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Gerald Giam: Caught In The NSEW Line Breakdown

I was caught in the massive breakdown of the North-South and East-West Line (NSEWL) of the MRT yesterday evening as I was heading to a meeting at the WP HQ in Jalan Besar. When I reached Dover station at about 7.05pm, the eastbound train was already at the platform but with all its cabin lights off. I got onto the train anyway, but waited almost 5 minutes before it finally moved off. The westbound train on the opposite track was similarly stalled. My train stopped midway to the next station and all its lights went out again. This pattern was to repeat itself several more times over the next 25 minutes. When I reached Outram Park station at about 7.35pm, the lights in the train went out a final time and we were told to detrain as it was no longer in service.

The PA system announcements at the station informed us that train service on the entire NSEWL had been suspended and free shuttle buses were available. So I exited the station thinking I could hop onto one of the buses. Big mistake! The street level was packed with people and there were no buses to be seen and no directional signs to guide the stranded commuters. Someone asked me where the buses were. I told him honestly that I had no idea.

Knowing that it would be pointless to attempt taking a cab, I headed back down to the station, against the flow of the crowd, hoping to get in again and take the North-East Line (NEL). But all the fare gates were closed and I was told by an SMRT staff that I had to exit and walk around the station to get into the NEL entrance. I finally boarded the NEL and arrived at my meeting almost half an hour late.

I consider myself fortunate that I was able to hop onto the NEL. The guy sitting next to me on the East-West Line train (before it stopped at Outram) said that he was heading to his home in Simei. I think he, like hundreds of thousands of other commuters, probably got home much later than usual.

This 3.5 hour service disruption, which happened simultaneously on the two busiest MRT lines during the Tuesday evening rush hour, was probably the most serious service disruption ever. I had flashbacks to November 2011, when I had another close shave — I just missed getting on one of the trains from City Hall station that was to eventually stall in the middle of the tunnel.

According to SMRT and LTA, the outage was due to a power fault. Preliminary investigations found that a faulty train could have caused the power to trip. I find it astonishing that a fault with a single train could cause power to be cut to trains at all 58 stations on the NSEWL. Is there so little redundancy in the system? Or are all the circuits strung together in series like a cheap set of Christmas tree lights?

As of the time of this writing, it is still unclear if the MRT service will be available in time for the Wednesday morning rush hour. SMRT has already advised commuters to make alternative travel plans. Both the Minister for Transport and LTA have come out to apologise for the breakdown and demanded that the faults be investigated and rectified. That is little comfort for the quarter-of-a-million or so commuters who suffered this massive inconvenience and frustration.

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the November 2011 MRT disruptions had identified maintenance (or lack thereof) as a key cause of the multiple breakdowns then. Now, almost 4 years later, with a new CEO at the helm who promised to focus more on engineering and maintenance capabilities, we seem to be back to square one. What can we expect moving forward? Another COI?

Source: http://geraldgiam.sg

July 9, 2015
Root Cause Not Found, Lee Hsien Loong ‘Very Concerned’

While an overnight sweep of the North-South and East-West lines turned up several faults including damaged power cables and water leakage, the authorities and train operator SMRT were still none the wiser about the root cause of yesterday’s (July 7) unprecedented breakdown — prompting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to express his concern that the problem, which brought the two lines to a complete halt and left about 250,000 commuters stranded across the island, could flare up again.

Mr Lee noted that Land Transport Authority and SMRT staff worked overnight to check the trains, tracks and cables and the trains resumed full service throughout today without a glitch. “But because we have not identified the root cause of the power trips, we are still very worried that the problem may recur,” Mr Lee wrote on Facebook.

Mr Lee said he was “very concerned” about the breakdown and was briefed about the situation at the LTA Operations Centre today. “We are still trying to find out the cause of the problem… Hope we identify and resolve the faults quickly, to prevent further inconvenience to commuters.”

Earlier, the LTA and SMRT held a press conference where SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee said that overnight checks identified two damaged power cables along the North-South line near Bishan MRT station, a faulty relay system at Kranji’s power substation, and a water leakage close to the third-rail insulator at Tanjong Pagar station.

While these problems had been rectified, they did not provide a conclusive picture of what could have caused the multiple power trips, which intensified and forced SMRT to shut down the lines — which made up the bulk of the Republic’s MRT network and ran through 54 stations.

The problem, which was quite unlike anything SMRT had dealt with before, was baffling its experts. “We are not 100 per cent sure on the root cause,” he said. He noted that it could be a combination or any of several factors such as from train and track conditions, train frequency, and the amount of moisture on the tracks.

