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  1. Johor police chief Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff speaking about the Johor crime situation to Singaporean and Malaysian media in Johor Bahru on Thursday. The police chief of Johor has declared his state to be "safe beyond doubt". Referring to negative perceptions of the crime situation in Johor and recent crime statistics, Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said that the state's police are in "full control". Datuk Mohd Mokhtar noted that the number of violent and property crime cases in Johor fell about 36 per cent between 2008 and last year. Overall, there were 17,105 crime cases in the state last year, or about 10 per cent less than in 2012. The police chief also assured Singaporeans that they are not specifically targeted by criminals: "Crimes are committed when an opportunity arises regardless of (a victim's) race, religion, sex and nationality." Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/johor-safe-beyond-doubt-and-singaporeans-are-not-crime-targets-johor-p
  2. i know i will be flamed for saying this... but once again PRs = Singaporeans
  3. Imagine driving on a busy street where parking is scarce, and you see a vacant parking lot a few cars in front of you. Every driver starts hoping and praying that the cars in front of them don’t take that parking lot. In this case, no one takes that lot. When you’re closer, you realise why. Uncle, why you so kiasu Some overgrown Smurf uncle is standing there reserving the lot for his friend/family/idgaf who. I’m sorry, but “Uncle, this isn’t some Kopitiam where you reserve a table with your tissue.” Here’s the video by SG Road Vigilante, so have a look yourself. Warning – the techno music in cam car might be a little loud for some. Cam car driver’s conversation Cam car driver winds down his window, and we can catch snippets of his conversation with Kiasu Uncle (It would have been a little clearer without the techno). Basic translation from Mandarin to English because my Mandarin CMI “Hello brother, cannot like that reserve parking lot” “My car come here first leh” The uncle replies that his friend/son's car is just behind, and the cam car drives off in a huff hurling a string of profanities that I will not translate here. What the people say Some people think there’s nothing wrong with this Some think otherwise Personally, I think this @#$% should be illegal unless Kiasu Uncle dresses as a tissue box then I've got nothing to say.
  4. www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1420215/singaporeans-not-wealthy-gdp-figures-suggest PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 04 February, 2014, 5:57am UPDATED : Tuesday, 04 February, 2014, 3:00pm Singaporeans not as wealthy as GDP figures suggest HK performs better than the Lion City on the basis of personal consumption expenditure Jake van der Kamp ... the average growth of Singapore's gross domestic product and GDP per capita has outperformed Hong Kong's over the last 45 years. Its GDP was only half that of Hong Kong more than 20 years ago. Today the Lion City's GDP is slightly ahead and GDP per capita is 25 per cent higher than in Hong Kong. Letters to the editor, SCMP, February 2 OK, let's play games with GDP numbers as these are what Singapore bureaucrats love to play and as the numbers are not quite what they seem. We shall start by conceding the headline figures. Yes, as of the latest statistical releases, GDP at prevailing rates of exchange runs at an annual rate of about US$52,000 per person of the total population in Singapore and US$37,000 in Hong Kong, which puts Singapore about 40 per cent ahead, not just 25 per cent. The point about GDP, however, is that it is meant to be a measure of wealth. It does not mean much to you unless it represents wealth that finds its way into your hands, that is, unless it takes the form of a component of GDP called personal consumption expenditure. I now refer you to the first chart. In Singapore, personal consumption expenditure has steadily fallen over the years as a percentage of GDP and, at 35 per cent, is now barely half of what it is in Hong Kong. This is an oddity characteristic of a startup economy, not of a wealthy town like Singapore. But it means that, on the basis of our money-in-your-hands measure, Hong Kong at US$24,000 per capita still outranks Singapore at US$21,000. The second chart gives you a clue as to why the two economies are so different on this measure. Industrial investment in Singapore, always predominantly foreign, has become even more so in recent years, accounting for an average of about 80 per cent of total investment over the past 10 years. I do not have the equivalent figures for Hong Kong but, at a rough guess, the foreign-local ratio would be the reverse. This foreign investment in Singapore has in turn produced a huge trade surplus in both goods and services. Over recent years, it has run at about 30 per cent of GDP. And most of this money goes right back out again to pay foreigners for all the confidence they have shown in Singapore by investing in it so heavily. In short, Singapore's high GDP numbers are mostly an anomaly created by very generous industrial concessions to foreigners. They do not really reflect domestic wealth. In another way, however, these GDP measures of Hong Kong and Singapore do not mean much as a yardstick of the comparative efficiency of either system. The fact is both are parasite economies feeding off much larger neighbours, the mainland in Hong Kong's case and Indonesia and Malaysia in Singapore's. They are both wealthy because they perform services that their neighbours cannot or, for reasons of policy, will not perform. All that their relative state of wealth really tells you is one has fewer scruples than the other about how low it is willing to go. On this measure, I definitely rate Singapore as the more successful. This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Singaporeans not as wealthy as GDP figures suggest
