Tag: Singapore

Story Behind Stadium Gate Jams – SINGSOC Over-Catered Seats?

By Ariffin Sha

As scenes of overcrowding outside the Sports Hub yesterday evening for the closing ceremony of the SEA Games went viral, questions need to be asked on whether the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) have done all it could to make it better, or did it instead compound the problem.

Agitated ticket holders queuing to enter the stadium to watch the closing ceremony might not have realised that the problem went beyond missing a show. The capacity crowd could have turned into a disaster if there was a fire or stampede on site.

There were reportedly thousands of such ticket holders who were sweating in the crowded confines. SINGSOC had since issued an apology and clarification, indicating that the crowd was due to an entry issue.

“As a significant proportion of the spectators were at the gates just before the start of the ceremony, there was a need to adjust entry gates and seating arrangements to enable them to be seated as quickly as possible. Consequently, some gates had to be closed for safety reasons.”

However, the problem might be due to there being too many tickets issued compared to the capacity for the Sports Hub, as some disappointed ticket holders have alleged.

TOC understands that SINGSOC was unhappy with the number of no-shows at the opening ceremony, as many seats were clearly visible on national television. In order to avoid a repeat of the incident, SINGSOC supposedly decided to over-sell the tickets for the closing ceremony.

Over-selling tickets is not something alien to event companies. It is a pretty common practice to over-issue tickets by about 5% in the form of complimentary tickets, in order to pack venues.

But the question becomes one of exactly how much SINGSOC over-issued, if it did indeed do so.

From pictures and eyewitness accounts, a conservative estimate of the number of people waiting outside the stadium would hover between 10,000 and 15,000.

Image from an attendee stuck outside the stadium during the SEA Games closing ceremony.

The Sports Hub has a maximum capacity of 55,000, and factoring in seats that need to be allocated for display and participants, it would likely be configured to hold about 40,000 seated ticket holders for the closing ceremony.

In other words, if SINGSOC did indeed over-issue tickets, they did it at 25% to 35% more seats than the stadium can hold in full capacity, a far cry from the 5% standard.

Would the Sports Hub had been able to absorb such excess capacity? As a video by Channel NewsAsiashows, there does not seem to be extra room for the thousands who were stuck outside the gate, but who would technically have an empty seat in the stadium.

Images from various online sources also indicate that there was very little spare capacity inside the stadium to match the crowds waiting outside, although there were a few empty block visible.

Capacity crowd for the SEA Games closing ceremony.

Who has the legit ticket?

The overissuing of tickets were mainly in two forms – complimentary tickets for Sponsors and free entry for SEA Games Volunteers. The former might include entities like GP Battery and NTUC, while that the latter could access the Sports Hub by flashing their accreditation passes (a pass given to all volunteers), TOC was told.

Paying patrons mostly bought their tickets before the start of the SEA Games itself, as the seats were sold out quickly.

The problem arising from yesterday evening also give reason the question how paying patrons are guaranteed their seats. It is understood that those who bought tickets had designated seats by blocks. However, comments online suggests that such designated seats were not reserved fro them as they rightly expected it to be.

Who were occupying the seats of paying fans? Was it complimentary ticket holders from sponsors and partners, volunteers, or was there excess capacity sold?

Disregard for safety, poor decisions on capacity

The crowd waiting outside the stadium was clearly agitated from the humidity and the crowd, from social media postings. There were also accounts of a lot of pushing and shoving going on in the crowd and many like the elderly, the disabled and the young were helplessly caught in the scrum.

It was also reported that those who managed to get in ended up sitting on the stairway to watch the show. In the event of an emergency, a stampede could have led to serious injuries and death, not only within the stadium, but among the crowds stuck outside.

Pertinent questions to ask might include whether SINGSOC has consulted Sports Hub management about the ability of the new stadium to accommodate such an expanded capacity. TOC understands that such consultations did not take place.

An expert in event management TOC spoke to shared that any decision to over-cater for event seats need to take into account the realities of the ground, and an inability to do so reflects lack of competency.

