谁还敢到新山 ？？

穆秀珍的故事（十九）--不要为了几百元，学新加坡人后悔莫及，再大骂大鸟也没有用了。。。。

上期说到中国的高压手法，引起了世界关注，人民反感。

强制威慑力与常规手段之间存在着矛盾。在处理普通的民事和治安案件时，常规手段的效果更好，作用也更大，然而，采用常规手段离不开充分的人员和资源的支持。民众对执法机关的意见当中，执法粗暴历来是一大重点，可是，要想不粗暴，就离不开优势警力的配置，而在此案中，笔者注意到，张磊担任副所长的坡贡派出所，居然只有三个人，这就表明，执法机关的人员和资源配备并不充分，这就大大增加了发生意外事件的可能性。试想，如果当时是四对二甚至更多，还会出现这样的悲剧吗？

其次，强制威慑力与民众的认知之间也可能存在落差。在一个法制社会里，民众总是依据现有的规则调整自己的行为，在此案中，死者所喊出的：“我没有犯法，你不敢开枪”，就是这一事实的生动说明。


但是，执法机关出于某种意图而展开的威慑行动，却容易与这种认知发生冲突。

在此案中，张磊获得枪支还不到一个月，而获取枪支的理由是为了配合冬季严打，可是，两名死者作为普通村民，又怎么会知道严打将至，又怎么知道张磊已然胸怀利器了呢？悲剧的产生，与所谓的冬季严打不是没有关系的。

最后，强制威慑力与技术手段之间也存在着矛盾。法制社会讲究以法律为准绳以事实为依旧，而证据的获得，更多的应以现代科技为后盾的刑事鉴定技术，而不是依赖于口供。反之，强制威慑力的获取并不以证据为基础，这在一定程度上阻碍了执法中的技术水准的提高。


以此案为例，以现代科技为后盾，并不难勘验还原出当时的场景，5发子弹的击发顺序和发射角度也不难得出真相，可是，事情已经过去了这么久，真相依旧悬空，这就不得不让人怀疑是否存在着技术水准落后的问题。而随着社会的发展，民众的知识水准和信息获取能力却有了长足的进步，于是在落后的技术水平和民众日益丰富的知识水平之间就形成了不小的落差，成为了警民之间不信任的土壤。



在笔者的理解，随着法制社会建设的深入，执法机关的执法手段也应沿着常规化、法制化和技术化的方向而提高，此举不仅能够提高执法效力，同时也能够在一定程度上降低执法机关与民众之间的冲突，如果能够在常规手段上资源配置更充分，各种警民间意外事件的发生率就能够得到降低；如果执法符合法制的要求，则警民之间的对立情绪也可以得到一定缓解，而如果技术水准能有长足提高，那么，警民之间的不信任也可以有所减少。

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

国家已经走歪了,一直打压正义……………

她不敢再想象下去…………………


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


穆秀珍驾着跑车在澳洲柏斯高速公路上飞驰。。。。

她和一班朋友将会在木兰花的住家相聚。

高速公路对穆秀珍来说，不是很大的挑战。不过，她知道，驾驶技术不是一朝一夕便可以学会。，

他想起VICTOR LEE和她说过， 像马来西亚的南北大道，其实就是死亡大道。

“在高速公路上驾驶， 不但关系到技术，还关系到精神，天气，还有其他马路使用者。”

穆秀珍，甩甩头，哎，真的，那是很考功夫的事。

她想起最近发生在新山哥打丁宜的车祸。（注一)

她也想起过去发生在亚庇的一位朋友的孩子，还在学院就读，也是驾驶类似休旅车的 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER，一时无法控制车辆而翻覆。结果，不幸死亡了。

她认为，年轻人，没有5年驾驶经验，最好在驾驶大辆车，休旅车方面，要非常小心，因为车大，死角会有问题，加上控制并不容易。

。。突然，一辆汽车“吃过线”。。。。。

穆秀珍马上按笛，机警的关注前面的状况。

原来前面的司机在讲手提电话，一时大意，车吃线了。

多年的驾驶经验让穆秀珍知道，绝对不能大意，因为一个不留神，后果会很严重。

加速前进的她，继续开往木兰花的家。

不久，她抵达了木兰花的家。

停好了车，木兰花也走出来迎接她。

两个人慢步向前走。

木兰花叹了口气。

秀珍马上发觉到不妥。

“兰花，怎么了，身体不舒服吗？？”

木兰花静默。

穆秀珍也没有追问，多年的人生经验让她知道。。。当人家不愿意讲出心中话时，再苦苦追问也是没有意思的。

突然，急速的煞车声划破寂静的夜晚。

她们相顾微笑，因为他们知道谁来了。

。。。。。打从后面最上来的脚步声，越来越近了。

“兰花姐，秀珍姐，你们好。”

“新加坡的SUPER COFFEE KING 好不好？”

走在她们身边的就是来自新加坡的“咖啡王”，每次停车时都会“带给人惊讶”，这就是习惯。

。。。。。。


VVVVVVVVV


在木兰花住家的后院， 每年的圣诞，耶诞节，都会有来自各地的好朋友前来这里一同欢庆，享受难得的美好时光。

大家谈着过去，谈着许许多多有趣的事，当然，还有无法前来的人，一些已经离开人间。。。。。。

每一年的到来，其实，就是有人获得更多，或者失去更多。。。。有的还继续存在，有的离开了。。。。。。。。人生几何？人在不断追求无限时，是不是有停下脚步想一想呢？？？

在争权夺利的角力中，很多人活得很累，但又无法停止。

新加坡的咖啡王，谈到了新加坡地铁频频出状况，让新加坡人很烦恼。

“先进国，搞到这样，也实在。。。。。。。”

不知道谁插上一口：“好就地铁，不好就是废铁！”

大家在谈到今天新加坡人非常失望，因为地铁不但带来许许多多的问题，让新加坡人知道　ＰＡＰ　政府其实并不是想象中那么好！！


加上乌节路，和好些地区，一直面对水灾，也令到新加坡人非常后悔支持　ＰＡＰ，　当年，ＰＡＰ　派了一点钱，几百元给他们，结果他们今天真的很后悔！！


影子笑笑说：“新加坡人太天真，太幼稚了，以为拿了几百元，就投票支持ＰＡＰ，　现在个个在大骂，在向PAP 吐口水！”

原振侠也放下手中的SUPER 咖啡， 加把口说：“ 现在才大骂新加坡的 PAP， 说明了新加坡人实在太天真了。 几百元就可以买新加坡人的心， 真的太天真，太可笑。 新加坡人成了 SOHAIPURA ， SOHAIPOREANS了！！！”

为何新加坡人那么幼稚，天真呢？？？

一个政府，一个政党给你和家人，几百元，就要投票支持它，那不是很幼稚，天真吗？

看看今天。新加坡，样样在PAP 当选，在全国大选胜利后，样样要起价， 新加坡人因为只看到小便宜，而没有想到两线制才是新加坡人的最大，最后希望。

今天，在马来西亚，又出现了同样的招数，要以几百元，买人心！

新加坡人，今天大吐苦水，他们说，应该钱照拿，票不要投PAP。

同样的，马来西亚人，钱照拿，票不要投国阵。

白素也在喝着SUPER 咖啡，她说：“新加坡人的失误，天真，幼稚，当然会付出痛苦的代价。许多应以为傲的服务，如MRT， 根本不堪一击， 还有购物天堂，竟然是水灾重区。新加坡人突然，醒觉了。没有两线制， 是绝对不行的。PAP 太丢脸了，谁还会相信PAP！”

正在上网的云四风，看着一下新闻：

By Koh Hui Theng
The New Paper
Wednesday, Jan 04, 2012
Every time the rain brings Orchard Road to a standstill, a flood of tweets breaks out in neighbouring Indonesia.

It's the worst kind of publicity for Singapore's shopping belt.

And it's not the reputation that Liat Towers' Mr Flood wants.

Because when it pours, Liat Towers seems to be caught in the eye of the storm.

Last month, another showdown with Mother Nature took place.

Once again, Liat Tower's basement-level shops were soaked.

Building supervisor Chik Hai Lam said: "When the front of Liat Towers flooded last time (in June and July 2010), we installed a floodgate and put in secondary defence.

"This time, water came from the side, (from) areas that escaped our notice."

The general in charge of Liat's flood protection paid a painful price for defeat.

Instead of a holiday abroad, he scrapped his Malaysian vacation last week and forfeited RM300 (S$122.90) in hotel bookings.

"I don't want to be away and get a call that the building's flooded again. If that happens, I'd rather be here to deal with it," he said.

他在想：
新加坡人的愤怒，天真，拿了几百元，今天”鸟“到反， 但太迟了。

难怪，很多人说新加坡人是SOHAIPOREANS。

SOHAI 心态， 被PAP 政府看清，太幼稚，天真，新加坡人的悲哀， 未来也是只好做SOHAIPOREANS。

新加坡人。。。。太天真了。

我们醒觉了吗？


网上又看到以下信息：


Already our vital MRT train (denoting the dragon going around, transport people in S'pore is weakened tremendously by the worst handling of the system by a self-proclaimed Dowager of the Retail Empire....

Patrick Lee Song Juan You read my the other long post lah...Everything is revealed in details ( like in complete nudity...whahahaha!) of the fiasco of SMRT and how she brough in her 'kakis' and removed good capable staff...

One of her cronies was made COO and earn 920,00 annually...When in DFS he only earns about 10,000 per month....See, how outrageous that can be with absolute power in one's hands !
16 小时前 · 赞 · 1

王金鳳 ‎...Ayoh Uncle, CRONIES?? is this something NEW in SillyPoor?? SMART?? 不只吧?!! The largest Shipping and transportation company also "cronised"...CRONIES are EVERYWHERE in SillyPoor lah. SMART?? SMALL CASE!! ;-)
16 小时前 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan If BIG CASE PAP will sure collapse....Paper cannot wrap up the fire hor!...Miss Ah Nea Nea!
16 小时前 · 赞 · 1

王金鳳 ‎......Collapse?? On the road to loh....!! Monkey See? Monkey DO!! 上樑不正下樑歪......it all started with the TOP!! No Bloody thanks to that.


Gem Philip No surprise with the prison man there. Fear tactic once again. For those who do not know, when I visited Changi Prison for business last month, I noticed this huge piece of unused land within the prison compound. I asked my tour guide what it was for and he replied that it was reserved for 'adverse events'

Tell you the truth, that piece of land can easily keep 127,00" + 94,000 people, with room to spare. Food for thought, don't you think?
昨天 11:00 · 赞 · 1

張樹發 most govts are out to cheat their taxpayers of their monies. this govt is special in the sense that they are able to con the people using useless people saying that they're pro-welfare for the people but turn around and spit at the term.
昨天 11:06 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan Psychological political warfare and hidden agenda!!...

Another good chapter for alternative parties to capitalise on the SMRT darkside and bring forth the votes to the next lap of 2016 with solid consolidation!!..

LHL is going to have a insomnia this Lunar New Year with Ah Tuck grinding his buck teeth to sleep!!

A moral to learn in this SMRT episode and life is..when the clear card is laid on the table...there is nothing to hide....As in a bridge game...you play the right card and you will win with no guilt..
昨天 11:12 · 赞 · 2

Stephen Hong Weng Wong True indeed. LHL is having a yachting holiday with his family, how the fuck can he still go on holiday at this juncture??!!!
昨天 11:34 · 赞

Koh Andrew End of the day, how transparent will be the probe? that is the serious question!
昨天 12:36 · 赞 · 1

Sam Emeritus Ya, i am also blurred when seeing the panel.
4小时前 · 赞


Patrick Lee Song Juan
the "sinister revelation" why SMRT's brreakdown could have been avoided....This is a long and detailed account for a movie by Steven Spielberg ...Be patient and read on to find out more....An email from a buddy......


Saw Phiak Hwa hiring own “kakis” after she became SMRT CEO

December 20th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
I would like to bring attention to TRE on the personnel movement of SMRT after CEO Saw Phaik Hwa was brought in. This will shed light on the operational problems faced by SMRT today.

Since these are operational problems, let us start with the Chief Operating Officer.
Yeo Meng Hin is the Chief Operating Officer from 2007 to 2011. From SMRT Annual Report 2010, he was paid SGD970,272 second only to Saw Phaik Hwa who exceeded the million-dollar band. Are we paying for relevant experience?

Before becoming COO, his training ground was in the HR department. Is this considered relevant experience? His education was a Bachelor of Arts (Economics). Is this considered relevant education? How did this person with irrelevant experience become the Chief Operating Officer of SMRT? This one tells it all. He was from DFS, same company as Saw Phaik Hwa. How dare she uses SMRT as a platform to play poli tical games? Now, Singaporeans are paying for this.
Now, from the grapevine (needs more confirmation):
http://forum.channelnewsasia.com/showthread.php?26748-Saw-Paik-Hwa-was-retrenched-by-DFS-before-she-joined-SMRT%21%2Fpage5

Yeo Meng Hin replaced an IT director with 20 years of experience with his friend from Maybank who was just a Malaysian IT team lead at the bank. This led to massive chaos as the malaysian IT guy wanted to cut cost for everything to the point of cutting half of all the lighting in the IT department. He even insisted anyone who use the toilet must switchoff the light after use leading to embarrassing incident of people stuck in darkness in the loo!

Is Yeo Meng Hin a Malaysian PR? Is this a case of FT-hiring-FT discriminations which Singaporeans have been complaining about? All started with some Singaporean director sitting on the board hiring a Malaysian FT as CEO. Then, CEO hires her own people (also FT) to replace experienced Singaporeans to widen her political base.
I would like the committee of inquiry to investigate the following;
1. How many experienced Singaporean SMRT with operational experience were replaced by people related to Saw Phaik Hwa with irrelevant background or less qualified experience? Political games take place everywhere in large organizations. But when this affects millions of Singaporeans and something as vital as transport, it must be investigated.

2. Is this a case of FT-hiring-FT, FT-replacing-Singaporeans discriminatory practice? I don’t mind Singaporeans being replaced by FT as long as the FT is more qualified. Actually, I am not even sure Yeo Meng Hin is Singaporean citizen. But regardless of whether Yeo Meng Hin is PR or new citizen or citizen who has done NS, this case highlights what happens when the top managemen t is replaced by foreigners. Like all humans, they tend to hire their own people regardless of whether they are good for the company or not. Self-interest always come first.

3. Please justify the past appointments of people who occupied vital operational positions with no operational experience. If the people who were replaced had more relevant experience, please elaborate so that the public knows it is not for political reasons like broadening one’s political support base.
MORE REVELATIONS:


A:

An UNCONFIRMED rumour has surfaced. Apparently CEO Saw was not as ignorant as to what caused the breakdown as she claimed. SMRT was aware of the problem and had in fact comissioned at least one external study. The consultants recommended a rather expensive solution which was rejected by SMRT in favour of a more cost effective internal solution. This was a classic case of penny wise pound foolish since the cheap fix did not work and there was massive damage to the system instead.
Empirical evidence to support this rumour surfaced today from Minister Lui's press conference. The damage appears extensive and occurred over an extended period of time. It is not possible that it could have been missed or that SMRT was completely unaware of the problem.

If SMRT was really completely unaware as CEO Saw is claiming, then the situation is potentially even more serious since thousands of Si ngaporeans are riding every day on a potential death trap.



.........SMRT vs Saw Phaik Hwa vs LTA vs Temasek vs Govt

As the title suggest there are too many stakeholders pulling from various sides on a single national entity that has become a daily and important feature of nearly everyone in Singapore. Multiple agendas are never good. These are little snippets.
Couple of noteworthy points to consider. Please add on.
SMRT is a listed business and majority owned by Temasek. They do not own the infrastructure. They have leased it from LTA for 30 years. They have no interest in the infrastructure. When overcrowding became a safety issue at Jurong East, this lady could not be bothered. She did not build the infrastructure and any additional build work was the responsibility of the LTA.

Besides trains, SMRT operates Light rail, buses and taxis. They also consider two other businesses as revenue streams and this is where Saw Phaik Hwa comes in.
Both rental and advertising are major revenue streams. Saw was recruited in 2002 via headhunters. At that time, she had no notable links to the establishment.
SMRT was incorporated in 2000 and came under majority control of Temasek. It was time to make money. They assumed that as the infrastructure was completed and they could rely on LTA to build the next phases of the line, the focus turned to other revenue streams. A simple terms, you just switch on and off the train switch as Singapore's history on infrastructures were pretty solid.

So the role remit was focused on rental and advertising for the new CEO. As MRT stations are not suitable for offices but shops, the natural incline was to look at that industry.
So in comes this Lady and in 2 years she launches Raffles Xchange as the new shopping experience for Singaporeans. Both Advertising and Rentals have done well and the occupancy rate is close to 99%.

Most people are aware of deteriorating quality of MRT and they have accepted it past of the overall drop in standards across govts. One recent trivial incidents explains this quite well - the Ah Tiong bus driver who took instructions from control and went on 2 hr jaunt across the island. Thursday's incidents showed how badly it was when an incident management was completely missing. People were stranded, no comms, no idea and no one in the house.

We have also assumed that MRT was one single entity but it is not. The Govt made a singular mistake by treating it as a business and not a politically sensitive icon that it is. It reflects badly on the new generation of politicians. I do remember when old man told the press that PSA workers striking is treason. As it was the lifeblood of a fledgling nation, he was right. It now all about helping Temasek to look good.
As to Saw, this l ady has been wrongly associated with the establishment and people within and outside have placed to much of value in her. Sadly she has used it to the hilt and she is now truly in the establishment. She now holds key and influential positions outside SMRT.

It about time LTA separates rentals, advertising and non train activities from the train services and let go of the taxi and bus services. If SIA was to run along these lines, it would have gone up in flames. SIA has no interest in Changi Airport rentals and there is a reason why and they are their main customer.

Some people call it common sense.



......There is no subsidy. It actually belongs to LTA, paid for by LTA and maintained by LTA. Only rolling stock belongs to them and detachable assets belong to them. It's even better than subsidy. This is the same "template when PSA, Power Stations etc were given away to Ho Ching. It was never packaged to serve the public, it was serve Temasek's needs. Agree on their profit component. Their financial reports are substandard and no different to all other GLC with the exception of DBS and SIA which were packaged by the old guards. They brought in an ex-goalkeeper to coach the National Football team and their focus is to keep the ball out of the net. Who is going to score for them, who is going to increase services, who is going to look after commuters stuck in the train has yet to be worked with LTA.

