SMRT to spend $900 million dollars to ‘upgrade’ train systems

Just after $1.1 billion dollars worth of taxpayers’ monies are disbursed to SMRT and SBS Transit to help them improve their services and keep operating costs down, SMRT is asking for another ‘Ang Pow’ from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) again.

In a press statement released this evening, SMRT said it needs to spend around S$900 million over eight years (2012-2019) to renew and upgrade its train systems, raising questions on why it has not done so earlier despite reaping in obscene profits year after year.

SMRT does not expect to foot the hefty bill entirely on its own and is currently discussing cost-sharing arrangements with the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

“Some of the measures are already on-going and will be accelerated, while others are new,” interim Chief Executive Officer Tan Ek Kia said at a news conference on Tuesday.

SMRT also claimed that as the system ages, faults will arise from time to time though the Hong Kong’s MTR and Japan’s railway systems with much longer history have never been besieged by such frequent breakdowns before.

However, SMRT was quick to remind Singaporeans that even with the ‘renewal’ plans, it cannot expect no disruptions.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew has earlier said in Parliament that ‘minor’ disruptions less than 30 minutes are ‘unavoidable’:

“We will try and minimise as much as possible the major disruptions and to keep them in check. But I think it is unavoidable that a system that is as heavily utilised as ours is today will not face any disruptions. Every day there are about 2.7 million passenger trips. We are running thousands of train trips for more than 18 hours a day. And I dare say that there is no way you can prevent disruptions from occurring.”

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Lui Tuck Yew: I was gravely concerned over the spates of disruption

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SMRT falling apart: 18,000 commuters affected by major disruption on Circle Line yesterday morning

PHOTOS: Massive 2 hour suspension in train service along Circle Line, 18 April 2012

Circle Line hit by major train disruption this morning

Singaporeans late for work as SMRT hit by major train disruptions this morning

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SMRT trains delayed this morning again due to ‘train fault’ and ‘platform door fault’

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SMRT: 30 minute delay between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations due to ‘train fault’

SMRT train delayed again due to ‘congestion’ ahead

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Lui Tuck Yew: Some train disruptions are ‘unavoidable’

PA to launch Integration Council to integrate immigrants at Singapore Zoo

In other developed countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand, immigrants are expected to integrate and assimilate into local society, but in Singapore, not only are Singaporeans constantly exhorted by the government to integrate with the newcomers, taxpayers’ monies are also being spend to make them feel accepted, welcomed and happy in Singapore as well.

With four out ten people living in Singapore being a foreigner, more efforts are needed to ‘integrate’ them with the People’s Association due to launch an ‘Integration Council’ at the Singapore Zoo this coming Saturday by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office S Iswaran

According to the People’s Association, there had been a three-fold increase in the number of integration activities, from 553 to 1,680 between 2010 and 2011.

The number of local residents and new immigrants taking part in the many activities organised had also more than doubled in the past two years, growing from 118,053 in 2010 to 278,151 in 2011. It is not revealed how much public funds have been spent on these ‘integration’ activities so far.

Of the PA’s 31,800 grassroots leaders, 20 per cent, or 6,000, or them are new citizens and permanent residents.

Speaking to queries from the media, People’s Association group director Chia Tze Yee said:

“Looking at the … the growth of the projects and efforts, and the number of new immigrants joining us as volunteers, it is timely for us to move to the next phase to better involve these new immigrants, expand to more volunteers and do it in a more structured and coordinated manner.”

The People’s Association is a ‘non-partisan’ statutory board chaired by the Prime Minister himself and its board is staffed entirely by PAP MPs.

In the U.K general election last year, more than 80 percent of the immigrants voted for the ex-ruling Labor Party which was responsible for granting them British citizenship in the first place.

American expat: Singaporeans behave like ‘chimpanzees’ in the Singapore Zoo

The ‘Wild Honey’ saga which sparked a massive outcry among Singaporeans appears to take another twist today with one American expat Rob Monaco making derogatory remarks about the behavior of Singaporeans.

One angry Singaporean Gary Tan posted on its Facebook asking why he was not given a corner table by the staff which subsequently was given to a foreigner who came after him:

[Source: Facebook]

Instead of addressing Gary’s concerns, Wild Honey’s director Guy Wachs rapped him for his complaint:

“We have an international staff including many Singaporeans and respect all people. We deeply regret your remark.”

