Singapore – Ler Teck Siang, the doctor found guilty last September of deceiving the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and providing false information to the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the police, could face further disciplinary action in addition to a suspension from medical practice as well as jail time.
On March 12 (Tue), the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) released a statement regarding an extension of disciplinary actions toward the doctor at the heart of the HIV data leak.
“Dr Ler has had his medical registration suspended for nine months that started on Mar 7 (Thur). The suspension was declared by an Interim Orders Committee (IOC) which would disclose more information on its decision “in due course,” said SMC.
The day before SMC released the statement, Dr Ler appealed against his conviction and 24-month sentence. His appeal was denied by a High Court. Instead, the SMC mentioned that it would “review matter” and look at “further disciplinary action” for the doctor whose prison sentence starts on March 21.
The 37-year-old doctor was convicted in Sept 2018 for having helped his HIV-positive partner Mikhy Farrera-Brochez provide MOM with a fake HIV test and for giving a false statement to a public servant.
Aside from his current convictions, Dr Ler is also facing various drug charges as well as a pending charge under the Official Secrets Act for disregarding his responsibility to treat the information from the HIV Registry with utmost care.
According to the SMC, the doctor is faced with three drug charges for allegedly providing methamphetamine to an individual in a hotel, for failing to give a urine specimen to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), and for possessing a syringe to be used for drugs.
Dr Ler is scheduled to begin trials for these charges in May.
It was mentioned in an article by Channel NewsAsia, that the SMC recognised the importance of maintaining public confidence in the medical profession while the doctor’s legal proceedings were in place. The council is aware that the appeal made by the doctor was not dismissed during his suspension yet they are considering “the seriousness of the convictions and the pending charges against Dr Ler.”
“The information on the convictions and the pending charges was therefore referred to an IOC for the purpose of determining if it was necessary for the protection of members of the public or was otherwise in the public interest, or was in the interests of Dr Ler, that his registration be suspended or be made subject to conditions or restrictions,” added the council
The doctor is currently out on bail at S$40,000 on top of his two-year prison sentence.
His practicing certificate, that had expired last Dec 31 is currently under review for renewal, following the charges against him and his sentences.
Mikhy Brochez, who leaked the personal information and HIV-positive statuses of 14,200 people from Singapore’s HIV Registry online was deported from Singapore last April. He had served his designated sentence for fraud and drug offences. He has since been facing charges in the US state of Kentucky for his actions.
Singapore—The national carrier of Singapore has a sterling reputation worldwide, winning awards everywhere for its unrivalled service to passengers — no mean feat with all that can make flying an uncomfortable experience.
A wheel on Ng’s check-in baggage had gotten damaged and he had difficulty lugging it around JFK International Airport, New York. Consequently, he filled up a damaged baggage claim only to be told that the airline’s compensation policy does not cover damaged wheels.
Now, most people would have stopped there and moved on. But, not this particular disgruntled customer Ng, who goes by the (rather unfortunate name of ) @masterbayting on Twitter.
He went on to talk about how triggered he was over the whole situation and made a list of his grievances: “Passengers who fly economy “will always be the least important paying customer, “ since airlines only profit from the people who fly first or business class … ”
Nevertheless, he still feels “a certain sense of injustice: ” … I’ve been unfairly treated by our own national airline.”
Betrayal was another point, although he admitted that he had not been discriminated against. Some points were that he had been blindly encouraging his friends to fly SQ and had spent $600 extra to fly SQ instead of on Qatar Airways.
A RANT AGAINST SQ (THREAD) super annoyed with @SingaporeAir – when I flew to US for exchange I left the airport in a rush – we were already delayed by the govt shutdown and I only realised one of luggage wheels were damaged after leaving the immigration. pic.twitter.com/KsaeGSTeKg
Nevertheless, the disgruntled passenger tweeted, “Maybe its nationalism, and as a transport geek – I truly believed that SQ is (and I still believe) the best airline in the world. Just not for the economy class passengers!”
He then went on to compare his SQ flight with Qatar Airways, saying that although he paid for much less his Qatar flight, it was so much better due to the superior entertainment system, free wifi, better legroom, among other perks.
The whole incident left him in doubt as to whether SQ deserves its stellar reputation. “i desperately want to #supportlocal,” he tweeted, “but if customer service is THE reason to fly with SQ, I will never fly with SQ again as an economy passenger. I’m not saying you should boycott it. IF you can afford it, go ahead and support our national airline.
