Daily Discourse – SMRT… again.

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My friend SanNiang sent me an sms message telling me the ridiculous justification SMRT gave to remove seats on the trains. So, I checked with Aaron who mentioned once to me whether I had read the article. He was kind enough to send me the forum letter (see below).

MRT seats removed after public feedback

WE THANK readers for their feedback on Wednesday on modifications to SMRT trains to allow more standing room by having some seats removed.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT jointly developed the initiative to remove some seats on some trains based on feedback from commuters about increased crowding during peak periods. We agree wholeheartedly with suggestions to explore adding more carriages or increase train frequencies. We wish to assure readers that this has been fully exploited. Currently, the number of cars per train is already at the maximum of six. Since February, SMRT has added nearly 900 additional train trips a week.

To put the initiative in context, of the more than 100 trains in service on the North-South and East-West lines, only 10 trains will have 84 out of their 300 seats each or about 30 per cent removed. These modified trains are deployed mostly during peak periods. The objective is to create more standing room in train cabins, so doorways will be less congested, and commuters will find it easier to board and alight.

LTA and SMRT have monitored the situation and gathered feedback. In a survey of over 700 commuters conducted after deployment of the modified trains on Oct 31, nine in 10 commuters on platforms and seven in 10 in trains preferred being able to board a train quickly to having a seat. Most commuters also felt it was important to have more standing space in the cabins. And six in 10 felt that LTA and SMRT have modified the correct proportion of trains.

We fully understand that the removal of seats may be an issue for commuters with special needs, such as the elderly, parents with young children, pregnant mothers and the mobility-impaired. Hence, LTA and SMRT have ensured that all train cabins will continue to have seats; even modified train cabins will still have 36 seats each. As far as possible, these modified trains will not run consecutively at any station platform, so commuters with special needs who prefer the unmodified trains can still have adequate access to seats.

Aside from seats, other initiatives to better manage crowding have been put in place. SMRT has deployed service ambassadors to encourage commuters to move to the ends of the platform and the centre of trains, an initiative which seven in 10 commuters found effective.

Geoffrey Lim
Deputy Director Media Relations
Land Transport Authority

Bernadette Low (Ms)
Manager, Corporate Marketing and Communications, SMRT Corporation

I get a little annoyed with SMRT’s and LTA’s incessant justification that everything is done on feedback. First of all, for odd reasons I have had no indication of a survey being conducted. I suspect the results would be very much different if they conduct the survey at Pasir Ris, Boon Lay or Woodlands, only on the eastbound, westbound and northbound train respectively, especially after work during peak hours. And is 700 participants good enough for this survey?

Next, is it really true that the participants of the survey really reflect the sentiments of most commuters? Everyday I see people rush in without waiting for people to alight and most of the time these kiasus aim straight for the few available seats in sight. And if commuters really just want to board the train quickly as the survey claims, how is it that I regularly meet commuters who after boarding, stops to decide whether to go left and right regardless of the horde of commuters still waiting to board from behind? Face it, SMRT, if that was truly what is wanted by the commuters, why is there an uproar now that requires this explanation?

Furthermore, wanting more standing space in the cabin would indicate that the trains are too packed and an appeal by commuters for more trains during peak hour – not create more space to pack in even more commuters! The fact is, trains in Hong Kong runs at intervals of 2 – 2.5 mins during peak hours. Over here, we get trains between 3 – 4 mins.

Now, comparing our population density with that of Hong Kong, that 0.5 – 1.5 mins shouldn’t mean much. But when we look at our town design, we will realise that commuters travel almost the entirety of the MRT line (in any direction) before they alight. That simply means there’s always a net gain in commuters at most of the stations – except certain key ones like the interchange stations, the ones along Orchard Road and Bugis for e.g. – contributing to the trains being even more packed as it goes along. That’s very different from the subways of Hong Kong or Shanghai, as I noticed a large turn over of passengers every few stations.

The fact is, without an efficient alternative system to complement the MRT, the problem cannot be solved. I once tried looking for an bus equivalent to the MRT to travel from Raffles Place to Boon Lay and I found none that could match it in terms of travelling time.

In short, SMRT can remove all the seats on all of their trains and commuters will still be complaining about them being packed. And it might not be a bad idea after all… because commuters may now actually queue up nicely, wait for everyone to alight without rushing in. After all, there’s nothing for them to rush for anymore!