....She is a Malaysian who studied in NUS. She went to work in DFS who at that time was owned by British Expat couple based in HK. That couple was fabulously rich and threw the most swankiest parties for friends on the Island and on their yacht. She often traveled to HK and was based there occasionally. It was the people in Temasek who were looking for a someone who was in tune with shopping. Nothing to do with HK MTR. DFS was subsequently sold and she was given a package.

As I said in another thread, they thought that LTA built the MRT with on and off switch, so they were not looking for someone with transport background. It no different to guys who court the female gender for sex and good looks and there are some who are looking for a mother for their kids. The smart ones will look for a smart partner for sex with good looks and a good mother all rolled into one.





....Bro, this is what I gathered so far.There has been a series of maintenance failures mainly minor and medium that has been occurring for sometime. There has also been a rounds of tai chi to push some to LTA as structural. people who sit on SMRT board are more powerful than anyone in LTA. Apparently the 3rd rail or power rail (I have no idea what it means and this is the first I heard of a third rail) was not attached properly after maintenance on only one part of the sector and took out connectors that power the trains and 4 trains have been affected.The incident management is what led the cat out of the bag about poor management.

I heard that the inquiry is gong thru the entire maintenance logs to see how they have been done.I also heard that no matter what comes out, this lady is history. She is no longer in charge of the inquiry and will be treated as a respondent.The powers have realised that her poor PR management is an issue. They took great exception for stating that she is providing "free" bus replacement service. Something that Kingrant noted as a boo boo which others have missed.

I am sure they are all sitting around a table figuring how to handle this politically. Some have bet on the SAF scholar to take the fall.



1sickpuppyII:

The problem all started when the Sr staffs were retrenched, resigned, retired and asked to leave. When she took over how many senior staff with years of experience and trained by experts from Japan, England and Hong Kong that did not agreed with her was removed and replaced with young people with paper qualifications and have not the slightest idea of how to run a train system. There these young management staff tried to impress her by backstabbing each other, come out with hair-brain ideas or quick fix solutions that did not sound in the long run. Well guess what after 10 years of this type of shit from a well oiled and smooth running system she ran it to the ground. Mark my words as long as she is in the helm surrounded by her clueless dogs there will be no improvement.

That was the time I took a serious look at my retirement plan. Then came her waves of cost cutting measures, buying of cheap spares that looks good on paper but can't even last till the next round of preventive maintenance, reduce the manpower to all sections working at skeleton crew level. The last straw came when some of my junior staffs was not satisfied with the way they were graded and the amount they got compare to what their bosses got. They brought it up to the union and HR and they got the same reply " The door is always open". That was when I knew the shit has hit the ceiling and I took my earily retirement and joined my fellow former co-workers.

新加坡人的愤怒，继续燃烧。。。。

Saw Paik Hwa was retrenched by DFS before she joined SMRT!
forum.channelnewsasia.com
Just saw this in today's Straits Times. I thought she was headhunted by SMRT. Why was she retrenched for no good reason?
赞 · · 分享 · 星期四 23:16 ·
7 个人都觉得这挺赞的。
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Patrick Lee Song Juan If absolute power seemingly "does not corrupt," it is downright debased and in full collusion of the top management level.

The ramification will be a political setback for the government if not handled with impartiality, as Temasek Holding...
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昨天 0:03 · 赞 · 4

JJ Yeo interesting...
昨天 0:06 · 赞 · 2

Bong Kin Chen smrtgate, yeh !!!!
昨天 8:45 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan Hahahaa! Floodgate...smrtgate...and most powerful of all pap-gate !!!..Nixon's Watergate paled in comparison to our S'pore Connection even 'dimmer and darker' than The French Connection !!""
昨天 9:03 · 赞

Irene Ma Patrick Lee Song Juan, we will need to stop the foreigners from building more political bases in Singapore.
昨天 10:06 · 赞

Syed Anees Khan Hiring own "kakis" is such a common thing in many companies. Witnessed this first-hand in my previous company too. It's just too damn obvious when suddenly many top employees are slowly replaced by people of the same age group of the CEO.
...
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昨天 10:16 · 赞 · 2

Irene Ma It happens to my company as well. I am one of the few Singaporeans remaining..
昨天 10:25 · 赞

Irene Ma ‎Patrick Lee Song Juan can we have a 2012 community meeting to talk about what we can do for the new year? Part of the agenda is to protect our rice bowls from foreigners.
昨天 10:28 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan Irene..please initiate , I will support the cause to group all like-minded people for a open and forward discussion for our true blue S'poreans.

We want peace and prosperity for the common S'poreans not the high and mighty invertebrates all in cahoot and collusion to make big money and salary on the citizens hard-earned tax money !!
昨天 11:17 · 赞 · 1

Irene Ma We will need to have a proper agenda, a direction, and initial solutions before the meeting is initiated. And let people think about it before they come for the meetings. I have known of a few past meetings done by political activists, but the actions are not really promising, because of some manpower issues. Some plan is needed. But obviously, we need a initial strong team, before initiating the meeting.
昨天 11:24 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan We can have a few gather together first...people like Bong kin chen..Kumaran Pillai, Gem Philip, David Teo and many strong minded people..but no political affiliation ...

Preferably, they come forward themselves..There are Justin Lim. Willy W. Andrew koh, Judy Shou , Katherine Ho. Irene Ho, ....countless... just elude my mind !
昨天 11:42 · 赞

Irene Ma We will need to merge business interests into social political framework. I know some of them are supporting different political parties but remain non-partisan. And some even work in PAP. There is no direction as one always commented, when...
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昨天 11:47 · 赞 · 1

Irene Ma We have to go into community enterprising.


Letter to PTC Chairman – help us live more useful, active and engaged lives
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 29, 201126 Comments
4

the following is a letter from CAN! to the Chairman of Public Transport Council, Gerard Ee:
–
Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman
Public Transport Council
Dear Mr Ee
I refer to this report here (https://www.facebook.com/notes/lim-kun-yun-edison/reflection-on-meeting-with-ptc-chairman-mr-gerard-on-the-issue-of-polytechnic-tr/10150496848434074) which states that you have met with member of Young PAP campaigning for parity in public transportation for polytechnic students.

The article states that 2012 will be the year in which the formula for fare adjustment for public transportation will be re-looked and so next year would be a good year to ‘push for fare revisions for polytechnic students’.

We are gladdened that you have chosen to meet with the young Party members to personally hear their grouses about the unfair public transport fare. In September 2009, we requested to meet the then-Transport Minister Raymond Lim to deliver a petition signed by 377 people who are mostly from the disabled community (but also includes some caregivers and a few sympathisers to our cause). A staff from the Ministry responded to us that “public transport fare concessions are granted by the public transport operators based on their commercial and social considerations. They will decide which group of commuters to give concessionary travel to. Therefore, we would suggest you contact the public transport operators directly to present your petition. The two operators can then work together to look at your petition accordingly.”

We have written in to the Public Transport Council in the past and you had responded that there are schemes like the National Council of Social Services administered ‘LTA Cares Fund’, Handicap Welfare Association’s ‘Dial-a-Cab’ scheme, LTA administered ‘Scheme for waiver of ARF’ and other assorted constituency-based financial help schemes to defray the transportation costs of people with disabilities.

While we appreciate these help schemes, they do not go the distance in helping us, the more vulnerable in society, live more useful, active and engaged lives.
Although the people with disabilities are not precluded from the existing concession granted to children, students and senior citizens, many of us do not fall within these groups of people who are granted such concessions. Most people with disabilities who are employed earn a meager amount and usually spend more than a third of our income on transportation. The burden of transportation for those that are unemployable is even more a cause for concern.

The article states that after meeting with them you mentioned, “I would rather focus on getting the Poly Fare lower than any other things next year (2012)”. This underscores the reason why we wanted to meet with the Transport Minister in 2009. We felt that nothing can convince someone of a cause better than a face-to-face meeting.


In view of the fact that the formula for fare adjustment for public transportation will be re-looked next year, my friends and I write this email to request a meeting with your good-self so that you may hear and understand why we are asking for parity in public transportation; that the same level of transport subsidy that is given to our senior citizens be extended to us as well. This is the norm all over the world.

We hope to convince you (if we get to meet you in person) why parity in public transportation for people with disabilities is important; so that we may live our lives with dignity.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely
Reena Rajesvari
CAN! Coordinator
Citizen of Singapore with Disability

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/12/letter-to-ptc-chairman-help-us-live-more-useful-active-and-engaged-lives/

The force is there in PAP's die die defiance to take back Aljunied GRC...The have all the PA, CC and RC cronies to lick their boot to supershine !

But when they announced 'a had been cry baby' Lim Boon Heng to undertake the job to win back Aljunied GRC...many of citizens are quietly laughung !

Never falter but consolidate Aljunied GRC and come 2016 , more GRC will be taken over by alternative party...All eyes are watching Aljunied GRC..

Lim Boon Heng can completely retired and enjoy his big fat pension come 2016 !!


Fearsome Commandos Progression of economics is inversely proportionate to saving our traditions and cultures...Sad....
12月26日17:18 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan Where is the true economic sense of our cultural heritage? The government is only interested in building concrete jungles or first world roads to collect more taxes from the citizens..

Country's modernisation progress should strike a balance with old heritage beauty which is priceless!

Alas! the sad truth of S'pore without even a historic identity of our own. Bukit Brown is such a rich cutlural burial ground ..with our past famous ancestor..

Why cant we preserve such rich historic place of our famous S'pore forefathers! It is a great shame a country without a cultural history to cll our own!


Patrick Lee Song Juan
This season is a wet wet wet Christmas..Flood in a few places due to yesterday's downpour almost whole day !

The drainage system is still good, otherwise whole S'pore, a small island, would be totally submerged ! Tough month !!
赞 · · 分享 · 12月24日12:10 ·
3 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Gem Philip Uh-uh; we're not a small island. We are a big pond according to PUB.


Jammie Wong sir, ong ye kung is assigned BY SMRT, to head SMRT's OWN INTERNAL investigation, bcoz he IS CURRENTLY independent director of smrt. commission of inquiry has not even started yet. pls read the news before bashing it. :)
12月23日14:19 · 赞

張樹發 not so independent is he? LOL
12月23日14:45 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan The complexities of human mindset, the way things were done and following the political and many inquiries of past corporate mistakes and charities dishonesty...How true and how thorough do one thinks, when the system is all interlinked and intertwined under 54 % Temasek Holdings own..uch as SMRT??? It would be a stage show to pacify the general public and the minority shareholder!

Is LTA all tongue-tied ???

If one' mind perspective is too simplistic to think that alot of good would come out of this Committee of Inquiry into the failure and breakdown of SMRT...it would be good optimism !

In cprporation that link to the ruling system, do you really believe SMRT board appointed Ong to head the inquiry when SMRT belongs to a powerful ruling system....Let us broaden our mindset on the idiosyncracies of human behaviour, power control and cover-up, even in worst scenario in collusion !

Many of us live long to understand the working and interlink of any ruling party or system in the world...And S'pore is no different..Regards!
12月23日15:04 · 赞

Jammie Wong but this is SMRT's OWN INTERNAL investigation. there'll be 2 other investigation: 1 by LTA, and Commission of Inquiry (COI) appointed by PM. it's reported as reporters think it's newsworthy. but for us, the findings that matter ..are the ones from LTA & COI, no?
12月23日15:14 · 赞

Koh Andrew What is 'internal investigation' really? We just a panel consisting experts in rail systems and independant minded individuals to ensure a non-biased, truthful and accountable investigation.
12月23日15:38 · 赞 · 1

Wayne Wong When the COI starts, would they allow walk-in visitors ? If not, then,..I believe this will be another wayang session,..
12月23日16:10 · 赞

張樹發 Is SMRT government linked? Is Mr Ong govt linked? PM Lee probably didn't choose him but still, this is reminiscent of a head mortician appointing a junior mortician to autopsy the body/bodies of the people whom he or the organisation killed, lol. Ie, clean up the tracks.
12月23日16:18 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan
‎"Water taxi soon for commuters" MRT trains overcrowded and too many breakdowns!
赞 · · 分享 · 12月21日12:43 ·
4 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Curry Sotong u d driver la I 'chop' u every where
I go.
12月21日14:13 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan It is published in STimes today front page...

As Sotong ...you can just swim faster...you do not need water taxi !
12月21日14:21 · 赞 · 1

Bong Kin Chen I am going to buy a skidboat. It is cheaper than a car when going into such business areas.
12月21日17:38 · 赞

Laurence J Rappa there is already water taxi service within the marina bay area and the Singapore River expensive 4 to 5 dollars from point a to point b...
12月21日21:15 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan That price is tourist money lah!
12月21日22:01 · 赞 · 1

Brandon Lee water even in river is under PSA anything with an A at the back will crush your ideas unless you are under TH then everything is fine.
12月22日9:50 · 赞

Brandon Lee ‎Patrick Lee Song Juan In anycase I have thought about a simple river taxi system but we need to have small locks and levies to go far inland. the cost is high but not prohibitive. If we have enough past data from Met dept we can even help with flood situations.
12月22日9:53 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan
THE BELOW ARTICLE IS AN EMAIL TO ME FROM A FRIEND ON SMRT CEO SAW PHAIK HWA'S AND THE SENIOR MANAGEMENTS ABILITY AND INABILITY, THE MRT SYSTEM FAILURE AND WHAT TO BE DONE NEXT......a GOOD PERSPECTIVE TO PONDER --leesjuanpat

The disruption of MRT services over last few days is not only an inconvenience for commuters but a wake-up call for those working in SMRT from train drivers to senior executives to boardroom directors. Apart from frantic calls for taxi, the resounding calls were for the CEO to resign from her post. The admission of lapses and public statement that SMRT could do better should be transformed into concrete platforms. I always marvelled at the fact that change will only take place when there is an upheaval. Perhaps, the time has arrived. A shake-up of the existing way of doing things has to be shoed in. Starting from the boardroom, there is a need to collect the right mix of experience both technical and business with heavy emphasis on operations. Running a transport system rests heavily on the operations track. The business side is discretionary and incidental. In fact, SMRT should not be concerned with its non-core assets – the shopping and retail spaces. This should be spun off as another commercial entity.



There is no question that the present CEO has harnessed her retail experience for the profits of SMRT. I do not see her playing any role in increasing ridership. Increase in ridership is a given when MRT is a superior public transport alternative coupled with increase resident population. As a train commuter for past 20 years I have seen more foreigners coming on board. A ride today is no longer as enjoyable as it was despite fewer trains and longer waits then.



The time has certainly arrived for a change in the board composition as well as a new CEO with extensive experience in the running of public transport. The search may include foreign talents which unfortunately is the hard truth we have to swallow. Change can only come about by a change of personnel because existing staff has too much at stake to want to change. New mindset, new attitudes and new skills (communication) are needed which is tantamount to overhauling management apart from overhauling the rolling stock.



The rapid way forward requires a change in personnel and standard operating procedures. The focus should be on operating an efficient and economical mass rapid system, not mass shopping centres. Otherwise, things will remain on the same circle.
赞 · · 分享 · 12月19日21:47 ·
6 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Patrick Lee Song Juan Our PM LHL should open his eyes wide. It will be reflective of his ability also on how he can delegate his transport minister to oversee the fiasco ! If the need arises, he should have that moral courage to do what he must and should do...even for a drastic overhaul of the top brass !!

This SMRT incident will carry forward to the next GE and it is now testing on many citizens "emotional dilemma."

When emotions runs deep, it is never easy to swallow and forget...lease remember it is that emotion that your party garnered only 60% voters vote and you lost 6 seats !!
12月19日22:02 · 赞 · 2

Wayne Wong Can anyone remember previous committee recommendations on, say, Nicoll Highway collapse, NKF fiasco ? Me thinks that most people Do have short memories,...The Singapore way - from past observations - is to assign well-skilled wordsmiths',..beat around the bush, & terminate some surborinate. God Bless Singapore.
12月19日23:47 · 赞 · 2

Patrick Lee Song Juan As I said PM LHL should open his eyes wide !!

We had all encountered the greatest farce and "cesspool stirring covered up with Chanel No 5 perfume" in all those past disasters and dishonesty acts...

Solve the problem..not just look into it with a Committee of Inquiries...and the final curtain is unable to draw down, leaving all the mediocre players on stage...!!
12月20日0:02 · 赞 · 1

Wayne Wong I remember the past, when LKY was at LHL's current age, KY simply barked', & everyone else fell-in-line, whimpered & made necessary adjustments to make good. Example, the rubbish bins were cleared more often & streets much cleaner than, than now. Unfortunately, when HL tried to be "angry" & assert himself,..the real devils hide behind committees & make up reasons. So even if HL opens his eyes,...I hope that he can also acquire blood-thirsty-manic Passion, to punish those guilty of "complacency", mistakes,...because as of many recent events, most "investigations" simply was a play of time, until most forget. Simple Question: Why SMRT CEO - inspite of her assertion of getting "personally involved" - NOT give daily reports to Media, but depend on her spin-master, i.e. PR collegue (who is still so afraid of using his/her personal name, to be quoted) ? From the recent news release, I still get the impression that no-names gives out up-dates,....


Patrick Lee Song Juan
Medisave to raise to 32,000 dollars from 27,500 dollars come January.....!!!
赞 · · 分享 · 12月19日20:12 ·

王金鳳 onlyto 32,000 meh?? i thought its raised to 41,500? no??
12月19日23:10 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan You tamba lah to 41500...Medisave money is yours but control by the CPF...many die also cannot touch hor!
12月19日23:14 · 赞

王金鳳 your information not correct lah uncle, its 41,000 oready. check this: http://ask-us.cpf.gov.sg/explorefaq.asp?category=23068
12月19日23:18 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan It was on CNA news tonite leh...Guess the news is mis-news lor!
12月19日23:38 · 赞

王金鳳 isit??. on the news?? NABEI we shall hold CP d' KNN F accountable!! give me back my extra monies.......!!!! $@#%$@#
12月19日23:40 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan Wahpian..."hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn"..KNN F lagi.....see liao lah !
12月19日23:44 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan
Today's ST front page: "SMRT CEO 'STAYING PUT' TO THINGS"..This is uniquely S'pore. Is there no other capable people to 'fix' things apart from her...And after 'fixing' things...commuters will be 'fixed' again for transport increase because of SMRT's spending on rectifying and maintaining the trains....LOL!

