Dog problems in Singapore and our well paid Civil Servant

Dec 19, 2007

AVA checks estates and acts on tip-offs on dogs

I REFER to the letter, 'Check estates, parks to spot unleashed dogs' (ST, Dec 10), by Ms Goh Ee Ca.

Upon receipt of feedback from the public on dogs straying or dogs not being muzzled, officers of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will request details such as the usual time and location where the dogs are observed to stray, as well as the address of the dog owner, if available.

Such information is useful in helping our officers conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action. Even if a caller is unable to tell us the address of the dog owner, our officers will still visit the site to investigate and take enforcement action where needed.

In addition, AVA also conducts routine inspection visits to housing estates and other public places.

Last year, 135 dogs were found straying and appropriate enforcement action was taken against the owners.

We would like to remind owners that all dogs must be leashed in public places. In addition to being leashed, the following breeds of dogs and their crosses must also be muzzled in public places: Pit Bull (including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and American Bulldog), Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Boerboel, Bull Terrier, Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler, German Shepherd (including the Belgian Shepherd Dog and East European Shepherd Dog) and Mastiff (including the Bull Mastiff, Perro De Presa Canario, Cane Corso and Dogue De Bordeaux).

Any person who contravenes the leashing and muzzling rule shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 for each of the offences.

Goh Shih Yong

Assistant Director Corporate Communications for Chief Executive Officer Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority

Recently there are many argument on our Main Stream Newspapers regarding dogs being free to run about in pubic places.

In Singapore, dogs are to be leased when in public places. However these law is not really enforced fully.

Recently there had been a attacked on a young girl by a dog.

This sparks off debates between dog lovers and the general publics.

AVA does not seem to do anything about the situation. They just tell us, the law is there so blame it on your people if you got killed by a dog since you did not report him in the first place.

Check out the standard of the letter to the forum by a senior civil servant from AVA.

Firstly I think the letter does not serve any purpose except telling what the public already knows.

In the 1st paragraph Goh Shih Yong just states what AVA will do when they receive a call from the publics on dogs. Note if you see a dogs not being muzzled or leased in the park. Not only you have to note the time and places at that moment, you also have to ASKED THE OWNER HIS ADDRESS. How clever is that?!

So if not address given by you. Then you can’t blame AVA for not following up when you kid is being mauled by a dog.

The letter then went on to tell people what AVA is doing and also petted themselves on the back by telling people they found 135 straying dogs.

Then the letter ends with a long list of dogs which must be muzzled in public places.

Consider this scenario:

You: Excuse me sir, I notice your dog is not muzzled. May I know what species it belong to?

Dog Owner: I not going to tell you.

You: After check the “breed of dog” book which I happen to be carrying with me now. I think you dog is a Perro De Presa Canario. And under the law and AVA guide line, you dog must be muzzled in public.

Dog Owner: I don’t want leh. What can you do?

You: In that case, I have to call AVA and report you. May I have your address please.

Dog Owner: Max KILLED!!!

Life is good?

Looks at how worst off we are in 2007.

More good years? It all depends which ends of the bell curve you fall in.

SMRT To Raise Taxi Fares From Dec 21
by Channel NewsAsia 14 Dec

Top Public Sector Officers To Get 4% To 21% Pay Rise In January
by Channel NewsAsia 13 Dec

ComfortDelGro Overhauls Taxi Fare Structure
by Channel NewsAsia 10 Dec

Singapore Economy To Slow Next Year
by Associated Press 08Dec

Price Of Chickens Goes Up By 50 Per Cent In Singapore
by Bernama 03 Oct

Electricity Tariffs To Go Up Because Of Higher Oil Prices
by Channel NewsAsia 25 Sep

Singapore's Inflation Highest In More Than 12 Years
by Bloomberg 24 Sep

Bus Fares To Go Up By 1 To 2 Cents From Oct 1
by Straits Times 11 Sep

Singapore Home Prices Rise To Decade-High In Q3
by Reuters 01 Oct

Inflation Hits 12-Year High In July
by Associated Press 23 Aug

Suicide Rate Climbs Despite Good Times
by The Star 18 Aug

Electricity Tariffs To Be Raised By Almost 9% From July
by Channel NewsAsia 15 Jun

GST Hike 'Unlikely To Raise Hawker, Cooked Food Prices'
by Straits Times 08 Jun

CPF Minimum Sum Up To $99,600 From July
by Straits Times 07 Jun

Singapore Auditors Find Irregularities In Ministries
by Reuters 25 May

The Ministeral Salaries Are Going Up... And Away
by Whispers From The Heart 14 Apr

