I hope you’re ashamed of yourself, making jokes out of grab drivers.
They’re just trying to make a living. He made my boy drive to the cemetery at this timing, choosing cash as payment mode.
I’m so pissed.
Source: Joey Ong
Tag: Singaporeans
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Grab Driver: The Best Carparks Are Those Without Barriers
Right off the bat, it is clear why Mr Er Keh Joo is comfortable in his job as a private-hire car driver.
He eased into the interview with a joke.
“My name is keju, you know, like the word ‘cheese’ in Malay,” said the 47-year-old, who has been driving for Grab for four years – almost as long as the company has been here.
The jovial father of one told The New Paper that personality plays a big part in making a passenger feel safe and comfortable.
He typically drives about 10 to 12 hours a day in two shifts, with a daily average of 25 trips.
But Mr Er was quick to say that safety and good driving are always the priorities.
Adopting a more serious tone, he said: “Nothing is more important than good driving.”
If he feels sleepy, he will close the app and find a carpark to sleep in.
This begs the question, which carparks are the best to sleep in?
Mr Er immediately regained his warm sense of humour, laughing as he said: “The ones, without barriers, where you can go in for free!
“We know where all of them are.”
There is no doubt about that. Mr Er said that being a Grab driver is like being a part of a community – he is a member of a few WhatsApp group conversations with his peers and they trade information on where the best resting spots are, where to find good food and even the news.
“Let’s say I want to eat lunch and take a break. I can check with them too and find (friends),” said Mr Er.
He used to work as a taxi driver, but decided to sign up with Grab when a recruiter approached him at the airport while he was queueing for a pick-up.
MORE PASSENGERS
It “made sense” to join the company because he said it would open him up to more passengers.
He joined as a GrabTaxi driver for a few months before switching to a rented car and become a GrabCar driver. He drives a Toyota Altis.
“The rent is cheaper too, I am glad I made the decision,” he added.
No two days are the same and there are all kinds of passengers.
Some are chattier than others, and Mr Er said that if customers are not keen to talk, he will leave them to their own devices – usually literally.
How does he tell? According to him, it is always obvious in their body language if people are interested in a conversation, such as how they lean forward in the car, the tone they use when talking and their facial expressions.
But Mr Er said there are also passengers who can be rude to him.
Some can be curt when issuing instructions about where to go and there are those who have flared up at him for making the wrong turns.
In such cases, Mr Er said the trick is to simply focus on driving and exercise more patience.
He said: “They’re in a rush, maybe they don’t realise what they are saying or how they sound.”
Most passengers are, however, pleasant and some even go the extra mile to make him feel appreciated.
Mr Er sat up as he excitedly recounted what he described as the best passenger he has had.
As he was dropping off a woman in her 20s whom he had been chatting with, she said he looked tired and gave him a herbal plaster meant to relax muscles.
The gesture caught him by surprise and Mr Er said he would “forever” remember the kind act.
Such moments of courteousness keep him moving along and he said that passengers underestimate how far a simple act of kindness goes.
“Driving all day is nice and I enjoy it, but when people say thank you or when they do small things like that, it makes me feel happy,” he said.
Source: www.tnp.sg
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Fanning The Flames Of Love At Jurong Fire Station
Jurong Fire Station, which is due to be demolished later this year and relocated to 22 Jurong West Street 26, holds many memories for the many firefighters and paramedics that have been based there.
When Jurong Fire Station leaves its current site at 25 Boon Lay Drive later this year to move to a new location, it will close its doors on the sweet memories of two people who fell in love there.
One morning in April 2001, Senior Warrant Officer 2 Mohamed Nur Azli was about to head home after ending his night duty when he heard Sergeant Maisya’s lively chatter fill the station.
Maisya had joined the station that morning as a trainee paramedic while Azli was on his second day of duty as a full paramedic after completing his training.
“She came to the station all chirpy and very noisy, I recall asking my colleague who the new girl was,” said Azli.
At the end of 2001, the pair had the chance to get to know each other better when they participated in the Civil Defence Skills Challenge (CDSC), which is now known as the Singapore-Global Firefighters and Paramedics Challenge (SGFPC), and which was a race to test the participants’ life-saving skills. The couple was paired together and they started to bond.
While participating in the challenge, the pair realised that they worked well together and were subsequently chosen to represent the 4th Civil Defence division in the inter-divisions competition.
And that was when the seeds of love started to bloom.
A few weeks after the challenge, they walked out of the gates of Jurong Fire Station and headed for their first date. That first date eventually led to them getting married in August 2002.
“We had different off days, but I would come back to the station on my off days specially to leave chocolates and a note on his table in the paramedics’ office,” Maisya said.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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Low Thia Khiang: Settle Family Dispute In Court
Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to settle the “private, family dispute” between him and his younger siblings in court, noting that less serious allegations had been dealt with under libel.
“Individuals who made less serious allegations that undermined the reputation and authority of the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers have been brought to task for libel. There is no reason why this time it should be different because it comes from the Lee family. In fact, the allegations are much more serious,” said Mr Low, who is Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, in Parliament on Monday (July 3).
Slamming how the family saga playing out on Facebook has created an “ugly media circus”, Mr Low added: “Settling this in court will enable everyone to put forward their sides of the story with evidence.”
Amid this dispute, the line between the private and the public domains have been “blurred (and) crossed too many times” by PM Lee, siblings, as well as other members of the Government, he said.
This has distracted the Government and Singaporeans from “far more important issues”, and also damaged the Republic’s reputation on the international stage, he said.
The dispute created a public ruckus at an “unfortunate” time, when the Republic is confronted by wide-ranging challenges in the economic, geo-political and security areas, among others.
“We need to restore the line, make it a bright, red line, and restore the dispute that has crossed into the public domain and push (it) back into the private domain. We need to do this so as to move on to far more important issues that are truly national issues,” said Mr Low, citing as examples the heightening security situation in the region and Singapore’s perennial challenges with infrastructure like public transportation.
He added: “This saga is distracting the Government, distracting Singaporeans, and distracting the international audience (by) damaging the Singapore brand.”
Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s allegations against PM Lee via a “continuous media campaign”—made on scattered evidence centered on family displeasure—undermine the Prime Minister’s authority and “does not make for constructive politics in Singapore”, he said.
But PM Lee and the Government also should not have contributed to the squabble, said Mr Low.
“The Government should set an example… It should not be involved in (the) Facebook brawl for the whole world to see… (It) should not continue with this dispute in the public domain,” he said, urging PM Lee to “take action to put (the public spat) to a stop”.
Source: www.todayonline.com
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Gilbert Goh: Parliamentary Debate On Oxley Road House Is A Circus
We probably will hear a one-sided account tomorrow in Parliament by the Prime Minister as LYH and LWL alluded.
94% of Singaporeans polled also suggested that Parliament is not the right place to discuss a domestic spat that involves three siblings.
Its a international disgrace and truly we have more urgent things to talk about nationally than the familee home.
Source: Gilbert Goh