I further quote from ST "AS CEO of SMRT, I am naturally responsible. Being responsib...
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赞 · · 分享 · 12月19日11:33 ·
6 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Eric Ng Like the most powerful woman in SG Inc, CEO Saw also enjoy the immunity from the sack.
12月19日11:59 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan All the system's high and mighty !!
12月19日12:11 · 赞 · 1

Vincent Ng Aeria LOW SPEED = LOW FARE ; LOWER SPEED = LOWER FARE ; LOWEST SPEED = LOWEST FARE ; NO SPEED = NO FARE = FAIR [AGREE PLEASE PRESS LIKE]
12月19日18:03 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan That will be our S'poreans wildest dream to have low fare !
12月19日19:58 · 赞 · 1

David Caleb Actually the Transport Minister doesnt know what is he talking about on blogtv ,if this was a terrorist attack even the Operaters of SMRT are left in the limelight ,no one seems to know how to solve this problem from within the system.
12月19日20:13 · 赞 · 1

王金鳳 In Japan, either the 车务大臣 oe 社长 or BOTH would have committed Hari kiri by now........dont expect too much in SillyPOOR lah......wakie wakie.... ;-)
12月19日23:37 · 赞 · 1


SMRT should be surrendered to a new Statutory Board
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 17, 2011110 Comments
18
by Aloysius Foo/

In light of the worst train breakdown in Singapore history, and the poor crisis management by SMRT, it is time to look at the ownership and management structure of the MRT system. I call for the ownership and operation of the entire MRT system to be transferred to a new Statutory Board.
What is the essential duty of a railway system in a city? Most would agree that a railway system must be able to move many people efficiently, reliably and safely. The MRT lines in Singapore are well-developed, providing easy access to several places. Even with the recent fare increase, it is still an affordable and convenient mode of transportation for many people.


It is a fact that congestion occurs during the morning and evening rush hours. New lines, stations and trains are coming. Never mind that congestion cannot be solved overnight. Singaporeans are not so unreasonable to demand that.

But the least we can expect from the MRT is to be reliable and safe, and SMRT has increasingly demonstrated its inability to fulfill these basic criteria. The worst breakdown came after several disruptions. Whether these are ‘isolated incidents’ or ‘systemic’ flaws are irrelevant – the MRT is becoming unreliable, as simple as that. Time is wasted and discomfort created for commuters. We don’t expect the MRT to arrive and depart sharply, military-style. But for the train to halt for a few minutes, and causing a snowball of delays is clearly unacceptable, especially during peak hours.
As for safety, the poor crisis management by SMRT is appalling. Information was not quickly relayed for incoming passengers to stay away from the affected stations, and swift action was not taken to evacuate the trapped passengers on the trains which stalled. SMRT apologized for its lousy communications – after years of preparation for a terrorist attack? How can the public trust SMRT to manage another crisis again?

I’m skeptical SMRT will improve after the recent incident. This is because of structural flaws – SMRT is a profit-oriented business, accountable to its shareholders. It is focussed on increasing revenue and reducing costs to maximize profits. Hence in recent years we see SMRT renting out spaces in its stations and putting up commercial advertisements. Fine, these stations are run by them, and shops like 7-Eleven provide convenience for commuters. But are they seriously interested in their core business of operating the trains?


We do not know if SMRT has lax maintenance so as to cut costs. Indeed, up to a point, maintenance will be extremely costly (i.e. check three days instead of every week). But the trains carry people – these are human lives, not cattle or goods. Surely these costs are worth it?
There is also a problem of moral hazard – SMRT shielded from the repercussions of its actions. Just look at the recent incident – in theory SMRT should be fully at fault, but the Minister for Transport also faced flak for something he could not reasonably control. Public anger at SMRT can be easily transferred to the government, justified or not. If in a future a bomb blows up due to lax security measures by SMRT, the government will once again be solving the problem, not SMRT. There is no deep-seated incentive within SMRT to be security-conscious, because of its nature as a business entity, and also the nature of its core business. It can simply take cover behind the government if there is a major crisis, leaving the government to clear up its mess. A fine by the regulators also hardly makes a dent in its profits.


Hence, because of the above reasons – declining reliability, poor crisis management and lack of security-consciousness – the MRT system operated by SMRT and SBS Transit should be surrendered to a new Statutory Board. The MRT system makes for a natural monopoly, and it makes little sense for it to be divided between two companies. The new Stat Board will be able to operate the MRT according to public and national objectives. Safety and security are likely to be better integrated without SMRT in the picture, since the government is more experienced. Furthermore, the Stat Board, like other agencies such as NEA, PUB etc do not look at profits. It is likely to pursue vigorously what matters most for commuters – reliability and affordability (especially concessions for polytechnic students and the disabled); similar to how NEA campaigns against dengue fever by checking households, offering tips and hotlines etc.


The Ministry of Transport should be prepared to review its principle that the private sector is necessarily the best solution. Some public anger at SMRT has already been transferred to the government; if the Minister does not take swift action, opposition parties will be sure to bring up this issue soon. And he will lose his job.

--
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Patrick Lee Song Juan Nationalised the whole transport system of SMRT and SBS Transit. The government has a duty and responsibility to provide cheap and reliable transport to the many average citizens, majority depended on the public transport system..

It should not be run as a commercial enterprise with shareholdership.

Or Temasek Holdings take full control to operate as a naational entity. After all Temasek is government and government is Temasek !

MRT breakdown: Tracking the woman in the rail hot seat
SMRT chief Saw Phaik Hwa is cast as the villain as she faces her biggest challenge

Published on Dec 18, 2011



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Ms Saw's candour has sparked anger. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
By Judith Tan
When it was announced in 2002 that Ms Saw Phaik Hwa would become SMRT's chief executive, eyebrows were raised.

She was someone outside the military and public sector elite, and a woman to boot.

It did not matter that she had 19 years' experience in duty-free retail chain DFS Venture Singapore, rising to become a regional president who oversaw 1,000 staff in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

BACKGROUND STORY

Service is key

'Today, service is the buzzword everywhere in every industry... As a company, we don't want to see the ride as the only service which is important. There must be good service in every transaction with every customer.'

MS SAW, on making it a priority to improve service

BACKGROUND STORY

WHO IS SAW PHAIK HWA?

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 25, 1954

Father was a businessman and mother a midwife
Attended SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, a prestigious girls' school in Kuala Lumpur
Came to Singapore after her O levels and did her pre-university studies at Swiss Cottage Secondary School
Studied science at the National University of Singapore and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in biochemistry in 1978

Worked for Metro, the department store chain, from 1978 to 1981
Worked at DFS Venture Singapore as regional president in charge of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia from 1981 to 2002

Appointed director of the Singapore Tourism Board in 2001
Set up her own international retail consultancy after she was retrenched from DFS in early 2002
Joined SMRT Corp in December 2002 as its president and chief executive. She had applied for the position after having seen the ad in The Straits Times while in Hong Kong
Conferred the Leading CEO Award, organised by the Singapore Human Resources Institute, in 2005
Received a Medal of Commendation at the 2007 MayDay Awards
Industry people and analysts sniffed at her mainly retail and marketing background and absolute lack of experience in running a large public transport business.

But Ms Saw was unfazed.

'I'm here to manage a public organisation where there is a lot of service involved and profits are important,' she said in one interview. 'I have done this all my life. It's really about running a very big business very efficiently.'

She put it this way in another interview: 'I didn't have to learn to be a CEO; all I needed was to learn a new trade.

'It's like running the same show, just that you have a different cast, a different storyline, and they fall in love and seek revenge at different times.'

Nine years later, the plot has taken a decidedly dire twist and Ms Saw now finds herself very much the villain.

The 57-year-old CEO has attracted most of the blame for a series of breakdowns on SMRT's rail lines.

The worst occurred during a five-hour breakdown on Thursday, when one desperate passenger had to smash open a window to let air into the stiflingly hot carriage of a stalled train.

Barely 36 hours later, the same train line suffered another seven-hour outage, just as commuters were rushing into town on the last weekend before Christmas.

Online, netizens are howling for her resignation, one even coming up with a template resignation letter on his blog. At Hong Lim Park on Saturday, 80 people attended a public demonstration calling on her to quit.

How did it all come to this?

On paper, Ms Saw seems to have done well, growing SMRT's net profit from $56.8 million in 2002 to $161.1 million this year. SMRT is a company now renowned among investors here for its high dividend yield.

One area Ms Saw felt had potential was commercial space and she set about turning SMRT stations into retail paradises.

The rental of retail space in the stations now accounts for about 45 per cent of the total net earnings.

Under her watch, rail ridership has also gone up, averaging a combined 1.79 million a day in September this year. Her critics, however, note that this could also have been due to the addition of new rail lines and the growth of the resident population.

Her confidence has translated to colourful media profiling to match the explosion of colours on her head.

Ms Saw has her hair cut famously short and her fringe is almost always dyed in bright hues that include green and orange.

'If you have to dye your hair, why dye it black? So boring,' she once retorted.

'You might as well take the opportunity to do what you want. If it's not nice, just change colour, no big deal.'

But while some would agree her trademark candour has been a nice contrast to the drone of some official statements, it has also landed her in the soup on several occasions.

Asked last year about what SMRT can do about overcrowded trains, she famously angered commuters by replying: 'People can board the train; it is whether they choose to.'

SMRT was censured for a security breach in May last year that saw two foreigners break into the operator's Changi depot and spray-paint graffiti on the side of a parked MRT train.

Despite steps taken to strengthen security, a second breach occurred at SMRT's Bishan depot in August this year.

Internally, there has also been talk of instability within the ranks of top management. Recent departures include deputy CEO Yeo Meng Hin and senior vice-president of finance Catherine Kuan.

SMRT sources say that despite being pilloried in the recent breakdown, Ms Saw has been working hard behind the scenes.

She has been stationed at the company's headquarters in North Bridge Road since last Thursday night.

She spent much of Friday morning discussing strategies before holding a media conference at 3.30pm.

And when the system went down again early on Saturday, The Sunday Times learnt that Ms Saw visited the affected stations in Bishan, Toa Payoh and Orchard.

She walked the tunnels at Orchard to assess the damage there before going to Bishan depot to look at the damaged trains.

For someone who has always promised to make 'improving service' a priority, it looks like Ms Saw now has her work cut out for her.

'As a company, we don't want to see the ride as the only service which is important,' she once said. 'There must be good service in every transaction with every customer.'

With a Committee of Inquiry looming and a panel called in to relook at the company's procedures, it looks like SMRT will have to go back to basics in the next few months.

'There's only one way, (and that) is to get better at this,' said Ms Saw at the close of Thursday's press conference.

That remark should apply as much to the company, as it does to her.

juditht@sph.com.sg

Lawrence Chong It's the bottom line that matters!
12月18日12:26 · 赞 · 1

Dennis Khew i hv a feeling Nparks is also following suit to SMRT in terms of generating revenue with their premises, ie F&B outlets in parks, i hope they understand the meaning of taxpayers monies & their primary responsibility in beautifying Spore. It surprised me that now even lamp post in the parks need a fee to hang banners for events.... !!!??? Ridiculous. :(
12月18日12:35 · 赞 · 1

Bong Kin Chen Upon hindsight, it would certainly be more prudent for incremental uncompromised dynamic robust management to outsource professionally the key attributes of the appointment found not up to par in areas of unexploited business asset development in retail marketing and corporate/public communications as SMRT is principally and primarily in the mass rapid transit industry heavily biased in all the facets of engineering. As in all such systems, the key to success is an unquestionable comprehensive programme of PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE.

This is akin to national GDP growth at the expense of Singapore for Singaporeans. Relate as more corporate profits at the expense of MRT commuters.

This sickening flaw emanating from the incumbent policy permeates in all GLCs and all their direct and indirect sinews of control.
12月19日

That smashed train door window…
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 17, 2011169 Comments
156

by Joshua Chiang/
In an article published in the Wall Street Journal about the MRT breakdown on Thursday, former civil servant Donald Low was quoted as saying, “The disruptions are not just isolated events; they constitute a pattern of behavior or a trend. Question then is what underlying systems and structures caused this, and then what mental models or deep assumptions underpinned those systems and structures.”

An article published in the Straits Times today (“MRT breakdown: Don’t break the windows, says SMRT”) appeared to confirm Mr Low’s point. In response to the incident of a commuter using a fire extinguisher to smash the glass on the door of the train that stopped in the tunnel, MRT officials advised commuters ‘never to smash the windows or force the doors open’ if they were stuck in a train. Senior vice-president for communications and services, Mr Goh Chee Kong further added that “in the event of a power failure, there is a back-up system that will activate emergency lights within the carriages and provide ventilation.”

In a perfect emergency-response scenario, SMRT’s advice is reasonable. If there was adequate ventilation, the commuter’s actions might in fact endanger the safety of his fellow commuters. But according an account from one of the passengers stuck in the train (“MRT breakdown: Man who smashed window ‘a hero’ “), there wasn’t:

Recalling the incident on Thursday, Ms Chan said she was terrified when the train jerked and stopped in the tunnel between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut stations.

She had finished work at Raffles Place and was going to meet her husband to attend an Isetan sale in Orchard Road.

‘The train wasn’t moving smoothly so I was worried something was going to happen,’ she said.
The train stopped, the lights went out and, after 20 minutes, she heard the driver talking to a passenger on the intercom.

‘The passenger asked the driver to open the door, but he said he wasn’t allowed to, for safety reasons. He kept reassuring us, and there was still ventilation, so it was okay,’ she said.
It was not – the ventilation soon stopped and power was cut off.

In the darkness, and with no more news from the driver, Ms Chan started to panic. It was getting hotter and she could feel herself growing breathless and needing to use the toilet.
She heard a little boy beside her crying in fear.

‘Everybody was panting and I thought we would run out of air,’ she said.
The action of the window-smasher brought instant relief to the rest.

‘When the window shattered, there was glass everywhere and we were frightened. But some air came in and people started breathing more easily. He told us all to stay away from the glass as it was dangerous and if the train moved suddenly, someone might fall on it,’ she recalled.

It would not be too far-fetched to assume that SMRT might have been in more trouble than it already is had the commuter not smashed the train door window and perhaps prevented a few more cases of fainting due to poor ventilation.

But what was SMRT’s response?

He should not have done so but considering the situation, he will not be penalized, SMRT officials said.

And in doing so, SMRT has squandered an opportunity to look good in the PR department. It could have commended the unconventional actions of the commuter and rewarded him for his public-spiritedness, but instead, while it is smart enough not to penalize him, its statement nonetheless comes across as a mild admonishment, as if he has broken some ‘protocol’.


In fact, this stickler for protocol is probably SMRT’s greatest failings. How else can one explain its apparent readiness in cases of terrorist attacks, while being caught with its pants down in a situation of much lesser severity, except than there are procedures in place for the former and none for the latter?

No doubt, after Thursday’s incident, SMRT would do a thorough investigation and come up with a proper emergency protocol for future breakdowns; however, I believe the solution is not merely coming up with more contingency plans; after all, you can’t possibly prepare for everything. SMRT’s biggest failure is in what Mr Low had called the ‘deep assumptions’ the management holds.
It is worth noting that the commuter only smashed the window after the train driver had refused to open the door for safety reasons, and even him assured that there was ventilation despite evidence to the contrary. The driver however should not be faulted – he definitely has a lot more to lose for ‘breaking the rules’ than the commuter. (It is worth noting also that the SBS driver who got lost for two hours two weeks ago also picked deference to protocol and authority over listening to his passengers who are likely to know the way.)

So what might these ‘deep assumptions’ be?

In my opinion, it is a deep faith and hence rigid adherence to a system, put in place by presumably the best minds in the field of expertise, and a requirement for all its staff to follow the hierarchal chain of command. In most cases, such a system works fine. However, this becomes a problem in situations where one doesn’t have the luxury of time to wait for approvals from higher authorities, when snap judgement is called for. Not only that, but at the management level, it breeds a habit of trying to fit reality to the system first, rather than trying to fit the system to reality.

SMRT’s response to the window-smashing incident, is but an example of this denial-first mentality, which is never more evident as when CEO Saw Phaik Hwa made that infamous remark that passengers can ‘board the train, it’s whether they choose to.” I did not think she was being mean when she said that. Rather, she was simply betraying her preference for trusting the statistics – that the trains have not reached maximum capacity – to the actual experiences of the passengers.
Of course, this kind of mentality is not just limited to SMRT, or for that matter, organizations in Singapore alone.

An example could be found in Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking‘. Chapter Four of his book starts of with a true account of a war games conducted by the US military in preparation for the Second Gulf War: Two teams, Red and Blue were pitted against each other. The commander of Red Team was Paul Van Riper a seasoned Vietnam War veteran. The commanders of the much bigger Blue Team were made up of officers trained in some of the best military schools, and were able to utilize the latest technology available to fight a war then. Against the ‘shock and awe’ tactics used by the Blue Team, Van Riper chose to employ tactics learnt during Vietnam War; when Blue Team knocked out Red Team’s microwave towers and cut off its fiber optics lines, Red Team simply switched to using couriers on motorcycles and messages hidden in prayers. When Blue Team sent aircraft carriers, Red Team engaged them with a fleet of small vessels.

In the end Red Team won. But that wasn’t the end of the story. After a few days of analysis, the conclusion was not that Blue Team’s system, overburdened by statistics, information, and protocols failed, but that Red Team had broken the rules. A second exercise was carried out in which Red Team had to conform to the conventional rules of engagement. It lost. Pleased with the results, the hawks behind Blue Team’s strategy went to war with Iraq – and we knew how that turned out, at least in the initial years.


SMRT’s management might want to ponder this little anecdote when it does its soul-searching in the coming weeks.



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http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/12/that-smashed-train-door-window/



Needy households to receive more help amid electricity tariff hikes
sg.news.yahoo.com
The government on Friday announced a final round of rebates for Housing and Development Board (HDB) households, and improvements to one of its temporary rental housing schemes, amid a 2.3 per cent electricity tariff hike across the board.
赞 · · 分享 · 16 小时前 ·
21 个人都觉得这挺赞的。
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Roderick Seah when the world economy is in turbulence. world leaders are trying hard to fend off any increases and to ensure its citizens are well look after, but here, they subsidise one or two times and then its your bloody fault thereafter or cut off your power if you can't pay.
3小时前 · 赞

Taylnee Mike Ong Observe our land now oso own by YTL and Japan related company, Mitsubishi. Do you know why and what relationship they have in our electricity plant/Kwh rate? What is next on the list, ..... Pakistan Bank lost in investment by our own MIW?