However Rob Monaco who claimed to work in a multinational bank in Singapore defended ‘Wild Honey’ and felt its ‘discrimination’ was justified.

In a comment posted on Temasek Times, Rob wrote:

“The reason why restaurants and hotels discriminate against you is because your behaviour ranks somewhere in between pack wolves and chimpanzees are the local zoo. If you guys don’t smell so bad and learnt some manners, maybe they’ll treat you better.”

His outrageous comment prompted one Singaporean to challenge him to meet up:

“How about it Robert? This Wednesday 25.04.2012. Clarke Quay. At the water fountain. 10:30 p.m. Show up and tell me whatever you have said face to face. C’mon, surely you have the cojones to stand by your statements? You seem very self-assured and very self-confident. As it is oft said, you “talk the talk” but do you “walk the walk”? As you said, grow a pair of balls. Why don’t you show us that you can stand by what you say?”

There are no immediate response from Rob Monaco. Meanwhile ‘Wild Honey’ restaurant continues to ignore the controversy swirling around it as if nothing has happened.

Related articles:

Wild Honey restaurant slammed for favoring foreigners over locals

Train delay along North-South Line this morning due to ‘stalled train’ at Ang Mo Kio MRT station

Two days after a LRT train stalled halfway on its track forcing commuters to ‘sky-walk’ for the rest of their journey, another SMRT train stalled this morning at Ang Mo Kio MRT station causing delay along the North-South line.

According to affected commuters, they were told to alight from Ang Mo Kio MRT station at around 8am to take the next train due to ‘train fault’.

fuzzywuzzy tweeted on #SMRT:

“Aiyo why MRT got problem again, had to alight at Ang Mo Kio and take the next train” 

However, the passengers were unable to board the next train because it was too packed and many were late for work as a result.

One netizen ‘Babysabs’ post on Facebook:

“Yes I was, missed 5 trains b4 I could board.”

Mohd Fahmi added:

“yup.. was taking the 6am.. train fault on the announcement.”

Winston Foo was frustrated:

“This is the challenge I face at AMK everyday! At each door, 5 alights while 15 tries to board. On a few occasion, the South bound decides to offload all it’s passenger… Making it 50 trying to board.”

As usual, there are no public statements from SMRT on the latest ‘minor’ train disruptions as Singaporeans get used to the frequent train breakdowns and delays which have become part and part of life in Singapore.

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Related articles:

SMRT on LRT disruption: The walkway is safe to walk

LRT train stalled between Bukit Panjang and Senja stations

Lui Tuck Yew: I was gravely concerned over the spates of disruption

Singapore universities introduced MRT delay plan ahead of coming examinations

SMRT falling apart: 18,000 commuters affected by major disruption on Circle Line yesterday morning

PHOTOS: Massive 2 hour suspension in train service along Circle Line, 18 April 2012

Circle Line hit by major train disruption this morning

Singaporeans late for work as SMRT hit by major train disruptions this morning

SMRT: Experts found our maintenance regime consistent with good practice

SMRT train stalled at Clementi MRT station due to ‘train fault’

SMRT trains delayed this morning again due to ‘train fault’ and ‘platform door fault’

PHOTOS: Commuters packed like sardines at Ang Mo Kio and Yishun MRT stations

SMRT: 30 minute delay between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations due to ‘train fault’

SMRT train delayed again due to ‘congestion’ ahead

Lui Tuck Yew: 13 percent of bus drivers from China

Lui Tuck Yew: Some train disruptions are ‘unavoidable’

White paper: Singapore needs to take in 20,000 – 25,000 new citizens each year

Despite growing concerns among Singaporeans at the relentless influx of foreigners, it appears that the government’s ‘mass-immigration’ policies are likely to continue in the near future.

A paper released by the National Population and Talent Division under the Prime Minster Office proclaimed today that if the country’s Total Fertility Rate remains the same, Singapore would need an immigration inflow of between 20,000-25,000 new citizens each year to keep the citizen population size stable.

It added that with Singapore’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of only 1.2, well below the replacement rate of 2.1, citizen deaths will exceed births in 13 years without immigration.