“but do they deserve it? I’m not actually sure. Airline serivce (sic) experiences have become so homogeneous that to be honest I do not find the service on SQ to be above and beyond or even significantly better than on Scoot or AirAsia.”
He pointed out that SQ’s customer service must become more equitable for the economy class passengers.
“if SQ wants to hold on to its title as the BEST airline, they cannot neglect the economy class and focus on solely the elite….. or is this the singaporean way? #touche”
At one point Mr Ng seemed to realize his rant had gone on too long, so he ended with two last tweets:
“TLDR – customer service is supposedly SQ’s strength and disregarding it will only spell death for the airline.
And I am still pissed that I have been shortchanged by an airline that I sang praises for and I am no longer going to do so :(“
The disgruntled passenger then put up a poll on Twitter, asking people, “Did you know that SQ does not cover damage to your wheels?”
From the 29 respondents, 24 percent agreed while 76 percent disagreed.
The Facebook page All Singapore Stuff re-posted his Tweets, and the comments section was not pretty, to say the least.
Christchurch — In New Zealand’s worst-ever terrorist attack, 49 people were killed and 48 others wounded when at least one gunman opened fire at two mosques during Friday prayers.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned the shootings as an act of terrorism, and said today is “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
The national security threat level has been raised to high for the first time in a country usually thought of as peaceful and safe. Police had earlier warned Muslims to stay away from mosque Friday prayers and assigned armed guards to all mosques. Police stated that they are not looking for other “identified suspects.”
Mosque attack livestreamed on Facebook
The attack at Al-Noor mosque — the first of the two attacked mosques — was live-streamed on Facebook by the gunman who wore a head-mounted camera.
Photo: Screengrab of the gunman from his live video
The graphic video shows a gunman driving up to the mosque, entering just as people were beginning to pray, and then shooting randomly. He leaves the mosque for his car to exchange guns, and then returns to shoot those who seemed to be still alive.
Many worshippers were then seen lying on the floor bloodied — wounded or killed.
Police pleas for people not to share this footage have been largely in vain as social media sites were caught off guard in removing the video quickly enough.
At press time, police commissioner Mike Bush confirmed that the number of casualties was 49. There were 41 killed at the Al Noor mosque, and seven more at the second mosque in Linwood. One more victim died in hospital.
Among the victims were children, according to medical staff who had attended to the wounded.
Present in one of the mosques when the shooting occurred was the Bangladeshi cricket team, whose members are visiting the country for several matches. While they all survived, three other Bangladeshis were among those killed, and one more Bangladeshi is currently missing.
The attackers
Survivors of the shooting described the gunman as blond, white and dressed in a bulletproof vest, and helmet.
It is still uncertain whether the same gunman carried out the shootings at both mosques.
In police custody were three men and one woman , athough one was later allowed to leave.
Firearms from detained individuals have been seized while explosive devices were found in the vehicle of one of those detained.
Photo: The firearms brought in the back of the gunman’s car
Police are also determining if the other two people are involved in the shootings.
One man, said to be in his late 20s, has been charged with murder, and will be appearing in court on Mar 17. Thought to be Australian right-wing extremist Brenton Tarrant, the terror suspect had earlier published a 74-page manifesto calling immigrants “invaders.
Later, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison confirmed that one of the men that New Zealand’s police had detained is Australian and added that Australian authorities were working closely with their neighbouring counterparts to bring culprits to justice.
New Zealand’s PM addressed the nation after the attack, saying, “We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the fact that we are none of these things. It was because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values.”
To the terrorists responsible, she admonished, “You have chosen us but we utterly reject and condemn you.”
Warnings online
Two days before the attacks, the account of an individual going by @brentontarrant showed photos of a rifle and various other military equipment that were decorated with messages, and names linked to white nationalism.
On Fri morning just prior to the massacres, there was an anonymous post on 8chan, a discussion site widely known to feature hate speech.
The writer of the post said he would “carry out an attack against the invaders.” He included a 78-page manifesto, as well as links to a live stream on Facebook on the account brenton.tarrant.9, wherein the shooting was later viewed.
The weapons used in the mass shooting at the mosques look like the same weapons that were featured on @brentontarrant’s Twitter account two days before.
The shooter identified himself a 28-year-old Australian citizen and used the term “white genocide” as his motivation for the attacks. This term is employed by racist groups when referring to immigrants and the spread of minority communities within a certain area.