  5. SINGAPORE - It's the stuff of dreams. Growing up and watching colourful, larger-than-life wrestlers like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chris Jericho beat up their opponents on television was a ritual for many kids in Singapore. Now for three Singaporeans, this could soon be reality. Andruew Tang, Sean "Trexxus" Tan and Lee Xin Yi were recently invited by WWE for tryouts in Shanghai. The trio are mainstays from home-grown wrestling promotion Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW). They were among the 40 athletes handpicked from Asian countries including China, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan to attend the four-day trial. Those selected will win a coveted WWE developmental contract. Tang, 30, who helped co-found SPW in 2012, has been wrestling for seven years. Better known by his in-ring moniker "The Statement", Tang said, "It was crazy. It was very surreal to see head coach Matt Bloom (better known to fans as A-Train) in the ring giving advice to trainees. There were so many things to learn during the tryouts." With an opportunity of a lifetime at stake, there was little room for error. Attendees were put through multiple exercise drills, both indoors and outdoors, and were also shown the ropes in the ring. Tan, 23, who stands at 1.83m tall, said, "It was really fun. It really gave us the chance to understand what it's like to be a WWE superstar. For me, I enjoyed it very much because being in the ring is my passion." FIRST LOCAL FEMALE WRESTLER Dubbed Singapore's first female pro-wrestler, Lee, 24, is better known as Alexis Lee in the squared circle. Overcoming parental objections was something she had to deal with since she started wrestling in 2013. "My parents still object to it. Sadly, they did not want me to do it. But now they have new found respect for Andruew, Trexxus and I," said Lee, who's just completed her degree in international business management. Tang, who has wrestled in 11 countries to date, is optimistic about his chances of making the cut. "I did my best. I think I stand a pretty good chance." Tan is more modest. "I don't want to keep my hopes up too high. I would rather not think about it," he said.
  6. 7,700 Singaporeans received inaccurate CHAS subsidies due to software error: MOH SINGAPORE: An error in the computer system administered by NCS caused about 7,700 individuals to receive inaccurate healthcare and intermediate- and long-term care subsidies, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Feb 16). The affected individuals are among those whose applications or renewals of their Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) cards were processed from Sep 18 to Oct 10 last year. The error arose in the computer system when it calculated means-test results. The means-test system calculates the healthcare subsidies which individuals are eligible for, based on their income information. Healthcare subsidies are means-tested so that greater financial support is extended to lower-income households. "The means-test and subsidy tiers for all affected individuals have been corrected by Feb 16, 2019,” MOH said. MOH said no proactive action is required on the part of the affected people at this point. The ministry added that it is working closely with healthcare service providers and scheme administrators to reach out to those affected. “About 1,300 individuals who received lower subsidies will have the difference reimbursed to them. “Another 6,400 individuals received higher subsidies due to the error but will not need to return the additional subsidies disbursed,” MOH added. MOH said that it intends to recover from NCS the costs and expenses incurred as a result of this incident, as allowed for under their contract. The first case of discrepancy in the means-test results of a CHAS cardholder was detected by the CHAS processing team on Sep 24, 2018 and NCS was alerted immediately, MOH said. “The issue was initially attributed to intermittent network connection problems. Five more cases were subsequently detected between Oct 9 and Nov 2, and a more thorough investigation was initiated,” added the health ministry. In late November, NCS traced the root cause of the discrepancies to a software version issue on a server used by the means-test system when it was migrated to another government data centre in September. “This resulted in the means-test results being computed without the requisite income information. NCS further discovered that their deployment team had in fact fixed the software version issue earlier on Oct 10, 2018 in response to an unrelated slow performance issue. “This stopped further cases of errors but it did not correct the means-test results that had been generated from Sep 18, 2018 to Oct 10, 2018,” MOH said. CORRECT SUBSIDY TIERS RESTORED BY FEB 16 MOH said that it worked with NCS from December to establish the extent of the impact, including the correct subsidy tiers for each individual under the different services and schemes. This was to determine who could have received higher or lower subsidies than what they were eligible for. The final assessment was completed on Jan 14 and MOH worked with grant scheme administrators and healthcare institutions to finalise the remedial action plans, including how affected individuals will be informed and reimbursed. The correct subsidy tiers of all affected individuals were restored by Feb 16. Service providers and scheme administrators will now progressively inform the affected individuals and arrange for reimbursements where applicable. “We expect all the affected individuals to be informed by mid-March 2019,” MOH said. MOH said that NCS has acknowledged the error and has taken further remedial action by tightening the system deployment processes. “Additional safeguards have been put in place to prevent any recurrence of such incidents. NCS has reiterated its commitment to being held to the highest standards as a service provider. MOH takes a serious view of the incident, and has worked with NCS on appropriate remedial measures. MOH will work with NCS on measures to prevent such errors in the future,” the ministry stated. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/7-700-singaporeans-received-inaccurate-chas-subsidies-due-to-11249848
