Sunday, May 11, 2025
30.6 C
Singapore
type here...
Subscribe
Home Blog Page 5196

Voters acted, govt listened

The Independent
-
0
Voters acted, govt listened
By Tan Bah Bah

An overdue healthcare package Put bluntly: The voters won – yet again.

The $8 billion Pioneer Generation Package is the second most significant and substantial “victory” for true-blue Singaporeans since the General Elections of 2011. Setting up a committee to review and finally trim ministerial salaries was the first. The committee’s recommendations went some way to appease critics who saw politics as public service and not corporate appointments.

There are many heart-and-soul issues still to be resolved. Among them: the large number of foreigners jostling face to face with locals for living space on this small island, the widening income gap, getting the MRT one hundred per cent back on track, “de-elitising” our schools, universities and social system to ensure every child or person gets the same opportunities, whatever his or her background and the debatable “imperative” that all-out economic growth must be pursued at all costs.

It took the downfall of a grade A ruling party team in Aljunied GRC to push all these issues to the top of the national agenda. The official attitude towards healthcare for the elderly all this while had been, yes, it was important, we will have more hospital beds, we will train more nurses, we will look into subsidising some of the medicines, we will investigate every case of parents who could not afford their hospital bills, we will strengthen this and that.

All seemed like mere firefighting, a kind of running around in spurts to avoid the real problem. There was a sad and unseemly ding-dong between overstressed Singaporeans who had aged parents to take care of and a government which appeared to regard this group of older citizens as a financial liability best left to the resources of the family.

The Pioneer Package will be seen as a welcome if belated answer to one of the flashpoints of GE 2011. The government will try and paint it as one of the outcomes of the National Conversation. Many frustrated voters will strongly disagree, preferring the view that if there had been no strong pressure on the government, nothing substantial would have been done. It does not matter.

The decision was an ideological turnaround or breakthrough. The state now accepts its overall responsibility for the healthcare expenses of its aged citizens. Although there is still co-payment, setting aside $8 billion to ease the financial burden of the elderly and their families who would otherwise have to foot the bills is one of the best government moves so far to regain the electoral ground.

Targeting the Pioneer Generation, that cohort which had built up the country to what it is today, is the right thing to do. It will send a strong message to subsequent generations that this society is not just about economic growth. As they say, action speaks louder than words. The Pioneer Generation Package is practically a clarion cry that the government is now unreservedly committed to carrying the financial burden (or at least a fair bulk), of allowing the older generations to live better quality lives.

With one large step, Singapore can now boast itself to be on the verge of being a First World society. I would hesitate at this stage to describe us as First World yet, with issues about the role of the press and the lack of political plurality unresolved.

More needs to be done. What about non-standardised drugs which are not subsidised? They can be very costly. The details on premiums for Medishield Life are stlll pending. We do not know exactly how much the sums are that the elderly will have to pay out of pocket. A sum of $400 may sound small but to the down and out, it is their survival money.

Finally, I agree with Minister Grace Fu that an important next step is to reach out in smaller groups to all the elderly to explain how they can benefit from the package, including using dialects where necessary.

Kudos to the government for the Pioneer Generation Package. But well done to voters for slapping the face of the driver to wake him up to the reality of a ticking social time bomb in our midst.

What happened in a neighbourhood classroom

The Independent
-
0
What happened in a neighbourhood classroom

I  conducted an English lesson for a Primary 5 class recently. The pupils had earlier been asked to write a book review, and I wanted someone to come up and present it to the class.

Five hands went up. I beckoned to one. She came up, with her review in hand, and did her presentation,  hardly once referring to her notes. And she did it so eloquently and grammatically sound.  Alas, she was not a Singaporean.

Next one? He, too, did his presentation almost flawlessly. Again, he, too, was not a Singaporean.

Could I have a Singaporean, please? I looked around. Pin-drop silence… but no Singaporean wanted to venture. The third foreigner also did it so admirably. Better still, I discovered  that she hadn’t even completed writing her review. Yet, she did it so spontaneously. Impromptu fashion.

“I read the whole book, so it was just about knowing the story and relating it to the class,” she said so matter-of-factly.

Why couldn’t a Singaporean do it? I began to wonder. I then asked a few Singaporean students, including the class monitor. All declined. Why, I asked. After all, they did complete their reviews. All they had to do was to go up to the front and tell their classmates the synopsis. No dice.

But that was not all that I learnt that day. When I was fumbling with the visualiser cables to show them something on the projector screen, a girl came up and instinctively lent me a hand – without my asking. You guessed it. It was another child from the same diaspora. Where were our Singaporeans?