Photo: Screengrab of the live video as the gunman opened fire at the mosque.
Both Twitter and Facebook have said they are removing any content related to the mass shootings.
In the aftermath of the shootings
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 where 1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror.”
A statement from Al-Azhar University in Egypt said that the shootings “violated the sanctity of the houses of God. We warn the attack is a dangerous indicator of the dire consequences of escalating hate speech, xenophobia, and the spread of Islamophobia.”
Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison called the shooter an “extremist, right-wing” terrorist.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister said that there had been six Indonesians in one of the mosques when the shooting occurred. Three had been able to escape but the whereabouts of the other three is yet unknown. The ambassador from Afghanistan said that three Afghans were among the wounded.
Malaysia’s foreign affairs ministry reports that two Malaysians had been wounded.
According to a 2013 census, only 1 percent of New Zealand’s population are Muslims.
Statement from the MFA
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a strong statement of condemnation regarding the shootings: “There can be no justification for such attacks against civilians at the two mosques.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and bereaved families, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
While there have been no reports of Singaporeans affected by the shootings, the MFA is helping citizens who have family in Christchurch who have reached out to the ministry.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also expressed his sympathies on Facebook. “New Zealand is far away from the upheavals and turbulence of the Middle East, and far away from Southeast Asia and its terrorist groups, yet it experienced this attack. It is a sombre reminder that terrorism remains a serious threat across the world, and that Singapore must be constantly vigilant and prepared. This heinous act is an attempt to spread fear and hatred, and create divisions within societies. We need to respond with unity, fortitude and resilience.
“I am writing to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Singapore stands in solidarity with the people of New Zealand to strongly condemn such vicious acts of terror.
“To Singaporeans in Christchurch: do stay safe and keep your families informed of your whereabouts.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan echoed PM Lee’s sentiments, and provided information for Singaporeans in Christchurch to contact the Singapore High Commission in Wellington if necessary.
Singapore emerged tops among South East Asian countries in Mercer’s 2019 Best Quality of Life Survey. The 39 standards upon which the survey was based include housing, political stability, crime, leisure, air pollution, infrastructure, the health system, education, and the economy.
How it came to be
Five decades ago, Singapore was an emergent country with a GDP per capita of less than US$320. Today, Singapore is an ultra-industrialised society and an entrepôt where trade continues to play a vital function in its economy.
The Port of Singapore is now the world’s busiest transshipment port, surpassing Hong Kong and Rotterdam. In terms of total cargo tonnage handled, it has become the world’s second busiest, behind only the Port of Shanghai.
Singapore’s tourism industry is likewise thriving, drawing in over 10 million visitors every year. Similarly, banking has significantly grown in recent years and many assets formerly held in Switzerland banks have been moved to Singapore due to favorable banking regulations.
The industry on biotechnology has also burgeoned with giant drug makers like GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Merck & Co. doing business in the once struggling city-state.
Despite its diminutive size, Singapore is now the 15th biggest trading partner of the United States and has continued to forge and establish robust trade agreements with a number of countries in South America, Europe, and Asia.
There are currently over 3,000 multinational corporations operating in the country, accounting for more than two-thirds of its manufacturing output and direct export sales.
With an aggregate land area of just 433 square miles and a small labor force of 3 million people, Singapore is able to produce a GDP that surpasses S$300 billion dollars annually. At present, Singapore is considered one of the best places to live on earth.
Is it?
Despite its being an economic miracle, is Singapore really the best location to reside in? Can an ordinary 8-5 employee live comfortably and achieve work-life balance without sacrificing so many things in life?
Cost of living
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) 2018 ranked Singapore as the most expensive city in the world. Certain items in the basket of prices are indeed extremely expensive driving up Singapore’s overall cost of living.
An example of this is the price of a car which is notoriously sky-high because before buying a car in Singapore, one needs to obtain a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and this costs anywhere from S$30,000 to S$60,000, which is only valid for 10 years. Coupled with the fees, taxes and the dealer’s margin, a Volkswagen Jetta that usually costs around S$25,000 can cost S$120,000 in Singapore.
Brief facts and numbers
In 2008, 23,000 children were found to be malnourished in Singapore. In 2011, 1 in 3 elderly Singaporeans were not eating right. In 2012, 1 in 10 Singaporeans were unable to meet basic needs in the form of food, clothing, shelter, and other essential expenditures.