  7. Singaporeans going to Bangkok, take note. According to one Singaporean who travelled to the wildly-popular Thai city recently in May 2018, a new kind of scam is allegedly going on at the airport there. This is copied from the Facebook User’s post: I don’t usually write such long posts on Facebook but the terrible experience at Suvarnabhumi Airport during my recent trip over the weekend has prompted me to do so. What I want to achieve is to raise awareness and to prevent more people from being caught in the same situation. I was travelling with 13 other Singaporeans and we landed in Bangkok around 9.40am on 18th May. Everything seemed fine, as per my previous trips to Bangkok – we went through customs, collected our luggage from the baggage claim area, and then proceeded to walk through ‘nothing to declare’. When we were about to exit the airport to head over to our AOT transport (to be clear, we were already out of transit area, about to exit the airport, so that’s where the public is free to walk around), we got stopped by Thai officers, and they asked me “how many of you?” and I replied “14”. I saw the change in expression followed by “oh, can you follow me to office?” With nothing to hide, we followed them to the Excise Department office. They told us they were going to search our luggage. Again, with nothing to hide, we agreed. Some of us came out relatively quickly but we soon realised 2-3 of us were asked to stay in the office with their passports confiscated. Background info: 14 of us walked out together in a group, carrying 6 bottles of Balvenie 16 which we got from Changi Airport Duty Free. Each bottle was packed individually in sealed bags to be carried on board the plane, and each bottle came with an individual receipt. However, 3 of such sealed bags were placed in 1 plastic bag, which meant 2 of us were carrying the 2 plastic bags (containing 3 sealed bags each). So, we are all aware that the alcohol allowance for hard liquor to be brought into Bangkok is 1L per pax. Were we well within our alcohol limit/allowance? You would think so, but NO. They told us we could be charged with tax evasion because only 2 people were carrying the alcohol (even though all of us said we were travelling as a group of 14), and that we LITERALLY were allowed to only CARRY 1 per person. They wanted to fine us up to THB 75,000 (~SGD3,160) BUT we were told they will lower the fine to THB49,000 (~SGD2,065) IF we paid IMMEDIATELY. Note: CASH ONLY, no cards allowed – they told us to get cash from our credit cards OR change our SGD and told us where the ATMs and money changers were. They even threatened to take all of us to the police station if we do not agree to pay the fine. Allow me to emphasize one more time – 14 of us bought 6 bottles of hard liquor. We managed to get them to lower the fine to THB 33,000 (~SGD1,390), not that I’m complaining we got a lower fine but isn’t it weird they could adjust the fine amount? We eventually paid the fine because we were in a foreign country afterall and it was extremely difficult to reason with them when they were threatening ‘jail’ in no time. They were definitely rushing us to pay up. Despite paying the fine, they only returned 2 bottles (out of 6) to us. We also realise that one of the officers was ‘stationed’ at the baggage claim area while we were there and was probably eyeing us the entire time but waited till we have gone through customs before stopping us. To highlight, the officer eyeing us at the baggage claim area eventually ended up at the airport exit, SUSPICIOUS MUCH??? That officer’s area of duty comprise of both INSIDE and OUTSIDE, and they could switch their duties as and when? While we were stuck there (the longest 90mins ever…), we saw a number of people being escorted to the Excise Department office too, comprising of a group of 10 (bringing in 8 bottles which is still within the allowance!!!), a couple (well, apparently it is not okay for the guy to carry the bottle on behalf of his girlfriend/wife), and another smaller group before us. Think about the amount of THB collected over that 90mins. By the way, there was a man from the Taiwan embassy who came up to me 20mins into this incident, asking me if I was Taiwanese. Apparently he snapped a few photos of us standing OUTSIDE the Excise Department office and perhaps he was going to help us if we were Taiwanese. However, he got called out by the Thai officers and they demanded him to delete the photos he took in a PUBLIC SPACE. They even took down his details and demanded to take a photo of his pass. After the episode, we found out from some of our (Thai/Singaporean) friends that they do this to both locals and tourists, that the officers in the airport will go out of the way to find reasons (even the 200 cig allowance) to justify the fines they impose on you. In my opinion, it was absolutely unfair. To my surprise, nothing came up when I tried searching on google for people with similar experiences, which means many people out there could still be unaware since we can’t be the first.
