Monday, April 23, 2012

Making mountain out of mole hill

PM on Facebook: 29,200 'likes'... and counting
Apr 22, 2012

A day after its launch that saw thousands of netizens clicking on the thumbs-up icon in support, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook page continued to draw 'likes' on Saturday.

By midnight, the number of 'likes' had crossed 29,200, doubling what he had on Day 1.

His Twitter account, set up at the same time, had more than 7,100 followers.

PM Lee also showed a determination to stay active online: Late last night, he posted messages on Facebook and Twitter, describing what he had done in the evening. 'Just returned from AMK (Ang Mo Kio). Was at a Welcome Party at Teck Ghee Vista, and an MUP (Main Upgrading Programme) Completion at Teck Ghee Grandeur,' he wrote on Facebook. He then went on to talk a bit more about what happened.



I can't believe the main stream media persistence on this piece of news.

I been seeing this old news for at least 2 days, updating the readers how many followers and likers Hsien Loong has.

I wonder how many the 3 legs from the grass roots?

Ok ok we all know Hsien Loong has his own Facebook page and Twitter account and many many people “Like” him.

My point is “SO WHAT”?

So what if you have 1 millions Likes on you Facebook and 2 millions followers in Twitter?

Just do your job properly and engage the citizens, listen and try to do some good for the nation. Then people will definitely LIKE you for who you are and not some virtual Likes in a virtual space.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Paying millions for idiots.

Breakdown unavoidable on heavily utilised train system
Ministry of Transport will try to minimise disruptions as much as possible. -myp
Tue, Apr 10, 2012

Disruptions on a heavily utilised rail system such as Singapore's are unavoidable, but breakdowns longer than 30 minutes are considered major disruptions, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in Parliament yesterday.

He said the Ministry of Transport "will try and minimise as much as possible the major disruptions and to keep them in check".

But with an average of 2.7 million passenger trips daily and thousands of train trips in more than 18 hours a day, "there is no way you can prevent disruptions from occurring".

He was responding to Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC Lee Bee Wah's queries on whether more can be done to address the spate of breakdowns.

"If they do take place, you then have an incident-management plan in place that will try to ameliorate the effects on commuters," he added.

Mr Lui also gave details of the resources spent by transport operator SBS Transit on preventive maintenance of the rail track and tunnel of the North-East Line (NEL).

He said it spent about $16 million from 2007 to last year in this area, adding that it was "a fraction of the total maintenance cost that they spent" on the line.

The operator, which has an in-house team of about 470 maintenance staff, also conducts regular inspections in accordance with approved maintenance plans, he said.

This includes a monthly deployment of an engineering vehicle to detect track faults, six-monthly tunnel inspections to check for cracks and leaks, as well as nightly checks to look for signs of defects or wear and tear.

On March 15, some 90,000 commuters were affected by a disruption on the NEL, which lasted some 10 hours. It was the biggest train disruption here since two major incidents on SMRT's North-South Line on Dec 15 and 17 last year.

Mr Lui said he has asked the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to work with the operators to put in place a "condition- monitoring regime" to give a better idea of how to prioritise some of the maintenance efforts needed.

Mr Lui also addressed the issue of employing foreign bus drivers. He was referring to a recent accident in Sengkang, where an SBS Transit bus driven by a foreign driver killed a 66-year-old woman.

While everyone is "saddened" by the incident, Mr Lui stressed that regardless of nationality, it is crucial that every driver is adequately trained and appropriately qualified.

"Especially if they come from abroad, then (they should be) given the kind of orientation that will help them familiarise themselves with the peculiarities of the system here in Singapore," he said.

In the public-bus sector, about 61 per cent of drivers are Singaporeans and permanent residents, about 26 per cent are Malaysians and about 12 to 13 per cent are from China.

Mr Lui added that the training of foreign drivers should include infusing them with the responsibility that they carry and to make sure that they operate their vehicles in a safe manner.

While the two public-bus operators will need to hire about 1,600 more drivers for the additional 800 buses in five years, Mr Lui said the Government will not micro-manage their wages and employment terms.

The LTA is also exploring the use of buses from private bus companies to supplement the public-bus fleet, he noted.

But there are constraints as private operators are trying to maximise the utilisation of their fleet, and are also needed to ferry workers and students during the peak hours, he said.

He added that the current system of rotating an average of two drivers to operate every bus through the course of a day was adequate.

Mr Lui said: "There's the morning peak as well as the evening peak and, in between, some of the drivers will then get to rest in the interchanges."




Now you have a million dollar Minister telling you that it is acceptable for train to break down. This is like throwing in the towel before the match even start.

Terrible mentality I wonder what kind of “quality” people Hsien Loong select to be Minister.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, it is UNACCEPTABLE for any break down.

Say you pay for a cheap “Guess” watch, I believe it is acceptable if it breaks down 10 years later. But if you spent a premium on a Rolex, I will expect it to be working 50years later with proper maintenance.

We now have the most expensive cabinet in the world telling us that too bad you have accept these failures.

Crab.

Then change a cheaper person to run the show or cut the cost of transport then maybe we can accept some sort of disruption.

Running an efficient transport is possible it is just a matter of will and the resource you are willing to pour in.

If we have money minded Minister and Transport operator, do you think their priority is the commuters or bottom line?

The answer is obvious.

Monday, April 09, 2012

W are foreigner in our own country.

We deserve red card for expat package, says StarHub
Euro 2012 goodies now for first 2,000 who sign up for promotion, not just European fans here
ST Online 09 Apr


StarHub on Sunday apologised for running an expatriates-only football promotion that offered gifts worth $50.

In an attempt to placate angry Singaporean fans, the firm announced that the first 2,000 people of any nationality who sign up for the Uefa Euro 2012 television package will now receive the goodies. They include a travel bag, a mug, a portable fan and a six-can cooler bag.


The promotion, which started at the beginning of this month, was initially targeted at fans from England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. It was marketed directly to them through their clubs and association publications.

On Sunday, StarHub told The Straits Times it apologised for any ill feelings that might have been caused.


In the first place who ever in Starhub that think of this idea should be sacked.

Now can you blame the expatriate in Singapore behave like a ya-ya-papaya when Singapore companies are blatantly sucking up to them.

Note they can even jump bailed and ran away after beating up some poor Singaporean.

I think Singapore is the only county in the world who treats foreigner better then its Citizen. They got free scholarship, tax benefit and even good cable packages.

Sad.