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Desmond Kuek: Spate Of Train Disruptions Underscores Need For Continued Vigilance And Maintenance

The recent spate of train disruptions underscores the need for SMRT to keep up its vigilance and maintenance efforts, said its President and Group CEO Desmond Kuek.

Mr Kuek was speaking at a media conference on Friday morning (Mar 6), following a series of train disruptions.

The most recent were on Tuesday, where two disruptions during the morning and evening rush hour along the Circle Line and East West Line, respectively, brought trains to a stop. SMRT issued an apology for the disruptions later that day.

Mr Kuek said that there has been steady progress made in enhancing rail reliability over the past few years. The number of train withdrawals for every 100,000 kilometres dropped from 3.3 in 2012 to 2.2 in 2013, and a low of 1.05 last year, he said.

With new systems are brought in and ageing systems are renewed, the train operator has also expanded its engineering and technical staff, and is looking to recruit more over the coming three years, he added.

By 2018, the number of SMRT engineers and technicians is expected to grow by 39 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. This is to meet with an “expanded network and higher operating standards”, the rail operator said in a press release on Friday.

INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN RAIL RELIABILITY

Over the next two years, a total of 45 new trains will progressively be added to the North-South and East-West Lines, while the Circle Line will have 24 more new trains. Thirteen new trains will also be added to the Bukit Panjang LRT system, SMRT said.

According to SMRT, a new fleet of trains will be introduced in 2018 to address components such as doors and brakes that have been the primary cause of delays owing to train faults. Design studies will be completed this year, followed by the testing of a prototype in 2016 and the systematic upgrading of the train fleet thereafter, the rail operator added.

To reduce track faults on the East-West Line, SMRT said it will commence re-sleepering works starting April this year and the track renewal is set to complete by 2017. The re-sleepering works on the North-South line are close to completion, and commuters can expect a smoother ride from next month as the speed restrictions are progressively lifted, SMRT said.

SMRT also said a new signalling system will be installed to increase train frequency, leading to reduced waiting time and congestion on station platforms and trains. It is expected to be fully operational on the North-South Line by 2016 and on the East-West Line by 2018.

INCIDENTS A REMINDER THAT THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE: LTA

Responding to the SMRT statement later on Friday, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman said the agency “fully empathises with commuters’ frustrations over the recent spate of service disruptions on the SMRT rail network”. The LTA is working with SMRT on remedial actions to improve the situation, the spokesman added.

While pointing out that SMRT has made improvements to strengthen its maintenance regime, the LTA spokesman said that the incidents in the past weeks “are a reminder that there is more to be done”. LTA said that it will work with SMRT to review SMRT’s management of resources and processes relating to the maintenance of the rail system to “identify areas for improvement”.

The LTA said it will also work with SMRT to improve its recovery processes, and will require SMRT “to deploy additional staff and resources to facilitate faster service recovery, crowd management and information dissemination. For instance, more service ambassadors will be deployed to better assist commuters in the event of a service disruption”.

This report was edited at Mar 6, 4.45pm, after SMRT and LTA clarified that the number of train withdrawals for every 100,000km was 1.05 in 2014, not 1.0 as SMRT announced at their morning press conference.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 7, 2015
Masagos Zulkifli: Government Closely Watches Emerging Drug Abuse Trends Among Young

Emerging drug abuse trends among the young, particularly those that see youths ordering drugs online and experimenting with narcotic substances while travelling overseas, are being closely watched by the Government, said Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli today (March 6).

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) will maintain tight enforcement amid a “rapidly evolving operating environment”, he added.

“We will intercept suspicious packages and prosecute those who conduct drug transactions online,” said Mr Masagos during the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Committee of Supply debate in Parliament.

While conducting checks at checkpoints and airports, the CNB has also taken action against individuals found to have consumed drugs overseas.

Following the deaths of several young adults from drug overdose at music events held in the region last year, Mr Masagos said the CNB was also keeping an eye on music events.

The Ministry of Home Affairs today rejected an appeal by the organisers of the Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) to hold the event in Singapore on March 13-14. The organisers had made the appeal after their applications for a permit were rejected twice, with the police citing serious concerns over potential drug abuse at the event.