  8. More than half of Singaporeans download music and videos illegally, even while they condemn piracy as a form of theft. A survey of 900 people last year by Singapore-based research consultancy Sycamore Research and Marketing showed that 61 per cent of people here aged 16 to 64 download movies and videos illegally over the Internet. And 17 per cent do so at least once a week. This is even though 66 per cent conceded what they were doing was stealing. Over 180 people from the media and creative industries were told of the findings yesterday at an event at GV Grand cinema. Ang Kwee Tiang, regional director of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said the local music recording industry was in dire straits and urged responsible online behaviour. What was an almost S$90 million (US$71 million) industry in 1997 made just S$20 million (US$15.8 million) in 2012, Ang said. This despite the availability of "legal and reasonably priced alternatives in Singapore" like Amped, a streaming service, and Rdio, an Internet radio service, he added. He called for quick steps to make illegal content less available - a challenge when most illegal content is easily accessible and hosted overseas. Piracy is rampant among youth in particular, with seven out of 10 between the ages of 16 and 24 downloading illegal content. Some said piracy has become such a social norm that they do not think twice about it. "Everybody does it and everybody is used to it, so it doesn't feel like a crime," said a 29-year-old marketing manager, who visits piracy site The Pirate Bay to download United States TV shows at least twice a week. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/1-2-singaporeans-download-illegal-music-videos-poll-20140319
  9. Singapore emerged to be one of the least miserable economy in the world !!! Our leaders, statutory boards, and even some in civil service had all contribute and steered the country well. Which country is better than Singapore. So many expats after working in Singapore are longing to re-locate here. Our leaders are not perfect, but are certainly competent and hardworking. Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-14/most-miserable-economies-of-2018-stay-haunted-by-inflation-beast
  10. Another sad news of a traffic accident. 2 Singaporeans killed in motorcycle crash in Thailand on New Year's Eve. A horrific motorcycle crash in Thailand's southern Phatthalung province on New Year's Eve (Dec 31) has claimed the lives of a Singaporean couple. Mr Ng Yong Sing, 27, was riding a motorcycle with Ms Vanalyn Png, 22, as his passenger when they were thrown into a three-metre deep drain at around 1.20pm. Both victims were employees at the Select Group food and beverage chain. Mr Ng was a business development executive who had recently received a scholarship from the company, while Miss Png started as a marketer less than six months ago. http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/2-singaporeans-killed-motorcycle-crash-thailand-new-years-eve?xtor=EREC-16-4[Emarsys_Newsletter]-20180102&extid=6934d0cfb7b252f1ae9f0dbddf5ff88ca8637e77 http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/2-sporeans-killed-in-motorbike-crash-in-thailand Wishing all to BE SAFE on the roads.
  11. It’s Official: Singapore Second Most Internet Addicted In The World http://vulcanpost.com/42511/singaporeans-most-addicted-internet/ Singapore and India have finally found one thing in common. Over half of the citizens in both the countries can’t spend half a day, or 12 hours, without the internet. The survey was done by Tata Communications, the mobile and internet service-providing arm of the biggest Indian conglomerate, Tata Industries. According to the study, Indians are slightly ahead with 54% Indians becoming net-addicted, beating Singapore’s 52% with a thin margin. Tata Communications, which owns both Tata Docomo and Tata Indicom, also found out that 43% Singaporeans spend at least 6 hours a day surfing the web. India beats this number also at a margin with 46% people spending 6 hours a day surfing internet. According to the survey, If internet is down, the average time they can wait for the service to resume is 7.3 hours. They seem more resilient compared to 25% of Americans who can not survive for 5 hours without the internet. The survey also looks at the value of an internet connection to Singaporeas. While 27% Singaporeans would give up TV, and 20% would give up chocolates in favour of internet, a whopping 38% Singaporeans would give up alcohol to have an internet connection. The last one is certainly a relief. 82% of Singaporeans also believes that the best feature of internet is to connect people globally while just 5% believe it gives a democratic channel for freedom of speech However, people are not as internet educated as you might expect. 62% Singaporeans think internet has unlimited capacity (and the ISPs are not giving them enough bandwidth) while 69% think world wide web and internet are the same thing. Both are popular mistakes. These aren’t the only misconceptions, as survey shows that 2 out of every 3 French don’t know internet ‘resides’ in the data centres. The implications of this study is worrying. When a part of technology, which doesn’t always add value, should not become this integrated into any life. In fact, this addiction has given us a new word, FOMO or “Fear Of Missing Out”. Believe it or not, 80% or every 4 out of 5 internet-using Indians are suffering from this. In another survey, Tata Communications also find out that, 64% of respondents admit to ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO), with 80% of Asian respondents displaying negative emotions when not connected to the Internet. Where is this trend taking us? With smartphones, smartwatches, computers, laptops, tablets, phablets, digitally connected doorbells to toaster ovens (it could happen soon), will we soon justify the weird sci-fi movies where everything is connected and human are implanted with chips to be organically connected? Will the whole human race be connected and controlled by some network of megacomputers? When you think about it, we’re not so far away.