There are protective relay systems installed in power substations along the North-South and East-West lines, which are activated when voltage between the running rail and electrical earth surges beyond a safe limit. The fact that the running rail is connected across both lines complicates investigations, he said. “So it is very hard for us to isolate exactly where this breakdown in insulation was …(But) if we don’t do it, it will happen in different parts of the network, it is unpredictable, it is random, depending on how many train runs in the system. Where there are more trains, the chances of it happening is higher,” he said.

Train services ground to a halt at 7.15pm yesterday. The first signs of trouble surfaced more than an hour earlier, when SMRT detected multiple power trips. These were initially rectified but the power trips intensified in frequency and impact, and eventually caused nine trains to stall between stations. SMRT managed to get these trains moving again to the nearest stations before it shut down the system.

Working through the night, engineers checked the trains, tracks and power systems for anomalies such as burn marks, dislodged and dangling cables. Preliminary investigation initially narrowed the problem to a a faulty train but it was later found to be normal.

Mr Lee Ling Wee said the glitches discovered during the overnight checks were not identified during routine maintenance checks, which are conducted every six months, with more comprehensive checks carried out once a year.

“Our routine checks do cover these (components) but … it’s not like (checks are done) every day … so you can expect in an ageing system, some of these may fail in between the intervals,” he said. “There (was) no reason for us to suspect that these things will fail, because all regular maintenance checks have not uncovered such issues in the past.”

Nevertheless, he said that SMRT may increase the frequency of the checks and look into installing monitoring devices that can spot faults on a real-time basis. With 45 more trains to be added to the North-South and East-West lines after the completion of sleeper replacement and re-signalling work, SMRT will engage external consultants to assess the lines’ power capacity and robustness “with more urgency” following the breakdown, he added. LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong said a new voltage-limiting device has been piloted for Downtown Line 1, which can isolate power trips.

Transport experts whom TODAY spoke to called on SMRT to step up its maintenance regime, including by tapping technology.

SIM University transport analyst Park Byung Joon said that real-time sensors may help nip glitches in the bud. “Since it is not physically possible to expand maintenance hours, it is time to think about more expensive investments to enhance the maintenance schedule,” he said.

National University of Singapore engineering professor Lee Der-Horng added: “Perhaps (SMRT) should shorten the intervals between routine checks. I would have thought that SMRT would have accumulated enough experience and data to determine an optimal maintenance regime.”

At the press conference, both Mr Chew and SMRT chief executive Desmond Kuek apologised again to affected commuters. Mr Kuek said: “(The incident) is a stark reminder that the journey to bringing about a higher order of reliability and assurance is a difficult one … but we are committed to it.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 9, 2015
Apabila Budaya Melayu ‘Ditelan’ Budaya Arab

Baru-baru ini penulis diberitahu sudah sukar bagi wanita Melayu untuk membeli baju kurung di pasaran menjelang sambutan Aidilfitri tidak lama lagi.

Penulis diberitahu, mereka terpaksa menempah baju kurung di kedai-kedai jahit kerana kebanyakan kedai-kedai sudah tidak menjualnya disebabkan jubah menjadi pilihan ramai pembeli.

Perkara ini tidak memeranjatkan kerana apabila melihat jiran-jiran penulis dan kebanyakan wanita Melayu masa kini, mereka lebih gemar menggunakan jubah berbanding baju kurung.

Apabila pulang ke kampung berhari raya, kebanyakan adik beradik dan saudara mara sudah menggunakan jubah berbanding baju kurung.

Hari ini, jika anda berurusan dengan agensi-agensi kerajaan, baju kurung digunakan lebih ramai wanita bukan Melayu berbanding Melayu.

Kerana kuatnya proses Arabisasi yang melanda pada hari ini, sudah sukar untuk melihat baju kurung teluk belanga, cekak musang, Kedah, Melaka dan Pahang dipakai wanita Melayu. Begitu juga dengan baju kebaya.

Sedikit demi sedikit kebudayaan Melayu runtuh dan digantikan dengan kebudayaan Arab.

Ini kerana, majoriti orang-orang Melayu sudah tidak dapat membezakan lagi di antara Arab dan Islam. Bagi mereka Arab itu Islam dan Islam itu Arab.

Neo Talibanisasi dan Arabisasi

Fenomena ini ditambah lagi dengan pulangnya ramainya pemuda-pemudi Melayu dari Timur Tengah masuk bekerja di jabatan-jabatan kerajaan.

Kalau dahulu golongan ini hanya “bersarang” dalam PAS, kini mereka sudah mendapat tempat di dalam Umno.

Apabila golongan ini mendapat tempat di dalam Umno keadaan menjadi lebih parah kerana parti Melayu itu memerintah kerajaan dan tidak hairanlah mengapa pejabat-pejabat kerajaan kini sudah “bertukar suasana”.