Just too bad for the old folks, the sick folks and the pregnant ladies!

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In Memory of Ms. Lo Hwei Yen

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7 years ago, on September 11 2001, I watched in disbelief as the WTC Center in New York collapsed before my eyes. I could only think of my friend Brian who is working in New York at that time. I didn’t have his number so all I could do was hoping that he would get online, or that he would respond to his email soon.

When Brian finally replied, I was relieved because he is safe, and his brother had a narrow escape. Yet at the same time I was sad, and in rage. The reason being someone I knew had come so close of being taken away, and several thousand lives were snuffed out all of a sudden. Yet, I never thought I would experience the same feeling again.

When the news of the Mumbai attack was on TV, I didn’t really felt much – since there had been more attacks since 9-11 – for e.g. London and Madrid. But as I watched on TV the news of the death the Ms. Lo Hwei Yen, a fellow Singaporean whom I do not know and have never met, everything I had felt back in September 11 2001 came back full force. While I normally wouldn’t have paid more attention to the passing of another Singaporean other than that of a friend or relative, I was both sad and angry listening to the news. For the first time, a Singaporean has lost her life because of an act of terror.

I mourn the wasteful loss of such a young life. Now Singapore truly stands together with those countries which have lost innocent lives to the savages. Evil perpetrated in the name of religion brings a bad name to any faith. The savages may think they are acting in the name of God and doing something for their religion, but they are doing nothing more but the work of the devil! There will be no virgins for these barbarians in heaven, only the eternal fires of a unforgiving hell.

My condolences to her husband and immediate family.


To also express your condolences, check out this facebook group.

Daily Discourse – Joo Chiat

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Looking at some old news, I recalled I wanted to write something about this for more than a month.

Oct 22, 2008
…

The guest of honour at Monday’s ceremony was MP for Joo Chiat Chan Soo Sen, who delivered a speech in Mandarin and English.

Contacted afterwards, he said he had been invited by a grassroots leader and accepted as he wanted to encourage the habit of life-long learning.

Told that WCU* was unaccredited, he said he had not been given any information about it. ‘If my presence there had given the university credibility, that was not my intention,’ he said.

* WCU: The unaccredited Panama based university West Coast University – a dubious outfit that sells degrees with little or no corresponding obligation on its students to clock class time.

Chan Soo Sen… This would have been one guy I would have swept into the rubbish bin of history. I remembered just how he failed to put an end to the Everitt Road neighbourhood dispute, which was full blown in 2002, and how Joo Chiat turned into Little Saigon – full of Vietnamese call girls. That’s not mentioning the bloom of sleazy 28-dollar massage parlours that sprouted along Joo Chiat Road for a brief period before the 2006 General Elections. All of these happened during his tenure as MP of Joo Chiat and it would appear to me he either never walk the ground, or he placed no effort whatsoever in solving the problems of his ward.

Nevertheless, I would not have paid more attention to him since he will be the problem of the people of Joo Chiat, who re-elected him as their MP with 65.01% of the votes. It was however no surprise that his votes were lower than the national average of 66.6% and also that of the 2001 elections (83.5%).

If I were him, I would have wonder whether that 18.49% which now voted for the opponent were not merely just votes showing their displeasure with my dismal performance. However, I recalled when Chan was asked about his shrinking majority, he showed no sign of reflecting upon his performance. In fact, if I recalled correctly, he said something about the people turning to the TaliPAP when the going gets tough, and how they felt more comfortable to give the opposition some opportunities when times are better. There was no self reflection on what had gone wrong and no talk about how he could serve his constituents better. If one often read between the lines, it would even seem like the voters are simply… being ungrateful!

I began to have a very bad impression him, and yet when I thought this is the last I will hear of him, I read about eastcoastlife‘s case (which was first mentioned on this blog here) almost a year later.

Eastcoastlife’s encounter adds yet another record to my bad impression of Chan. And just as I thought 2008 could be just another year without another fxxk-up for my record book, Chan managed to meet my expectations again with this WCU fiasco.

Does he actually believe his presence does not lending some credibility to the shady university? Even if that is true, is he not even concerned that by being at this event, there will be some damage done to his own reputation? After all, when someone put his own squeaky clean compatriots together with anything that might even hint of any improper behaviour, that poor bastard is sued in a court of law til bankruptcy even if he hadn’t meant anything insidious! Simply put, is Chan not aware that ‘I don’t know’ is just not good enough to explain this fiasco?