CNB statistics showed that last year, two-thirds of new drug abusers arrested were below 30 years old. In 2013, those in the same age group made up half of new drug abusers.

Mr Masagos said the educational profile of youth abusers was also changing, with more of those arrested coming from institutes of higher learning. Over the past five years, the number of cannabis abusers have increased by 50 per cent, he added. Out of the 184 cannabis users arrested last year, a majority were under 30 years old.

Mr Masagos said new recommendations on how to more effectively tackle the problem among youths will be rolled out later this year.

The recommendations will be based on findings by the Taskforce on Youths and Drugs, and also build on existing approaches to combat the scourge, such as preventive drug education, effective enforcement and early, targeted intervention for youth abusers.

Mr Masago said Singapore must continue its zero-tolerace stance towards drugs, especially as regional networking has allowed drug syndicates to increase supply, thus making drugs cheaper.

Source: www.todayonline,com

March 7, 2015
Bird Thought Extinct Rediscovered In Myanmar

Jerdon’s babbler, a bird thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered by a team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Myanmar’s Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The bird’s last confirmed sighting was in July 1941, near the Sittaung River close to a town called Myitkyo in the Bago region in Myanmar.

The small brown bird – about the size of a house sparrow – was discovered on May 30 last year when the team led by WCS were surveying a site around an abandoned agricultural station that still contained some grassland habitat.

Upon hearing the bird’s distinct call, the scientists played back a recording and were rewarded with the sighting of an adult Jerdon’s babbler. And over the next two days, the team saw more of the birds in the immediate vicinity and managed to obtain blood samples and photographs of them.

The Jerdon’s babbler was once common to Myanmar’s vast grasslands that once covered flood plains around Yangon, and had only dwindled in numbers when agriculture and communities took over the grasslands.

“This discovery not only proves that the species still exists in Myanmar but that the habitat can still be found as well,” said the director of WCS’s Regional Conservation Hub in Singapore, Mr Colin Poole.

“Future work is needed to identify remaining pockets of natural grassland and develop systems for local communities to conserve and benefit from them.”

With the rediscovery, it is now considered as one of the three subspecies found in the Indus, Bhramaputra, and Ayeyarwady River basins in South Asia. All three from the species show subtle differences and may yet prove to be distinctive species, the WCS said.

NUS’s Department of Biological Sciences has taken the bird’s DNA samples to study if it should be considered a full species. If the test is positive, the species will be exclusive to Myanmar.

This discovery is part of a larger study to understand the genetics of Myanmar bird species and determine the true level of bird diversity found in the country.

Myanmar has more species of bird than any other country in mainland Southeast Asia, said WCS, and this number is likely to increase as our understanding of birds in this long isolated country continues to grow.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 7, 2015
Irfan Fandi Makes S League Debut At 17 Years Old

Just hours after signing for the Courts Young Lions, Irfan Fandi made his S.League debut as his team took on Tampines Rovers on Thursday night.

The eldest son of Singapore football legend Fandi Ahmad, who turns 18 later this year, will link up with what is essentially the national Under-23 side until 30 June in order to be part of their preparations for the upcoming SEA Games.

Irfan, who stands at a strapping 1.86 metres despite his age, was deployed in a centre-back role instead of his usual position as a striker at Jurong West Stadium.

The teenager acquitted himself well enough at the back with a few no-nonsense clearances, while weighing in with one or two solid tackles. He was also involved in some robust challenges and the number 23’s night ended when he was taken off after 62 minutes in a 1-0 loss.

It was not Irfan’s first time playing as a defender, having been deployed in the position the Singapore U22s’ recent 3-0 loss to Cambodia’s senior side in a friendly a week ago.

Irfan, who is on the books of Chilean top-flight side Universidad Catolica, noted that the style of play was different from what he had experienced in South America.

“I think it was a very good experience for me because the way they play here is different,” he said. “It’s more physical, so I am going have to get used to that and just give my best every time I play.
“I thought we played really well and I think everyone gave their best; we were just unlucky [to lose].”

Coach Aide Iskandar explained after the game that Irfan was used as a makeshift defender as captain
Shakir Hamzah was ruled out due to injury and he was satisfied with his display.