In 2013, 72% of Singaporeans believe that they cannot afford to get sick because of the very high medical costs that a hospital stay entails, for example treating diabetes, in a C-class ward, can cost a patient S$4,500 or more.
In 2017, 180 people were found sleeping outdoors, of the 180, 21 had been sleeping outdoors for more than a year and 18 for more than five years.
Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, who was part of the research initiative, said he was distressed at the same time shocked by how long people were sleeping in the streets. “You would think that if people were sleeping outside, if these were the numbers and if it has been happening for so long, we would have noticed. I think it reminds us how invisible they often are,” said Prof Ng.
According to former GIC Chief Economist, Yeoh Lam Keong, 110,000 to 140,000 households in Singapore were unable to meet basic needs.This highlights certain structural issues at play, which cannot merely be resolved through the hard work of an individual.
Statistics provided by the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs (MSF) in 2016 indicate that families living in poverty and relying on ComCare assistance jumped 43.45% between 2012 and 2015, from 20,572 families to 29,511 families. The elderly above the age of 60 are the most afflicted with a 74.32% jump.
Poverty among younger Singaporeans – aged between 15 and 34 – has also worsened with 41,500 earning below S$1,000 a month. The unemployment rate is 5% for Singaporeans under the age of 30, double that of other age groups according to the Ministry of Manpower.
Singapore’s Health Minister Gan Kim Yong inadvertently revealed that 1.3 million Singaporeans are poor.
The “invisible poor”
Poverty in Singapore lacks visibility as it is overshadowed by towering skyscrapers and high-tech trees and those who are economically disadvantaged remain totally invisible. Since Singapore is one of the wealthiest and most well-developed countries in the world, it is this side that the world often sees and thinks of.
It is ironic that while Singapore has many millionaires as its residents, it also has one of the biggest inequality gaps among advanced countries in Asia.
While it is true that the government provides financial aid to any family making less than $1,900 a month, it doesn’t seem to be enough.
And while it is true that the government also provides aid in other forms such as making education more affordable, tax exemptions for impoverished families and more affordable housing, still, many are struggling to survive.
Impoverished families continue to thrash about trying to make both ends meet. Such assistance does not seem to be alleviating the country’s growing issue of poverty.
Since mid-1990s, foreign aid for Singapore has significantly dropped and Singapore receives only tiny amounts from countries such as the U.S. compared to what other countries are receiving.
Even then, the bulk of foreign aid that goes to Singapore does not focus directly on poverty but more on the nation’s trade and economy. This insufficiency of aid extended to Singapore may be partially due to how concealed poverty is in the country.
And though poverty in Singapore is an escalating problem, it is relegated to the background behind the country’s financial successes and development.
And because the issue often goes unnoticed by other countries or financial institutions, little aid is being extended, permitting the spread and prevalence of poverty within the nation.
Singapore – On March 11, a certain Esmonde Tjw took to Facebook to share his experience of a kind taxi uncle who lent him money to buy his pregnant wife a meal because he forgot his wallet.
Mr Esmonde had a very pregnant wife who was having a bad day as she had just found what appeared to be pubic hair in her dinner. He wanted to cheer her up with her favourite dish, so he hurried to get her some more.
We all know that food is love, especially for expecting mums.
Upon getting in a cab, he realised he’d forgotten his wallet. He told the driver of a ComfortDelGro Taxi that he didn’t have any cash with him. The kind uncle said it was all right and that he would still take Mr Esmonde to his destination.
The only dilemma was paying for the food. He asked the driver if he could borrow S$5 to buy his wife some food.
The driver thought at first that the passenger was asking for too much, but after a few apologies, he acquiesced to Mr Esmonde’s request. The husband left his phone with the driver as insurance that he would return.
“He passed me the cash and I ran down to get dinner from the store and went back into the cab,” wrote Mr Esmonde. The driver even sped up during the trip back knowing that his passenger was in a rush.
Mr Esmonde knew full-well that not many drivers would have accommodated his request that night. He shared how grateful he was that he flagged down an ‘uncle’ that was so understanding.
“Got home with dinner for my Wife again and went down to pay him the cab-fare and the money that he helped me for the food with little tip,” wrote the happy husband. “Such driver (sic) rarely exists as it’s not their fault for trust issues. Thank you once again driver from SHA 8207. I calmed my Wife down with her (sic) food,” he added.