  12. Ask you all ah, do Singaporeans buy car accessories one or not? Want to bring in some items from overseas sell on carousell earn some side pocket money, but scared later things cannot sell or sell damn slowly, Any tips here?
  13. By Dinesh Dayani | DollarsAndSense.sg Singaporeans are affluent and busy people. Many times, we end up either not having time to check through our bills or just trusting that everything is in order. The matter of the fact is that service providers, existing for the sole purpose of profiting usually, will always be incentivised to work in fees into their packages to ensure they extract the maximum value from a customer. Checking our bills every month may be hasslesome, but it take a few short minutes. Further, the accumulation of fees adds up to a substantial amount if gone unchecked for long periods. Here are four types of common fees that every Singaporean will face at some point of their life. 1. Credit Card FeesCredit cards have been created to keep people in debt and spend more than we can. Without doing so, credit card companies will never be successful. So working in additional fees and creating “better” features will only ever serve to keep you in debt. With that being said, here are some credit card fees to watch out for i. Annual FeesCredit card companies charge annual fees to ensure anyone not keeping tabs on their spending will automatically lose reward points or actually pay it as part of their monthly payment to the company. ii. Late Payment FeesThey also have strange ways to compute which day you have to repay your bill by. It’s never the same so be sure to look at the due date and pay your bills before then. Interest charges are scary at over 24% and this does not even include the late payment charge. iii. Delayed Payment FeesMany credit cards offer its customers the option of only having to pay $50 or a certain percentage of their bill each month. What customers do not know is that fees have been built into this method of payment either through preferred interest rates (which are still scary) or a processing fee which is charged as a percentage of the amount. These fees are also applicable when you transfer balances from another card. 2. Banking FeesThe lines are a bit blurred when I mention banking fees since most banks also offer credit cards. But we’ll stick to pure banking fees here. So in addition to the fees they collect on credit cards, banks also profit through these other fees.Minimum Amount Fees i. Minimum Amount FeesMany banks require you to keep a minimum balance, usually $500, in your account each month. Failing to do so will activate a fee of approximately $2. However, this is for savings accounts, note that there are also minimum fees for current accounts that require much higher fees and much higher minimum balances. As a side note, some current accounts also charge fees for their cheque books. ii. Short Term Borrowing FeesAdvertised as a quick and easy way to get instant cash, often within a few hours of application. Fees for such are very prevalent and are in addition to the interest rates charged. 3. Early Termination FeesOnce a company has tied you down to a contract, you can be sure they will fight tooth and nail to make you pay for it. Even when we experience the shameful Singtel TV outage, we had to continue paying for the service. And their discount was given on goodwill rather than an obligation. We’ll leave the debate on how fair this system is, and how big companies can bully consumers without the government intervening. And when the government intervenes, you’ll know that the situation has really been atrocious. i. InsuranceInsurance companies are another financial institution that exists only to profit. They profit by offering consumers insurance, this is not a public service they are doing, they are profiting, and if they don’t do it, someone else will. Of course then, once you sign a contract, usually for the next quarter of a decade, you’re pretty much locked with them. At this point, it should be highlighted that we think you should think hard about any decision regarding insurance when you sign up. It will affect you for a very very long time. ii. TelcosAs mentioned in the opening paragraph, you can’t back out even when you’re being offered a terrible deal. You’ve signed up for it. This is far more acceptable, or so people think, because it only locks you up for 2 years at a go. Nevertheless, you should consider your decision carefully before signing up. There are always other options, like not watching TV and being more productive and using pre-paid cards. iii. MortgagesAnother way banks can earn money from customers. The logic is that banks have already “locked in” a certain amount of interest income that you will pay them, and if you want to back out, you have to cough up for it. This is actually the most fair of the fees they charge. Nevertheless, it’s an additional fee for us to consider when determining how fast or slow we can pay back our mortgages. iv. Almost Anything ElseSame logic applies. When you sign up for a deal, you’re going to be held ransom to that signature. Think before signing for any service. Some common ones are gym membership. 