Are Top Global Companies Really Dying To Hire Our Ministers?
by Mr Wang Says So 14 Apr

Singapore PM In Damage Control On Salary: Analyst
By AFP 12 Apr

Top Civil Servants Will Get A Pay Increase Of Between 14% And 33%
by Channel NewsAsia 09 Apr

Singapore Ministers Set For Million-Dollar Pay Hike
by Reuters 05 Apr

SPF at it again

SDP pair again contest charges Accuse police of 'selective enforcement'
Today Online
Wednesday • November 28, 2007

ANSWERING charges of speaking in public without a permit for the third time, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan and party supporter Yap Keng Ho yesterday accused the police of "selective enforcement".

The duo, who represented themselves in court, claimed that they and about nine other SDP members, did not flout the rules by promoting their party newspaper in front of Causeway Point on April 8 last year.

Comparing themselves to hawkers who peddle their wares in public without permits but are not prosecuted, they questioned if the action against them was "politically motivated".

Cross-examining the first witness, Mr Loh Zhen Hong, a former police officer who had reported the incident, Yap tried to show there was "unfairness in enforcing the law between the ruling party and the opposition".

He used examples of banks holding roadshows to promote their credit cards and people who sell their products with loudhailers to argue that the party's activities on that day were "nothing out of the ordinary".

Yap also grilled Mr Loh, who was off-duty when he spotted the SDP's activities, on whether he would have gone to the police if he had seen members of the People's Action Party or Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew making speeches.

Mr Loh said that he would have done the same thing in those instances.

District Judge Jasvender Kaur cut off Yap several times to remind him that his cross-examination should focus on proving that Mr Loh "had ill motivations to report to the police".

After the court was shown the video clip of the SDP's activities that day, Yap contended that the police, by filming the proceedings, had already assumed the party had committed an offence.

The court also allowed the footage to be released to the duo to help them prepare their defence. The hearing continues today and is scheduled to last till next Monday. If convicted, the pair face a maximum fine of $10,000 each.


More from Singabloodypore on Coporal Loh's performance in court:

http://singabloodypore.rsfblog.org/archive/2007/11/27/witness-might-not-have-called-police-if-sdp-event-had-a-roof.html

Asked if he had come across other people promoting and selling products (such as credit cards) along Singapore streets (such as Orchard Road), the witness replied in the affirmative.

Question: Did you think they had a permit?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Why?Answer: Because they have a booth. SDP's did not have a booth, no roof.

Question: So if there's a roof, you think that it's legal?

Answer: Yes.

Mr Loh added that he might not have called his police colleagues if the SDP had a roof at their event.

Dr Chee, who is also acting-in-person, then asked the witness that if he saw other people talking and selling products without a roof, would he call the police?

Mr Loh said yes. (Joke of the Day!)

Dr Chee then asked the witness if he had seen hawkers and street vendors selling and verbally promoting their ware "without roofs", to which Mr Loh said no.


I bet my last dollar Mr Loh WILL DO NOTHING if he saw the ruling party making a speech in public.

Also police corporal Loh claims that’s if he saw other people talking and selling product without roof he would have call the police. The reason he did not do so yet is because he had not seen one yet.

Corporal Loh not only telling us he is a liar but also blind since he claim he had never in his life see people selling product without roof.

Also if indeed calls are made whenever from a police, no matter whether was he on or off duty, when he see anyone selling stuff without a roof. Then our police are really busy man!!

Anyway can’t the police just admit that it was a selective discrimination? I am sure we all can accept this fact in Singapore.

Noise on Public Transport

Bus, MRT and Chinese restaurant among S'pore's noisiest locations: Survey
TODAY Online 27 November 2007

SINGAPORE: Taking a bus, getting on the MRT or having dinner in a Chinese restaurant - everyday activities that we hardly think twice about. Yet they may cause damage to your hearing, according to the results of a Reader's Digest test released on Monday.

In its June test, Reader's Digest measured the sound levels in public spaces in four Asian cities for five minutes at a time, using a certified sound level meter.

The magazine visited places such as shopping malls, restaurants, train stations and streets in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

The results were staggering. Nearly all locations, tested mostly during office hours, registered sound levels above 70 decibels.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers this as the threshold beyond which hearing may be damaged if a person is continuously exposed to the noise.