Mr Esmonde also asked the online community acquainted with the uncle to share his warmest regards.
The Independent Singapore has reached out to Mr Esmonde for a statement.
“To add on, forgetting my wallet was because I was anxious and rushed out, mistaking my wallet for a cigarette case. When I saw [my wife’s] eyes were red and teary because it was already 10 pm. No more deliveries at that time and her food was not under the delivery section,”(sic) Mr Esmonde shared. “Always weigh your family and love your wife. No such thing as being too busy; it’s all about priorities,” he added.
A Singaporean, who was hospitalised for two days at Khoo Teck Huat, has lamented that he was saddled with a large hospitalisation bill amounting to nearly S$1,500 that he had to pay out of pocket, even though he opted to stay in the C-class ward of the hospital.
C-class wards, which see several beds in a non-air conditioned room that is ventilated by fans, offers the highest subsidy levels of 65 to 80 per cent of the hospitalisation bill.
Facebook user Julius Chen revealed this week that he was left with a S$2,482.41 bill after he was hospitalised for two days at Khoo Teck Huat’s C-class ward. After Government subsidies, Mr Chen had to fork out S$1427.85 in cash since his Medisave withdrawal limit had been exceeded.
Lamenting on the high cost of living in Singapore, Mr Chen wrote on social media: “I am being charged S$1427.85 for staying 2 days in C wards at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital…The cost of living even when we, Singaporeans, are sick we have to pay so much. The original bill was S$2482.41,before subsidies.”
According to the Straits Times, demand for C-class wards have been increasing over the years due to the higher subsidies that are offered.
In an interview with Singapore Press Holdings-run AsiaOne, Alexandra Health’s former group chief executive officer Liak Teng Lit that demand for subsidised beds at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital “is always above 100 per cent”.
The latest labour marker report, released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday (14 Mar), shows that the proportion of PMET retrenchment has hit an all-time high while the number of foreigners on S-Pass has increased.
MOM revealed that Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) account for a whopping 79.3 per cent of retrenched residents in the last quarter of 2018. Overall, this means that PMETs make up a staggering 75.8 per cent of all retrenchments for 2018 – 3.8 per cent higher than the total PMET retrenchment of 72 per cent in 2017.
2018’s PMET retrenchment percentage of 75.8 per cent is the highest proportion of PMET retrenchment since the MOM first made such data publicly available in 2006.
Explaining the high proportion of PMET retrenchment, MOM said that PMETs tend to dominate the industries that are shedding manpower.
MOM’s latest labour market report also shows that the majority of retrenched residents were above the age of 40. Retrenched residents between the ages of 40 and 49 made up 34 per cent of all retrenchments while retrenched residents aged 50 and above made up 33.6 per cent of all retrenchments.
The labour market report also showed that 58 per cent of retrenched residents had degrees while 19.9 per cent held diplomas.
Meanwhile, MOM’s data shows that the number of S-Pass holders has increased and that the number of foreign S-Pass holders grew by 11,100 across all sectors.
MOM said: “The increase was led by the Services sector, with the highest growth seen in Administrative & Support Services, Food Services, Information & Communications, Professional Services, and Transportation & Storage.”
Last month, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced that the Government will significantly reduce the foreign worker quota and S Pass worker ratio for the services sector, as he delivered his budget speech.
The Finance Minister said that foreign manpower growth could be on “an unsustainable path” if current trends persists. He added: “Relying on more and more foreign workers is not the long-term solution.”
It is curious that the Government is only now making the decision to slash the foreign worker quota and S-Pass worker ratio for the services sector – a sector that many Singaporeans have the skills to be employed in.
It is also unclear whether these changes mean that excessive S-passes and work permits were given to foreigners who applied to work in the local services sector in the past.
The timing of the foreign worker quota changes is also notable, especially given speculation that the Government may call the next General Election as early as this year.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary has drawn flak after he announced in Parliament last week that it could take six years to open the Hume MRT station along the Downtown Line.
He was responding to a question by a fellow ruling party politician, Choa Chu Kang GRC MP Low Yen Ling, who asked whether the station, which currently serves as a “shell station”, could be ready by the year 2025.
Low, who has repeatedly appealed for the opening of the MRT station, argued that not opening Hume station “effectively leaves residents out” from the Land Transport Master Plan 2040, that aims to cut down the average peak hour travel time by 15 minutes a day.