4. Convenience/ Booking FeesThis type of fees is cringe-worthy, mostly because it’s term “convenience” when most consumers are being inconvenienced. i. Movie ticketsThere are ways booking fees when booking tickets online or through mobile apps. Golden Village ($2), Filmgarde ($1) and Cathay ($1.50) all have these fees. ii. Budget AirlinesUsually ranging from $16 to $20, these fees put additional revenue in budget airlines’ pockets for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Some, like Jetstar, offer free payment options via Singpost or 7-11 outlets. We say, why not reward the airlines that offer better deals for their customers. Help them make up for it with greater revenues. They deserve it. iii. Many Other ServicesWe can list down everything under the sun, but the basic premise is that service providers will try to take more money, every possible way, this includes services offering you convenient methods to top up your EZ link card via mobile apps or with credit cards (under $1). In Summary You will have to decide for yourself what fees are acceptable and what fees are not. If you ask us, we will try to cut out all the fees, as the additional headache will be rewarded in the form of huge savings over our lifetimes. Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call, and other times, we have to be a little more firm. Regardless, we think everyone can adjust their lifestyles to not have to pay these kinds of fees. https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/4-types-fees-singaporeans-not-003015173.html
  14. Proven pretty much here in MCF, that no money no talk! Singaporeans more likely to give money than volunteer, help a stranger: Study TODAY reports: The Republic moved up again to 34th on World Giving Index, where Myanmar is ranked the highest. However, Singapore placed 89th for how often they help strangers and 42nd for how often they volunteer. POSTED: 11 Nov 2015 07:50 A volunteer helping an elderly man put on a N95 mask at the Haze Shelter at Tanjong Pagar Community Club on Oct 3, 2015. (Photo: Jaslin Goh / TODAY) SINGAPORE: When it comes to giving to charity, Singaporeans are more likely to give from the pocket, than give up their time to volunteer or help out a stranger. The World Giving Index, compiled by UK-based non-profit Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), showed that nearly six in 10 in Singapore gave money to charity in the month before when polled last year, but less than three in 10 volunteered at a charity, and about four in ten had helped a stranger. Based on these factors, the CAF ranked Singapore 34th on the index, well behind neighbouring countries like Myanmar, which was ranked first, and Malaysia, which placed tenth. But this is a significant improvement from 114th place in the 2012 index and 64th place in the 2013 index. The index ranked 145 countries using 2014 data from Gallup’s World View World Poll, an ongoing research project carried out in more than 140 countries. In most countries surveyed, 1,000 questionnaires are completed by a representative sample of individuals, with larger samples for big countries like China and Russia. Respondents were asked how often they donate to charity, how often they volunteer and how often they help strangers. Singapore ranked 18th for how often residents gave money to charity, but placed 89th for how often they help strangers and 42nd for how often they volunteer. Nonetheless, the Republic was among the top five most improved country over time, improving 11 percentage points over five years. In 2012, for example, only 29 per cent of the respondents gave money to charity, 8 per cent volunteered, and 24 per cent helped a stranger. The report, released on Tuesday (Nov 10), attributed the high levels of giving in Myanmar - where nine out of 10 gave money to charity - and Thailand to high levels of Theravada Buddhism, where many devotees regularly give money and time to ordained monks and nuns, as well as to the upkeep of temples. The country also came in top for volunteering, with half the population doing so, followed by Sri Lanka, Liberia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. “However the achievement will be contrasted with the continuing plight of the Rohingya people within the country,” the report stated, referring to the violent persecution of the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority group who are not allowed to vote and have been driven from their homes to neighbouring countries or into camps. The report also observed that across the world, people responded to those in need. For example, the proportion of people donating money in Ukraine more than quadrupled last year compared with the previous year, probably due to