Thoughts began to fill my mind. On the one hand, the Singaporean child, who was already bright in that particular class, stood to benefit by learning from his more precocious foreign counterparts in his bid to match or even outdo them. There was competition created. And it is always through competition that standards begin to rise.

But on the other hand, how is it that this particular expat community could do so well in public speaking, as well as in showing initiative, whereas the average Singaporean child could not? I was told that there was heavy competition to do well within that diaspora itself. Which isn’t such a bad thing, is it?

Of course, one could say that one swallow doesn’t make a summer. That there could be Singaporean students out there who would easily outdo their foreign counterparts in public speaking.

But from my own experience teaching in our local schools, if there are such Singaporean students, they are few and far between, found only in the elite schools. Not in a neighbourhood school where this incident took place.

In any case, over the next few days, I was delighted to see these same eloquent speakers from the same diaspora, one by one,  appear in front of the whole school to tell a few stories with hidden morals. Without a single glitch. This was certainly a lesson for us all.

Our kids should know that life is not just study, study, study. For exams! They should know that education also incorporates  learning about social graces, community service, public speaking,  showing initiative, and a host of other traits in life.

Start with simple conversations in proper English. No Singlish allowed! I bet you most will flounder in this. That is why many of our primary – and even secondary – students stumble in Oral English. It’s because most of the time, they are speaking Singlish! Worse, they think speaking Singlish is fine.

“Why must we speak like the English people?” a Secondary School student once asked. “Why can’t we have our own brand of English?” Mind you, this same student, like all the rest, never bothers to greet his tuition centre teacher. It appears that somehow, they all feel such courtesies should be accorded only to their own school teachers. No-one else.

And so, like it or not, Singlish has become their lingua franca. It’s only when they get Comprehension passages about life abroad, especially in the west, written in Queen’s English, and sometimes peppered with English parlance and idiosyncracies, that they are all stumped.

Of course, not all Singaporeans speak English poorly.

Only last month I chanced upon a Primary 4 Malay Singaporean girl who gave me a pleasant surprise when she spoke grammatically-perfect English. Most importantly, she did it with all her tenses correct! What a rare find indeed! Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we could groom her to be a public speaker, as well?

Post-Casey, what expats must do

The Independent
-
0
Post-Casey, what expats must do

More and more Singaporeans are protesting against the influx of foreigners. What exactly is contributing to this xenophobia?

The Anton Casey saga spurred a public uproar with netizens responding angrily, displaying their unhappiness. A Singapore-based British wealth manager published a series of messages mocking ‘poor’ Singaporeans on his Facebook. The wealth manager eventually apologised through a PR company but his move was deemed insincere. He even received death threats made against his family, prompting him to flee to Australia after his firm fired him.

Not too long ago, Oliver Desbarres, a senior employee from Barclays berated, threatened and threw a metal sheet at a group of construction workers building a house next to his. He was immediately fired from his bank after a video of him went viral on cyberspace. Then there is the Australian expat cyclist who ran into a heated argument on two unrelated incidents. In one he was caught acting aggressively and spewing bile from his mouth at a female driver. He was captured on a camera footage shouting and banging on the lady’s car.

I have personally witnessed expatriates misbehaving in public spaces. I signed up for a charitable run recently where I witnessed cyclists reprimanding the runners to ‘f*** off’ on two separate occasions. In both incidents, the aggressors were middle-aged Caucasian men on the cycling track. During my undergraduate days, I worked in social networking events and encountered snobbish expats behaving distastefully. Many have questioned if this is the kind of talent we want in Singapore where some foreigners exhibit unruly behaviour that irks locals.

Cyber proliferation

As the media is readily reporting stories of uncouth behaviour, news spreads like fire over social media, galvanising public emotions. Even the media uses Facebook as a tool to hype up latest stories and news. Tweets pop up every second that get re-tweeted, sent as screenshots for wider public display and articles are shared on walls. We have used our technology savviness to create an unprecedented cyber culture. Social media has aggravated this rising tide of xenophobia by fuelling people’s wrath. Most Singaporeans fear that they will be subdued as third-class citizens in their own country.

One of the causes of resentment is the fact that many expats enjoy first class services; a glamorous nightlife, shopping at renowned boutiques and staying in luxury hotels. Not all Singaporeans can afford the same high cost of living. The flux of expats fused with elitism is turning into a stark divisive force in Singapore. Indeed Singapore is a success story with new cash flowing readily, soon overtaking Hong Kong as the Asian capital with low taxes for businesses.