“I think he did well and now he gives me good options [as] he can play [both] upfront and at the back,” the former national captain said.

Irfan is likely to see action in his usual striker role as the season goes on, having already proven himself as a threat after scoring a goal each in his last two games for the U23s in their friendly defeats to Japan U22s and Syria U23s last month.

Touted as one of local football’s brightest prospects and tipped to emulate his father, Irfan will be vying for a spot in the U23s team that will be gunning for a first-ever gold medal in football when the Games come around in June.

Source: https://sg.sports.yahoo.com

March 6, 2015
Singapore Has Done Relatively Well In Social Mobility

As part of its move to build a fair and inclusive society, and enhance social mobility, the Government has made a deliberate tilt towards supporting the lower- and middle-income group over the past five years, through a progressive tax system, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as he wrapped up the Budget debate in parliament on Thursday (Mar 5).

This is where higher income earners contribute the bulk of taxes, the lower-income group receives the most benefits, and the middle-income group receives more than they used to.

SINGAPORE HAS DONE ‘RELATIVELY WELL’ IN SOCIAL MOBILITY

Mr Tharman said that social mobility is the defining challenge of every advanced country today. But he said that Singapore has done relatively well, staying more fluid than most other countries.

In the US for example, among those who were in their mid-20s and early 30s, and who started off in the bottom 20 per cent, only 7.5 per cent eventually moved up into the top 20 per cent of the population. In contrast, Singapore saw 14 per cent of those who started off in the bottom 20 per cent, move up to the top 20 per cent of the population.

But Mr Tharman acknowledged that with each decade, it gets harder to improve social mobility. The Government has introduced a range of measures to address this. These include investing in education, diversifying pathways and promoting home ownership.

There have also been “significant moves to temper inequality”, such as the introduction of Workfare and the progressive wage model to raise the salaries of low-wage workers.

Mr Tharman added the Government has also shifted significantly to permanent schemes such as GST vouchers and the Silver Support Scheme. In fact, he said 90 per cent of transfers last year comprised permanent schemes.

PROGRESSIVE TAX SYSTEM

The progressive tax system also means that most benefits flow to those who truly need it.

To illustrate, he said that the top 20 per cent of households pay 55 per cent of all taxes and receive 12 per cent of benefits. The middle 20 per cent pay 11 per cent of all taxes, and receive 20 per cent of benefits. Correspondingly, the lowest 20 per cent of households pay 9 percent of all taxes, largely through GST, and receive 27 per cent of all benefits.

Said Mr Tharman: “The system is not just about redistributing from the rich to the poor. It is also about the middle income. The middle income group in Singapore are net beneficiaries of our system and there has been a significant increase in the amount the middle-income group has received over the last 10 years.”

He said that for every dollar of tax paid by the middle-income group, they now get back S$1.70 – a sum that has been increasing over the years. That is much more that what the middle-income group in countries like Finland, US and Britain gets back in benefits.

Mr Tharman said: “The benefits that our middle income get are not what you see like in the Scandinavian countries or the UK or many other advanced countries. Some of them have free healthcare, free tertiary education, free many things. But they are paying for it. It is not free, it is never free.

“And in most of these societies, with the Scandinavian countries being the classic example, in fact their tax system are not particularly progressive. They rely mainly on the VAT and high income tax for everyone to be able to flow back the benefits. Everyone is paying for the free benefits that they are getting.”

STRENGTHENING VALUE OF FAIR, INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

But while the Government is playing a more active role in redistribution, Mr Tharman noted that what is important is how it goes about strengthening the value of a fair and inclusive society.

He said: “The key to building a stronger society is not how much we are doing to redistribute, it is about how we strengthen the values that undergird and sustain a fair and inclusive society. It is not how much we are doing but how we do it, and whether how much we are doing strengthens the value of a fair and inclusive society.”

He said the Government is seeking to build a stronger social compact, where personal and collective responsibility go hand in hand. And it is doing so by empowering people and aspirations as well as rewarding responsibility throughout life.

“Our whole approach therefore is to avoid a zero sum game between personal and collective responsibility and get a compact where personal and collective responsibility reinforces each other,” he said.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

March 6, 2015