Someone speaking in his normal voice would register about 50 decibels, while music played loudly would typically reach 80 decibels. In some cases, the sound from the headphones of a music player can reach a deafening 120 decibels and cause physical pain, according to the magazine.

Dr Lynne Lim, a consultant at the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck at the National University Hospital, said high noise levels could lead to "permanent hearing loss, ringing sound in the ears, stress and difficulty concentrating and resting."

She said noise levels at 85 decibels would be dangerous if a person is exposed to them continuously for eight hours, while "permanent hearing loss can happen after 15 minutes" of noise at 115 decibels.

People also need to be aware that different loudness levels affect people differently, and young children and people with illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension are more susceptible, she said.

In Singapore, the Reader's Digest team found that the average sound level was 80.5 decibels on the MRT from Paya Lebar to City Hall and 81.3 decibels on a bus in Orchard Road.

This is markedly higher than the 60 to 65 decibels in a typical office here, as stated on the National Environment Agency's (NEA) website.

The average sound level inside a Chinese restaurant here was 76.7 decibels, but it peaked for three seconds at 109.5 decibels.

"At 110 decibels, that's like standing next to a jet engine," according to Mr Jim Plouffe, editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest Asia.

An NEA spokesperson told Today that the results of the Reader's Digest test "would not be conclusive" since it measured noise levels for only short periods of time. The WHO recommends that the measurements be taken over 24 hours.

"In Singapore, there are control measures put in place to protect the public from being exposure to excessive noise. For example, the NEA regulates noise from factory premises and construction sites. It is also built into the licensing conditions of public entertainment outlets that licencees must abide by noise control regulations, the NEA said.

Frequent MRT commuter Jason Chia, 38, told Today he felt the noise on the MRT was "quite okay", while 53-year-old Shok Lin said the noise levels "could be lower". Diners Polly Poon, 47, and Marcus Ong, 15, said noise levels were "okay" at their food outlets.

But this does not mean our ears are safe. We may have gotten used to the noise, but "our bodies are reacting to the situation as though we are being attacked", Mr Plouffe said. "Noise pollution is like an infection you are constantly battling … weakening the body to other infections."

I love the crap reason given by NEA. So if they think the result is not conclusive, then shouldn’t they do a more conclusive measurement since they already know WHO recommendation? Why wait till Reader Digest to do the survey?

I guess none of the Elites class take the MRT or Buses that’s why.

These days the noise level on MRT and Buses can be quite unbearable especially when you get teenager blasting their $#$ Music HP at maximum level or a “dear” man speaking on his mobile.

Wonder why they don’ t name that NEA idiot, then we can ask him to take a ride on our World Class Transport System for him to find out how serene it is.

Also NEA is avoiding the problem, instead of admitting further study need to be carry out, they went on to quote how noise at other area are being regulated.

To me this open up another can of worms, Why don’t NEA regulate noise at restaurants and Public Transports?

Idiot

PSLE

'Shattered' by Maths paper, but they did finePass rate for subject not much different from previous year, says a director from examinations board
Today online Friday • November 23, 2007

ONE parent said his son returned home "shattered" and countless others concurred.But after the uproar caused by the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Mathematics paper this year — which many parents had described as exceptionally difficult — all seems to have ended well following the release of the results yesterday.

At St Hilda's Primary School, most parents Today spoke to approved of their children's grades. "He did all right, even better than he had hoped for," said Madam Ivy Ng of her son, who scored an A for Mathematics.

But concerns remained for others, such as Mr Satish K Khattar, one of the parents who had written to this newspaper regarding last month's examinations.

Although his son managed an A for the subject in the end, he did not feel the commotion last month was an overreaction.

"As parents, we have the right to worry about whether our children are prepared for their exams and not unfairly thrown off by something they are not prepared for," said Mr Satish, a copywriter.

"It's not about the final result ... In principle, it is still unfair, even with moderation, to the average student if they have been set questions that they haven't been prepared to handle.

"For administrative officer Lisa Mak, her daughter's Mathematics grade was "disappointing", but she acknowledged that it was not a subject that her child was strong in.

"The toughness of the paper is still a factor, but I understand that other students have managed to do all right," she said.

Ms Piyali Roy, a freelance teacher, said her son had achieved an A star — much to her surprise.

"He was devastated after the exams," she said. "But even though he did well, he was so affected by the maths exam that he couldn't concentrate on his two other papers and that affected his grades for those."………….