电费起价，新加坡人的痛苦，不会结束。

PUB: Why Orchard Road flooded last week
by CHANNEL NEWSASIA 12:13 PM Dec 30, 2011
SINGAPORE - Heavy afternoon rain over three hours in the Orchard Road area on Dec 23 caused flooding and hit places such as Thomson and Cambridge, as well as the basements of Liat Towers and Lucky Plaza.

National water agency PUB said this morning that 152.8mm of rain fell from 2.20pm to 5.20pm that day.

Put into context, that is more than half a month's worth of rain in three hours. The average monthly total for the entire month of December over the past 142 years has been 287.4mm of rain.

PUB said it understands that the public is concerned about the adequacy of measures taken to date and takes its responsibility for flood management seriously.

While it is not possible to completely eliminate flash floods, it will do everything feasible to prevent it, mitigate it and keep the public informed, PUB said.

The national water agency said its officers have been working closely with the management of affected buildings to investigate the cause of the flooding and identify measures to prevent a recurrence.

Explaining why the flooding occurred on Dec 23, PUB said the prolonged and heavy rain caused some parts of Stamford Canal to be full.

At Liat Towers, rainwater that drained off from the roof and the back area of the building overflowed into the basement area from an internal drain, as the water could not be discharged into the canal, which was full.

However, the building's pumping system was still able to channel some water onto the pedestrian walkway.

PUB said the flood barriers in place at the front of Liat Towers since it was first severely flooded last June had effectively prevented water from flowing in from the pedestrian walkway.

Liat Towers and PUB are looking into building a perimeter wall along the internal drain at the back of the building to prevent water from flowing into the basement.

At Lucky Plaza, rainwater drained into the basement via the steps at the front of the building.

Lucky Plaza management is in the process of putting in place new flood barriers.

PUB will work with the building management to ensure that an effective flood prevention system is implemented quickly.

The agency said although the rain fall recorded on Dec 23 was higher than what was recorded in June 2010, Orchard Road remained passable to traffic, in large part due to the road raising project which was completed earlier this year.

PUB is studying the feasibility of building a detention pond and a diversion canal for the Stamford catchment area. The study will be completed by May next year.

PUB added that it regrets the inconveniences caused by the floods to the public and businesses.


Andy Chong Chill la. Pub has 50yrs to investigate n make remedial plans before the next flood ;)
昨天 13:29 · 赞 · 1

Tara Chia Actually Liat tower only started flooding after Ion Orchard came up. When that pce of land was all green, Liat tower never flood
昨天 13:31 · 赞 · 8

James Hu And so? What is the solution? Root cause found and what is the improvement that has to be done?
昨天 13:34 · 赞

Ed Chan Didn't PUB say before that the Stamford Canal did not flood but the pumping facility at Liat Tower was not sufficiently adequate?
昨天 13:34 · 赞

Vincent Tan PUB, please use cable ties! It will solve all your problems!!!
昨天 13:35 · 赞 · 4

Shōkaku Zephyr Tan It's pure irony thinking back about that particular person who said that things like this happen in 50yrs .... Sigh.... Now he is keeping silent about this .
昨天 13:35 · 赞

Rowena Tan One min say ponding Nxt min say flooding. They can't even stick to a story how to manage situation?
They keep saying it's not because of marina barrage but was there severe flooding before it was? Think about it. Are they in denial to save face?
昨天 13:39 · 赞 · 1

Mark Paranchody somebody in PUB upper management listening to too much Milli Vanilli.
昨天 13:43 · 赞

Rowena Tan Tara Chia thks for highlighting that point. I forgot bout it. Totally agree with you. Quite similar to deforestation don't you think?
昨天 13:48 · 赞

Ahmad Johari no lah..pub must install traffic light at canal so water can follow where to go mah...water become confused..diunno where to go..so stuck up at liat towers lah..
昨天 13:49 · 赞

Mohamed Fairoz There was a flood in Orchard Road? I thought it was just ponding.
昨天 13:55 · 赞

Aw Alvin So PUB was lying when it first said canal not full?
昨天 13:56 · 赞 · 1

Gerrard Lim Maybe what needs fixing here is the mentality of the people..
昨天 14:01 · 赞

Paddy Tan I suggest these govt bodies go get a better PR team. Keep it consistent else just goin to have its wound open and spread with salts.
昨天 14:11 · 赞

Azlan D SpYware Even PUB not consistant in the use of their own lingo.. Tell people its not flooding only ponding but they themself say flood.
昨天 14:13 · 赞 · 3

Joseph Lim once in a hundred years i heard
昨天 14:14 · 赞

Marcus Mojave when u started a small lie to cover another lie, as time goes by, u begin to loose track of what lie u have told....but i guess they now finally had to admit the "ponding" lie was too far fetch & obvious, even they know it can't re-use it again.....and some S'poreans were still arguing that we should turn Nuclear.....u believe they are competent to handle a Nuclear plant?....
昨天 14:19 · 赞 · 4

Ben Shigure Ho Silly citizens. Rainfall is determined by the PAP. Of course they would want it to flood that much, so that they can weed out the anti-government activists.
昨天 14:20 · 赞

Ben Shigure Ho The rainfall is getting worse, and each measure put in place to mitigate excessive rainfall is just trumped by more rain. People should acknowledge that climate change is getting more severe, and should focus on that to get better measures set in place rather than stop gap measures that aren't adequate when large amounts of rain fall in a short span of time.
昨天 14:22 · 赞 · 2

Bruce Loh Frankly, I don't see the change of weather affects the flood. In the olden days, we have raining season and rains for few days nonstop and no flooding ever occurred. And now we can't even take a few days of rains. What has become of the planning? No modern engineering can stop the flood is a bull shit if homework is properly done
昨天 14:27 · 赞 · 9

Dylan Tang You really need spin doctors to spin stories, credible ones... That why SPH PAID CHUA MUI HONG around 12k to spin stories for them.
昨天 14:29 · 赞

Aw Alvin If PUB came out with this report in the first place, I would not have faulted them.. At least they admit it's flood. But from ponding and canal not full to this report shows that they try to tai chi but failed. Always try to push blame to others.
昨天 14:32 · 赞 · 1

Angeline Ng The curse of urbanization.
昨天 14:41 · 赞

Andi Mohamad Maybe it's because of ION too. Previously, without it, it never flooded..err I mean ponded.
昨天 14:46 · 赞 · 1

Jeeva B Ware Why is government paying this type of moron who don't know the meaning of flooding? Is he not a shame to go on national tv and call a heavy flood 'ponding'
昨天 15:03 · 赞

Hisham Hamid Well check on history.. Before the circle line was started this things never happens...... Most of the canal along bukit timah is no longer there.... That is the root cause.... Stop wayang to check here and there.... Just take the blame like a man!!! And pls dont blame others!!!
昨天 15:09 · 赞 · 2

Mark Khng i thot they said it was ponding?
昨天 15:16 · 赞

Frankie Tan Dun think we need a genius to tell them that the problems lie with the drainage system... when huge mall like the ion, orchard central n 313 are constructed within short period of time they took up so much spaces underneath that the rate of flow for the water are either narrowed or obstructed by diversion...just like cars on the rd, ever seen traffic jam bcos of rd diversion?
昨天 15:19 · 赞

Zulkarnain Hassan PUB Expert no.1: Raise the road so it won't get flooded.
PUB Expert no.2: Put barriers at Liat towers to prevent water from the pavement from coming in.
Public: So water from the roads flow to the pavement, then flow to where?
Expert 1 & 2: Canal?
Public: Duh!!!!!
昨天 15:27 · 赞 · 3

Rowena Tan Maybe instead of too many concrete jungle in orchard road NParks can plant more trees? They don't even have to water them
昨天 15:40 · 赞

Ichigo Chua I am sure only super high IQ PUB people can think of the word ponding, could you please use your super powers to build malls on trees, like tree houses. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
昨天 15:58 · 赞

Pauline Neo I really dun know why singaporean can take so much nonsense. Like a carrot kept getting chop non stop. do u know what happen if this happen in other counties?
22 小时前 · 赞 · 1

Edmund Teo Liar!!!! Must resign!!!!
22 小时前 · 赞

Charles Stewart Lee I wonder if Singapore is still regarded as a leader in flood management?
22 小时前 · 赞 · 1

Hung Gar Kuen One thousand and one reasons. Loon zhong gar kee kong gar liao
22 小时前 · 赞

Beng Tang Too much urbanisation
21 小时前 · 赞

Najib Zakaria Inadequate measures or just the fact no one bothers to check if the drains are cleared of debris?
21 小时前 · 赞

Zenna Pang Luckily the PUB CEO Army General Chew didn't say that Liat tower is a river in the jungle. How to rectify this problem when he's no engineer like Saw?.
20 小时前 · 赞

No Notevenone So the mystery and dispute have both now been solved. It was actually ponding in Stamford Canal.
20 小时前 · 赞

Ah Boon So it's a change of tune now? Instead of just ponding and unfull canals
20 小时前 · 赞

Rhyme B. Md. Said the problems lies with the marina barrage & the construction of the underground highway blocking the water gate. don't anyone realized that after the barrage was built, floods start to happen? in the 80s after the widening of canals in Dunearn rd & rochor, there weren't any floods for a decade.
20 小时前 · 赞 · 2

林蒽韦 This kind of standard how to be waterhub? Still got the cheek to give out water prizes. Mai Sia Sway la.
20 小时前 · 赞 · 1

Rhyme B. Md. Said I worked inside Stamford canal during Ion orchard construction. there are no modifications to the size of the canal. the whole width of the pedestrian walk along Ion is actually the canal width. problem lies with the flow of the water to the sea are not fast enough.
20 小时前 · 赞 · 4

Rhyme B. Md. Said PUB Are purely Denying the facts
20 小时前 · 赞 · 2

Lauschke Amy When the flooding incident happened on 23 Dec, PUB said it was not flooding, only "ponding". Now they admitted indirectly with the following statement:"PUB said the prolonged and heavy rain caused some parts of Stamford Canal to be full." Shows how confused they are about their own lies.
19 小时前 · 赞 · 3

Yogo Mojoo But this scenario hadn't happened for past years?why now? Don't give excuses but solutions to justify your high salaries,pls,Mr CEO.
18 小时前 · 赞

Bruce Loh Well. Some minister mentioned it happens only once fifty years ago. I'm not surprise it will happen every fifty days
17 小时前 · 赞

Han Nakata you hopeless arh PUB.....don t blame the bloody nature....blame urselves s'h***!!
14 小时前 · 赞

Phua Ah Pui I learnt some new English words, thanks to the PUB. Smart way to 'siam' (flee) the flooding issue, just toss some new politically-correct buzzwords like "ponding" to replace the word "flooding". Hmmm, if the immediate areas surrounding "Liat Towers' had been inundated with water, it's no longer 'ponding' but 'pooling'. Hahaha
10小时前 · 赞

Sam Emeritus This is amazing how PUB simply defended themselves initially.
5小时前 · 赞

Lee Shi Heng i thought it didn't flood, it just ponded
昨天 12:44 · 赞 · 16

Danny Chong So wait... Didn't PUB initially say that the canals were not full and that Liat Towers had in-effective pumps?
昨天 12:45 · 赞 · 12

Singapore Fpc in other words, the canal is not deep enough. pub has been neglient.
昨天 12:45 · 赞 · 1

Kent Yeoh Waiting for them to tell us it is not full, it is just "rivering". Haha.
于昨天 12:45 通过移动发表 · 赞 · 10

Singapore Fpc planning ahead is nolonger a duty of the pub apparently.
昨天 12:46 · 赞 · 2

Dana Anto They need a new spin Dr. The reasons are starting to be unjustifiable.
昨天 12:47 · 赞 · 3

吴明盛 They are using the logic, if you can't convince them, confuse them.
昨天 12:48 · 赞 · 3

Steven Lim they kena pawned liao!
昨天 12:48 · 赞

Darryl Seah Cause identified. So?
昨天 12:48 · 赞

Kelly Park The worse thing is Vivian kept silent thruout the whole period; was he holidaying somewhere?
昨天 12:50 · 赞 · 2

Chee Yong Tan LOL they need to beef up drainage tats for sure ... But the building management needs to beef up their flood control measures as well. Given that Orchard Road has been a flood prone area only protected by 2 canals. The management of the affected buildings have been too lax on flood measures and depended too much on the canals to ensure they stay dry. PUB clearly need to review the drainage plans but those take time so best is still the building management to quickly look for any loopholes in their flood management plans if any
昨天 12:52 · 赞 · 2

Roy Chan I don't believe the rain pattern in the last 2 years is anything new, yet it was only the last 2 years we had all kinds of flooding in Orchard. Liat Towers has been around for a long time but they hadn't that much floods in the past. Something fundamental is not working. It has to be the Marina Barrage but nobody dares to own up to it!
昨天 12:52 · 赞 · 10

Ryman Lim n VV will say sori this is not flooding its just ponding ........ n the next ponding PUB will intro prawns into the pond for citizens to catch ....... at $25
昨天 12:53 · 赞

Emeritus Goo Same rain, same old reason. PUB PR Dept, at least try to be more creative when spinning please.
昨天 12:53 · 赞 · 2

Aetherion Lim No shit, PUB. Tell us something we don't know.
昨天 12:56 · 赞 · 3

James Tan Investigation?! They need to investigate something thats's obvious?
Balls to the management for firing folks who really knows how to get things done just to increase their own paychecks.
昨天 12:57 · 赞 · 2

Robin Sagacious Ng eating their own words. kena pwned and owned
昨天 12:57 · 赞 · 2

Arnold Goh what pisses people off is not the flood, but the fact that these authorities think people are stupid and try to smoke us with some donkey ass reasoning thinking we don't know anything.
昨天 12:57 · 赞 · 14

Boon Sheng The rain didn't cause the canal to be full - inability to get the water out in time did. Identify the root cause of the problem, not symptoms.
昨天 12:58 · 赞 · 6

John Stuart Mill We are aspiring towards the Venetian standard of living with their canals and rivers, not Swiss mind you.
昨天 12:58 · 赞

Kien M Lee If I were PUB, I'd just buy up Liat Towers and close down that B1 level and save myself "pondloads" of headaches and jokes. LOL.

That location seems to be the fodder for floods!
昨天 12:58 · 赞 · 2

Shōkaku Zephyr Tan ‎'Explaining why the flooding occurred on Dec 23, PUB said the prolonged and heavy rain caused some parts of Stamford Canal to be full.'- Tell Us something we dont Know PUB.. Duhhhh...
昨天 12:58 · 赞 · 4

James Tan A feckin 2year old can tell you bathtub will overflow when it's full and the tap is still running.
Can they be more creative like the Malaysian garmen who said they kena flood cuz sg reclaim land?
昨天 13:01 · 赞 · 6

Rohaya Ayu Ithnin wait! trying to confuse the public again? one time you said its not flooding but ponding. why you its flooding??? lame
昨天 13:01 · 赞 · 3

Kent Adams Aiyo, just seal the whole thing up in a giant fish bowl. Customers can only get in and out thru a lift from inside.

And from then on, the service staff must greet all customers with a "Hi Nemo!"
昨天 13:01 · 赞 · 2

Aida Idris they can talk and talk talk...no action....and me yawning..... bye Friday
昨天 13:04 · 赞

Rachel Turner I remember the huge drains of water on either side of Orchard rd. And the cleanest city in the world. Everyone so polite,always smiling, sunshine. Hand tailored clothes. And rare, to see a fat Singaporean!
昨天 13:04 · 赞

Sugu Maran ‎"PUB said the prolonged and heavy rain caused some parts of Stamford Canal to be full"?? Even My Grandmother Can Say Such!!....
昨天 13:05 · 赞 · 2

George Loo I saw news footage of the drain behind Liat Towers - it's so narrow and would not be able to handle the rainfall...so the building owners are going to build embankment high enough to prevent the ponding, they are not waiting for the PUB and its hand-washing. The minister in charge has disappeared as well...
昨天 13:05 · 赞

Shōkaku Zephyr Tan We know the cause and those who were there have seen the symptoms,Root cause of the problem... PUB is doing a lousy job all thanks to the higher ups...
昨天 13:05 · 赞

Chee Yong Tan LOL ... It is not the barrage la ... the reach is not tat wide. Likely is the weather changes. We getting more freak weather.
昨天 13:08 · 赞

Dickson Loh Water is not discharge fast enough... Something wrong with the output to sea... Need me to state any clearer pub?? Your plan screw your own ass.. Wake up!
昨天 13:09 · 赞 · 1

Singapore Fpc the govt is not even competent to manage flood, you expect it to manage cpf life well, with no benefit illustrations?
昨天 13:11 · 赞 · 4

Ichigo Chua convert orchard to the world first underwater shopping town
昨天 13:15 · 赞 · 2

Khim Chuan Yeh and i shit in my pants cos prolonged and heavy meals caused my stomach to be full
昨天 13:15 · 赞

Woodlands Singapore So if they cannot make the canal wider or build more canals....why they don't want to dig deeper? Maybe we should resurrect Purposely Wanna Dig (PWD)...heheh they used to korek korek a lot but did a pretty decent job in digging for the future. LOL PUB (Perfectly Utter Bullshit) don't want to korek, that's why cannot handle the future.
昨天 13:15 · 赞 · 3

Alex Thiam Poh Ng Check here check there .., still flood !!
昨天 13:19 · 赞

Leo Kee Siang Lol... I thought they would say this is just another once in 50 years. Lol...
昨天 13:22 · 赞 · 3

Ryan Tan PUB: Why We Fail To Prevent Orchard Road From Flooding
昨天 13:23 · 赞

Zulkarnain Hassan Hasn't the canal and Liat towers been there for ages? We've had downpour which are worst that that in the past and there hasn't been any flooding until recently. Find the source cos the canal are just tributaries of a river. Go further up and find the problem. It's geography 101 PUB!
昨天 13:25 · 赞 · 6

Rowena Tan Rachel Turner - those were the days my friend before all the fiasco and fast food happened

Teh Garett ‎"Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had urged Singaporeans to come forward to play a larger and positive role on issues affecting the country.

