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#### D E A T H G O V E R N A N C E M O D E L ####
By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 08/06/2011
PUB installs railings across Singapore
Workers installing railings
SINGAPORE: In the wake of one of Singapore’s worst floods, national water agency PUB has installed some 700 metres of railings at six locations across the island.
They include Sixth Avenue, Clementi Road, Marsiling Drive and Commonwealth Lane.
The new railings visually demarcate the drains from the footpath.
PUB told Channel NewsAsia it has inspected drains at more than 70 locations so far, and found some 30 of them may have safety issues.
Checks and installation work is ongoing.
PUB catchment and waterways department executive engineer James Koh said they are considering installing CCTV cameras and water—level sensors to monitor the drains.
The agency added that the widening of Bukit Timah Canal will be fully completed by the end of next year.
PUB best sourcing department deputy director Lim See Gan said: " The canal capacity will increase by 70 to 100 per cent.
" That will certainly help to alleviate the flooding situation here.
" We have started work here beginning of this year.
" (For) the first stage of the work, we needed to carry out traffic diversion, to give us space to drive in the sheet pile that is necessary to hold the earth.
" Once the sheet pile on both sides of the canal are riven in, we then can carry out excavation work" .
—CNA/wk
wIthOUt WILLIAM LIM's SACRIFICE ? ? ? ?
HOW many mOre PEOPLE ? ? ? ?
wOUld have tO
rIsk theIr lIfe ? ? ? ?
Or
be kIlled ? ? ? ?
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PEOPLE PRESIDENT ? ? ? ?
PEOPLE SERVANT ? ? ? ?
pharoah88 ( Date: 09-Jun-2011 10:39) Posted:
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If people are working very hard, earning a salary of S$30,000 a year, I don’t think I need S$4 million ... it has to be some reasonable proportion.
Ten times is alright but not 100 times (more).
Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian does not think that the job’s responsibilities warrant the size of the pay packet |
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P R I V A T E SECTORS
UN SAFE
UN GUARANTEED
UN GRC
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WANT to EARN
PRIVATE SECTORS SALARY ? ? ? ?
ENTER PRIVATE SECTORS
STAY IN PRIVATE SECTORS
DON'T BE WISHY WASHY !!!!
out-of-the-box ( Date: 09-Jun-2011 10:52) Posted:
| Yes, can't compare to private sector if this is the case, US top private sector earning 50 over million than Obama don't ask for even 10% |
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M1 FIRBRE BROADBAND
50 Mbps [nO SPEED CAP]
S$29 per month
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S’pore now sixth most expensive location in Asia for expats
Julie Quek
juliequek@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE — The continued strength of the Singapore dollar has pushed the Republic up to sixth place on the list of the most expensive locations in Asia for expatriates to live, according to the latest Cost of Living survey from ECA International.
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PRESIDENTIAL TENDER ? ? ? ?
lowest bIdder gets the vOte ? ? ? ?
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If people are working very hard, earning a salary of S$30,000 a year, I don’t think I need S$4 million ... it has to be some reasonable proportion.
Ten times is alright but not 100 times (more).
Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian does not think that the job’s responsibilities warrant the size of the pay packet
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germs are stuck in the pipe or something ? ? ? ?
ALL the WATER PIPES and TAPS in the BLOCK 686B's households are ALSO CONTAMINATED.
WATER PIPES and TAPS should be REPLACED ? ? ? ?
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WHERE would the REMOVED Water Tank gO ? ? ? ?
Roof Top of Next New Flat or Condiminium ? ? ? ?
Otherwise it should be DESTROYED in PUBLIC VIEW.
Entrepreurs are very SHREWD in RE-CYCLING ? ? ? ?
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By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 08/06/2011
Water tank at Woodlands Block 686B removed
Water tanks
SINGAPORE: The water tank in Woodlands Block 686B where a dead body of an Indonesian maid was found last month, has been removed.
The 15.6 tonne water tank was taken down on Wednesday afternoon from the roof of the block. It took about 15 minutes.
Preparations started early on Wednesday morning.
Replacing the tank is expected to cost an estimated S$40,000, an amount the Sembawang—Nee Soon Town Council is bearing.
The new tank will be installed between June 9 and June 13, after which all four water tanks will be cleaned and sterilised. All this should be completed by June 23.
Some residents welcomed the removal of the tank.
A resident of the block said: " It’s good that they changed the water because residents around here, they think the water is a bit dirty, maybe the germs are stuck in the pipe or something. So it’s quite good they changed the tank and everything so the residents around this block will probably be less concerned about the water they drink."
But some residents felt the issue of how someone could have had access to the rooftop and the tank was still not addressed.
Responding to this via SMS to Channel NewsAsia, MP for Sembawang GRC Vikram Nair said this is still unclear. He said the Bangladeshi worker charged with the murder and his contractor did not have access to the key to the tank.
Mr Nair said: " At the moment we do not know how the worker opened the water tank. We do not know, for example, whether he broke the lock or used a key. If he used a key, we do not know where he got it from as neither he nor his contractor should have had access to the key to the tank.