Indeed, it takes almost an hour for residents in the Upper Bukit Timah region near Hume Avenue to reach the Central Business District (CBD) area by bus.
Low pointed out that this lengthy travel time itself is only possible if residents manage to board the bus, since many buses plying the Upper Bukit Timah Road route are filled up by the time they reach Bukit Gombak, leaving residents near Hume Ave having to wait for a long time.
Opening the Hume MRT station that is built along the Downtown line would slash travelling time by half, with residents being able to travel to the CBD area in a mere 30 minutes.
Janil Puthucheary, however, said that the opening of the MRT station will be delayed and it was a deliberate decision not to open it together with the other second-phase Downtown Line stations in 2015.
Revealing that the pace of development in the area and ridership growth did not justify the opening of Hume MRT station then, Puthucheary said that new developments have now been made in the area so the station could be opened by 2025.
Citing the redevelopment of the Rail Corridor and the transformation of the Bukit Timah Fire Station into a “gateway node” for the nature and heritage attractions nearby, Puthucheary said: “With all these, there will be sufficient ridership to justify opening Hume Station.”
When Low asked whether the station could be ready before 2025, Puthucheary said that there is still work that has to be completed before the station can open and that the opening of the station needs to coincide with the projects developing in the area.
He added: “In deciding which areas to extend our rail network to, we will have to balance between managing costs and benefitting the most number of Singaporeans possible, taking into account the characteristics of each area.”
Residents in the Hume area, however, are largely upset. In a survey conducted by TODAY, polling 20 residents at bus stops in the area, 85 per cent of residents said that the wait was too long.
One elderly resident who lives at the Hume Park 1 condominium, 65 year-old Alice Wong, lamented that the time was “way too long” and that she “might not even live to enjoy the facility”.
Asserting that it was pointless to leave a completed station empty, Mdm Wong expressed that it was “troublesome to commute by bus”.
Mdm Wong’s views were echoed by Hillington Green condominium resident Shanaz Hassan who told the publication that six years is “still too long a wait”.
It is the proverbial million-dollar question: “what does the customer want?”
Every brand has gone to great lengths to understand their customers’ behaviours. A business may have a great product or service, but the challenge lies in understanding how it meets their needs better than any other options available to them.
Today, the experience a brand gives its customers during the purchasing journey is often what matters most. Instead of brands telling customers what they ought to be buying, today the customer tells the brand what their preferences are.
Customers today are in an always-on world; the way we live, consume and play has undergone a tidal wave of change.
As a Forrester study shows, mobile subscriptions are set to cross 5.5 billion by 2022. The proliferation of smartphones, combined with the fact that almost 70 per cent of all digital media is consumed on a mobile device, means the customer of today is used to having information at their fingertips.
For example, entertainment is no longer limited to the television in the living room. An eMarketer forecast says that as the year comes to a close, “nearly 55 per cent of internet users will be active on chat apps. Watching and sharing videos is a major feature on chat apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat…”
The impact of social media
For those born after the early 80s, known as digital-natives including the millennials and Gen Z, living in an always-on world is the new normal.
Digital immigrants are also quickly changing their lifestyles and preferences given the ease of access to internet and smart devices.
Digital native brands like Amazon, Walmart, Uber and Airbnb have led the way in changing customer behaviour. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and a multitude of sharing and social apps have transformed customer perspectives and behaviours.
They have taught the customer that brands can reach them anywhere anytime. Customers now expect the same kind of efficiency and seamlessness that digital brands have offered them.
Accenture research, titled Customer 2020: Are You Future-Ready or Reliving the Past, points out that consumers “seek quicker resolution and fewer hassles — and if companies don’t move faster, they’ll move on.”
The omnichannel experience
Conventionally, a customer used to go through a journey of discovery, consideration, evaluation, buying, using and (hopefully) loyalty in the past.
This path is now replaced by a model where the journey is more dynamic and free-flowing.
There are multiple touch points for the customer to engage with. They could be using traditional channels for discovery and then shifting to digital for purchase.
This is where it becomes imperative for brands to provide an omnichannel customer experience.
Customers can abandon one channel and continue their journey on another and now expect a seamless connection and ease of use across those channels.
Often, a key pain point for customers is a poor user interface, and lack of speed in delivering information. A customer expects a company to not just deliver information but deliver it in real-time, anytime.