Leading the way in this effort are civil society groups such as the Cat Welfare Society. " duh. Ironic enough?
昨天 0:32 · 赞 · 5

Anthony Teo Not ironic but feeble. A feeble example of a civil society group where there are larger and more coherent ones like this one.

Aiyah but as a humchee small minded blindly loyal singaporean, if CNA says so, then TOC must be right.
昨天 0:55 · 赞 · 5

Jin Hahn sgreans have been kao pehing on the crap pap is churning out...but most of them are met with jail term or political assasinations...

wanna change the country???

change the government first!




Mazz Azizi With Temasek Holdings as our 3rd casino, who needs 4th? And the biggest gambler & loser is none other than the ceo who gambles & dabbles away our $$$$$$$!
星期四 23:58 · 赞 · 20

Tat Tong wow, our love of gambling is pretty much Uniquely Singapore :-P
昨天 0:03 · 赞

Jonathan Tan Does the data control for foreigner spending?
It's pointless to look at net loss per resident if the people actually losing money are the tourists
昨天 0:05 · 赞 · 2

Kent Yeoh What is the scope of denominator used? Country? City? State?
昨天 0:07 · 赞

Lu Squared We should be um... so proud.
昨天 0:12 · 赞

Sydney Peh How did the economist get the figures? MBS & RWS surely wun allow such data to be released??
昨天 0:16 · 赞

Gwen Lee I ve been to Las Vegas..the entire place are hotels casino..its purely for the entertainment and gambling if not business conferences. Singapore only ve two, one ve universal studio to make it more family oriented..the other is inside cbd, convenient for conferences and hotel stay..profits from gamblers are just..ahem.. extra cash for now
昨天 0:22 · 赞

Howard Woon Seriously...has anyone ever questioned RWS and MBS as sustainable competitive advantages that neighboring countries cannot replicate given time? All it does is buy us some time in the short term...but in the longer term...and then what?
昨天 0:29 · 赞 · 2

Ko Sherman And Singaporeans are proud of this?
昨天 0:32 · 赞

Stephen Tan How did they derive the data??
昨天 0:41 · 赞

Alvin Tan Fundamentally, "vice" can thrive, but, any business that's reliant on "vice" will eventually run dry. Especially when more & more victims volunteer themselves on the exclusion list.

2 IRs to boost the GDP is only superficial. When the takings decline, wat they gonna do? Build more IRs? And when the novelty of IR wears out... What next?

In a nutshell, the good-for-nothing overpaid fat cats have long been depleted of genuine ideas to sustain the island's economy. Yet, we have 60% morons to thank, for having much confidence in the clueless goons.

I hope they've reserved a spot in the basement for the long awaited casket, bcos he said "over my dead body" prior to the approval of the 2 IRs
昨天 0:46 · 赞 · 5

Leck Yong Koon If u add the 100 dollars entry fee, we actually beat the Australians...
昨天 0:46 · 赞 · 3

Serene Chew These stats are based on per resident in the country. SG and Aus population is so low, of course can let them manipulate the chart. Show some real numbers please. Don't be deceived by this chart, it is just manipulating how they present the data.

Work it out.

SG 5 mil pop x $1150 = $5.75 bil
Canada 34 mil pop x $550 = $18.7 bil
USA 308 mil pop x $375 = $115.5 bil
昨天 0:55 · 赞 · 6

Aidil Faridah Wow!!! An eye opening!!
昨天 1:01 · 赞 · 2

Alex Har Yes! using the resident population as a base doesn't make much sense.
昨天 1:23 · 赞 · 2

Wan Diamond This is extremely misleading. Not cool at all.
昨天 3:10 · 赞

Steve Wai Keong Chow SG dun have so much money to lose lol
昨天 6:05 · 赞

Bhas Kunju not only is it misleading, but it's also old. it was roundly debunked when it made the rounds earlier this year
昨天 7:23 · 赞

Chua Siok Foon My sis attempted suicides 3rd times cos casino.. Dunno hw long will she lives~
昨天 7:42 · 赞

Zaffar Ali This is the playground of the far east - ask jack sparrow :)
昨天 8:55 · 赞

Zaffar Ali For the rich*
昨天 8:56 · 赞

Charles Stewart Lee Already contending for this top spot within 3 yrs
昨天 9:10 · 赞

Chee Yong Tan Frankly u can just boycott e casino ... enjoy e rest of it ... anyway profits frm casinos i think cannot exceed a certain percentage ... have to read back when e IRs was being announced ...the bigger problem r e problem gamblers ... putting a casino at e doorstep is just a killer for them ... i think sooner or later it would have to go e way of south korea ... banning residents frm casinos ...
昨天 9:16 · 赞

Philip Tham Not sure why after having 2 casino,Singapore faces so many problems.Even ponding in orchard ,SMRT problems and even bedok reservoir saga started to surface up.Wonder what went wrong.
昨天 9:46 · 赞

Hisham Sulaiman When vices are made legal, acceptable and widespread throughout a nation. Be prepared for the great karma to befall as a result.
昨天 10:20 · 赞

Abe Su Perman Always the game of catch-up it seems. If neighbouring countries develop their own regional casinos, at some point we'll then have to up the game and emerge with more inventive ways of entertaining people, or more hubs for other activities though land space will be severely exhausted. They have hinterland and this is already their competitive advantage. Our competitive advantage in the long run lies in the software or services which is tenuous as regional competitors become more like us, the edge is lost.
昨天 10:24 · 赞 · 1

Jag Tan You need to take Customer Knowledge Assessment Test before can buy ETF and unit trust. They should implement such test before allowing people to go into the casino.
昨天 11:40 · 赞

Qianyu Jeanette Zhao ‎@serene chew But it says Macau and Moroccan din make the list. Guess it means they've adjusted for tourists contribution.
昨天 11:54 · 赞

Qianyu Jeanette Zhao Just curious how come toc is bringing this may 16th piece out? Year end round off or what?
昨天 11:55 · 赞

May Chua oh dear oh dear...the citizens are the ones who are spending all these money!
昨天 12:56 · 赞


Patrick Lee Song Juan
I like the way transport minister Lui's tough stand and rebuke on SMRT and holding them responsible for the serious breakdown and poor handling of the situation.

The whole senior management should take full responsibility not only CEO Saw Phaik Hwa...During their CNA conference apart from Saw who is more sincere with what she said, not the other guy (not interested to know his name) who pushed the blame to his supervisor on the SMRT taxi announcement..
赞 · · 分享 · 12月16日22:08 ·
3 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Patrick Lee Song Juan I hope Ah Tuck is not 'wayang-ing'...We shall see the unfolding !!
12月16日22:10 · 赞

Fearsome Commandos He should also be sacked. Or Opposition can field candidates to edge him out in next GE.
12月16日22:13 · 赞 · 1

Stephen Hong Weng Wong HAHA, PAPig taking responsibility? TUCK YEW UNDERSTAND?!
12月16日22:32 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan Compare sacked Raymond Lim and minister Ah Tuck, I think Ah Tuck at least is more truthful and really boarded bus and train to try to feel the ground level's wrath on overcrowding ! Let us see his next move on handling this SMRT problem!
12月16日23:12 · 赞

Wayne Wong I hope tat Ah Tuck' is relly stronger than his very weak voice. Can't imagine him shoouting parade orders in t. Army,.... But back to main subject, me thinks tat incidents happens in three's. So, shall we start a betting pool,...when will the next mrt break-down be,..? How do you think authorities will respond again,..? I put S$ 10/-,...
12月16日23:18 · 赞 · 2

Anna Hokage TUCK YEW to him!!!
12月17日0:14 · 赞

Anna Hokage Wayne, skali next one Orchard tunnel collapse (due to flooding mishaps lately) o_O
12月17日0:16 · 赞

Wayne Wong Hi Anna, next incident, my intuition tells me,..may be a mass traffic pile-up along one of our expressways. Too many daily accidents, yet fcuking aggressive drivers, riders still swerving between lanes, speeding, in t. Ever-congested roads. And t. Govt & society still promotes motor racing as a "sport",....adding more twisted thoughts into an ever-increasing frustrated motorist. Madness seems to have descended onto this little red rock.

马来西亚的牛门事件，不了了之
Patrick Lee Song Juan
Should she resign or given another chance, to prove her 1.8 million annual worth to take on this job ?? Personally, I think they are not prepared at all in a magnitude as such!!

涂鸦墙照片
‎"CEO of SMRT Saw Phaik Hwa (right) says she would consider calls by some for resignations to take responsibility."

Click LIKE if you want her to resign immediately.
上传者： Occupy Singapore
取消 · · 分享 · 12月16日17:42 ·
你与 Vladimir Tepes 都觉得这挺赞的。

Stephen Hong Weng Wong Fire her for gods sake, see if she can get a job at Morgan Stanley!

Patrick Lee Song Juan
At last Saw Phaik Hwa (SPH) apologises to the all commuters...after a press conference today.....They are all still unable to pinpoint the fault or mis-alignment ?

Should Saw accept the full responsibility with her senior management. And the vie-president can just say it is very complex, yet without a clue why it happened?
取消 · · 分享 · 12月16日17:24 ·
你说这挺赞的。

Patrick Lee Song Juan FM 93.8 Live kept on repeating that Saw Phiak Hwa's apologising to the public. And when asked would she resign to take full responsibility. She said it may be an option !!
12月16日17:35 · 赞

Syed Anees Khan And what the heck does "taking responsibility" actually mean anyway. We all know about Mah Bow Tan "taking responsibility" and then nothing else happen, everything was just status quo. The people of Singapore can get as angry as anyone care, but we do not have any kind of power to demand anything of those power to be. We are just noisy losers.
12月16日17:55 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan These 'chosen ones' are all high and mighty people of the ruling system....if Wong kan seng did not take responsible, we all know the government are in total collusion of their elite people...

If LHL wants to be a true PM...he got to show he is able to be steadfast and act accordingly and without reservation. S'pore have many capable people who can step into any position of true responsibility if one is redundant.

We citizens are fully aware of all the hidden agendas!! The ball is in PM LHL's court to show citizens he has the angst to act fair and square..

He did fairly well after the GE..with a little transformation....We all want greater accountability please PM!!

Now we will see what Transport Minister Lui (Ah Tuck) can do and act on it with firmness!!

We would not be just noisy losers in 2016 if more creditable opposition or alternative party members are vote into parliament...!!!!



Patrick Lee Song Juan
SMRT paying the price for unreasonable fare increase to commuter lately. Now they are faced with frequent breakdown and disruption. The kammic effect of their greed come in full view.....
取消 · · 分享 · 12月16日10:42 ·
你与其他 5 人都说赞！

Curry Sotong b ur 'ahmad' la...
12月16日11:19 · 赞

LianLian Loh Gliptis Ride bicycle or tricycle or jog la n at the same time feeew feeew wink2 lau swees passing by. Good excerise all in ONE! and stop KPKB!!!!
12月16日15:26 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan Cannot admire much now...sian liao!
12月16日17:15 · 赞


Patrick Lee Song Juan
‎"The taxi operators in Singapore form what is known as an oligopoly,
where a small group of five taxi operators are majority owned by the
same group of shareholders and have inter-linking board of directors,
and where market collusion rather than competition tends to be the
final result.".....quoted from an email to me -

When the government is part of it. It is not in their interest to utter anything to interfere with the increase...A collaboration and corroboration beyond price fixing !!
取消 · · 分享 · 12月16日10:19 ·
你与其他 4 人都说赞！

Gilbert Goh Its legal profiteering...damn.
12月16日11:56 · 赞 · 2

Patrick Lee Song Juan
Something is wrong with our social value of youth, especially some students. Is it our stress education system to trigger 2 students aged 10 and 12 to steal from an 71 years old helpless newspaper vendor.

The collapse of social compassion and changing norm of students. Many lack both parental guidance due to the uphill task to bring 2 decent meals home.

Many students hanging around aimlessly after school is a cause for concern !!
赞 · · 分享 · 12月15日12:15 ·
2 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

John Lim I do not think it's the education system's fault but rather a failure of parents to guide our children. Seem many cases of parents who failed to control their kids in public places. Whether it's the education system or employment restriction, ultimately we have to be responsible for our own kids. We can't depend on maids or teachers to play the role of parents.
12月15日15:15 · 赞 · 1

John Lim As parents, sometimes we have to stop blaming the external factors and look within ourselves. Does the desire for materialism out weights the importance of character building in our kids?
12月15日15:18 · 赞 · 2

LianLian Loh Gliptis Its the fault of this modern world too and of course those high tech comp online games as well..Our olden days, we spent our time running around in the kampung, playing hide n seek or pick fruits n feed chickens..now where got trees to climb in Spore, pick fruits also kena fine!!..
12月15日17:49 · 赞 · 1

王金鳳 i dont think its the stress nor the education system fault. a common chinese saying.........养不教，父之过；教不严，师之惰。 its KNN the parents faults..... these days a lot of KNN people dont know HOW to be PARENT, only know how to make baby!!! :@
12月15日20:04 · 赞 · 1

LianLian Loh Gliptis Make babe also dont know la tts why population rate so low n spore require foreigners...


样样起价， 新加坡人鸟到反


Patrick Lee Song Juan
Case president Yeo Guat Kwang (YGK) give press conference with representatives of Coffeeshop Association on price of kopi-O.....Taxi fare hike seemed least important to him. Yeo Guat Kwang is also PAP MP..
赞 · · 分享 · 12月15日10:39 ·
4 个人都觉得这挺赞的。
被转载分享了 1 次

Shih Ying Lucy Ng This is what our Government meant that we Singaporean will regret after the election. The effect of our regret has started. Singaporean wake up
12月15日11:37 · 赞 · 3

Emeritus Delson Moo ‎2 years later all the dafts will forget, 3 years later they start to give candies, 4 years later everybody loves PAP, 5 years later ....
KNS, those dafts never learn !
12月15日11:48 · 赞 · 3

Wayne Wong Erm,..Funny How much SG authorities lurve to thump-own-chest over the smallest issues. Malaysia Coffee Shops have already posted prices long, long time ago,....but in SG, you have Big-Salaried Termites, pretending to serve the society. The Bigger, More important issues that Case have to address, would be transport costs, Medical costs,...My constructive suggestion after complaint (CSAC): Focus on Being Effective, instead of Efficient. Thanks
12月15日12:01 · 赞 · 4

Emeritus Delson Moo Beautifully said @Wayne Wong... It's grammatically correct compared to Better, Betterer and Betterest... and also much more inspiring than Cheaper, Better, Faster... (that sounds like slogan for whore !)
12月15日12:23 · 赞 · 3

Koh Andrew i honestly hav no qualms paying 10 cts or 20 cts more for a cuppa. Every coffeeshop is different becos of its rental. Why the importance over such trivial matter...........why can't they looked into more important issues such as NTA fixing taxi fares......isn't that a breach in business ethics?
12月15日14:08 · 赞 · 2

近期动态
Patrick 和 Wee Sin 现在已成为朋友。 · 赞 · · 加为好友

Patrick Lee Song Juan
Why is there a need still to register online to be a speaker at
the Corner. Uniquely 'Democratic' S'pore !! I do not think it is the freest space for speech.
See what will happen if you speak the wrong thing! You will be had!!

Speakers’ Corner: A symbol for the future | The Online Citizen
theonlinecitizen.com
by Benjamin Cheah/ In tight-laced Singapore, Speakers’ Corner at Hong Lim Park is the freest space for speech and assembly. All it takes is five minutes to
赞 · · 分享 · 12月14日0:39 ·
2 个人都觉得这挺赞的。

Lawrence Chong With freedom of Speech comes even greater responsibility
12月14日0:53 · 赞 · 1

Patrick Lee Song Juan Freedom of speech means we must speak with responsibility...not utter half truth, half baked and slandering speeches..

In a nutshell, given that freedom, we must be discerning and rational !!
12月14日10:54 · 赞

Lawrence Chong Wherein the problem...
12月14日12:00 · 赞

Lawrence Chong ‎*therein


Patrick Lee Song Juan It really pains my arse to read PAP to reclaim Aljunied GRC in the next election. In my second rally speech on May !st at Pasir Ris Park...I mentioned to the crowd that PAP would lose Aljunied and it did...."skeptics got to shallow their saliva!"

The 'creme de la creme' GY dropped as adviser to Aljunied GRC...and in come a cry baby to try to wrestle back Aljunied GRC...Your next life lah ..LBH ! It is really a poor and bad choice..LHL should read the ground sentiments and LBH's image popularity ! Would do well if LHL put Chan Chun Sing in Aljunied GRC to build up a strong and a renew image .

I am tired of writing long notes...but I may do so on why WP will still retain Aljunied GRC in 2016....
12月10日22:53 · 赞 · 1

Roger Tan Talk some more I confirm make your arse pain. Why never answer my call?
12月11日18:07 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan ‎'Arse pain '..how to answer...Now going to be one-eyed jack already liao!
12月11日21:42 · 赞

王金鳳 反攻啊欲腻!!! 解放啊欲腻!!! 反攻, 解放 BanSai!!!!
12月13日23:18 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan No chinese text lah..so cannot read what you wrote.Only can read BanSai !!...hahaa!.

How to download chinese text programme har Christina!
12月14日0:04 · 赞

王金鳳 ‎....its actually very easy...but difficult to demo or explain here in FB la...
12月14日23:23 · 赞

Patrick Lee Song Juan That means a blank to me lah...aiyoh


Jafri Basron
Singapore allocated US$9.39b for defence in its budget for the fiscal year beginning April 2011, a rise of 5.4% from 2010/11

Yucks! Pillows given to BMT recruits are so dirty
singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg
The sight of dirty pillows in a bunk at Pulau Tekong shocked STOMPer linda, who was on a guided tour of the island's facilities during her son's enlistment for National Service.
赞 · · 分享 · 查看友情 · 12月10日9:30 ·

Patrick Lee Song Juan More money should be allocated to help the poor, sick and destitute people rather than wasting too much money on defence.

In humanity understanding, it is not how strong a country is on sophisticated arsenal of war, it is the compassion of heart to the very human in need among us !!

ASEAN is formed with its purpose for keeping peace and cooperation in the region...Why spend so much on defence ???