Even Yale has set up campus here and Interpol moved its headquarters recently but the wealth is not evenly distributed, exacerbating the gap between the extravagant rich and wide middle class. We have reached a stage where there is zero tolerance for unruly behavior. Social media acting as the message and messenger will continue to sensationalise emotions, thoughts and attitudes.

Long-term sustainability

The goal to accumulate more Asian wealth and offset low birth rates with liberal immigration policy evidently has social and cultural repercussions. Surely Singapore will still need to depend on foreign talent to sustain its vibrant and booming economy. Despite the government urging Singaporeans to be tolerant of foreigners, critics have underestimated social media’s ability to fuel animosity towards foreigners. The popular belief is that xenophobia in Singapore has stemmed largely from economic disenfranchisement rather than social outcomes.

Even if our society becomes mindful and tolerant, foreigners need to make an equal effort. An unnamed expatriate defended Anton Casey ‘that he has a very British sense of humour’ implying that his comments were not meant to be condescending. Others have countered that profanities are not regarded as derogatory in the West. Even if culture shock is the root cause of the Anton Casey or Oliver Desbarres saga, expats should not impose their value systems in a foreign land. Cultural adaptation is rudimentary for foreigners despite their income levels and social backgrounds.

Locals are not going to rest on menial and lower-management jobs or react passively when an outsider undermines them. Superficial curbs will not resolve the accentuating discontent and sourness, like foreign workers earning less than S$4,000 a month are no longer able to bring their spouses and children with them to live in Singapore. Or a 10 per cent extra stamp duty charge for foreigners wanting to buy property on the island. So, expats: sit up and learn to behave.

 

Parents’ top regret is working too much when their children were young

The Independent
-
0
Parents’ top regret is working too much when their children were young
Parents say their number one regret is spending too much time at work during their children’s early years, according to a survey conducted by three students from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
More than 95 percent of parents have at least one thing they regret doing – or not doing – during their children’s formative years.
The poll of 250 parents in Singapore found spending too much time at work was the biggest regret, followed by not having a shared hobby with their children.
It revealed that 74 percent of parents spend only three to four hours on a typical day with their children, with a majority citing work as the primary obstacle to devoting more time to their kids.
The survey found that 23 percent of parents regret not developing a shared hobby with their children, such as camping or playing a sport together – activities that would help in developing a child’s problem-solving abilities and social intelligence.
Research indicates that such activities contribute to improving a child’s social and emotional intelligence, skills that are fundamental to a child’s mental development in the long term.
In response, three undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have spearheaded a social campaign to encourage parents to think about the best way to spend time with their child to improve their mental wellbeing.
Dubbed The Happiness Revolution: Best Gift for Your Child, the youth-led initiative has reached out to over 2,300 parents at community outreach events in January this year.
“We want to alert parents that a child’s mental wellbeing is just as important as her physical health; a child with a high emotional IQ is better able to cope with her feelings and forge stronger relationship with others,” said Ms. Yap, one of the students involved in the project.
In just two days, over 300 parents have pledged to provide the best gift for their children as a step towards a more successful and happier life.
“Children learn to manage their emotions by observing how other family member express and manage their emotions. So in a huge way, parents play a critical role in modelling how to respond to strong feelings,” said team member Ms. Joyce Lim, 23.
The survey conducted by the youth-led initiative revealed that work and school obligations were the biggest obstacles to parent-child engagement.
Experts have cited a culture of digital and electronic distraction as another obstacle toward parent-child engagement.
“Today there is hardly an intuitive moment for parents to engage their kids because of a culture of distraction that wasn’t present in the past,” said child psychologist Ms. Anne Chua.
In spite of the obstacles, Ms. Chua stressed the importance of initiating activities that would encourage children to think about their social skills.
“It could be something as simple as a quiz or treasure hunt where kids interact with their peers and learn how to negotiate decisions,” she said, noting that such behavior reflects the development of social skills.
“As young people enter adulthood, social literacy becomes essential in building relationships and securing job interviews in almost every career,” said team member Ms. Lee.
 “Having a good foundation from the start goes a long way.”

NUS MBA Students Clinch Championship with ‘Buy’ Call on NOL in NUS Asian Stock Pitch Competition

The Independent
-
0
NUS MBA Students Clinch Championship with ‘Buy’ Call on NOL in NUS Asian Stock Pitch Competition

SINGAPORE —Media OutReach—23 February 2014– Invest in Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL), recommends the winning team of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School’s fifth Asian Stock Pitch Competition.