Unlike other developed countries, Singapore has a lax immigration policy in which bus drivers, construction workers, hawkers and even freelance prostitutes are given PR and citizenship.

The population explosion in the last few years driven by immigration has led to sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats, stagnant wages, breakdown of infrastructure like public transport and a noticeable decline in the quality of life.

Back in 2007, then Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan had set a population target of 7 million people for Singapore before  his vision was abandoned in the aftermath of last year’s General Election.

Is this my Singapore? My home and my country?

Last week from Mon to Fri, I took my meal break at Joo Koon MRT Station with my colleague Train Officer ‘Anak Abu’. We were supposed to travel back to Jurong Crew Station for our one hour meal break after ‘stepping out’ from our trains at Joo Koon station. We would have to travel back to Joo Koon from Jurong station to intercept our trains after taking our meal break.

To save time, we brought along our food and took our meal at Joo Koon station staff rest room. We had one and half hour to enjoy our meal relaxing there.

Train Officer ‘Anak Abu’ brought his home cooked food whereas I bought mine from the coffee shop when I reported for work. There is no coffee shop at Joo Koon station. It’s like a deserted ghost town there.

Since TO Anak Abu brought his meal from home, usually he had more than enough. He would share some of his home-cooked food with me. I can’t share mine with him cuz Muslims don’t consume non-halal Chinese cooked food. In return, I brought him a can drink or 3 in 1 coffee sachets. It’s a win win situation for us.

The routine is always the same. We would heat up our food separately in the micro ovens. The company supplied two micro ovens in every station for staff. For Muslim and non Muslim food.

After our dinner, I would just relax reading ‘Today’ in the staff room and sometimes chit chat with the station staff also taking their rest and meal there. TO Anak Abu would proceed quietly to the ‘prayer corner’ to have his evening prayer. There is a ‘prayer corner’ in every station. As Singaporeans, we got along quite well.

For the one week of interactions, I learnt from TO Anak Abu that he had bought a 4S brand new HDB flat at Blk 221A Bedok Central on the 16th floor more than one year ago at $368,000. It’s only 87 sq m. The smallest 4 room flat.

My parents’ 4A model at Pasir Ris bought from HDB in 1994 is 105 sq m. So much bigger and it cost $101,000 then. That was 18 years ago.

Train Officer Anak Abu kept complaining that he had to use up all his monthly CPF contributions to service his 25 yrs housing loan after paying for his medisave. There is no saving in his CPF account even if he retires unless his current stagnant pay of $1,850 increases. He is one grade below me. He has reached his maximum pay ceiling.

That’s not all. I also learnt from him that another recently married Malay colleague Train Officer ‘Zaidi Blond’ wanted to buy a HDB flat in the same block cuz there are few left over unsold units due to some unknown reasons. They like to get their flats around Bedok area cuz it’s near to our working place at Tanah Merah station.

That colleague could not afford it due to insufficient CPF for the 20% downpayment. You see for the same 4S flat in the same block but at the second floor, the price has shot up to $436,000! Within one and half years, the same flat on second floor (TO Anak Abu’s flat is on 16th floor) has increased by $68,000 just like that! He had to give up. He had to try his luck in Sengkang or maybe get a three room flat instead.

Now the interesting question is why the price of the same flat at second floor instead of sixteen floor has gone up so high by $68,000? The costs of the flats should be the same cuz they were built at the same time. Why is it so?

Imagine if another Singaporean couple (only citizens can buy direct from HDB) were to buy that flat and later found out the huge price difference, how would they feel? How would you feel if you happen to be that couple? Bitter? Angry? Cheated?

The truth hurts. You will surely feel cheated and bitter over this $436,000 4S flat purchased as a first timer direct from the HDB. Will you support this government since you are so bitter and sore? I doubt so. I’m just speaking the truth as a human with feelings.

With a stagnant pay of an average of $2,000 over a month and having to service the housing loan for 25 yrs of your working life, do you have any more cash for retirement?

The above living example is a stark reality on this 700 sq m where we belong, where space costs a premium. Space in the air in this case (not landed property) and space on the roads with COEs breaking $100,000! We also fight for space in the trains and buses etc.

