Mr Ting, a Muslim convert, has an Indonesian wife and a Singaporean daughter, both living in Jakarta. His daughter has just started university, and Mr Ting said she feels “comfortable” there.
Furthermore, he prefers to focus on his work in Rwanda, noting that even family could be a “distraction” in a foreign land.
“The reason why I had my wife and daughter stay together is because I have postings all over, so let the daughter grow up with the mother,” he said, adding that he visited them “pretty often” when he was based in Singapore.
Mr Ting plans to use his 60 days of accumulated leave – COVID-19 prevented him from going home – to see his family sometime this year and take a “well-deserved” break, including a trip to Singapore to settle administrative issues.
“I won’t be here forever,” he said of his time in Rwanda. “It’s a pleasant challenge.”
ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLES IN SINGAPORE?
Singapore is also challenging itself to phase out ICE vehicles by 2040 in a push to cut emissions. While electric cars might be gaining popularity in the country, adoption of electric motorcycles severely lags behind.
Land Transport Authority figures show that in 2021, only five of Singapore’s 141,594 motorcycles were electric.
According to a public transport analyst, challenges to adoption include a lack of charging infrastructure and the high cost of electric bikes compared to their ICE counterparts.
“While key manufacturers have started producing electric motorbikes, the entire electric bike ecosystem still lags behind the electric car market,” Mr Satya Ramamurthy, global co-head of public transport at KPMG, previously told CNA.
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