fundraising efforts for those affected by the conflict. Also, Iraq emerged top in helping a stranger despite the security situation in the country. At a global level, the study found that more people are donating money to charity, with almost a third of the world (or 31.5 per cent) giving money to charity in the month before - a rise of 3.2 percentage points from 2013. However, the global proportion of people who said they volunteered time fell slightly, to 21 per cent from 21.3 per cent. And almost half of the world’s adult population said they helped a stranger last year according to the poll, a slight increase on the previous year. i would say that we have to look after ourselves first and if we even struggle to put $$$ on the table for ourselves, hardly can we find the time to volunteer I was in that state, but now tt I am more comfy, I find myself volunteering more with those in need. @little_prince do your pitch here, as how we discussed offline
  15. We ain't Singapore, Singaporeans (new NDP theme song) http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/we-aint-singapore-singaporeans-new-ndp-theme-song-5124890-2.html There was a time when people said That Singapore will shine on, but we didn't There was a time when riots no longer happened and we were happy then they did Our little nation, squeezed and mean, quarreling with one another Where's peace and harmony? This ain't my country, is that my flag? I have no future, I have no life My family is suffering, my friends have left We ain't Singapore, Singaporeans Singapore so glitzy, it’s a chalet but nothing more Foreigners united, they are showing us the door We’ve ended up so broken, our soul-less destiny Singapore at 50, a nation on its knees This ain't my country, is that my flag? I have no future, I have no life My family is suffering, my friends have left We ain't Singapore, Singaporeans We ain't Singapore, we ain't Singapore We will kneel together and see the lion crawl We ain't Singapore, we ain't Singapore We’re a SG50 but nothing more
  16. ok ok be honest.. which bad driving habits are you guys guilty of? confession: i'm very guilty of the beep-beep-beep-then-overtake-from-left-but-got-signal habit
  17. https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/5-jobs-singaporeans-shun-due-011000264.html We all know that a career in finance or top management is the way to go if you want to make decent money in Singapore. Those of us who have the luxury to choose between making money the easy way or the hard way will normally choose whatever gives us the best pay cheque for the least amount of work. But then there are those other jobs that need to be done. You know what I mean, the kind of jobs that come with way too long hours and way too low salaries. While our lifestyle wouldn't be possible without these jobs, the truth is that most of us wouldn't do them if we had a choice. Here I list 5 badly paid jobs that most of us would turn down if we could: Restaurant Manager If you have to put up with the long hours and stress involved in running a restaurant, make sure you make director ($6000 average salary) or you might be stuck with a manager's salary of just $2621. Anyone feel like 12 hours of pure stress 6 days a week for barely enough money to live on? This may be the right job for you. Mechanical Engineering Technician From playing with Lego to building petrol-powered RC planes, boys in particular seem to love the idea of tinkering with technology. But by the time you get to be old enough to understand the opportunities out there, playing around with noisy mechanical devices all day for a pitiful $2486 salary is probably the last thing you would choose to do. Pre-primary Education Teacher Working with smiling kids, watching them grow and get smarter as you teach them what you know, what a joy...not! It would take a lot more than the average salary of $2000 a month to motivate most of us to want to spend our time appeasing a bunch of rowdy kids and complaining parents. Restaurant Chef If the upcoming episodes of Masterchef Asia to be hosted right here in Singapore inspire you to cook for a living, take a moment to consider that the average salary of a hotel restaurant chef is a weak $2635. You will have to enjoy cooking even more to become a restaurant cook, with an average salary of just $1509. It wouldn't take more than 5 minutes in the sweltering heat of a restaurant kitchen to get most Singaporeans pining for an air-conditioned office! Park and Garden Maintenance Worker There’s nothing like working in the great outdoors, but the proverb that recommends you take up gardening if you want to be happy for life certainly doesn’t apply to Singaporeans. There’s a reason you don’t see many Singaporeans tending public parks, and if plants and flowers are your passion, I suggest you take it on as a hobby. Trust me, those flowers won't look nearly as beautiful when you are stacking rocks from dawn till dusk for a meagre $1050 monthly.