Anyway, it’s time for some accounting, Mr Chan. It’s has been more than two years since the last election. That means more than two years since he promised to clean up Joo Chiat. Since I did not read anymore about the prostitution problem in Joo Chiat anymore, I had thought Chan has eliminated the problem completely and restore some wholesomeness to Joo Chiat over the past 2 years. On top of that, I recalled some measures put into place to stop new pubs from obtaining licenses and lease in that area.

Sadly, I was terribly wrong because only last week (Nov 17) I read about the new measure that will only take effect on Jan 1, 2009. The measure bans all hotels in the Joo Chiat area from offering hourly rates. In simpler terms, it will now be more costly for anyone to take a prostitute to any of these hotels for a quick bang. A few friends who frequent the place tells me that while it appeared to them no new pubs have sprung up in the area, there are a few still operating there probably because their lease are still running. If I am not wrong, either Eastcoastlife or an old friend mentioned to me that the Hotel 81s and Fragrance hotels sprouting up in the area have done wonders to wreck the property prices as no one would like to own a property in an area known as a de-facto red light district.

I won’t ask why it took Chan so long to get this implemented. But the real question here is, how are they going to enforce this? Are they going to spot check the hotels frequently to ensure that none of them are offering rooms at hourly rate? If so, what impact will it have on the hotels and their true guests? And what measures will be taken against violators?

But again, the wise crack who came up with this idea may have thought it unnecessary to conduct any checks at all. All they need is to spot check the pubs to catch desperate customers getting their rocks off within the pub premises, and then they can legally force the pubs to close for license violations.

For Chan’s sake, I hope it won’t take too long for this to happen. Otherwise we would be reading about hotel owners in Joo Chiat complaining about the checks causing an impact on their business, or residents themselves writing in to the Straits Stooge Times Forum about the lack of action in removing the cancer / eyesore in their neighbourhood.

And if that happens, it’s definitely time for them to vote Chan Soo Sen out once and for all, provided that Joo Chiat SMC doesn’t suddenly disappear into Hong Kah GRC just like how Braddell Heights disappeared into Marine Parade GRC.

For those who are scratching their heads… I do know Hong Kah GRC is nowhere near Joo Chiat. Just don’t worry because the brainiacs at the Electoral Department or something will find a way to make it fit in there.


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Daily Discourse – Pay Cut

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Well, I got this on the news on the evening of 24th Nov.

Up to 19% pay cut for top civil servants; lower year-end bonus
Channel NewsAsia – Tuesday, November 25

SINGAPORE: Ministers and top civil servants will get a pay cut of up to 19 percent next year. The Civil Service is also reducing the year-end bonus payment for this year.

Top civil servants and ministers were supposed to get a pay rise in January next year to bring their salaries in line with private sector pay.

It was to be the third adjustment to bring public sector pay to 88 percent of the private sector benchmark, a move announced in April 2007.

The benchmark is set at two-thirds of the median pay of the top eight earners in each of the six sectors: multinational corporations, lawyers, bankers, accountants, local manufacturers and engineers.

In April 2007 and January this year, the salaries of top civil servants and ministers were revised to keep pace with soaring private sector salaries. But the Public Service Division said the 2009 salary revision for this group has now been deferred, in view of the clouded economic outlook.

In fact, the annual salary for top civil servants and ministers will fall next year to levels below April 2007, because close to 25 percent of their annual salary comprises variable payments linked to the GDP growth of Singapore and their salary will fall as long as the economy remains weak.

In 2009, the Prime Minister and President will see their annual salaries cut by 19 percent. Ministers and Senior Permanent Secretaries will see an 18 percent fall. The allowance for Members of Parliament will be cut by 16 percent.

Commenting on the pay cut, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister in charge of the Civil Service, said: “Public sector salaries follow the market up and down. The mechanism we introduced last year to link a significant proportion of the salary of senior civil servants to the performance of the economy is working as intended. This mechanism allows salaries to respond more rapidly to market conditions.”

The Public Service Division also said the Prime Minister has and will continue to donate all increases in his own salary after the April 2007 revisions, to good causes for five years.

Next year, the Prime Minister will actually see his salary fall to pre-revision levels.