Yesterday was the release of this year PSLE results. As usual yesterday news are bombarded by So and So is the top scorers…follow by some sort of interview blah blah blah.

But I was thinking… So what? Is the result day such a big deal that our local news have extensive coverage? There are other more important things happening in Singapore and the world.

Looking the the new articles…. Primay School student these days are “shattered” just because they did not achieve what they think they deserve in their grads. These young kids are being taught to do well no matter what! They cannot accept failure!!

Yesterday some guy in my office told us that his son cannot sleep the day before he get his PSLE results. I was thinking what happened to Childhood in Singapore?
At the end of the day, doing well in school doesn’t mean you are smart. Also certainly does not guarantee that you will turn out to be a nice person.

Stupid Standard Chartered Bank Still at it.

I wrote to Standard Chartered Bank CEO on 10th Oct.

http://javertworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/stupid-standard-charted-bank.html

Its regarding the haressment I got from their 3rd party agents.

Their Customer Experience Manager called and assured my data had been updated into the "Do Not Call list". I insisted she send me a letter to back their claims.

Last week, I again received calls from Standard Chartered's agent on the 14th and 15th.

Bravo you stupid Bank!!

I also called and the stupid Manager is on leave and her collegue really cannot make it.

I wrote to the CEO again on Friday. See what they say this time.

So people help spread to your friends how Screw Up Standared Chartered Bank is and ask them to cancell all theri credit cards or accounts.

NOTE:


CODE OF CONSUMER BANKING PRACTICE

17. Safeguarding Your Information

Your bank will:

i. treat all your personal information as private and confidential;

ii comply at all times with the Banking Secrecy provision of the Banking Act (Cap.19),Last Update -10 Oct 2001;

iii. stop using your personal information for its own marketing purposes if you inform your bank that you object to this practice;

Yet another effort for babies.

Baby-making: Get on board earlier, says woman MP
Straights Time Nov 11, 2007

AS people look set to live and work for longer, women ought to consider putting their career on hold to have children as they will a lot of time to focus on work later, said a woman MP.

Making the pitch to young couples on Sunday, MP Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) urged them to include both work and family in their lives.

Mrs Teo, who has a son aged nine and twin daughters aged seven, was responding to PAP members who raised concerns during a dialogue with PAP leaders about the low birth rate, despite national efforts to boost it.

The efforts have included a slew of cash and tax incentives - including a parenthood package of $575 million in 2005.

But the increase in the birthrate has been small: there were 400 more babies in 2005 than the year before. Last year, 36,200 babies were registered, 700 more than those in 2005.

Mrs Teo urged young couples to relook the conventional approach of putting career before children, as lifespans stretch.

'If we think of...85 and beyond being a likelihood, what is the hurry to do the things that can be done later?'

'I would arrange my life so that I have more children, start a family earlier, start it sooner, and then when the children are a little bit older, I can put my heart back to work,' said Mrs Teo, a human resources director with the labour movement.

But putting children as a top priority was no easy decision, she conceded.

In fact, she and her husband, had made a tough call to give up careers in Suzhou, China, to return to Singapore, so Mrs Teo could tap on their families to care for the babies.


Once again we see yet another articles of our government trying to con (encourage) Singapore couple to product babies.

Why are they so eager? Again in all boiled down to workforce replacement. So the gahment will still have enough people to tax tax tax and tax.

Again I like to stress that if a couple really want kids, they will just have it no matter what the government says. Infact, I think these constant efforts from our government will only backfired sometime.

I already am sick of these millionaires trying to convince the peasants (people) to have babies.

Look how careful they select the right MP to give the speech. Josephine is a good “role model”, with a successful career and 3 kids.

Note these following female MPs are single or have no kids.

Indranee Thurai Rajah, Single, 44
Ellen Lee Geck Hoon, Married no kids, 50
Sylvia Lim, Single, 42
Low Penny, Single, 40
Ng Phek Hoong Irene, Married no kids, 44
Eunice Elizabeth Olsen, Single, 31
Thio Li-ann, Single,39

So my point is, we all choose the way we want in life. Not all people love children or like to be near one. So the “carrots” our gahment are dangling will only attract a small portions of those couple that are still deciding whether they want to have babies or not.

If the gahment truly wants Singaporean to have more babies the I urge them to seriously do something about it.

