Category: Singapuraku

Ministry Of Home Affairs Issues Tender For “Smart Vest System”

Wanted: A gizmo that frees up space on frontline police officers’ equipment-heavy waist belts, as well as serve at least 10 other functions, ranging from juicing up the myriad equipment carried by officers to cooling officers down.

The form this contraption will come in: A vest.

In a tender for a prototype of this “smart vest system” posted last Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said a frontline police officer’s waist belt is now chock-full of equipment — revolver, Taser, bullet pouch, radio set, baton and handcuffs. The bulk gets in the way sometimes, which “greatly restricts (their) ability to execute their duties”, such as when they need to chase or restrain a suspect.

On top of this, a myriad of extra smart devices they will need in their policing, such as a mobile data terminal, smart phone and wearable camera, has no place to go. Not only does this mean equipment loss may become a “major concern”, a way has to be found to keep the various devices juiced up throughout an officer’s 12-hour shift.

The ministry is sourcing for a “smart vest system” that can incorporate solutions to all these problems, and more.

For instance, it wants sensors to be integrated to the holsters for revolvers and Tasers. When either is drawn, a video-camera — such as the body-worn camera that has been issued to some officers — will be triggered to start recording.

These footage will be stored on a centralised system — capable of holding 72 hours’ of information — built in to the vest. This system must also be capable of sensing the officer’s location and body orientation — standing, sitting, laying down.

In addition, data and video streams must be capable of being automatically transmitted in “near real-time” via 3G or LTE network to a “remote control and monitoring station” (RCMS).

Separately, the vest must have a power management system for officers to keep track of which of his body-worn electronic equipment are running low on power, while there should also be a single battery pack that can provide 12 hours’ charging — including wirelessly — for any of his devices.

When any of the equipment issued to an officer goes out of his vicinity, the vest should also sound an alarm to him promptly and transmit the missing equipment’s location to his smart device.

On top of all these, the vest must be able to monitor the wearer’s health conditions. An abnormal heart rate or if the wearer is laying down for a long time will send alarms to the RCMS.

The vest also needs to provide a body cooling system to keep officers’ body temperatures to below 36.9 degree Celsius, and assess the hazards of electromagnetic radiation on their bodies.

In terms of addressing the bulk on officers’ waist belts, the ministry said the vest must keep the centre of mass close to and high up along the officer’s body, and ensure that the strapped-on load is balanced. The vests must also be weatherproof and operable in temperatures between 15 and 40°C and a relative humidity of up to 100 per cent.

According to the tender posted last Friday on government procurement portal GeBiz, prospective suppliers will have up to April 6 to submit applications.

After a proposal is accepted, the supplier has one year to deliver the “smart vest system” and a trial will be conducted for one to five months.

The search for this seemingly all-powerful vest comes amid a wider push by the police to harness technology. During the MHA’s Committee of Supply debate last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said his ministry will “significantly step up” investments in technology to boost its operations and crime-fighting abilities.

In recent years, the police have rolled out several techy crime-busters, including surveillance cameras at HDB blocks and multi-storey carparks, and most recently, body-worn cameras.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 10, 2015
Future Music Festival Asia 2015 Cancelled

SINGAPORE – The Future Music Festival Asia 2015 will be officially cancelled and festival-goers will receive refunds, said organisers on Sunday.

In a post on their Facebook page, the group apologised to festival-goers for the “inconvenience (they) have been put through” and said details on the refund would be made available on Monday.

Festival organiser Livescape had twice applied for and failed to secure a public entertainment license from the authorities here. Livescape then submitted an appeal to the Minister for Home Affairs on March 3, but that was rejected too.

About 15,000 tickets have been sold for the event, which was scheduled to be held for the first time in Singapore at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Friday and Saturday, March 13 to 14. Big acts such as Public Enemy and The Prodigy were slated to perform.

Started in Australia in 2006 and considered one of the biggest dance music festivals in South-east Asia, the event made headlines last year when six of its concert-goers died from drug overdose in Kuala Lumpur.

Tickets to the festival in Singapore, which cost between $148 and $388, were sold via Sistic, as well as on the festival’s website.

Source: www.straitstimes.com and www.futuremusicfestival.asia

March 9, 2015
PAP Engineering A Subservient Middle Class

Every stable well developed first world country will have one common characteristic, a large and strong middle class. A strong middle class is the basic building block of a mature and developed economy and society. A strong middle class provides the consumption as well as the inputs needed to drive and sustain a country’s economy.

I offer an alternative perspective to the author’s rendition of needs and wants.

Needs are defined as a necessity for survival for every living creature. It is however not unique to the middle class or any class. Healthcare, safety, law and order, housing, education.. are universal requirements.

Wants are the source of inspiration and motivation for a better quality of life for ones family. This is the basic DNA of humanity that drives its ability to create, innovate and progress a nation forward. Without wants, a state of mediocrity will exist.

What the reporter Rachel advocates is that for the Singaporean middle class to accept mediocrity, and become the subservient workforce to support the PAP elitist policy of providing for themselves, super rich and rich. Such policies like the freeze on medical student intake remaining the same since the beginning of times, the removal of the recognition of law degree programs from overseas universities, the PAP propaganda to discourage our youth from pursuing higher education, the prejudice of university scholarships against our Singaporean youth. By denying the opportunities for advancement for our youth, the PAP government is once again engineering themselves to dominate over Singaporeans and to rule forever.