Is it due to the result of an extra two millions on this little rock of 700 sq km we call home that we lack the space? Or is it due to inflation? If in a year, the same flat on a much lower floor shot to an extra of $68,000, can you imagine what would happen in three to five years’ time? I shudder to ponder over the consequence nightmare. We are only talking about few years later.

I then tried to pacify TO Anak Abu that in five years’ time, he is allowed to sell off his flat and he would make a huge profit! He retorted that he still got to buy another sky high rocket price flat. He got no place to go and still need a flat to live in. He says unless we are like Train Officer Tin where he bought his 4 room flat in the open market many years ago so cheap. When he retires to Sabah, he could sell it off and reap tons of money whereas we got no choice but stay put here. We will live and die here. This is our country and our home.

Train Officer Tin is a PR refusing to take up citizenship. He has it all plan out for his retirement. He already bought land and built a huge freehold house in Sabah. In another few years time – In fact any time from now if he feels like it – he could just cash out his CPF and sell off his flat to return to his hometown. He will bring his family back to Sabah. He could easily bring back to Sabah more than RM1,000,000! Sale of his 4 room flat plus all his CPF savings.

There are many PRs like Train Officer Tin. Some are from Sarawak, Sabah and Johore Bahru. Those that live in JB commute daily to work here. With OT and allowances converted to RM, it’s easily RM6,000 per month. Only professionals earn that kind of pay there.

Usually those PR Train Officers are very hard working. They work round the clock treating our little 700 sq km little rock as a gold mine. The incentives are strong cuz they can always buy more land and houses back home. As citizens of this 700 sq km ‘gold mine’, we can’t even afford to buy a government subsidized flat as in TO Zaidi Blond’s case! We are different from those PRs.

If their performance is tip top and got a good appraisal from their supervisors, they could even hit more than RM15,000 year end 13th mth pay plus 3 months bonuses! They really love Singapore and they heap praises on our government. Why not? No reason for them not to.

They are the greatest beneficiaries of this unique Dual Economic Systems where they work hard to earn their money here and spend it in their own country of origin. Their roots are still in their country of origin. Their parents, friends and relatives network is still intact back in their villages. Whereas, we do not have that.

Those PRs need not waste two years of their life serving NS. They need not go back for yearly two weeks of in-camp training until 40 yrs old. When we go back for our reservist training, they cover our jobs by doing OT to earn extra income. That is a fact.

Benefits wise, they are no different with citizens. They got everything like medical care, resale flats or even education for their children. It’s just that they pay a little extra than us. They pity us cuz our CPF is locked up by this regime. Their CPF is not locked up. I could go on and on. It only pains my heart and make me cry in tears. I have been talking about Msian PRs. What about India, China or Philippines PRs?

Those were some of the issues Train Officer Anak Abu and myself discussed throughout the one week of meal break time at Joo Koon station. The fact is we envy those PRs in our midst. How we wish to change places with those PRs and become beneficiaries of this spectacular unique Dual Econmic Systems! An oasis for PRs at the expense of indigenous citizens.

We are not proud to be Singaoreans. We curse our fate as citizens of this country. How to have an inclusive society when there is no morale? How to fight and win a war when citizens are dishearten and felt cheated?

I feel much closer and at ease with Train Officers like Anak Abu even though those PRs are Chinese. We are Singaporeans. We grew up together sharing the same ideals in schools and living environment and even been through NS together. We had stories of NS days to share and relate.

We know where we stand as citizens of this country. In the meantime, there is nothing we could do. Life still got to go on and trains must move. We only wish that our children have a better future than us. We do not want our children to end up like us short-changed and losing out to those PRs!

GIN TAI

* The writer works as a train officer in SMRT and blogs here

PHOTOS: Taxi caught FIRE and burst into flames along Kampung Java CTE tunnel

A taxi burst into flames along the CTE (Kampung Java) tunnel this morning causing it to be closed for SCDF personnel to put out the fire. It is not known if anybody was injured in the accident:

 

Ex-SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa was in ‘high spirits’ at farewell party organized by SMRT staff

She may be a controversial figure in Singapore, being vilified by many for the mess SMRT is in now, but ex-SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa is still popular among SMRT staff as they threw a farewell party for her yesterday afternoon at Jurong Crew Station, packed with more than 100 staff from the Rail Operations Branch comprising Train Officers, Customer Services Officers from stations, OCC, HQ and the Circle Line.