  18. What Will it Take to Get Singaporeans to Give Up Their Cars? CAR OWNERSHIP Joanne Poh February 23, 2015 http://blog.moneysmart.sg/car-ownership/what-will-it-take-to-get-singaporeans-to-give-up-their-cars/ Many foreigners are baffled as to why a Singaporean would want to buy a car, paying several times the price of a car in their own home countries. After all, they insist, the MRT system is fantastic and so much better than the subway in New York or the Tube in London. Others argue that car ownership takes on an aspirational veneer in Singapore, and people are willing to pay a lot of money to realise the dream. However, as any Singaporean knows, public transport can only get you so far if you dont live near an MRT station and dont go out after midnight. In order to really change Singaporeans attitude to car ownership, some changes need to happen first, like the following. Increased accessibility to public transport The occasional breakdown and daily shoving matches not withstanding, the MRT is fairly efficient. While it pales in comparison to its counterparts in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei, it does offer the quickest way to get from Jurong East MRT station to Bugis MRT station, especially considering the jams on the road. But the problem is that most Singaporeans live in suburban areas quite a distance from the central zone, and unless you actually live within wallking distance of Jurong East MRT in the above example, getting to the station can be a big headache in itself. I cant pretend Im not just a little bitter about this, as I live in an area with only one bus, which has taken up to 1 hour to arrive in the past. When you think about all that lost time spent waiting for the bus in order to get to the MRT station, its not hard to see why many Singaporeans dont mind shelling out the cash to buy a car. Either driving to work or using the park and ride scheme to get to an MRT station can save you more than an hour each daya life saver if you have to work long hours. Cheaper late night transport options While raising the prices of cars can deter people from buying them, those who routinely travel after midnight save much less, which then increases the attractiveness of having your own transport. Taxi fares in Singapore have risen quite a bit over the last ten years, and taking a 30 minute cab ride after midnight can easily cost you more than $25. If you go out for late night suppers a lot, get the urge to shop at Mustafa at 3am or work the graveyard shift but have a meagre transport allowance, getting a car makes a lot of sense. While we do have NightRider and Night Owl bus services, these are limited and operate only only Fridays and Saturdays and the eve of public holidays, presumably to cater to partygoers. I personally think the NightRider services are great, and if they could be extended to the other days of the week and serve a wider range of areas, going out at night would be a lot more affordable, considering the cost of two beers and a cab ride home with midnight surcharge could easily set you back $50. More independence and free time for kids Many Singaporeans Ive spoken to seem to be of the opinion that a car becomes a necessity when you have kids. However, unless you ferry your kids around every single day, the odd taxi ride to the zoo or the clinic would probably still cost much less than a car. The problem is that many Singaporeans actually do ferry their kids around every single day. I live just outside a primary school, and every morning and afternoon the road gets jameed by an insane number of parental cars just waiting to drop their offspring off at the school gates. Many parents prefer to get stuck in a neverending queue of parents cars than to drop their kids off a 5 minute walk away. Singapore is one of the safest countries in the world and actually the perfect place for kids to learn how to use public transport on their own, since theres little fear of their being kidnapped and sold as slaves. On the other hand, very often its not that kids arent able to take public transport on their ownbut rather that they have too many after school activities. Parents need cars so they can drive frantically from tuition centres to piano lessons to Young Genius seminars. If kids are allowed to be independent and free up enough time in their schedule to remove the need for parents to become chauffeurs, more people might realise that it is indeed possible to parent without a car. Greater comfort on public transport If youve ever had a migraine, been pregnant or just damned tired after another 12 hour work day, youve probably sworn that you would either quit your job or buy a car. For many people, their biggest bugbear about having to rely on public transport isnt commuting timeits comfort level. To be fair, the MRT and buses in Singapore are actually quite comfortable on their own. Nobodys asking for velvet cushions or free foot massages during their commute. But when the trains and buses are packed to bursting point, you have to stand throughout an hour-long commute and youve got armpits in your face and heels stabbing at your feet, a car looks that much more appealing. Unfortunately, even if SMRT started being more generous about the air con on the trains and hiring smiling greeters to wish passengers a pleasant commute, the crux of the matter is that for those with a long commute, standing for an hour or more causes enough discomfort to send them running to car dealers. When youre already exhausted from work, trying to balance on the steps of an overcrowded bus or having to grab for the poles as the driver makes yet another emergency stop can take its toll. With office decentralisation already starting to happen and the government making efforts to improve the capacity of the public transport infrastructure, lets hope this problem gets solved someday. Do you have a car and why did you buy one despite the high cost? Share your reasons! :)
  19. Who the heck would want this guy to be a MP? kee chiu! so i can f**k you until you wake up your bloody idea!
  20. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/most-elderly-singaporeans/1415888.html Aside from reading this as a piece for increasing the age of retirement, but somehow the numbers don't seem to match...80% confident, 37% feel little to worry, 46% ave or poor finances? Generally on the ground, I find the elderly more negative about their futures. Sitting in older estates kopi tiam can hear alot of stories... Also wondering whats the rational in determining our life starts dropping at 65?
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