Therefore as the subservient workforce forever doomed to a life of submission, the middle class should have no ambition for improving their quality of life, and therefore not harbour any desires for wants. Needs is enough for the middle class and for all Singaporeans, except the PAP and the rich.

The PAP is saying to all Singaporeans to accept the life of mediocrity and serve the rich and elites.

PAP has no credibility

* Comment appeared in TRE article: ST reporter says middle-class can’t tell ‘needs’ from ‘wants’

Source: www.tremeritus.com

March 9, 2015
Pre-Schools Feel The Squeeze In HDB Void Decks

Long considered the “default” option for situating affordable, accessible childcare centres in Singapore’s heartlands, public housing void decks that are big enough or have the right layout to accommodate them are becoming increasingly challenging to secure.

Although the demand for childcare continues to grow, adequate space is running out in older estates, while childcare operators said void decks in newer estates are smaller. A spokesperson for PAP Community Foundation (PCF), which runs 360 kindergartens and childcare centres here, said it has noticed a crunch in void-deck spaces since 2013, with spaces in new estates harder to secure.

NTUC First Campus, which runs more than 110 My First Skool pre-school centres and plans to open another 10 this year, said it has had to combine four to six bays under the same or nearby blocks of flats for seven of its 22 new centres over the past two years to get around the space crunch.

Late last month, Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing, responding to a question in Parliament, acknowledged the shortfall in the number of childcare places in built precincts that lack void-deck spaces. His ministry has worked with the Ministry of National Development to ensure space is provided for in the new towns. More details will be given on other ways to address the lack of childcare places in estates without enough void-deck space for centres, he said. At a separate event, he also suggested that centres could be designed upfront onto the second floors of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats or car parks.

PCF said the crunch in void-deck space has been more evident in areas such as Punggol and Jurong West. “(Void-deck spaces here) are either too small for development or reserved for community use,” added its spokesperson. In areas where demand is high, it will look into expanding existing centres. “PCF is exploring alternative spaces such as community centres … and malls with integrated development,” the spokesperson said.

Agape Little Uni’s director Chris Lim felt the problem lies with how allocated void-deck spaces are not “purpose built”. “I would like to see (a) more holistic and focused approach towards it. Not so much finding different corners to park a childcare centre, whether it’s (a) void deck (or) any other part that is a usable space,” he said.

Architect Ong Ker-Shing of Lekker Architects, which was commissioned by Lien Foundation to look into innovative design for pre-schools, said void decks often have structural walls that cut the space into pieces, which is not ideal. Indeed, in building some of its centres across several HDB blocks, NTUC First Campus had to build more kitchens, pantries and toilets at these locations, and faces the challenge of ensuring principals are within easy reach. It has also built centres on less conventional sites such as the former Serangoon bus interchange.

Lien Foundation CEO Lee Poh Wah said a pre-school in a void deck can typically take about 80 to 100 children, which may not be the most economically efficient. In comparison, St James’ Church Kindergarten has an enrolment of 1,200, enabling it to be more efficient, he said, adding that there are about 1,500 pre-schools. In comparison, there are 182 primary schools.

Asked about the void-deck crunch and plans to set aside second floors of HDB blocks for childcare centres, the Early Childhood Development Agency said it monitors local demand and works closely with the HDB to facilitate expansion of such capacity. “In new estates with more young families, childcare centres are pre-built into new Build-To-Order developments to cater to demand ahead of time,” said its spokesperson. Alternative premises such as workplaces are being explored.

The agency also said it is on track to meet the target of creating 20,000 new childcare places by end-2017.

Currently, Little Footprints Preschool at Punggol Field sits on the second floor of an HDB block, which is also connected to the landing deck. While this is one way of addressing the shortfall in spaces, Mr Ong said the feasibility of doing so depends on the size of the centre and configuration of each HDB building. Also, potential challenges include congestion at drop-off and pick-up times, as well as noise. “The planning of childcare centres works best when more open, flexible areas are available to allow for the complexities of managing the flow of classrooms, activity spaces and toilets,” he added.

Mr Lee said: “There is a need to rethink the space and economics of preschools in order to build quality and affordability for the long term.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 9, 2015
Employer Forces Maid To Clean Canal Behind Home And Polish Leaves Of Trees In Nearby Park

Residents at a private estate Colchester Grove were shocked to find a foreign domestic worker cleaning up rubbish, debris and leaves at a nearby canal just behind her owner’s property.

The same worker has also been seen carrying a pail of water and a cloth to a nearby park in the estate in an attempt to “polish” the leaves of the trees and bushes in the park.

A resident of the estate, who did not want to be named, said that when asked about what she was doing, the worker said that she was being asked to do these chores because she had finished what she needed to do in her employer’s home. As her employer felt that she did not have enough to do, she was sent out to do extra cleaning.

Residents in the estate have expressed concern about the foreign domestic worker’s safety. It was observed that every time there is rain, the canal’s water level rises swiftly and brings with it strong currents, which could easily sweep a person away.

One resident said that the owner should not even be assigning the maid to work outside of the home as anything outside of the owner’s home was not within the maid’s job scope.

When approached, the worker refused to comment.

The employer however did not deny making his worker clean the canal behind his home as he had wanted to prevent any potential dengue breeding. He explained that the canal in the back of his home was often clogged with fallen branches and leaves, which could become potential mosquito breeding spots.

The employer added that he approached his estate’s conservancy services vendor in the past, but they would only perform cleaning duties in the canal once every month.

He did not deny asking the maid to polish the leaves of a nearby park as he did not see anything wrong with doing so.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

March 9, 2015