As for civil servants such as teachers and police officers, they are getting a total of two months’ bonus payment this year, plus S$100 to S$300 paid out in July. This comprises the 13th month payment or Annual Wage Supplement and a one-month Annual Variable Component or AVC. The year-end AVC has been reduced to 0.5 month.

Last year, the total bonus payment was three months plus S$220, including a half-month Growth Bonus which was paid for the exceptional economic performance in 2007.

Public Service Division news release on civil servants’ annual pay

When my friend SanNiang told me of this news, he made a comment along the line of: some times, you got to be careful what you wished for.

How true! I supposed many people would have wished that the mini$ter$ cut their pay. But I doubt anyone of us wished for a recession and one of the worst economic crisis in our life time. And so we got what we wished for, but at what cost? And personally, I am not really interested in the degree of the cut, nor am I interested in debating if it is too much or too little. After all, they are probably still the most highly paid politicians in the world…

But on a broader basis, I think a lot of us – other than the most selfish Darwinist bastard – would rather our employers cut our pay than cut our jobs. Simply put, if there are 4 people in the company, and 1 headcount needs to be axed, I would rather the employer reduce 25% of my pay and keep all 4 headcounts. That way, at least the four of us would still have a salary to pay our bills and not need to feed on our own savings. Neither do we become an unemployment figure and a problem for the nation.

Retrenchment itself creates a social problem. Just the threat of retrenchment – and in effect unemployment – lowers consumer confidence and causes a reduction in spending. As for the people who are retrenched, they would now have to rely on their savings and there’s almost negligible spending whatsoever. Even if one gets a ‘golden handshake’ to go along with the retrenchment, they would be hoarding that money for no one knows for sure just how long before they become employed again. All of these goes on to make the existing ‘economic malaise’ worse. And when everyone stops spending, a recession becomes nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That being said, I doubt anyone would feel any remorse if the Darwinist bastards themselves are the ones that got axed. They can live by the principles they believed in, and die by them for all I cared. I considered that poetic – if not divine – justice.

Finally, I had an exchange of emails over Facebook with a friend last night. Apparently he is now working longer hours as the company has retrenched a guy and they have to cover his duties as well. They managed to identify a foreign fallen talent who isn’t suitable for his current post, and actually managed to prove his incompetence. Now, for our own survival I would suggest we identify and expose some of these ‘economic refugees’ as well.

They should be their own country’s unemployment problem. Not ours.

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Places of Interest – Marina Barrage

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The Marina Barrage, is one of the latest addition to Singapore’s places of interest. I will not spend more time on explaining what it is, as you can read all about it here. (Hopefully no one will put up any obsequious comments ad nauseum on how this was the Minister Monkey Mentor’s brainchild in that page.)

To go there, take the MRT to the Marina Bay Station along the North-South Line. There is currently a shuttle bus service running back and forth from the Marina Bay MRT Station to the Marina Barrage pump station every 30mins everyday (I think from 8am ~ 8pm). Just follow the signs from the MRT station to the ‘bus stop’, which has no shelter so you might want to bring umbrella to shelther you from the hot sun or the rain. The bus trip takes about 10 minutes.

The Marina Barrage Pump Station is a 3-storey facility, and it gives you a good view of the Straits of Singapore and the skyline of Singapore from a distance. I personally think it would make some great photos after sunset when the lights come on (especially after the Marina Sands Integrated Resort is completed) but I didn’t want to stay late.

It was rather unfortunate when I was there with xinyun mei and her friend, there was a ‘Cat 1’ weather alert (i.e. heavy overcast with lightning strike) and we were forbidden us from going onto the Barrage itself, and also kept off the rooftop of the pump station itself for some time. (That is why you see us eating the waffle at the cafe there. And yes, for the information of all Internet addicts like me, there is Wireless @SG access also. The irritating part is that my mobile phone keeps switching to some blasted Indonesian network!)

Inside the facility is a small ‘museum’ talking about the history of Singapore’s water catchments, the PUB, the Singapore River and Singapore’s aim to be self sustaining in water and a green country. If you take time to go through the displays, it might take probably half an hour or so to clear. A good place to kill some time when you are trapped because of bad weather when you arrive.

Ok, enough of my boring narrative… here’s the slideshow of some photos I took there.

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If you didn’t get the joke, look at the axe and think about Citibank’s 52000…

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