Walking in crutches after a recent knee operation, Ms Saw was in ‘high spirits’ sharing with her ex-staff and colleagues about a wonderful holiday trip she just returned from. Many walked up to shake her hands and wishing her well in her future endeavors.

[Source: Gin Tai’s blog]

Faced with a massive public backlash in the aftermath of last December’s train disruptions, Ms Saw tendered her resignation in January this year. She will be taking over as the Chief Executive Officer of Auric Pacific Group from 1 May onwards.

In a short speech made to the staff, she reminded them never to forget about ‘customer service.’:

“Customer is always right! and customer satisfaction comes first!” she lectured.

She added that SMRT will always remain ‘special’ in her heart and she will never regret or forget about her exhilarating working experience in SMRT.

While Ms Saw has made millions of dollars during her tenure as CEO of SMRT, its standards of service have deteriorated rapidly over the years. Once seen as a proud product of Singapore Inc, SMRT has now become a laughing stock not only in the eyes of Singaporeans, but in the world as well for its frequent breakdowns and disruptions in service.

An unpleasant incident at Orchard MRT station

Hi,

My father had a very unpleasant incident with two SMRT staffs at Orchard MRT station a few minutes after midnight on 21-Apr-2012 (Fri/Sat). He was planning to take the train home after his company’s D&D, not knowing that there was no more train service. He walked into Orchard MRT station in the direction of the gantry, passing by a Chinese SMRT staff in red long sleeve shirt and tie standing next to the gantry. The SMRT staff saw him walked towards the gantry, where my father tapped his card and proceeded to the escalator to go to the platform.

The SMRT staff suddenly shouted at my father, saying that there is no more train service. My dad asked the staff as to why he didn’t stop him when he walked past him before tapping his card at the gantry. My dad went on to ask what he should do now that he had tapped his card. The SMRT staff did not answer him and seemed confused. Seeing that the gantry was opened, my dad walked out and took the initiative to walk to the control station where there was another staff in the control room and explained the situation to him.

The staff in the control room did not utter a word, took my dad’s card and did some keying into the computer. The staff then told my dad that his card has been corrected. My dad went on to ask him if any deductions have been made and the staff replied no and told my dad to leave the station.

On Sat, 22-Apr-2012 at about 1350pm, my dad was denied entry at Boon Keng Station when he tapped his card at the gantry. He went to the control room and passed his card to the staff for checking. After checking, the staff informed my dad that he had not paid for the preceding trip the night before. My dad recalled the incident at Orchard MRT station and related the incident to the staff, who informed him that there was nothing he can do except to deduct $0.55 for the preceding trip so that my dad could use the same card for entry at Boon Keng MRT station.

This tantamount to cheating and lying as the staff in the control room at Orchard MRT Station had told my father that it was rectified and no deductions will be made. The 1st staff that my dad passed by at Orchard MRT also lacked proper training. He did not stop my father before he tapped his card at the gantry even though he saw my father walking towards it.

I hope Temasek Times will put this up and shame SMRT for cheating and lying!

Regards,

 

MARIE TANG

Yaacob Ibrahim: We can ‘encourage’ information in the online world which ‘informs and evaluates’

Despite having a monopoly on the print media which has become a de facto mouthpiece of the ruling party, the government is still keen to extend its reach and influence into the New Media.

Speaking at a luncheon organised by Singapore Press Club on Monday, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Yaacob Ibrahim stressed that while the newspaper, radio and television players exercise their own independent editorial judgement in their reporting, they must remain mindful of their roles and responsibilities.

He reminded the journalists present Singapore’s media model is based on consensus and facilitating nation building, as well as preserving social cohesion and empowering audiences to make informed decisions as a society.

Dr Yaacob added the question that would now arise is whether this approach should continue online.

“Our major companies which have established presence can set the right tone online as well with good practices of information sharing and moderation on the various online platforms,” he said.

Acknowledging the growing clout of some socio-political blogs, Mr Yaacob urge the online community to self-moderate themselves and promote views which ‘inform and evaluate’:

“We can encourage information and viewpoints that inform and evaluate, and not disturb and divide. This will enhance their credibility that they already enjoy in the real world.”