“When managing such long haul multi sports events, it is important to feel the pulse on the ground so that organisers are aware of public sentiment towards the games. This will help in understanding whether the public are interested/or will attend events. SINGSOC should have realized that public participation for the games was high, and hence the likelihood of attendance at the closing ceremony was likely to be high.”

About SINGSOC

SINGSOC is the steering committee for the 28th SEA Games. It’s a team of 20 headed by Minister Lawrence Wong.

In addition to Minister Lawrence Wong, SINGSOC also features 2 other Ministers – Mr Masagos Zulfiki and Mr Teo Ser Luck and 2 Senior Ministers of State – Ms Indranee Rajah and Ms Josephine Teo.

In its post-event statement, SINGSOC offered a full refund but as evident from the comments, many are still unsatisfied. Questions also remain about how SIGSOC would be able to identify legitimate tickets in order to effect such a refund.

There was also no clarity so far about how it was possible for thousands to be stuck outside the stadium, beyond the explanation of a congestion at the gate.

TOC has sent a number of queries to SINGSOC to seek clarifications on whether tickets were over-issued and how the capacity for the closing ceremony was managed. At time of publishing, SINGSOC has not responded.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 18, 2015
4 Sec-Gens In Four Years, NSP’s Rudderless Leadership Raises Questions

If you are the secretary general (sec-gen) of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), chances are that you won’t last very long in the position.

The latest casualty of what some say is the result of internal political bickering is its sec-gen, 53-year old lawyer, Tan Lam Siong.

The NSP announced on Wednesday, 17 June, that Mr Tan has resigned as its sec-gen.

He had only been in the job for less than five months.

The NSP statement, posted on its Facebook page, said Mr Tan is stepping down so as to “focus more on his passion for social and community work, and charitable pursuits while remaining as a congress member.”

When he was elected into the NSP as its sec-gen in January, Mr Tan reportedly told the Chinese press that he “was surprised to be elected”.

However, he added: “Since I have taken up this heavy responsibility, I will give it my all.”

This seems to have lasted less than half a year – which, in the wider context of the shelf lives of the other sec-gens, has raised questions of NSP’s internal structure and politics.

In the last five years, besides the exodus of ordinary members, which include Ms Nicole Seah, the party has seen a turnover of several sec-gens.

All of them had had stints of less than two years each:

Law Sin Ling: Aug 2006 – Feb 2008 (18 months)

Ken Sunn: 2008 – 2009 (less than one year)

Goh Meng Seng: Feb 2010 – June 2011 (16 months)

Hazel Poa: June 2011 to September 2013 (15 months)

Jeannette Chong: Oct 2013 – Jan 2015 (15 months)

Tan Lam Siong: 26 Jan 2015 – 17 June 2015 (less than 5 months)

When each sec-gen stepped down, diplomatic reasons were given by the sec-gens themselves and the party.

For example, when Mr Goh resigned from his position after the 2011 general election, where he led the party’s campaign with NSP fielding the most number of candidates among all the opposition parties, he said it was “to reflect on his future”.

Mr Goh said he would be on a sabbatical for at least two years, and noted that it is “timely to take stock of my future directions”, Yahoo Singapore reported then.

Mr Goh’s successor, Ms Poa, cited personal health considerations for her decision to step down.

And Ms Chong-Aruldoss, who stepped down after losing a bid for the president’s post in an internal election earlier this year, told the press that “she and the others harboured no acrimony towards the NSP.”

Several NSP council members had quit the party together with Ms Chong-Aruldoss who subsequently joined the fold of Mr Chiam See Tong’s Singapore People’s Party.

As for Mr Tan, he has kept silent so far on the reasons for his resignation as sec-gen.

[UPDATE: Mr Tan has since written on his blog: “If there is a single reason why I choose to finally step down after putting in so much time, energy and resources in such a relatively short time, I can only say it is due to incompatibility issues.“]

So, what really is the reason for such a high turnover of leaders in such a short span of time?

One reason, as mentioned above, is the internal politicking, especially when new members join it.

This was what Mr Goh felt when he stepped down at the helm.

Speaking to The Online Citizen (TOC), he said he had “predicted NSP may not be sustainable due to too much internal politicking and partly due to the fact that the new comers who are ambitious to take over the party.”

