Why It Matters

Every day on Page 2 of The Straits Times, reporters write about why certain news reports matter to readers. This is a weekly round-up of the columns.

Assistant Business Editor Yasmine Yahya noted that businessman Ron Sim's decision to take his firm Osim International private could be read as another sign of the local market's malaise. But analysts have also speculated that more privatisation bids may follow, and such speculation could spark investor interest in the market and boost liquidity. http://str.sg/ZFsa

Senior Law Correspondent K. C. Vijayan applauded the National University of Singapore Law Faculty's move to double the number of first class honours and increase the number of second class upper for each cohort. He pointed out that the revised figures are still low compared to schools like Cambridge and Oxford, but the move recognises the quality of the students and their work. http://str.sg/ZFMu

With the Budget looming, small and medium-sized enterprises are asking for government help to deal with the high cost of doing business here. But business reporter Chong Koh Ping noted that as Singapore's economy matures, a slow economic growth environment may be here to stay and the Government, with its finite resources, cannot offer a constant helping hand. http://str.sg/ZFNe

China's economic planners have had to battle analyst talk of massive capital flight, devaluations by other names and exaggerated growth numbers hiding a hard landing. But Associate Editor Ravi Velloor noted that the new growth targets and figures announced by Premier Li Keqiang go some ways to reassuring skittish economists. http://str.sg/ZFSo

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's resignation from Umno and his cobbling together of an unlikely alliance of opposition politicians to try to unseat Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak only shows how entrenched Mr Najib is, Malaysia Bureau Chief Shannon Teoh observed. If the opposition wants Mr Najib to quit, they will have to work much harder. http://str.sg/ZFJR

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 12, 2016, with the headline Why It Matters. Subscribe