" The full story will probably only come out in court when the worker is charged. If anyone else was responsible for helping the worker access the tank or get the key, we will have to take action too."
—CNA/ac
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Olam’s price hit by
dilution of share capital
Jo-ann Huang
joannhuang@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
News of the fund-raising plans somewhat confirmed investor concerns of a dilution in the firm’s share capital and caused Olam’s share price to tumble as much as 6 per cent to close at S$2.73 when trading resumed yesterday.
This continued from a 5-per-cent loss in share price from Wednesday to Friday last week, on word that a fundraising exercise was looming.
Its shares were suspended from trading on Monday.
Olam plans to sell a total of about 286 million new shares of which Temasek Holdings will subscribe 94.4 million shares for S$245.5 million through its subsidiary Breedens. — Agricultural commodities processor Olam International is raising proceeds of about S$740 million through private placements and a preferential allotment of shares to existing shareholders including investment company Temasek Holdings in three tranches.
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Are the RCs enough?
Want real views from the ground on policies?
Allow an “alternative residents’ committee” system to supplement the work of existing Residents’ Committees (RCs), said Opposition politician Jimmy Lee at the Institute of Policy Studies forum yesterday.
After the recent elections, questions have been raised on whether grassroots activists had fully reflected dissatisfaction and feedback from residents to their Members of Parliament.
Such criticism of activists, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last month, was “unfair”.
Mr Jimmy Lee said that while he had friends who were RC leaders with a genuine spirit to serve, “the RC system has failed in many respects, let’s not kid ourselves”.
He suggested a review of the system and the way RC leaders are rewarded.
Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong said he teased his party’s grassroots activists that they would never get their PBMs or BBMs (public service awards).
Activists who were in it purely to serve the people were “very encouraging”, he added.
NEO CHAI CHIN
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Opposition ‘can help de-polarise politics’
Neo Chai Chin
chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
And the latter group can play a role in the “de-polarisation of politics” — by explaining the intention of Government policies to residents they meet, and if the People’s Action Party and government agencies engage “alternative parties” in policy-making — said two Opposition panellists who were invited in their personal capacity for the Institute of Policy Studies forum titled “What Youth Want”.
The first suggestion was made by Mr Yaw Shin Leong, the newly-elected Member of Parliament for Hougang. “At the end of the day, there’s only one Singapore (for) all of us,” he said. The “nation-building” role of Opposition figures is to “gently persuade, educate and to share” the reasons why some policies are implemented.
Engaging Opposition parties in policy-making would help create “a better Singapore”, said Mr Jimmy Lee, who stood in Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency. He said: “I’d propose to the incumbent party and the public service:
Engage us, the alternative parties in your policy-making directly. Bring us into your committee meetings.” — Exactly a month after Singaporeans took to the polls, the healing of any political rifts wrought at the General Election (GE) was among the themes at a forum yesterday that brought together representatives of the ruling and Opposition parties.
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Crash with motorcyclist: Motorist fined s$8,000, disqualified for 6 years
Shaffiq Alkhatib
shaffiq@mediacorp.com.sg
SINGAPORE
Chia Choon Kiang, 31, had failed to keep a proper lookout when he was driving at a cross junction at Jurong West Avenue 5 on the morning of Aug 25, 2009.
His vehicle hit Mr Ganesan Revi Chandran, 19, and his pillion rider, Mr Brendon Kok Chun Kai, 18.
The two unemployed teenagers were sent to the National University Hospital by ambulance.
Mr Ganesan, who suffered injuries to his head and spine, was later pronounced dead.
Mr Kok, who survived the crash, fractured his spine and had to be warded for a week. He was later given about 150 days of medical leave.
Defence counsel Lim Kim Hong told District Judge Sarjit Singh that her client was on his way home from work when the accident took place.
Ms Lim added that Chia, who was tired, was also on medication that morning.
She asked the judge to give her client a “reasonable fine and a reasonable period of disqualification”.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Gayathri Krishnan, however, told the court that Chia had committed other traffic offences before this case.
In 2005, he was fined S$1,000 for speeding.
He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined S$2,400 for drink driving in the same year.
For the negligent act, Chia could have been jailed up to two years, fined, or both.
WHERE DEATH is resulted by NEGLIGENCE
DEATH SENTENCE & CANNING SHOULD BE IMPOSED
for SPEEDING & DRUNK DRIVING ? ? ? ?
To be FAIR to VICTIM's DEATH ? ? ? — A project manager was fined S$8,000 yesterday and disqualified from driving for six years for a negligent act that killed a teenaged motorcyclist.
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s$1.4m worth of suspected
unlicensed software seized
SINGAPORE
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) said the value of the seized software is the largest ever to come from a tip-off.
The police seized 10 copies of software suspected to be unlicensed belonging to BSA member companies found on computers on the premises.
The raid was conducted last Friday by officers from the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department. — Following a tip-off, the police have raided a manufacturing company and seized S$1.4 million worth of software suspected to be unlicensed.