While he said there was “nothing .. wrong being ambitious in politics”, he explained that integration must be done “properly” as this was “the key to successful leadership.”

“Everyone is a volunteer [in] the party and a leader of a political party cannot hire or fire [as he wishes],” Mr Goh said. “Therefore integration to the party and understanding of each member is important.”

A recent incident involving the status of the party newspaper might be indicative of disagreements in leadership style behind the NSP doors. (See here.)

Another reason for the frequent changes of sec-gens could be the role of the president of the party, which is currently being held by 67-year old, Mr Sebastian Teo. He has been a stalwart of the party and has been president for some 6 terms, or 12 years. (The party holds its central executive council election every two years.)

According to the NSP constitution, one of the powers of the president is the casting vote afforded to him.

A casting vote is an extra vote given to someone to decide an issue when the votes on each side are equal.

In other words, he has veto powers.

“The public would assume that the sec-gen is the leader and where there are such frequent changes, the public may view the ‘ship’ as being directionless,” Mr Ravi Philemon, a former NSP member, told TOC.

“From that perspective it is not in NSP’s interest to have such frequent changes,” he said.

Mr Philemon questioned if the party stalwarts, who seem to wield much control in the party, are ready for progress or new ideas which might take the party forward.

“If you observe, all these former party sec-gens are not party stalwarts, but people who had joined the party fairly recently before they were elected as sec-gens,” he said. “So one theory [for the high attrition rate of sec gens] could be that the newer recruits to the party have a different view of how the party should move forward, which could be in contrast to how party stalwarts feel on that topic. That could be one reason for the frequent changes.”

It is also rumoured that the party elders, who are getting on with age, see the next elections as their last opportunity to even contest the GE, and are obstructing internal changes which might or would require them to make way for new blood.

NSP President, Sebastian Teo

With the next elections less than 2 years away, it would be disconcerting to party members, and indeed its supporters too, that the party seems to be rudderless, as far as leadership renewal is concerned.

The NSP, which was formed in 1987, has only managed to put one MP in Parliament in all those 28 years – and even then, it was only a non-constituency MP.

But with the constant changes at the top, it looks like the party will continue to lack the stability to accomplish more than this.

The prize of an elected MP seat in Parliament for the party is as elusive as ever, if not more so now.

*The NSP will be appointing a new sec-gen in the next few weeks

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

June 18, 2015
National Solidarity Party’s Sec-Gen Steps Down

National Solidarity Party (NSP) secretary-general Tan Lam Siong has stepped down less than five months after being elected to the position at the opposition party’s biennial central executive committee election in January.

An NSP statement on Wednesday night said that he stepped down “to focus more on his passion for social and community work, and charitable pursuits”.

Mr Tan told The Straits Times that he remains a “congress member” – or cadre member – of the party, with voting powers. He did not elaborate on the reasons for his stepping down or say who would succeed him.

The NSP’s statement, signed by party president Sebastian Teo, said that during his tenure as secretary-general, Mr Tan had been “energetic and resourceful, putting in place new initiatives and introducing new perspectives into the party”.

“Whilst the party is sad to lose him as our secretary-general, we would like to thank him for his contributions during this period, and wish him all the best in his pursuits.”

Mr Teo added in a comment to The Straits Times that the next secretary-general will be decided on at a party meeting scheduled for next week.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 18, 2015
Volunteers Blameless In SEA Games Closing Ceremony Debacle

Spectators who were affected by the lockout from the SEA Games closing ceremony at the National Stadium on Tuesday were unhappy about the experience, but drew the line at the abuse of volunteers and spoke up against such behaviour.

Calling the volunteers blameless and praising them for doing what they were instructed to under difficult circumstances, members of the public instead blamed the organisers for the chaos.

Believed to number in the hundreds, some spectators could not enter the 55,000-seat arena despite having purchased tickets. This is because those already inside had waited at the concourse area after failing to find their seats when the lights went off for the ceremony. It meant stadium personnel had to close the gates as a safety measure to prevent greater crowd congestion.

On Tuesday, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) apologised for the incident, offering a full refund for the tickets, which cost up to S$40, and a supporter’s medallion. As of press time last night, SINGSOC had yet to respond to TODAY’s queries on the situation.