HELP THE POOR, NOT HELP THE WEAPON MANUFACTURERS !


Patrick Lee Song Juan
Christopher Tan, Snr correspondent of ST..."Make no mistake, Comfort DelGro's 'taxi fare revision' is, to the man in the street, nothing but a fare hike. And a pretty fat one too." -unquote.

Then the increase in rental of taxis to come. Such a smart move by (NTUC) DelGro...Are they really thinking of the welfare of the taxi drivers ?? We all are made suckers in the end if we still do not boycott Comfort taxis !!
取消 · · 分享 · 12月7日12:28 ·
你与其他 13 人都说赞！

Stephen Hong Weng Wong I still say buy a bicycle!
12月7日13:31 · 赞

Cheow Yong Jian Then soon they're gonna tax bikes or nationalize the bike industry and fix exorbitant prices for bikes?
12月7日13:35 · 赞 · 1

陳銳銘 The people need a Robin Hood.... :-P
12月7日13:46 · 赞

Jacqui Ch All the taxi drivers ought to go on strike.
12月7日14:46 · 赞

Jacqui Ch First, commuters gotta go on boycott.
12月7日14:46 · 赞

Jacqui Ch The fat cats (and those in cahoots!) really love stuffing things down our throats. Enough is enough.

Patrick Lee Song Juan
‎"There will never be an ending as long as humankind delude themselves with power, corruption, fame, citizens' fortune and political hegemony....." -from one of my earlier notes

A LEOPARD WILL NEVER SHED ITS SPOTS..".Transformation, humility, we will listen and engage with the common citizens..." Is that what is happening in just a short seven months after the election??? PM Lee said he was sorry, LOL !!! Has he forgotten his 'mee-siam mai hum', knowing to well NTUC FairPrice will jack up the hum price (pun meant)..And in one sweep and cahoot -MRT fare, property tax price, taxi fare. And what 'tsunami' will follow, can anyone guess??

"We called it the national agenda to give our citizens a quality life..." What sarcasm am I uttering ???

Now i guess those fence-seaters who voted for PAP, are cursing themselves and turning their ancestors in the Bukit Brown's grave!!.....A LEOPARD WILL NEVER SHED ITS SPOT- PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!!? and that is THE PAP INCORPORATION S'PORE.
取消 · · 分享 · 12月6日22:21 ·
你与其他 2 人都说赞！

LianLian Loh Gliptis Aiya bleh3 dont u know tt power corrupts! Once a leader realises that the country’s affairs and resources are at his/her disposal, they become power hungry and want more and more. People say 'If the son of Adam (humankind) had a mountain of gold, they would only want another one'!

Power = dangerous!! = harden heart = corruption = mentally and psychologically ill of $$$$$$!!!! simple formula hor!!!
12月7日3:54 · 赞 · 1
Prabu Ramachandran
http://www.facebook.com/events/289906641048185/

Make a stand against price rise, more cost of living & expenses!!!
‎12月10日在 16:00 于 Hong Lim Park
取消 · · 分享 · 12月6日16:49 ·
你和 Patrick Lee Song Juan 与 Vincent Ng Aeria 都赞好。

Vincent Ng Aeria Before the GE, the dearest son said that we are the masters.
After the GE, we become the slaves.

Before the GE, the dearest son said sorry.
After the GE, we become sorry.

Before the GE, the dearest son said there is no increase in GST.
After the GE, we pay more indirectly.

Before the GE, the dearest son called us dears.
After the GE, we're are paying dearly.

Before the GE, the father said Aljunied must repent.
After the GE, we the 60% must repent.


Prabu Ramachandran
We are recruiting supporters, members & volunteers to effectively serve our country, community, society and our dear citizens of Singapore.

Important criteria: Singapore citizen, must be pink NRIC holder

We welcome all Singaporeans regardless of age, background, ethnicity, etc.

The Reform Party is for all Singaporeans regardless of differences.

Help us serve our fellow Singaporeans, walk alongside with us, volunteer together with us, join us as members.

SMS - 92230514 for more details.

Prabu R
Deputy Head
Reform Party
Youth Wing
(Young Reformers)
http://www.facebook.com/events/289906641048185/




分水岭选举后的六个月，尘埃落定了吗？
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 29, 201119 Comments
4
~林宝音 殷素素译~
2011年5月大选的独特现象是新加坡选举史上前所未见的。一个备受惩罚的行动党政府和锐不可 挡的激烈选举，在政治评论员一声声：惊叹、转型、奇迹、洪水、地震、分水岭、大转变的形 容词下被传诵着。

六个月后的今天，激情已然逐渐平复，行动党也开始要安抚人心，政治领袖保证要与人民有更 好的沟通，而选民则是打起精神，静观其变。

在这些旁观者里面，一定有不少的乐观者双眼水汪汪充满着激情，认为执政者这次一定会把 大选的挫败化为原动力，来建设一个以民为主的更美好社会。

然而也会有不少的悲观者，眯着眼睛充满狐疑，他们认为大选后被过份吹嘘的行动党领袖的“ 深刻自省”和承诺，实际上什么都不会改变。执政党所谓“新常态”口号，只不过是“旧常态 ”的一个伪装。

我， 作为一个政治观察员，紧盯着这次的大选（几个月后的总统选举又看到这个趋势的延续， 实际上人们的怒火和不满更尖锐了），正尽量去解读许多新加坡人在大选后思考的这些问题： 到底是怎么一回事？我们能够期冀什么？新加坡的社会会彻底改头换面吗？这次大选所开出的 支票有多少能兑现？

与其高屋建瓴的大作政治文章，我想用对话的方式来呈现这样的探讨，我尝试把乐观者放在一 方，而悲观者则与其对立来辩论。这样的对话形式有两个好处：1、辩论的方式有助于凸显双方的立场。2、这种方式较贴近咖啡店讨论和网上论坛的兴味。

乐观者：哇！你看，一次大选就把这五十年来行动党给我们受的气：高傲、对人民的轻蔑和他们的精英主义一扫而光，哇，我还以为这辈子看不到了。

悲观者：别依哇乱叫的，会不会言之过早？
乐观者：你这什么意思？每个政治分析家都说这是前所未见的分水岭竞选，即使连你这种悲观 者都应该信一次嘛。
悲观者： 好啦，我承认行动党的那些衰款：高傲、自以为是、霸道是不见了。从今以后，行动党议员再也不敢高高在上、咄咄逼人、宴会迟到等等，但，这也只是作风的改变，而作风是最 容易改变的一种，不代表什么啊。我可以在一瞬间改变我的穿衣风格——换件缤纷色彩的T恤和穿球鞋来取悦年轻人，多一点笑容、多握一些手和轮椅上老妇人更有耐心地交谈等等。
乐观者： 这样说就太不公平了，他们绝不是表面的改变。他们也会改变政策，那些让他们丢掉 选票的政策，诸如交通、住屋、外劳……难道你不看报纸的吗？几乎每一天都有报道说部长在改进人们不满的地方。比方说为老人、低收入者和单亲妈妈建更多组屋。我也相信最终对外劳的人数会有一个顶限，行动党领袖终于听到人们的心声了！

悲观者：那些“失掉选票的政策”，记得是你说的啊。他们当然要舍弃或者大手笔来修改那些 人民讨厌的政策，否则来届大选无疑是自杀。但是请等一下，这些政策改变成为实际行动了没有？或者有可能实现吗？我怎么还是听到相同的抱怨：有关地铁的、有关屋价的和大量的外劳涌入……
乐观者： 新加坡人就是喜欢抱怨，因为我们毫无耐心。现在还有更多好消息足以振奋人心，政府除了大选时所提到的民生课题，它现在还照顾到新加坡人要求更富裕和更美好生活的要求。 我不是说对艺文活动的全力支持，这方面他们向来不遗余力。我说的是一些朴素、简单的要求 让我们可以活得更像一个人。比如说对于爱宠物的我们，不久的将来会有更多的条例出台让组屋居民可以养各类的宠物。这实在是有够贴近人心的，你怎么可以想像一个务实的技术官僚体系会照顾到这方面的需要？想像一个从不花哨的行动党会让政策多一些这样的人性色彩，接下来可能还兼顾到怀旧、和历史接轨的情怀。以咖啡山坟场来说吧，过去政府大可不管人们怎么想直接就铲平了，无论是对理念或者实际都会这么做。现在，自从大选得了教训以后，它会不嫌麻烦地要求对话，寻找妥协点，我觉得这是行动党令人赞叹的大改变。
悲观者：这么说，现在的政府是“可以商量、包容、关怀、具同情心、友善、亲切、以人为本 ……”
乐观者：就说嘛，很高兴你的观念能够转过来……
悲观者：别！我话还没说完。这些好话难道不熟口熟面吗？事实上，二十年前当时的总理吴作栋先生不是已经答应我们要有一个“温良恭谦让”的社会吗？
乐观者：以前是以前，现在是现在，政府也需要不断地演化，这是大家都知道的。如果你需要更强烈的保证的话，就在11月27日行动党党大会上，总理亲口说的：“我们是来服务的……我 们并不是统治者或者主人。”——要做仆人型的领袖，哇，这才是一个够大的“哇”！
悲观者： 如果你只在意华丽的辞藻和修辞，我可以替你找到一大堆这样的写手。“我庄严地发誓给你一个全新的新加坡；我们听到了，我们也一定做得到；无论你是谁，对我都是最重要的 ”等等等。新加坡人要提防的，正是这些庄严誓言背后隐藏的阴谋诡计。举个例子来说，就在那个“我们来服务”的讲演里，总理就简单说了新加坡人需要“认同行动党的政绩，和过去它所做的一切”，其实就是过去那个“你要不是跟随我们，就是和我们作对”的温和版本。他也约略地说了：“行动党现在需要更具策略性地，全面地紧盯和反击任何对手的行动。”这是一项警告，也就是说过去的重新划分选区、发展集选区、政治化民间组织等等还是仍然管用，只是包装上会更加隐蔽。
乐观者：为什么你就是这么偏执地要否定过去六个月来行动党所做的努力？你凭什么怀疑他们的诚意？
悲观者：行动党不过是在压力下进行一些损害控制，这些改变不是新思维下的产物，缺少真诚 。
乐观者：我不管是私心还是真诚，动机不是我关心的范围，只要政策改变，人民就得益，不是吗？
悲观者： 让我告诉你，动机就是一切。新思维启发所带来的真诚改变，会经得起考验；由压力所带来的改变只要压力没了，它也就不管用了。大选所反映出来的民意，现在被他们反复解读来尽力安抚民心和削弱反对的力量。假如执政党达到他们的目的，人民都知足常乐，在五年、 十年后夺回阿裕尼集选区，那时他们就会马上打回原形。难道你不认为那个自满、不耐烦和高人一等的行动党不会回来吗？那些心不甘情不愿的政策改变，在行动党重新掌大权后难道就不会U转，以便拼入他们更大的计划里头？这个政府不是一路认为：什么事都是它最了的吗？
乐观者：我能看到你很乐意沉溺在你的阴谋论里头，把行动党的说话和作为都解读得如此不堪 。
悲观者：要我抛掉怀疑论也行，只要行动党愿意放弃一项政策，而这项政策就是所有的源头， 政治开发和公民社会都因它而沉沦。这项政策是行动党执政52年以来辛苦捍卫的。
乐观者：什么嘛？
悲观者： 这就是允许政府逮捕和拘留政治异议者的内安法，在六十年代至八十年代，有过好几波的逮捕。当马来西亚首相最近宣布将放弃内安法，而以恐怖主义特别法替代的时候，大家都把目光转向新加坡，看看在喧嚣的2011大选之后，政府是不是会追随他们这样做？然而在16名前政治拘留犯陈情，要求重开他们当年被内安法拘留的调查时，行动党领袖已经断然拒绝。你知道吗？如果行动党做了不可能的事：就是真的设立一个调查庭，公开让他们过去的丑行曝晒于阳光下，那就代表着一个透明、开放、诚实的时代到来，亦可视为深具勇气、人性化和光荣的政治新承诺。到时新加坡人将赞叹不已，甚至引以为荣、敬佩和特别的向往。但这将不可能会发生的，道理很简单：因为行动党从来就不喜欢在众目睽睽之下被人揭短，它甚至把联合国 成员国家呼吁要设立人权机构的话当耳边风。诚如我刚刚说过的，如果这次大选后的好事，就是把这祸害政治异议者二三十年的恶法给废了，我就可以马上从悲观者变乐观者。诽谤法或许会随着李光耀先生的离去而消失，但是只要内安恶法犹在，对人民制造的内心恐惧将不会消失 。
乐观者：好吧，不过政治制度向来都是要因时制宜……
悲观者： 又是修辞，行动党最会搞这一套了，它要说的是：“我们只会随我们自己的意愿改变 ，在我们认为最舒适的时候才来弄。”对不起，我好像很不认同，不过我相信这就是核心：行动党政府是不会改变的，他们希望一党独大下去，他们只会小修小改做些假象，在那些政治领 域以外的，诸如商业、艺术、教育和环境等等动手脚。这些领域修得越多，就能把注意力从最 需要改革的地方拉开——政治上公民权力这一块。行动党不大可能会屈服，为什么呢？因为真正的政治改革，对他们来讲，无疑是打开潘朵拉的盒子，直接影响他们的生存。所以政治操控将会一直在幕后进行。我也想到另一个对象也是他们难以触碰的，他们从那里汲取领袖的价值和力量，就是被他们视为最高敬佩、信任和坚定不移的巨星——李光耀先生。
乐观者：如果你要提那充满争议的部长薪金制，难道你不知道在选后总理就保证要检讨吗？甚至要把公共服务从纯金钱量化挂钩的方法脱钩？我们接下来应该随时会听到检讨委员会的好消息。
悲观者： 我很能理解调查委员会的两难境地，你知道吗？我的酒友们和我已经下注，如果部长 的高薪减少10%及以下，我将可以赢得100元。有个家伙在七杯啤酒的影响下，过份乐观地赌下会有35%的减薪来取悦人民。他还是有机会赢的，因为可能会是桌面上的35%减薪，而底下的许多的因素将会实现我的预测，10%减薪，因为行动党很懂得迂回的艺术。
乐观者：好心你啦，不要这样多的扭曲和有色观点。请用正确的态度来看待调查结果和其他的 一切改变。
悲观者： “其他的一切改变”？我认为目前最大的改变只是政治修辞。像“独裁的、保姆国家 、家长式作风、白色恐怖、出界行为、由上而下”都消失了，替代的是“新常态、真正的政治 家、新行动党作风、焕然一新的行动党、承诺、分享、透明、社会凝聚力”等等，还有更多会 陆续献上。没错，我们的政治词典是变得越来越丰富，都是字、字、字！我想你会以为这些只要说多了，它们就会变成现实。
乐观者：我实在不敢相信你那么幼稚。幸好新加坡人还分得清文字和实际行动。不管你怎么贬 低行动党，他们向来都不喜欢说空话、不负责任的承诺、语言谩骂，因为那些都是低劣的政治伎俩。
悲观者： 要避免像2011大选那样的痛苦经验，他们其实什么伎俩都用得上。他们将不惜一切的 赢回阿裕尼集选区。当总理说什么“焕然一新的行动党”时，他大抵是说行动党要修炼得更加 高深，以免重蹈这次大选的覆辙。作为马基维里主义的信徒，他们本来就是不择手段，不为道 德细节所牵绊的，成果将会合理化手段。想像以下两个场景：这边厢行动党的大头们在密室开会，紧张、凝重地商议，不惜重拳出击为他们的一党独大献策。那边厢他们出现在公众场合或 电视上，平静、和蔼可亲地希望带来改革和变化，甚至彬彬有礼地要求和对手握手。你可以看到行动党在密室和公众场合的两幅面孔吗？
乐观者：容我再说一次，拿掉你那些有色眼镜，你把事物描绘的太阴暗和丑陋了，喔！
悲观者：那也请你拿掉你那玫瑰色的眼镜，因为你看每样事物都会带有甜蜜的粉红余韵。请相信我，行动党是不会变的。就如人们所说的，老狗学不了新把戏，一头豹是不会改变它的皮纹的。
乐观者，好吧，既然你要说谚语，考虑一下这个让你无限怀疑的行动党的诚意和热忱，因为2011大选所带给他们的教训是：一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。正好说明他们真的从错误中汲取教训，世界上很少有政府做得到。
悲观者：或许那个谚语要修改一下才可以用在行动党身上。比如说：一朝被蛇咬，要让井绳都怕我十年。工人党，小心啦！
乐观者：你知道悲观者的下场是什么吗？
悲观者：什么？
乐观者：他们都会自我实现。
悲观者：那你知道个乐观者的下场是什么？
乐观者：什么？
悲观者：他们会成为悲观者。因为他们的幻觉有一天将会破灭。

放屁王30 December 2011
讲了又不听
听了又不做
做了又做错
错了又不改
改了又不行
行了又不听
最后还是打回原形
闪电也不过是国家一大粪便
行动党若无视人民的心声、人民的痛苦，那人民就必须以民主的方式，把＂执政＂变成＂在野＂党了！
大选后，行动党的承诺并无兑现，反而所见的事实是生活费继续攀高，外来＂人才＂继续涌入，铁路瘫痪，每五十年＂才会＂发生的淹水事件继续＂找上＂了乌节！
人民愤怒并非一夜间成型的！是执政党一而再再而三的继续一意孤行所造成的
我们没有完全抹杀执政党过去表现和成就。也恰恰因为人民多年来所给予的＂高票当选＂而让闪电党忘了对选民的承诺，也让他们犯了＂大头症＂，很多时候也漠视民声甚至还把民愿当成杂音！其他烂政策不说，当闪电之首一意孤行地把部长年薪大幅度增加时不是说这样做是吸引和留住能力非凡的人让国人受益！到头来呢？受益的是那些当官的，口袋饱满。与其说人民苛刻倒不如说闪电党官迷心窍，贪得无厌，良心都被狗吃了！话又说回来，我完全能感受到您的宽洪大量，不过选民的忍耐是有限度的。


1. They appear to soften their tough image, using words to replace actions – which No Action Talk Only.
2. They did introduce more flats but pricing still going up – affordability is the key issue.
3. Although they said they clamp down on immigration and foreign imports, thats not real. Behind our backs, they are actually on massive scale.
4. Their minister pay review keeps dragging.
5. CHC case silence for 2 years already.
6. Cost of living keeps inflating, prices keep escalating.
7. GLCs are now facinglot of backlash due to lack of spending on maintenance, buying cheap equipment but trying to maximise profits e.g. MRT, Telcos breaking down.