Some things my non-million dollar brain can think of:

1) 6 months maternal and paternal leaves.
2) Free childcare
3) Free basic medical for pregnant women.
4) Childcare center open 24 hours.
5) Companies which sacked pregnant women are to be fined.

Also I also try to come up with some reason why couple are not having babies:

1) High cost of living.
2) Need to plan for retirement.
3) Lousy child-care.
4) Lousy education system.
5) Not family orientated workplace.
6) Freedom – Couple with no kid and just go oversea tomorrow. Try to do that if you have kids.

Tokyo 2007

Just took a week holiday to Japan.

This time I stayed in Tokyo City throughout the whole trip.

It’s actually quite interesting to see how different and similar the people in other country behave when compare to Singaporean and also what is different in the Society.

Firstly some facts:

Tokyo : Area 2,187.08 km², Population 12,570,000, Density 5796 /km²

Singapore : Area 704.0 km² Population 4,680,600, Density 6369.2/km²

Look like in Singapore we have less personal space then in our friends in Tokyo. But of cause we must remember there are lots of people who work in Tokyo actually does not live there, they usually travel from the suburb or even from nearby city like Yokohama.

What I like about Tokyo:

1) The have the most amazing trains system.

The trains are incredibly on time. And I don’t have to wait more then 2 min for a train during peak hour and not more then 4 min during off-peak. And judging from the complexity and the number of the lines and company Singapore's transport sucks big time.

2) People actually stand on the left of the escalator no matter where

They are doing this in shopping center, subways….etc etc. I shall say anything about what is happening in Singapore.

3) People are skilled walkers and you don’t see bloody baby prams around.

In a crowded area, I don’t get people banging in me not like in Seoul and Singapore. And people don’t bring their prams to crowded areas. One reason I find is that most parents prefer to carry their babies and they could rent prams at most department stores. In fact the only pram I saw in Shinjuku belong to a Singaporean’s couple.

4) Nobody talk on the mobile phone in the public.

I find this really amazing. People actually do respect others people rights to a quite train ride. Nobody, I repeat nobody talk on the mobile phone in the train, nor do they walk around talking on the phone. Their phones are normally on silent on the trains and when they need to talk on their phone, they actually stand at a secluded place to talk. In Singapore? We get teenagers blasting their music or ring tones on the MRT daily.

5) Prices are fairly fixed.

Prices for most items are quite standardized everywhere. You won’t be afraid of being conned since you are a tourist.

6) Cheap Toys and Food.

One of my main objective for my trip this year is to get some toys. Looking at the prices of some toys by the 奸商 in Singapore, I am laughing my way to the bank. Also for the same quality of food in Singapore, I find it cheaper in Japan.


What I like about Singapore:

…………………………………………………..

Stupid Standard Charted Bank

Been receiving tele-marketers calls on behalf of Standard Charted bank quite often these days.

They are different 3rd parties companies working for SC and they can be quite persistent.

Heard from other sources that Standard Charted are one of the more aggressive telemarketing bank around.

Told SC to removed my name from their calling list for 3 times already, and also wrote a couple of complainst to their website and I only got a lousy standard computer generated reply.

I also wrote in to their CEO but don’t seem to get any reply leh.

So folks do help to write to the CEO is you receive hard selling tactics from Standard Charted.

Geez….. I thought there are some law against spamming.

Lim Cheng Teck
CEO
Singapore
Standard Chartered Bank
6 Battery Road
#05-00
Singapore 049909

Singapore Police At Work

Check out this clip showing the Singapore Police Force Filiming people outside Burma Embassy.

Look carefully at the police with the video cam.

I was trying very hard to see but the at the polo T he is wearing seem to have a Singapore airlines logo and word at the back just bellow his collar.

Wah SPF so poor have to wear a company T-Shirt.

One blogpost for Burma

Greed

Just 3 days after the fare hikes and we see this. Good info.

ST Oct 3, 2007

Bus and train trips hit record levels

SMRT and SBS Transit could earn $20.7m more in fares as average daily rides rise to 4.4m

By Christopher Tan

SINGAPORE'S bus and train operators are reaping the benefit of a surge in public transport use that has sent ridership to record levels - despite fare hikes. (What other choice we have? Walk to work?)

The country's growing population, higher tourist numbers and booming economy are behind the marked increase in usage.

An average of 4.363 million rides were made on buses and trains each day in the financial year ended March 31, said the Land Transport Authority.

This pips the previous high of 4.358 million daily rides in 2001.