Several of the affected spectators yesterday criticised the people who took their frustrations out on the volunteers.

Said Ms Teo Su Xin, 23, who had to wait 40 minutes before being allowed in: “We (crowd) couldn’t enter. They (volunteers) said it was a full house and volunteers kept asking us to move from one gate to another and I just followed the crowd, but there was this uncle who was agitated and raised his voice at the volunteers.

“I didn’t think they deserved such treatment as they were merely carrying out instructions given to them.”

Spectator Mark Tan was also unable to enter. “They (volunteers) were … effectively abandoned by whoever should have been coordinating them,” he said.

Ms Paddy Low, 50, who waited for 45 minutes before deciding to go home instead, added: “The volunteers at the gate were put in a difficult spot as they didn’t know why there was such a situation. I felt sorry for them as they kept getting scolded by people.”

Said a volunteer who declined to be named: “The crowd definitely grew rowdy, frustrated and impatient, shouting at the security and volunteer team on duty at Gate 14. A man carrying a baby also shouted at those on duty.”

The lockout is probably one of the few blots of the 28th SEA Games, which were otherwise praised for the way they were run.

SINGSOC roped in 17,000 volunteers to help run the biennial meet.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 18, 2015
Impose Reformative Training With Caution

Although reformative training is aimed as a rehabilitative sentencing option for youth offenders, it should be imposed “cautiously”, given the nature and duration of the punishment, said a district judge.

Reformative training involves an offender between 14 and 21 years old who is institutionalised for at least 18 months and up to 30 months. It results in a criminal record, while a community sentence is rendered spent after it is completed. Probation is deemed not to be a conviction.

While reformative training aims to be rehabilitative, the courts have recognised that it is incarcerative in nature, said District Judge Lim Keng Yeow, in his grounds of decision for rejecting prosecutors’ call for the penalty to be imposed on a teenager who had beaten up foreign workers to practise his martial-arts skills.

“Given the nature and duration of reformative training as it now stands, it should be imposed cautiously, perhaps with as much care as when a physician prescribes very strong medication carrying notable potential side effects,” he wrote. “The courts have absolutely no reason to flinch from imposing reformative training, where it is appropriate. But care ought to be taken not to impose it gratuitously.”

The judge had sentenced Daryl Lim Jun Liang to 10 days of detention and other conditions, ruling that reformative training for the 18-year-old would amount to a “sledgehammer approach”, given the offender’s high capacity for community rehabilitation. Even adults who commit the exact same offence of voluntarily causing hurt would not have been sentenced to a substantial prison term lasting several months, he added.

In his written decision issued last month after the prosecution indicated that it would appeal — which it did yesterday (June 16) — the judge felt community sentencing for Lim was the most fitting option, as probation was insufficiently retributive or deterrent.

A short detention order would mean Lim would still undergo the grim and harsh experience of being locked up, he said. In addition, he was ordered to do 150 hours of community service, report daily to a supervision officer for a year and remain indoors from 10pm to 6am.

The judge said Lim’s probation and community-sentencing suitability reports were positive — he had a supportive family, was able to talk to his mother about past involvement with a gang, and the restaurant he had interned at re-employed him even after knowing about his offence. He demonstrated a capacity for rehabilitation “high enough to outweigh other retributive or deterrent considerations calling for tough sanctions”, DJ Lim said.

Together with three friends, the teen looked for foreign workers who were smaller in build to beat up last September and October, and mocked the victims by dancing in front of them.

The prosecution contended that a deterrent sentence was needed as Lim had targeted a specific class of people, but the judge felt the teen’s offence was not targeted at any particular nationality, race or cultural group, as foreign workers are a large and varied class of individuals.

In his judgment, DJ Lim also made observations about the prosecution’s “unfortunate and undesirable” about-turn in submissions on sentence. It had made no submissions on this at the start, yet objected to probation and pushed for reformative training after the favourable presentencing reports despite having “not more but less reason to press for tougher sanctions”, he said.

The prosecution is allowed to change its mind, but DJ Lim said it could have discharged its duty to the court better in this case, given its “remarkable and yet quite inexplicable” about-turn on sentencing submissions.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 18, 2015