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A loan clause too far?
Letter from Leow Zi Xiang
I am writing to highlight a recent practice some banks have adopted while granting housing loans. It appears to be common procedure now for banks, when mortgaging a property to be used as security for a loan,
to insert a clause that purports to do the following:
• Extend the security provided by the property to all current and future debts the borrower may owe the bank.
• Extend the security provided by the property to all other current and future liabilities, including those as guarantor, the borrower may owe the bank.
This means that the bank may exercise its rights over the property in respect of any debts you may owe it, including those which were hitherto unsecured by assets, such as personal loans or credit card debts.
More distressingly, borrowers who are (or will become) guarantors for an outstanding loan previously granted by the bank are now in danger. They may have been willing to act as guarantors on a personal basis but now their homes have suddenly become at risk.
This is an extremely wide-ranging and onerous clause which unduly burdens ordinary consumers.
As it has now become practically standard procedure in the industry, consumers are left without much choice: If they need a housing loan, they have to accept these terms.
Banks have massive bargaining power when it comes to setting the terms of a loan and, without some limit placed on that power, consumers are at risk of being exploited.
I hope that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will look into this and stop the banks from inserting ever more unfair clauses into standard loan contracts.
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RETURN ALL BYCYCLES
BACK TO THE
ROADS
RETURN ALL PEDESTRIANS
TO SAFETY
ON WALK PATH
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Clear rules needed for cyclists
Letter from Lynn Tan
I refer to the letter “Victim of bike rage” (June 2).
I myself have had a few near-misses as a pedestrian my husband pulled me out of a cyclists’ way in the nick of time.
I have witnessed a number of bike rage incidents recently.
In one, a cyclist brandished his bicycle mid-air, threatening to hurl it at a driver and his car. Another time, I saw a cyclist brazenly sticking his arm through the open window of a car at a traffic light junction, gesticulating violently and antagonistically.
Regardless of the circumstances leading to these displays of outrage, such actions are a cause for concern.
On the roads, cyclists argue that they are the more vulnerable group. As such, motorists should give way and exercise caution.
Similarly, on the pavements, pedestrians are the more [MOST] vulnerable groupdo likewise?, so shouldn’t cyclists
The reason the situation is getting out of hand is because the authorities have persistently shied away from establishing, and more importantly enforcing, some clear ground rules.
With cycling catching on as a sport, both at a competitive and recreational level, it is time the authorities stepped in.
There also needs to be a way of identifying cyclists in the event of such hit-and-run cases, as it is not always possible to physically pursue and nab them, whether you are on foot or on four wheels.
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IT SEEMS certain that the islandwide floods are getting more routine as last year’s images of submerged roads, water-choked basement car parks and ankle-deep waters in malls returned to haunt us on Sunday morning.
In spite of the extensive drainage work undertaken over the decades, the authorities have conceded that no amount of preparation can stop such freak floods that are attributed predominantly to global warming and “acts of nature”.
Nonetheless, I would also like to draw a correlation between the floods and the high growth rates of the past few years, rapid urbanisation resulting from the property boom and the spike in population. Hence, the problems are not only global and natural but also local and man-made.
Studies in the environmental sciences have indicated that building and transportation infrastructural projects are instrumental in displacing organically permeable soil and vegetation with impermeable concrete surfaces that have less capacity to store rainwater.
In the case of Orchard Road, the floods seem to coincide with the replacement of an open and relatively well-vegetated green space between Orchard Road and Paterson Road with the megamall Orchard ION that has probably the deepest basements in Singapore.
Along Bukit Timah Road, which is seeing the more severe floods, are the new condominiums complexes that are squeezed tightly into the previously quieter and spacious neighbourhood of bungalows with spread-out lawns and gardens.
Added to this, the current paradigm to tackling the problem seems to be largely technical, involving drainage systems and building codes. However, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated recently, given the space constraints of Singapore, there is a limit to how wide and deep we can dig our canals.
In this respect, instead of seeing the problem as natural and the solution as pouring more concrete, there is a fundamental need for a more environmentally and socially sustainable development model.
We have to see open spaces and natural vegetation not as potential exploitable land for property and industrial development but as green lungs and buffers with more intangible long-term benefits.
Increasingly too, trends in large-scale flood control worldwide are moving away from artificial canalisation and containment towards that of natural flood control management that entails the preservation of natural environments and natural water flows.
In Singapore, one such projects on the way to completion is the Waters@Kallang-Bishan Park project that involves the partial de-canalisation and the re-riverisation of water flows.
Perhaps the Government should also start thinking of similar projects for Bukit Timah and Orchard roads with green lungs and corridor and rethink development plans for existing green spaces like the current forested Bukit Brown Cemetery along Adam Road, as well as the lush stretch along the railway tracks from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands.
pharoah88 ( Date: 08-Jun-2011 12:41) Posted:
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Green lungs to quell floods
Letter from Liew Kai Khiun
Building boom is part of the problem more sustainable development model is needed |
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