Basically, the conclusion is that Singaporeans are a selfish and timid lot. Until their rice bowls are overturned, they still worried about upgrading or being blacklisted or their career advancement. But there is growing resentment that their careers are being tested or taken away by foreigners. And the whole lot of issues created by massive immigration – housing, prices, crimes etc.

The gov is bent on massive import of foreigners to balance the rising opposition voters. But looks like they will have to lose more seats since they have not made any drastic policy change to make Singaporean first.

I bet the gov will introduce new GE regulations in 2016 and the grandson of the current dynasty will be introduced into politics.

before GE,it air was dusty with GREED.

after the GE,the air got more dusty with more and more ‘GREED’???


United front31 December 2011
All alternative parties should unite for solidarity to garner unanimous support from the people who have been longing to recover their dignity which they have lost to the greed creed.



Fear of Writing: A commentary on political art and censorship
Posted by theonlinecitizen on September 1, 201117 Comments
11
~by: Jewel Philemon~
Local playwright, Mr Tan Tarn How, returns to the world of theatre after a hiatus of ten years with his latest full-length play, ‘Fear of Writing’.
The respected writer, who has written several critically acclaimed plays such as ‘The First Emperor’s Last Days’, ‘The Lady of Soul And Her Ultimate “S” Machine’ and ‘Home’, said that he wanted to write a play about the difficulty of writing political plays and thus, Fear of Writing was born.

“This play is about the complacency of the average Singaporean, of theatre audiences and practitioners because there is no danger, no real change enacted by our works. It is about the commercialization of theatre; hijacked as entertainment rather than being an engine of change. Can we find a real political theatre, where the audience goes in X and comes out Y? This is the difficulty in writing this kind of work in this day and age, hence the long gap between my last play and this one.” says Mr Tan.


Mr Tan’s career of writing plays began in 1989, when he wrote a short play titled ‘In Praise of the Dentist’. He has since written 9 plays over the span of twenty-two years.
He was also the head writer of popular local period drama, ‘Growing Up’, as well as ‘VR Man’, an action hero series. Mr Tan also worked for the Straits Times from 1987-1996 and 1999-2005 as Science and Technology editor, Sunday Review editor, Life! Deputy Editor, senior political correspondent and also a foreign correspondent based in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Mr Tan is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.
On his motivations to writing this particular play, Mr Tan says, “Artists are supposed to hold a mirror to society. What if the society is not looking into the mirror in the way that the artist hopes they would? And what if they only see it as a diversion, an entertainment, a commodity? Then what is the point of the art?” Because there is no conversation! An artist is supposed to have a conversation, not with themselves, but with society. Where is the problem – well, firstly, is there a problem at all?”


“Maybe in our modern day society artists are no longer allowed to have that role. So is there a problem with the art form? Or is the art itself? Its inability to evoke that kind of a response? Is it a problem with the audience or is it a problem with soc? Or is it a problem of modern day existence? In this entertainment drenched society. So I wanted to explore that”, he adds.
Wanting to explore what artists can’t write was another thought which spurred him.
“Even before this election, some people would say actually there are no limits. Whereas my contention is that, there are limits. I don’t mean limits which are in place in sort of liberal or advance societies. Of course you can’t write plays about inciting hatred or inciting violence or things like that. But the limits which are put in place which are special to places like Singapore where limits are somewhat arbitrary. So I mean limits that are here that are not in other well functioning societies elsewhere. So I wanted to attest that there are these limits and I want to attest that there still are these limits despite what happened in the previous general election”, he contends.
So what is ‘Fear of Writing’ all about?


“Well Fear of Writing is about fundamental change, the role of political art, and it is about the fact that we are not able to somehow reflect on things in a way other than a very narrow consumerist, materialistic or pragmatic prism. It is about a lot of things. Ultimately it is a commentary about politics, political art and censorship“, Mr Tan describes.
“I think all my plays are different, they feel different at least to me.” Says Mr Tan when asked how Fear of writing is different from his other plays,
“But I guess this one, is different in the way that it sort of attempts to reflect on theatre as a form and to see whether the old theatre is enough. So it is in that way an experiment. It is in a way unlike all the other plays where they aren’t experiments in form. It is an experiment in the genre of theatre.”
–
Fear of writing is staged by Theatreworks. For more details on the performance click HERE.
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Looking forward1 September 2011
There are still at least one third of Singaporeans who are Zombies in Lala Land. They see bad as good & vice versa, can be easily led by the nose, be used & abused & they will still say nothing is wrong. You have to let go of this grp of people & work on the rest.


Titiana Ann Xavier1 September 2011
Tyrants and dictators fear writers, journalists, playrights and political opponents. Laws and rules have been passed to ban or to place restrictions on the works of such people with threats of imprisonment or fines. In a small country like Singapore, it is easier for the government to practise thought control. The freedom to write is a priviledge not a right. Many a writer here are consciously aware of that.

Yeeloong Ong2 September 2011
Evidently unconfirmed sources says MDA came in and closed down the show today , even confiscating an audience’s phone camera – an ironic and overreacting response to this article ?


Loba2 September 2011
It’s part of the play pls

http://www.facebook.com/theonlinecitizen/posts/10150358252421383


yeoman2 September 2011
if we cannot as to freely write what we think within acceptable social perimaters,how could we then expect our people,especially our young,to be more creative and entrepreneurial compared to even some folks from ‘THIRD’ WOLRD countries?

even the PRC youths have seemingly more freedom of speech and they can orderly demonstrate for better working conditions?

will our FTs then be the ones to stage the FIRST EVER ISLAND -WDIE protest if we do not stop cooking curries?


Professor Emeritus2 September 2011
The evil that prohibits free speech reaches into the very consciousness, terrorizing one’s thinking and destroying our minds. When freedom of speech is curtailed, any others that remain, will soon be lost as well.


Reflections3 September 2011
They are intolerant of criticisms. They are lulled into thinking they have always been doing right and best for the country, basking in the accolades and superlatives, the best airport, the best seaport, the best this and that. Is having kept a political detainee for the longest period of time another feather in the cap? Scary! They think and decide in their own narrow and crude domineering ways that if you pose a threat to what they think, then you are done for. If you are a critical netizen writing anonymously, but am sure they know who you are, unattached to any organisation, chances are these days, they will tolerate your noises. But if you are a bit famous and a known person like Catherine Lim, a mild chirpy and lovable lady, even though her comments were innocuous and well meaning, she got it, they will probably rap you hard on the knuckles. If you are an opposition politician like CSJ, and they hate your guts, they will go for the kill on a demolition exercise based on their operating manual and their tentacled agents from every nook and corner will rise and get to work to systemically finish you off. As it is, over the years, they have succeeded to make CSJ looks like a classic idiotic fool. And many were taken in by their gameplan. That is classy cleverness and an achievement where they are concerned. Who dares to write openly voicing critical views and face the risk of being harassed and ridiculed and bullied. In any case who is going to air your views however sensible or legitimate you think it is. You are lucky if you are not hauled up and locked in. Stories of hours or days in a cold windowless cellar had emerged and that is enough to scare the daylights out of anybody. They are the smart ones. The views of the majority lesser mortals or dafts do not really matter. However of late with the changing times, they do acknowledge your concerns though, even apologise. Semblance of the observance of civility and some formality at long last? Then their smart ones take over and they just do it. There is a big cake out there alright, the bigger better portions are for them. The remaining portions are fed to the rest just enough to ensure they do not go hungry and that should keep them quiet. That is the living reality here.


First world country in bank balances and structures and appearances only, but in reality third world mentality with a gutless, dumbed-down and conditioned populace, lacking the spirit and courage, and afraid to speak up in the open. What creativeness and the arts can we encourage or aspire to or talk about. What can we expect of the effects of decades of a systemic “poison” slowly seeping through a cowed, browbeaten and frightened lot who had given up entertaining any thoughts of engagement in any channel or avenue to express or contribute their innermost thoughts because of fear. As a result many rather chose the “safe” route and remain apolitical. Hence there is not much progress in “politics” in Singapore for quite awhile with the ruling clique continuing to believe that they know best and will therefore think and decide for you and would rather that there be no opposition. Fortunately times have changed and there is hope especially with the internet. Many are at least letting their thoughts and pent-up feelings known one way or other. Perhaps this is where the President can be useful and play his part. The President can correct the weaknesses in the system and heal the wounds and the ills, and bridge the divide around him, and remove the fear factor. Ensure that those in charge do not ride roughshod over the people. Ensure those in charge are fair, reasonable and transparent in their dealings, and constantly remind them to be kind-hearted and to lend a listening ear and to help the people if they want to be the best politicians in the world.


Fugazi3 September 2011
If a politician (of any hue) is ethical, principled, knows sense of fairness n justice, whether anyone writes or not – it would not bother him/her.

Of course, it presupposes that one is genuinely serving the nation.

A lie told many times used to be perceived as truth – that is obsolete lah.

Truth suppressed is not a negation – it will surface – it is only a question of cirumstances/situations cos maintaining a fiction needs lots of effort and it cannot be sustained for long. Truth does not need maintenance.





What has gone wrong with SMRT, LTA, and the entire system
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 25, 201152 Comments
13
~by: Ng E-Jay~
The defects in our train systems are systemic in nature, and it would take a great deal of effort, resources and political will to get them fixed. Our engineering designs, the hardware, and the emergency procedures have all gone haywire.
What has gone wrong? Why is it that the whole apparatus and infrastructure seem to be tumbling down? The answer might lie deep within the corporatist system that has been created by the government, in which SMRT and LTA operate.

To begin with, SMRT does not just operate the train system. Its corporate portfolio includes buses, taxis, retail outlets, advertisement hosting, leasing of media spaces, provision of repair services, and provision of engineering expertise to other transport operators, both local and overseas.


SMRT is a publicly listed company. It was incorporated into the Singapore Stock Exchange in the year 2000, and is majority owned by Temasek Holdings (stake: 54%). SMRT enjoys an annual turnover of nearly S$700 million and has total assets worth more than S$1.4 billion.
SMRT manages the train system and is responsible for the maintenance, operation, repair and security of the train network.
However, SMRT does not build or own the physical infrastructure within which its trains operate. The physical infrastructure is built, owned, and maintained by LTA using taxpayer dollars. SMRT leases the physical apparatus from LTA in order to run the train system. Only the rolling stock and detachable assets belong to SMRT.
However, as has been noted, SMRT does not just operate the train network. SMRT also creates and leases out retail outlets within the MRT premises. The company also engages in marketing and leasing of advertising spaces. Both advertisements and leasing of retail outlets earn a considerable profit for SMRT.

Here’s the kicker: the physical infrastructure is built and maintained by LTA using taxpayer dollars, but the revenue generated from SMRT’s advertisement and leasing operations accrue to its own bottom line.

When SMRT’s profit grows, it pays an increasing dividend to shareholders, the largest of which is Temasek Holdings. Temasek Holdings does not return this growing profit pie to Singaporeans. It hordes the profit away in external reserves or otherwise invests the money at its own discretion, without needing to account to the electorate.


When SMRT meets certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the Board of Directors pay its CEO and other high ranking staff a handsome salary, in the millions. Let me be clear about this: at no time is the profit returned to Singaporean taxpayers, whose dollars were used to construct and maintain the physical infrastructure.


With such a diverse portfolio of business operations, has SMRT become too distracted, such that its President and CEO Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, as well as other managers, have lost sight of the really critical issues, such as public safety, reliability of the train system, and emergency procedures in the event of a breakdown or sabotage?


SMRT has turned the train stations into profit centres that cater not just to commuters, but to a whole host of businesses and commercial enterprises. It is lucrative, no doubt. But given the apparent lack of attention paid to issues like train reliability and robustness, perhaps its time for SMRT to go back to basics and re-focus on its core responsibilities to all Singaporeans commuters — providing a safe, reliable and efficient train network.


Like housing, utilities, and the cost of living, public transport is a politically sensitive facet of the Singaporean way of life. The government has made a very critical mistake, in allowing such a political powder keg to be quasi-privatized in a way that systemic problems are allowed to fester beneath the surface, only to erupt in a spectacular fashion from time to time.
As SMRT is being run as a private enterprise focussed primarily on its own bottom line, there is insufficient incentive given to the company to focus on quality, security, reliability and sustainability. In the end, it is the commuter who suffers.


With the view of maximizing shareholder returns, SMRT has possibly been outsourcing its engineering contracts to the lowest bidder, choosing engineering solutions and maintenance procedures that cost the least. Over time, is it any wonder why the train system has broken down more and more often? Does SMRT have any sense of moral responsibility and awareness of its deep moral obligations to the general public?

It is not only public transport that has been manipulated, quasi-privatized, and turned into a private profit centre at the expense of citizens. Telecommunications, public utilities, public housing, all have met a similar fate to some degree or other. Now, is there any wonder why the whole edifice seems to be crumbling into the ocean right before our very eyes?
–
This article first appeared on sgpolitics.net. We thank Ng E-Jay for allowing us to reproduce it in full here.



Inflation: 5.7% – How much more can Singaporeans take?
Posted by theonlinecitizen on December 25, 201144 Comments
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~by: Leong Sze Hian~
I refer to the article “Singapore’s inflation figures still higher than expected” (ST, Dec 24).Inflation in November has hit a three-year high of 5.7 per cent.
Real earnings down
Against this, real average monthly earnings slipped by 0.2 per cent in September, over the last 12 months.
Transport fares up
Public transport fares have increased by two cents per trip in October. Like in previous fare hikes, needy Singaporeans can apply for transport vouchers to help cover the increase. But like previous transport vouchers, it may only be enough to cover the year’s increase, but not the increases in the past.
Electricity Tariff?
Between July and September, rising oil prices saw electricity tariffs for households surge by 6.6 per cent to hit a 33-month high, and will decrease by an average of only 1.2 per cent between October and December. In this connection, I do not think that the Energy Market Authority’s (EMA) reply (“EMA: We provide information in a meaningful, timely manner”, Today, Dec 9)
to David Boey’s letter of 28 November (“From transparency to opacity”, Today), has adequately addressed his queries – “The non-fuel generating cost is not insignificant in dollar terms and has trended upward since the first quarter of 2008, at an annualised rate of approximately 6 per cent.
More worrying, it increased in all but one of the eight calendar quarters ended Q3 this year, at which point it was 50 per cent higher than in Q3 2009, or an annualised increase of 22 per cent.
The EMA did not say, to my previous letter “What about non-fuel cost?” (July 25), how much of the non-fuel cost goes towards the generating companies’ profits.”
Property tax up
Property tax has increased. The HDB Resale Price Index increased the last quarter at the highest pace for the year – 3.8 per cent, such that arguably rentals my also have gone up.
Taxi fares up
Taxi fares have increased. Singaporeans may be waiting for the Competition Commission of Singapore’s action, as to whether all taxi companies, with the exception of one, increasing their fares in almost identical fashion all at around the same time, constitutes anti-competitive behaviour.
Whilst it may be difficult to control inflation or declining wages, what we do not need are policies that continue to increase the burden of Singaporeans, by raising the cost of basic necessities and charges, like transport, utilities, property tax, etc.
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44 Responses to “Inflation: 5.7% – How much more can Singaporeans take?”

Hsien Dua Tao25 December 2011
Can’t take it anymore! Transport inflation is 12%! What kind of % is that? Housing 8%! Our savings are just eroded by the rampant hyperinflation under our rubbish government!!!!!

But only 40% of Singaporeans are qualified to complain; the remaining 60%, enjoy paying more and more!


OYKOYOK25 December 2011
We, the ordinary citizens of Singapore could not bear with all these increases anymore! Life is getting tougher and tougher and we feel like we have been pushed to the wall and stretched to the limit. Our real wages are eroded by high inflation, causing much unhappiness especially to lower income earners who almost hit the poverty line. If the government insists on taxing us this way, we shall see more resentment that will eventually lead to a grossly loss of confidence on the ruling party.


fpc25 December 2011
you need to focus and structure your essay better.

the lack of focus is making us miss your earlier essays on hdb


p25 December 2011
There will always be rich and poor, as there will be strong and weak, in society. An able and capable leader will provide shelter and guidance to his less capable brood and intervene where necessary.

Making money is not a sin but leeching on the ‘choiceless’ mass is!

Transport, power generation, basic necessities and food are scourge of the lower strata of society, the poor and less able. By extension, the State has a duty to ensure fair and equitable distribution.

(Read J. Bradford DeLong: 70% Solution


Singaporean25 December 2011
My 4-rm HDB flat property tax just increased 20%!!!


Laughing at greedy pappies25 December 2011
http://Www.goldclubasia.com/forum

U will know why


laughing at greedy pappies25 December 2011
inflation is 5.7%, if you add into 12 months, compounded it is more than 20% per year…

wake up sg daft singaporeans… it is a daylight robbery…

overprinting of global currencies are also a cause of it…


VISION25 December 2011
Let’s get together and unity in spirit and goal can make vast impact on any sel-serving govt.We’ve witnessed peoples’ power overwhelming incapable and corrupt govts. everywhere around our globe.Our future and our loved ones are at stake,and if nothing significant occur soon,then we’ll have to resign to fate.So,let’s hope and pray that changes will come soon to our beloved country.


cow13825 December 2011
The inflation due to basic necessities is a direct hit to our cost of living. We have to choice but to bite the bullet. Can the government provide some relief by lowering the cost of rentals. At least for that they is within their control.


Hsien Dua Tao25 December 2011
@cow138: don’t be a fool and assume that “we have no choice but to bite the bullet”. This is passive acceptance of abuse! Who are setting the taxation rates? Who, you tell me? Who allows SMRT to ‘compete’ in a very ‘competitive’ transport sector?

To add insult to yourself, you still want the abuser to give u relief? C’MON.


60.1% Support Our Way.25 December 2011
As ‘Zero’ said in TRE, the 1st step is depopulation.

First, identifying which jobs really need foreigners and sending the rest back.

Second, revoking the privileges of PR and reassessing the new citizens.