The other common pain points for customers include not having enough information, and a lack of personalisation. It shows that the brand does not care enough and has not listened to the customer and anticipated their needs.
Customers expect brands to identify how they interact and engage in a digital environment and provide the right channel and technology to connect.
The role of technology
Customers and brands are now acclimatising themselves with artificial intelligence to enhance their purchasing journeys.
Chatbots and voice assistants come into the picture, among an array of technological conveniences. An Aspect Software Research report said that 44 per cent of consumers prefer interacting with chatbots over human agents.
Chatbots deliver speedy solutions to the customer while helping agents boost their productivity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is particularly useful for customers who believe in self-service. Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) can also help in intuiting and solving a customer’s problems at a crucial point in the buying funnel.
The use of Virtual Reality (VR), Application Programming Interface (APIs) and Internet of Things (IoT) will also go a long way in improving the customer experience.
Customer trust – a benchmark
Despite the major technological shifts, customers still need to know that the brand’s values they choose to purchase from align with their own.
They instinctively understand what the brand stands for and whether they deliver on promises made, as they move through the various stages of customer experience.
Customer-brand relationship cannot be highlighted enough.
The recently released Zendesk Benchmark Guide for Enterprise 2018 offers insights on both digital native and digital transformations (ie traditional enterprises).
The age of a company is irrelevant to the approach it takes towards providing an enhanced customer experience.
The brands that emerge on top are those who use technology to give agents the information to move fast and maintain consistency and context over channels at the same time. In turn, this is what helps build customer trust.
No matter what stage of the journey a customer is at, it is important to look at their experience through their eyes, and not through the brand’s.
In a future silo-free digital ecosystem, the reins are always in the customer’s hands.
Singapore—Armed Forces in different nations deal with training accidents in different ways. After the recent spate of armed forces training-related deaths in Singapore, a total of four in seventeen months from September 2017 to January 2019, Singapore’s Armed Forces implemented new protocols in order to improve the safety of our national servicemen.
And yet, some people were unsatisfied with this, with individuals even calling for the Minister of Defence, Ng Eng Hen, to step down, after the death of actor and soldier Aloysius Pang on January 23.
Opposition leader and lawyer Lim Tean took aim at the MINDEF minister again on Thursday night, March 14, wherein he compared how the Israeli army handled the training death of one soldier with a sharp reprimand and some officers even being let go, with how SAF handled the fallout from recent training deaths.
In a Facebook post where he shared an article from Israeli newspaper Haaretz entitled Army Chief Takes Tough Stance on Training Death, he writes “Are You Reading This Ng Eng Hen, Chief Of Defence And Chief Of Army?” and, “This is what accountability looks like!”
There was a fatal training accident last January, resulting in the death of Sergeant Evyatar Yosefi. In a navigation exercise, Sgt. Yosefi drowned in the Hilazon stream.
The army then launched an operational investigation into the soldier’s accidental demise.
Following the investigation, the head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, meted out a punishment for the whole chain of command involved in the exercise.
The Paratroopers Brigade commander received a reprimand.
Five officers under the commander were dismissed from their posts, “from the Paratroopers reconnaissance team commander to the commander of the brigade’s reconnaissance battalion,” according to Haaretz.
The article also said, “the findings of the investigation left no doubt; there were some 30 errors revealed in the planning, approval, and implementation of the exercise. There was a fundamental command failure at all levels. The investigation also showed that there were clearly several points at which intervention by any of the various commanders could have prevented Yosefi’s death.”
This is not the first time that the Israeli army has shown severity in meting out punishments for such an occurrence.
Mr Tean wrote in his post, “One training death in the Israeli Army and the whole chain of command in the affected unit gets the reprimand ( Commander ) and the sack ( Other Officers ).
This is what accountability looks like! Unlike the SAF which has had 9 training deaths in 16 months and Ng Eng Hen and the COD and COA have been untouched!
Let’s not forget also that the Israeli Army, besides the US Army, is probably the most active combat force in the world facing enemies on all fronts. If they have an intolerance to training death, shouldn’t the SAF be even more intolerant????”
The article from Haaretz ends on an interesting note “with the meticulous reconstruction of what led to the disaster, the investigation also notes that the commanders’ actions led to the soldiers’ loss of faith in the military establishment. This is a serious outcome, which could have far-reaching ramifications.”
Mr Tean’s post has been widely commented on and shared, with many netizens agreeing that what the Israeli Army did is a prime example of accountability.