Maka tidak hairanlah hari ini, sudah tidak terlihat perbezaan di antara Umno dengan PAS.

Secara tidak sedar, jenis Islam yang dianuti orang-orang Melayu pada hari ini juga berbeza, lebih keras dan tertutup berbanding generasi terdahulu.

Neo Talibanisasi dicampur dengan Arabisasi melahirkan guru-guru sekolah menghalang pelajar bukan Islam makan dan minum secara terbuka pada bulan Ramadan sehingga menempatkan mereka di dalam tandas.

Lebih ekstrem lagi apabila ada guru sekolah yang menyuruh anak murid bukan Islam minum air kencing sendiri jika haus disebabkan kantin tidak dibuka pada bulan Ramadan.

Sebenarnya Arabisasi dan Neo Talibanisasi merupakan perkara baharu dalam masyarakat Melayu. Semuanya bermula selepas revolusi Islam di Iran pada 1979.

Dasar “eksport revolusi” yang dilancarkan Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini untuk menyeru rakyat di negara-negara Islam agar melawan pemerintah zalim menakutkan Arab Saudi.

Ini menyebabkan Arab Saudi melancarkan serangan balas dengan menggunakan wang minyak untuk melakukan penjajahan budaya dan menyebarkan fahaman Wahabi bagi memastikan status quo pemerintahan mereka selamat.

Bezanya dengan penjajahan budaya barat, Arab Saudi hanya menumpukan ke negara-negara majoriti Islam.

Sebab itu di Nusantara ini, selain Malaysia, Indonesia juga mengalami masalah sama. Presiden Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) sedar akan permasalahan ini.

Semasa acara pembukaan Munas Ulama Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama di Masjid Istiqlal Jun lalu, Jokowi mengeluarkan istilah “Islam Nusantara” sebagai jawapan kepada Arabisasi dan Neo Talibanisasi.

“Islam Nusantara adalah Islam yang ramah, tidak radikal, inklusif dan toleran,” kata Jokowi dalam wawancara dengan BBC Indonesia selepas acara tersebut.

Jokowi menekankan Islam di Nusantara tersebar dengan “dengan cara pendekatan budaya, tidak dengan doktrin yang kaku dan keras”.

“Islam Nusantara ini didakwahkan dengan melibatkan budaya, melestarikan budaya, menghormati budaya, tidak dengan memusnahkan budaya,” katanya.

Sayangnya di Malaysia pemimpin kita tidak sedar. Mungkin mereka sedar tetapi hanya membiarkannya demi kepentingan undi dan kuasa.

Perlahan-lahan juga bahasa Melayu dijajah bahasa Arab. Sebab itulah pada bulan Ramadan, jelas sekali perubahannya.

Penggantian istilah daripada “buka puasa” kepada “iftar”, “doa” kepada “dua”, “sembahyang” kepada “solat” terlihat dengan begitu jelas.

Malahan sesetengah Melayu menganggap “kurang Islam” jika masih menggunakan “istilah lama”.

Sebab itulah tidak mustahil satu hari nanti, baju kurung dan baju Melayu hanya dapat dilihat di muzium sahaja kerana masyarakat Melayu sudah menganggap memakainya sebagai “kurang Islam”. – 5 Julai, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

July 7, 2015
10 Tips To Get The Best Out Of The Blessed Last 10 Nights Of Ramadan

Rilek1Corner pl share. sumbody share with me kat whatsapp

1. No matter how good or bad your Ramadan went, enter the last 10 Days well prepared, with pure intentions, full energy and a positive outlook.

2. Listen to or read the Tafsir of Surah Al-Qadr to know about this amazing night, to switch that mode ON and to keep it remained ON for all the nights. It could fall on any of the last 10 nights.

3. Choose the most comfortable place for worship in your home or Masjid. Avoid leaning on pillows & cushions while reciting Qur’an or Adhkaar so as to keep your back straight.

4. Switch off your mobile phones, iPads and Laptops if possible.

5. If you’re alone, recite the Qur’an in a loud beautiful voice so that your ears & heart remain involved with the recitation and you don’t feel drowsy. Plus it has an amazingly calming effect trust me!

If you’re not alone then you can recite in a normal volume not to disturb others but can listen to a Qiraa-at in high volume using your earphone.

6. Elongate your Sujood and make loads and loads of Du’aas in it. Cry hard and ask ALLAH everything you wish for in Dunya and Aakhirah.