And figures from SMRT and SBS Transit show that daily ridership has hit 4.438 million in the April to June period of the current financial year.

Financial second-quarter numbers are not out yet but preliminary data from the two firms indicates that ridership is set to cross 4.5 million.

The striking increases - they even caught financial analysts by surprise - have reversed a worrying sign of two years ago when ridership slumped to a seven-year low.

An appreciable rise in Singapore's population - which grew 4.4 per cent to 4.68 million at the end of June - is a key factor behind the ridership growth, which in turn will swell the coffers of transport operators.

Based on average fares, the extra rides, if sustained, will translate to $20.7 million more in turnover for the two companies - a $12.4 million rise in bus revenue and an $8.3 million increase in rail revenue a year.

Analysts had factored in the positive trend but were still taken aback by the increase.

ABN Amro Asia Securities analyst Fera Wirawan said in a report on ComfortDelGro, the parent company of SBS Transit: 'Bus ridership in the first half of 2007 has exceeded our forecasts for the 2007 financial year by 2 per cent, while that for rail has almost reached our target.'

She is now projecting bus ridership to grow by 3.3 per cent for the 2008 financial year.

Citigroup Singapore strategist Lim Jit Soon said that besides the growth in Singapore's population, a higher employment rate and more tourist arrivals are also driving ridership numbers.

SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan said more people moving to Sengkang and Punggol has boosted ridership on the North-East MRT line. The system carried 307,062 passengers a day in July - 56 per cent up on July 2004.

Ms Wirawan expects ridership on that line to continue chalking up 'double-digit growth' for at least two more years. (Yeah more profit!)

But observers point out that the two transport operators would have to earn their keep.

The Public Transport Council (PTC) has just raised service standards for buses, which will mean more vehicles will have to be put on the road to meet them.

The council wants at least 80 per cent of bus services to run at frequencies of not more than 10 minutes during weekday peak hours, down from 15 minutes now. (Easy they just have to reduce the frequency during off peak.)

Bus companies have two years to comply. (Why 2 year? Shouldn't they comply before the fare hike?)

Rail standards are not under the PTC's purview.

Analysts said the transport companies will also continue to face cost pressures from rising fuel prices, higher Central Provident Fund contributions and a higher Goods and Services Tax rate. (I thought a listed compnay can claim GST from the gov? Correct me if I am wrong)

Ms Wirawan said: 'In a buoyant labour market, you need to raise salaries by more than usual to keep people.'

On top of the revenue growth from rising ridership, SBS Transit is expected to gain $9.3 million from the latest fare revision which took place on Monday, while SMRT will reap $3 million. (Bloody blood suckers)

Reminder

Just to remind everyone how F**K our public transport system is.

From yesterday, I am $0.02 poorer per day or $7.30 more profit annually for SBS (at least).

Project for Blogger on 4th Oct

Something for you guys to post on the 4th Oct.


http://beautifultobehold.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/free-burma/

第一次

闲着没事做就想试试用中文写个POST.

没想到这可不简单啊。

平常都没有机会写中文，结果花了很长时间才写了这短短的 POST。之中还用了一些英文。

感想是：如果不常常用，不管你当时有多厉害，都会有功力消退的一天。

Brainless Act

Something I notice:

When my colleagues who seat next to me are not around,s ometime their phones can just keep on ringing and ringing and ringing…

I just wonder does the caller have brain at all.

Firstly, if I am on my desk and if I can answer the phone, it will not take me 3 minutes of ringing to decide whether I want to answer it or not.

Come on, it does not take you more then 5 rings to know that the person on the other side is either:

1) Not at his desk
2) Couldn’t answer your call at the moment as he is busy
3) Don’t want to answer your call
4) Is irritated by your persistence and therefore see point 3)

Persistent ringing not only waste your time and it also cause the people around the “recipient” office to go crazy.

Same thought

Live webcams not the way to speed up queues at clinics

Thursday • September 20, 2007
Letter from Lim Boon Hee

I urge the relevant authorities to tackle the perennial problem of unacceptable waiting times in our polyclinics, A&E departments and specialist clinics once and for all.

Showing real-time waiting times online is simply skirting the issue and not going after the causes of the problem. It is ludicrous to expect that a patient under the care of one particular polyclinic to go to another just because the waiting time is shown to be shorter on a computer.

Instead of spending money and resources on this, more doctors, pharmacists, nurses and clinics should be employed to solve this medical services crunch in an environment with a growing "greying" population that requires more medical facilities.

