Enhancements To Confusion

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore just announced that it has completed its review of the Off-Peak Car (OPC) scheme and will implement some initiatives to ‘enhance’ the OPC scheme.

I would like the LTA to explain its definition of ‘enhance’ because from what I read their new policies just cause confusion.

First off, LTA will implement an e-Day License to replace the current paper license which OPC owners need to put on their vehicles if they want to use the vehicles during peak hours. So there’s no need for owners to put on the day license 23 Nov 2009 as long as they have applied for it online.

Here’s the thing; owners do not need to apply for the e-Day License beforehand. They can use the OPC and then apply for the e-Day License online the following day. LTA say this is to offer greater flexibility for drivers. I say it just offer more confusion for everyone.

You want to use the OPC during peak hours, then apply for the license first then use it. What’s wrong with that? If you don’t have the license, you can’t use the OPC. That’s simple right? LTA is allowing owners to use the OPC, and then apply for the license on the following day? Wouldn’t that be more confusing for everyone?

And don’t even get me started on the cash rebates for conversion of normal cars to the new OPC scheme. The payment of $1,100 every six months' registration as an OPC is sheer madness.

Right now when you convert normal cars to the OPC scheme, it’s relatively straight forward. When you de-register the car, you get the PARF/COE rebate and an extra rebate based on how long you drive as an OPC. Now when you convert normal cars to the new OPC scheme, you will get a payment of $1,100 for every six months you keep your car as an OPC.

I think a lot of owners will go ‘YES!’ when they hear this news but since you will get less money when you de-register the car; there’s not much difference really. Any money you get now is deducted from the money you will get at the end. However if you just imagine the sheer amount of cheques LTA will be issuing out every 6 months, I will say that unless LTA suddenly hired a lot more people in their finance department, some owners will have a hard time getting some of these cheques.

That is when LTA start issuing the cheque! To add to the confusion, LTA hasn’t given a date on when the new OPC conversion scheme will start. The new OPC conversion scheme is an idea LTA have but they are, seemingly, still unsure about the scheme and have not stated when the new OPC conversion scheme will start.

Minister for Transport Mr. Raymond Lim said that LTA are studying how to make the OPC scheme more convenient and attractive to car owners. Maybe he should add to it and find a way for it to be less confusing for everyone else.

Roots of Philanthropy

In Singapore, social welfare are dirty words. The Singapore government has made a proud point that Singapore does not have a minimum wage, there’s no social security, and the only worker union we have is shall we say…easy to talk to.

Since the Singapore government is so against social welfare of any kind, I find it hearting that private agencies are willing to take up the slack for the government. A survey on 46 different grant-making entities in Singapore show that over 80% of them offered financial assistance directly to the needy or supported the social welfare programmes run by charities.

Philanthropy doesn’t really have much of a history in Singapore and most Singaporeans, including myself, don’t really bother about philanthropy but it’s good to know that there are some roots being grown here. Now if the Singapore government will only follow suit…

Comics this week

Nova #27- Richard Rider prove his mettle as Nova Prime as he found a way to diplomatically led his small team to safety as well as keeping Blastaar on his side. It was interesting to see how much Rider has grown into a leader who can take control of a potentially explosive situation and turn it to his advantage by talking instead of blasting. He then setup the foundation of the Nova Corps by allowing some of the Nova Corps members to stay behind for training. Yes, Richard Rider has turned from a green daredevil into a veteran leader.

Guardians of the Galaxy #16- “So how do we get a fifty-zillion ton inter-dimensional space-squid to let go of a self-propelled interstellar city? Note to self…sometimes I know exactly how Jack Flag feels.” Yes! After a few issues on cruise control, Guardians of the Galaxy is back! At the start it was hilariously funny (Groot is a genius who only Maximus can understand), but in the end it turn into a mammoth tragedy as members died and Warlock turned himself into the Magus to save the universe. Some good might just turn out from the disappointing War of Kings as the Guardians of the Galaxy now has a firm enemy in the Universal Church of Truth. Great story, story art; regular service is back!

Crisis is...Over?

There have been a lot of talk but the financial crisis being over and that worldwide recovery is just around the corner. Personally I don’t buy it, and it seems that I’m not the only one.

The reason I say this is because a pawnshop has just been opened along Orchard Road. Orchard Rd is the premier shopping belt in Singapore, a place where tourists and rich Singaporeans go and spend money. Jewellery company Aspial, decided to open the shop as it feels ‘there is business potential in the industry’.

Yup, sound like a ringing endorsement of the economy to me!

Fire Hazard?

I have been living in the same HDB flat for the past 20 years. For almost all of those years, my mother has always had a few potted plants outside our flat.

Now these are small potted plants placed along the common corridor, and not once has there been any problem whatsoever on those plants. Suddenly we received a notice from the town council stating that these potted plants are a ‘fire hazard’ and we have to get rid of these potted plants.

Sorry but has fire suddenly became more dangerous recently? How is it that for over 20 years these small potted plants were perfectly okay, but suddenly they became a fire hazard? In fact I dare say that if our potted plants are not allowed, then HDB might as well ban all households in HDB estates from having potted plants. This is because my mother only has 3 small ones now. If those are a ‘fire hazard’, then all potted plants are ‘fire hazards’!

We’re still awaiting a reply but maybe some Singaporeans out there can help me understand just what the town council is thinking.

What's the Big Deal?

When Nominated Member of Parliament Mr Viswa Sadasivan came up to make his maiden speech in Parliament, I don’t think he was expecting such a response from Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

MM Lee came up and defended the position of the Singapore government. Since then, the internet in Singapore has been buzzing about how Mr Viswa was destroyed by MM Lee. However to me, I fail to understand why this is such a big deal.

Mr Viswa came up to make a point and criticized the Singapore government for certain policies; MM Lee came up and defended the Singapore’s position. What’s the big deal? Isn’t this what Parliament is for? So the MM decided to walk up to defend the Singapore government instead of giving the job to some unknown or lesser known MP; what’s wrong with that?

Yes I know that Mr Viswa is a newcomer while MM Lee is a veteran (talk about an understatement), so it look like a case of a lion eating a mouse but there’s nothing wrong with it. MM Lee is a Member of Parliament, a member of the PAP (People’s Action Party), there’s nothing wrong with him coming up to defend the government.

To me this is just a case when 2 Members of Parliament has a disagreement with each other and argued about their stands in Parliament. Frankly, I hope for more of this in the future. What’s the big deal?

2 Billion People With Swine Flu

Just when the global threat of swine flu seems to be dying out, the World Health Organization (WHO) has come out with some startling predictions of the threat.

Also known as H1N1, the WHO predict that there will be an explosion of swine flu cases worldwide in the coming months with as many as 2 billion people becoming infected over the next two years. So far the percentage of people dying due to swine flu is low, but even if 1% of infected people died due to the H1N1; that is 1% out of 2 billion people!

I don’t know if the WHO is just trying to scare governments into preparing for the worst (I hope they are not but in a way, I also hope they are) but if this is the predictions of experts, then governments throughout the world need to step up measures to find a cure for H1N1. All the talk of measures to combat swine flu is good and fine but it’s not of much help if there is no cure to the disease!

I hope the experts at the WHO don’t take this the wrong way but I am hoping that they are totally and absolutely wrong here.