people familiar with the


situation said.


Steve Roder and Peter Cashin, AIA’s finance and legal chiefs


respectively, have already quit the company.


Mr Wilson is widely credited with saving AIA last year when


AIG, its US parent company, nearly collapsed, earning the


loyalty of senior staff and agents. He also prepared AIA for an


initial public offering that was aborted three months ago in


favour of the Prudential deal.

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