We should be examining why the waiting times are so long.

Is it because there are:

1 Not enough doctors, pharmacists, nurses and clinics to serve a burgeoning demand?

2 There are too many patients due to an ageing population?

3 Inefficiencies and procedures that are not streamlined enough in the polyclinics resulting in long waiting times?

4 People flock to polyclinics due to a lack of subsidies for long-term medicine for chronic illnesses and denied subsidised specialist care if private clinics refer them?




Look like somebody agreed to what I commented on Camera installed at Polyclinics.


https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=23081753&postID=9184593088441764287

SBS at it again

ST News Sep 11, 2007

Bus fares to go up by 1 to 2 cents from Oct 1

By Christopher Tan

BUS fares will go up by one to two cents from Oct 1, the Public Transport Council announced on Tuesday.

But there will be no increase in train fares.

Senior citizen concessionary EZ-Link bus fares, which are flat fares pegged to the lowest adult EZ-Link fare band will also increase by 2 cents, up from the current 65 cents.

However, because they are flat fares, the same 67 cents fare will apply regardless of the distance travelled.

'The PTC has to strike a balance between safeguarding commuters' interests and ensuring the financial viability of the public transport operators so that they can continue to improve their services over time and sustain their capital investments,' Chairman of the PTC Gerard Ee said.............



ST Forum Sep 13, 2007

Woman flung off bus seat: Son upset with SBS staff

LAST SATURDAY, my elderly mother and aunt boarded SBS service 133 (vehicle No. SBS 312B) in Rochor Road. Both took a seat in the second row behind the driver. During the journey, the bus was travelling at a high speed.
At about 4.25pm, the driver made a fast and sharp turn at the junction of Lavender Street and Serangoon Road, flinging my mother from her seat. She landed flat on her back and couldn't get up.

A short distance away, the driver halted the bus - only to glance in the rear-view mirror. Two kind passengers, however, helped my dazed mother to her seat. The driver did not inquire or give assistance to my mother, and continued to speed off on his journey.

On reaching Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange at about 4.45pm, my mother and aunt approached SBS Transit Passenger Office and reported the incident to two officers at the service counter.

The male officer took down my mother's feedback and particulars. My mother and aunt then identified the driver at the office. The driver denied any incident had occurred during his journey. The female officer even warned my mother of false allegations and demanded that she bring in other witnesses - apart from my aunt. She even claimed my aunt was not a 'reliable' witness.

My mother later complained of back ache and I took her to a GP, who referred her to Changi General Hospital. There she was diagnosed with a fractured lower back and tenderness over her left shoulder and upper limb.

I am aghast at the actions of the bus driver. Nor do I condone the behaviour of the SBS counter staff. Till now, no one from SBS has called to inquire or follow up on my mother's feedback.

Stanley Lim Chee Hoe



These 2 articles speak for themselves actually.

How screwed up our public transport system is these days. All are profit orientated and it will be interesting to see if SBS ever response to Stanley.

Bravo to our dear Public Transport Operator

A380 evacuation test

This video shows the evacuation certification for the new A380.

Basically any new aircraft type need to meet the safety standard set by the authority before it is given go ahead.

This test was done about 2 years ago and they are all Airbus employee. If I remember correctly it went smoothly with only a couple of people suffer from broken bone.

It is quite amazing actually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOcrP7u7Y8

National Service

Disappeared for a week due to my reservist.

Look like I will not get to finish my 7 highs and 3 lows before my 40th Birthday. I guess SAF are cutting cost and keep calling us back for lows and seldom the highs.

Low keys in camp used to be quite relaxing. It usually is some form of in-camp training and seldom moves out to the field. But this year it was different.

Look like they are trying to compact some field training into your annual one-week stay with SAF.

I got to say it is actually quite nice to go back to the camp that you spend two years of our life in. There are new buildings and also buildings that never change. You also get to see you old bosses and colleagues.

But can really say the way people work has any improvement.

Something new this year! They gave us a set of feedback form after our one-week in-camp training.

They’re this question (Can’t remember the exact word but the main point is the same):

“Will you go to war and scarify your life for Singapore?”

Well it got me thinking.

Is there anything in Singapore worth for you to scarifying your life for?

Try taking out the family aspect from this question.

Yes I guess we will all defend our family with our life, but let say your family all migrated or are no longer in Singapore. Is there still something in Singapore for you?

Think about it…………….