The govt and private businesses have grown addicted to property/rental riches and cheap labour respectively. It is time to go ‘ Back To Three Million’ or ‘BTTM’.


busybody25 December 2011
It is standard operation so don’t complain. Elect PAP, all prices will increase after election. So stop complaining.

Singaporean is ball-less so kindly shut up and sit down. When TOC organized a protest for you, only their friends and relatives attended while you rest at home watching TV.

So how to back you up, much as well support PAP and earn more money to pay for the increased bills.


Property Tax actually increased 78%25 December 2011
@ Singaporean

Property Tax increase 78% in year 2012 ! I am paying 27% increase because the”smoking-gun” one-off rebate of $55.

Look carfully on property tax.
IRAS computed annual value of my flat from $8700 ( 1/1/2011-31/12/2011) to $10,800 ( 1/1/2012 – 31/12/2012) , an increase of 24%,

Property tax payable in 2011 is $108
Property tax payable in 2012 is $137.
On the surface , there is an increase of 27% because the IRAS always to give you a one-time “rebate” to cover the ridiculous increase in property tax. The Govt always used this “rebate” to tell Singaporean how “caring” they are by helping us to offset the tax increases. The Govt just think Singaporean can forget all these increases in the next subsequent one or two years to come when there is no official annoucement by simply deducting through GIRO. This the reason why they are always promoting GIRO , even with cash prizes to be won. Moreover, this is not the very first time the govt is giving “rebate” when annoucing any tax increases

IF THERE IS NO MORE REVISION IN ANNUAL VALUE in the next following year ( tax payable of for year 2013 ) will be $192 when the “one-time rebate” removed , the property tax actually increases incredibly at 78%. ( $192 vs $108 )

How IRAS computes the AV is really questionable? Even though home owner wants to appeal , there is “payment instructions #2″ in the Tax notice states that “payment has to be made by the due date even if an objection/appeal/claim has been filed”.

Why home owners MUST pay if we do not agree to AV?. Is there any release of official statistics on the objection/appeal/claim filed by all property owners.


ching25 December 2011
well well..you are all welcome to immigrate instead of just complaining right? instead of talking and doing nothing with your life, why not go get a life in Johor instead and let us all the chinese immigrants who could afford to stay only in singapore!


Laughing at greedy pappies25 December 2011
Ching
9 mins ago
well well..you are all welcome to immigrate instead of just complaining right? instead of talking and doing nothing with your life, why not go get a life in Johor instead and let us all the chinese immigrants who could afford to stay only in singapore!

——

If can surely migrate, but problem is very tough to migrate. Where to run? This is our home. Why should we run?
We are doing our best in work and life but can’t make ends meet. So we will persist and make sure our minor voices when collected makes a major voice.


CommercialGovt25 December 2011
Singapore inflation keeps going up on yearly increase due to the commercial practice by the govt. From the above, we can see they capitalize on the necessity items to make money out of the people. The ppl can no longer substain this kind of commercial govt.


Inflationary Pressures25 December 2011
What is the Govt doing on the inflationary pressures on fellow Singaporean?

Standard offical answer from the minister: ” We will continue to make the Singapore dollars stronger to that our imports are cheaper. Your CPF monies are the bulk of our Reserve , with a stronger dollars , your CPF is also safe”

Singapore siad ,” We cannot see and feel it at all.”


INFLATION UP, Dont WORRY, PAP DOWN in 201625 December 2011
Let PAP increase ALL that THEY can, ALL that they can – thank you PAP.

COME 2016 WE WILL SEE PAP DECREASE !!!

COME 2016 WE SHALL SEE PAP DECREASE !!!

COME 2016, PAP WILL DECREASE . . . ..


Potex25 December 2011
Property tax increase is totally unjustifable. This tax increase is due to the increase in the annual value of the properties. Annual value increase is derived from the increase in the rental value of properties in Singapore. Many of us stayed in self-owned property and therefore do not derive any gain from increase rental of properties. So why increase in the property tax? The increase in property tax should applied to those properties that are rented out and not those that are owner-occupied.


Heng25 December 2011
Even if we change the Government, kick the PAP out of office, we will need to change all the laws, rules etc.

That will take time.It cannot happen overnight.

The MPs are the ones who voted for these laws.

Have we reached tipping point yet?

No.

We should be taxing companies more.
We should be taxing wealthy people more.

Will they run away? maybe

But if we claim to have world class service, then they will not run away right?

So, why are we so afraid that the rich run away?


KOOO25 December 2011
All these are decades of accumulating & snowballs of one party in power.

We the citizen is VVVVVery pressurise, citizen do not seem to be of much privilege, comparatively to non-citizen, or are we?


Hades25 December 2011
Damn, if whining was an Olympic Sport, Singaporeans would win the Gold, Silver and the Bronze.

I have never seen a bunch of people who whine so much and yet continue to not do jackshit about it! Even farmers in China, a country with far more repressive rules have more gumption than you people.


iVOTEahBENG25 December 2011
my average utility bill of $90/month just shootup to a $125 figure…
no aircons was installed and me hdb castle lived with only 2 occupants
which part of the kilowatts raised?
is it the nuclear oars or the prize of charcoals went up?


RG25 December 2011
it is very clear the moment almost all necessities are privatized by the govt from hard selling that all citizens can enjoy the fruits of more competitive pricing from private companies competing for customers. as we have seen thus far, the corporations that won those essential services ended up monopolizing the market as well. so how does competition benefits the consumers, when the corp. actually control the market? on the other hand, the govt hands down on the responsibilities and duties of providing such necessities, while legislating how, what, when, which these corp. have to deliver. In the end, competitive pricing is never realized and rising cost and poorer service becomes a reality.


laughing at greedy pappies26 December 2011
Hades 25 December 2011

Damn, if whining was an Olympic Sport, Singaporeans would win the Gold, Silver and the Bronze.

I have never seen a bunch of people who whine so much and yet continue to not do jackshit about it! Even farmers in China, a country with far more repressive rules have more gumption than you people

—-

if bullying subtlely and SOMETIMES openly AND LYINGLY is Olympic Sport, pappies would win the uranium, platimum, Gold, Silver and the Bronze AND COPPER.
I have never seen a bunch of PAPPIES who BULLIES so much and yet continue to not do jackshit about it! Even OFFICIALS in China, a country with far more repressive rules have more COMPASSIONATE than you peoPLE. AT LEAST THEIR OLD FOLKS RETIRE WITH DIGNITY AND TIME TO DANCE AND DESERVE WHAT THEY WORKED HARD


laughing at greedy pappies26 December 2011
Hades 25 December 2011

Damn, if whining was an Olympic Sport, Singaporeans would win the Gold, Silver and the Bronze.

I have never seen a bunch of people who whine so much and yet continue to not do jackshit about it! Even farmers in China, a country with far more repressive rules have more gumption than you people.

——

U ARE LIVING YOUR OWN CASTLE IN THE AIR, WHEN THINGS REALLY CRASH U WILL BE FIRST ONE TO CRY HARDEST


germ26 December 2011
How much inflation can I take? If my pay is a few million S$ a year, then I can take a lot of inflation


cow13826 December 2011
I just hope that the interest rates remain low. Once the government decides to rein in inflation by jacking up interest rates then I think majority of Singaporeans will be screwed. Better choice to increase the value of the Singapore dollar.


Xmen26 December 2011
It looks like they abandoned their strong S$ policy to counter inflation right after the two elections. (Surprise!) If you look at the S$ vs USD$ chart, the steadily increasing S$ earlier this year reversed course in late August, right after the presidential election. USD was at S$1.2845 on 1/1/2011, reached a low of S$1.2005 on 16/8/2011 and closed at S$1.2935 on 25/12/2011.


eaglefly26 December 2011
ask you dafts to “KICK THEM ALL OUT”
but what happen, dafts are duffy ducks, or was it “sitting duck”

muh hahahaha

locals borders on “STUPID”

SUBSIDIES, WHICH COMES FROM YOUR CPF, TAX, DOUBLE TAZES, FOOD, TRANSPORT,

ALL GIVEN OUT SO THAT DAFTS HAVE NO JOBS, BUT PAY AND PAY, SCREWED AND BE SCREWED, AGAIN AND AGAIN,,,,,

MUH HAHAHAHA ,

LOCALS ARE REALLY DAFTS, AS MM SAID….


Vampire Ree - blood change is good26 December 2011
Dear Mr Leong,

A belated Merry Xmas to you sir.

Regarding how much more can sgreans take?

Based on Statistics of the last 50 years, singaporeans NEVER Rejected any policies.

I think no one can debunk me.


Kee Diong Chiu26 December 2011
I have been ostracised by some of my pap supporter colleagues after they sensed that i am a dissenter.

I do not think its worth to fight for singaproeans because there is still 60% that will deny us.


Jackson26 December 2011
You ask the aunties at marketplaces what is inflation , they also don’t know.


CANNON27 December 2011
our GAHMEN is getting too expensive;let’s get some ‘outside’ talents like jee say or nicole to work for us,sgporeans.

you see,sgporeans are paying the current gahmen so much just so they could work damn hard for some ‘FTs’?

does this make any more sense to you?


Chanel27 December 2011
Well…60% of the population seem to like the inflation rates which are significantly higher than other developed countries.

These 60% have 5 years to regret and repent


Godwin27 December 2011
“… the State has a duty to ensure fair and equitable distribution.”

The mantra of the socialist parasites…

What right does the gahment have to take from those who have earned to give to those who have not (and taking a fat commission while doing so for themselves)?


asus27 December 2011
Dear all,

I don’t have much knowledge about economies and would like to understand this against the international context, especially the measures other governments have taken to offset inflation (versus what ours have done).

I tried to take a look at global figures here (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/inflation-rates-list-by-country) and all I understood is that most of the countries whose inflation is greater than ours, are developed countries.

HK has the same inflation rate as us. In general, our living costs are lower than HK’s. so….what is the significance of all this info??

Thanks alot!


fantastic truth28 December 2011
http://www.chinese-sutra.url.tw/gbwmjssj.htm


liberation merits28 December 2011
http://www.purifymind.com/SB51.htm


Ordinary people30 December 2011
Inflation is bad for people with income. But for people living on their savings it is even worse.


Hei Qing30 December 2011
World inflation is gonna happen as long as there is continued quantitative easing from Europe and US.
I think TOC knows this but they can’t be bothered with a balanced perspective.
Complain about high HDB prices in one article and cooling measures in another.
There are policies that work even though they are no perfect, criticising every policy including the ones that are working is not good for Singaporeans.
If there is anything to complain about, the SMRT fiasco should be sufficient milleage.


Ng Eng Kok30 December 2011
High inflation is worrisome but our high debt to GDP ratio could be even more devastating. We are just behind Italy ( 119% )in the ranking of debt to GDP ratio at 97% of GDP. Malaysia has 54% and HK has 5%.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/government-debt-to-gdp-list-by-country


asus30 December 2011
yikes! Ng Eng Kok – Who are our creditors? Why do we have such debts???



云四风，叹一口气。。。。。

他心想---新加坡人太傻了，钱应该拿，票就不要投给李光耀的政党。

华人就是那么幼稚，天真。

。。。。突然，有人喊了一声：“四风， 四风，你在想什么？”

原来是白素。

他们谈了一会。，

时间不早了。

大家也开始离开了。

再见声，汽车引擎声。。。。。

喧哗的天地，一下子又恢复了寂静。

来宾们都走了。。。。。。剩下的是白素和穆秀珍。。。。。。

（待续）



注一： 参加升学展后死神拦路 国中生车祸4死2伤

二零一一年十二月十八日 下午五时四十八分

（新山18日讯）6名国中同校生远从哥打丁宜到新山参观升学教育展，不料回程途中在却失控撞进路旁深邃斜坡，导致4死2伤。

上述严重车祸是于昨日傍晚5时30分，在新山通往丰盛港方向联邦道路第33.7公里处，即哥打丁宜大德园丘前方路段发生，该区也是车祸黑区。

据消息指出，肇祸的丰田依若发休旅车是先撞上路旁路牌，再冲下路旁逾20尺深的斜坡内。

据悉，强大的冲击力不仅把轿车车顶撞开，部分死伤者更被抛出车外，事后更有人发现轿车后胎爆裂，觉得可能是导致车祸发生主因。

其中一人黄欣韵（17岁）当场丧命，其余三名死者黄晖琳（18岁，黄伟泰的姐姐）、陈惠贤（18岁，陈诗萱的姐姐）、郑佳欣（17岁，学生）则在送院抢救后不治。

轿车司机黄伟泰（17岁）和陈诗萱（17岁）则各别蒙受轻重伤，后者目前已被送往新山中央医院加护病房。

据悉，车祸中的6名死伤者皆来自哥打丁宜城市国中，也是青梅竹马，其中4名17岁的死伤者刚考完大马教育文凭考试。

据了解，死者黄欣韵也是哥打丁宜一所华小董事长黄声正的女儿。

据悉，死伤者与其余同学逾10人是于昨日上午，各别驾驶轿车和乘坐巴士，到位于新山的柔佛国际会展中心参加升学展，不料回程时却遇上这起灾难。

哥打丁宜警区主任马哈占受访时表示，车祸是于上述时间和地点失控，复撞下左边道路斜坡，导致这起4死2伤的悲剧发生。

他也指出，包括司机在内的另2人则身受重伤，各别被送往新山中央医院抢救。

“警方将援引陆路交通法令第41（1）条文调查此案。”

他也劝请，公路使用者不要违反交通法则，目前更是雨季，导致路面湿滑，容易发生意外事故。

他呼吁，若有民众目睹整个事发经过，请联系哥打丁宜警局 07-8831222。

6死伤者很上进

记者于午间前往新山中央医院探访伤者陈诗萱时，只见后者的阿姨温蒂已在加护病房前守候。

温蒂受访时透露，陈诗萱是于一周前刚考完大马教育文凭考试，在家中排行第二，车祸中的死者陈惠贤也是她的姐姐。

她指出，车祸中的6名死伤者都是很有上进心的孩子，一听闻柔佛国际会展中心有举办升学展便兴致勃勃，结伴前来收集升学资讯，不料却遇上这么不幸的事。

“我也不知道事发经过，只知道目前诗萱的肺部积血，身上多处也骨折，但情况还算稳定，而男司机则身受轻伤，已在早上出院。”

但据她了解，这名17岁的男司机听说刚考到驾驶执照不过一两个月的时间。

“目前我也还不知道完整的事发经过，不过目前诗萱的父母非常伤心和紧张，所以由我先来代替处理这些事。”

当询及家属是否会责怪肇祸男司机，她则说“车祸不发生也已发生，更不知道诗萱父母会有何反应。

一人逃过劫数

一名不愿具名的同学也指出，当时他与死伤者一行7人共车，从哥打丁宜出发前往柔佛国际会展中心参与升学展，但在回程时“逃过一劫”。

“因为我要去新山的哥哥家，所以我就先行在地不佬佳世客广场前下车，不料他们才过没多久就发生车祸了。”

前往殡仪馆为3死者上香 伟泰负伤跪地请罪

轿车司机黄伟泰今早出院后，是于今午2时在家人搀扶下，负伤前往哥打丁宜中华殡仪馆向三名死者及自己的家人跪地请罪。

同时，黄伟泰也跪地向其胞姐黄欣韵上香，痛哭着要求她的原谅。

他也向自己的家人及另三名死者的家属寻求原谅，更有家属不禁与他一同放声大哭，相互安慰，但也有家属激动得对其大骂。

黄伟泰在两名家属搀扶下步入殡仪馆后，便崩溃大哭，先走向姐姐黄晖琳的灵柩前自责，一直说着“对不起”。

接着便到另三名友人，即陈惠贤、郑佳欣及黄欣韵的灵柩前跪地上香，更不时激动地捶打自己的身体，表示愧疚。

当他走到郑佳欣灵柩前上香时，更被对方家属大声指责并要他反省，让哭成泪人的他无地自容。

家属们也把生前非常要好的两名死者，黄晖琳与陈惠贤灵柩摆在同一处，希望她们在黄泉路上能够继续相伴。

黄伟泰过后被家属扶到椅子上休息，并由家人在旁安慰。

同学吊唁个个哀伤

此外，据记者观察，其肩膀处也可清楚看到安全带勒伤的痕迹，可见是撞击力非常强大所致。

四名死者的同学和家属也于一早便到殡仪馆吊唁，个个表情哀伤，场面气氛非常悲伤。

四名死者将于明早11时出殡。

捐眼角膜及骨髓 黄晖琳遗爱人间

四名死者的遗体是于今午12时50分被领出，而司机黄伟泰的胞姐黄晖琳则是最后一个被领出，原因是家属将她完好的眼角膜和骨髓捐献出来，让其遗爱人间。

晖琳的父母在领取遗体时也不禁红了眼眶，负责处理器官捐献的官员在临走前，向在场的所有家属致谢。

晖琳的父亲说，晖琳在家中排行第二，受伤的伟泰则是第三。

伟泰轻微脑震荡

“伟泰在事发后便一直自责，意外后他有轻微脑震荡现象，但今早已经出院。”

他也指出，两人也是临时才决定要到柔佛国际会展中心参加升学展，来索取资料。

他红着眼眶说，“身为他们两人的父母，我也要对其他死者的父母致以万二分歉意。”

此外，晖琳去年毕业后，本身曾在幼儿园当老师。

拟存钱赴韩游学 郑佳欣志在会计业

死者郑佳欣的家属则透露，佳欣本有意往会计业发展，所以才去升学展以了解更多资讯。

“她本来也计划存钱到韩国游学，现在什么都没了。”

父叹造化弄人 陈惠贤原本搭巴士

死者陈惠贤的父亲则指出，惠贤与晖琳两人生前是好朋友，两人是在去年毕业。

“惠贤原本是搭巴士去参加升学展，但回来却坐上出事的轿车。”语毕后的他显得倍感无奈，叹息造化弄人。

想去台湾留学 黄欣韵与父感情好

死者黄欣韵的父亲，也是新哥打华小董事长的黄声正则表示，女儿在7兄弟姐妹中排行第五。

“她生前和我的感情非常要好，她本来想到台湾留学，但我舍不得，便曾建议她到邻近的南方学院就读。”

据了解，死伤者们都是童年玩伴，小学开始便是新哥打华小的同学，之后更一同再进入哥打丁宜城市国中就读，没想到却在准备索取升学资讯后，一同遇上这场意外。




(待续)