7. Raise your Du’aa – Remember it’s the night of decree and angels are precisely writing down whatever is gonna happen in your life for the next coming year, be specific in your Du’aas and ask for each and everything you need – Hajj, Job, Career, Spouse, Children, Home, whatever. Don’t play small in your Du’aas as you’re asking the KING OF ALL KINGS!

8. Pray 2 Raka’ah Salatul Tawbah every single night and ask for forgiveness from ALLAH – Al-Ghaffar, Al-Ghafoor, Al-Tawwab and Al-’Afuww. Repent sincerely with full hope and firm resolve of not repeating those sins again.

9. Memorize and keep asking the Du’aa of Lailatul Qadr: Allaahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibb al-‘afwa fa’affu ‘anni (O Allaah, You are forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me).

10. Ask ALLAH to grant you Lailatul Qadr and accept from you whatever ‘ibaadaat you did by His tawfeeq.

Syaz

[Reader Contribution]

July 7, 2015
Christian Bakers Who Declined To Make Cake For Gay Wedding Ordered To Pay $135,000 To Lesbian Couple

GRESHAM, Ore. — The owners of a Christian bakery in Oregon have officially been ordered to pay $135,000 in damages to two lesbians who claimed that they suffered emotionally after they were told that the bakery could not make a cake for their ceremony because of their convictions not to participate in others’ sins.

As previously reported, Aaron and Melissa Klein operate Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Gresham, which is now operated from the couple’s home after the Kleins’ shut their doors due to harassment. In January 2013, Aaron was approached by a mother and her daughter as the two were interested in a cake for the daughter’s upcoming wedding—to her lesbian partner.

“My first question was what’s the wedding date,” Klein told television station KTW in Portland. “My next question was [the] bride and groom’s name. … The girl giggled a little bit and said, ‘It’s two brides.’”

He then informed the women that the bakery does not make cakes for homosexual events.

“I apologized for wasting their time and said that, unfortunately, we do not do same-sex marriages,” Klein explained.

The women left Sweet Cakes upset about the incident, and later, one of them filed a complaint with the state. The Oregon attorney general’s office soon launched an investigation against the Klein’s as the state’s non-discrimination laws prevent public accommodations from being denied to any individual on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex [or] sexual orientation.”

But Klein states that he regularly serves homosexuals. He believes that there is a difference between serving homosexuals in general and having to personally facilitate same-sex ceremonies, which is an act of participation.

“I have customers come in almost on a weekly basis that are homosexual,” he said. “They can buy my stuff. I sell stuff. I talk with them. That’s fine. … This was not the first time we’ve served these girls.”

“We were being asked to participate in something that we could not participate in,” Klein’s wife, Melissa, noted.

Some Christians believe that being a part of a same-sex event violates the biblical command in 1 Timothy 5:22 not to be “partakers in other men’s sins,” as well as the command in Ephesians 5:7, “Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

In February, a judge with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ruled that the Christian bakers are guilty of discrimination for declining to make the cake, thus moving the matter into the sentencing phase. The Kleins had expressed concern prior to the ruling that if they were forced to pay a fine for declining the cake over their Christian convictions, the penalty would “definitely” bankrupt the family.

In April, Alan McCullough, an administrative judge with the bureau, recommended a fine of $135,000, with one of the women receiving $75,000 and the other $60,000. Prosecutors had sought damages of $75,000 each.

The two women, who have been identified as Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman, submitted individual lists of just under 100 aspects of suffering in order to receive the damages. They included “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “distrust of men,” “distrust of former friends,” “excessive sleep,” “discomfort,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “loss of pride,” “mental rape,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.”

But the Kleins told the court that they too had suffered because of the attacks that they received over their desire to live out their Christian faith in the workplace. They stated that they endured “mafia tactics” as their car was vandalized and broken into on two occasions, their vendors were harassed by homosexual advocates resulting in some businesses breaking ties with them, and they received threatening emails wishing rape, death and Hell upon the family. As a result, they had to close their business and move it into their private home.

This week, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries accepted McCollough’s recommendation and fined the Kleins $135,000.

“This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage,” the final order, written by Commissioner Brad Avakian, read. “It is about a business’s refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon law, that is illegal.”

The Kleins told commentator Todd Starnes that they are disappointed by the order and plan to appeal.

“We were just running our business the best we could—following the Lord’s example,” Melissa Kelin stated. “I’m just blown away by the ruling. They are punishing us for not participating in the wedding.”

Aaron Klein vowed to fight Avakian in court.

“This man has no power over me,” he said. “He seems to think he can tell me to be quiet. That doesn’t sit well with me and I refuse to comply.”

Sweet Cakes by Melissa had served Cryer and Bowman for all other orders at their bakery, and even considered the women to be their friends.

Source: http://christiannews.net

July 7, 2015