Consisting of Master of Business Administration (MBA) students from NUS Business School – Nilendra Weerasinghe, Jiang Mingzi and Abhishek Khandelwal – the team made a ‘buy’ call on the shipping and transportation firm in their presentation to judges during the Grand Final.

According to the trio, the outlook for NOL is good despite the risks, due to the company’s ideal positioning and focused diversification strategy, high efficiency and flexibility, as well as two ‘hidden gems’ — APM Terminals and APM Logistics.

The team’s insights into NOL and the shipping industry, as well as good presentation skills, clinched them the top prize of S$10,000. SP Jain Institute of Management and Research from Mumbai, India clinched the runner-up spot.

The annual competition is organised by NUS Business School’s Centre for Asset Management Research and Investments (CAMRI) to provide a platform for Asia’s top MBA students to showcase their equity research and stock-picking skills.

The event challenges teams of Asian MBA students to research, present and defend their stock picks. Judged by a panel of distinguished experts from Singapore’s financial sector, the event is an intense competition designed to replicate the fast-paced, demanding jobs of fundamental analysts and asset managers in the investment industry.

Unlike many stock pitching competitions for students, participants of the NUS Asian Stock Pitch Competition gain full access to a suite of industry portfolio analytics and analysis tools, including Bloomberg, for their preparation at CAMRI’s Investment Management and Trading Lab.

“It has been a good learning experience, and it was very competitive. A challenge was to sift through the information ‘overflow’ within a limited time and pick out important details, in order to create a simple and good presentation that communicates our message”, said Nilendra Weerasinghe, full time MBA student at NUS Business School. He added: “It has been a good platform to mingle and compete with our counterparts from Asian business schools. Given that Singapore is increasingly a financial nerve centre in terms of the wealth and asset management business, going forward, with the capital flows that are coming in towards Asia in the long run, I think it is a good industry to be in.”

The eight competing teams in 2014 were from:

  1. China Europe International Business School
  2. Fudan University
  3. Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad)
  4. International University of Japan
  5. Peking University
  6. SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (Mumbai)
  7. The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  8. NUS Business School

“We have organised the NUS Asian Stock Pitch Competition annually since 2010 with the aim of developing financial talent in Singapore and this region. Over the years, this competition, which has an Asian focus, has evolved to be of great value to industry partners, recruiters, and most importantly, to the students in the region. They get a taste of the reality of working as asset managers who often face hard-hitting questions from their clients. I am pleased to note that this year’s participants displayed a high quality of research and analytical skills, which bodes well for Asia’s asset management industry. I would like to congratulate all the teams for a job well done”, said Professor Joseph Cherian, Director of CAMRI, NUS Business School.

The NUS Asian MBA Stock Pitch Competition is held in partnership with the ParkerCenter for Investment Research at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Morgan Stanley was the Platinum Donor this year, while Brandes Investment Partners and Novatera Capital were the Gold Donors.

Dear LTA: Why Are Your COE System “Refinements” Such a Joke?

The Independent
-
0
Dear LTA: Why Are Your COE System “Refinements” Such a Joke?

First of all, I’d like to thank you for doing such a fine job of making it nearly impossible to buy a car. It’s a dirty job, keeping the “great unwashed” masses from owning a car, but someone has to do it right?

I love the way you rationalize the high cost of motor vehicles by saying to Singaporeans, “Look you imbeciles; I’m doing it for the benefit of all Singaporeans! A car isn’t as necessary to life as a home, healthcare, or an education you know,” right before you drive off in your brand new 2014 BMW 5 Series GT.

But you’re right. Despite the fact that some Singaporeans really need a car in their daily lives to transport their kids to school and go to work because they live in non-mature estates, or need to take an ageing relative to his regular medical appointments – a car really isn’t for everyone… who can’t afford it.

Look, I’m sorry for giving you a hard time. I know you’re trying to make things right with Singaporeans with the new COE system refinements that just went into effect this February. You’ve shuffled some of the pricier “sporty” cars from Cat A to Cat B in an effort to create some “social equity” in the COE system.

Yeah, that didn’t happen.

Your COE refinements actually didn’t have much of an effect, as COE prices went up throughout ALL Categories. In fact, there’s only a $1,000 difference between Cat A and Cat B cars right now. Think about it – a $1,000 price difference between the COE price of a Suzuki Swift and an Audi A6!

OK, I think I’ve seen enough of your new COE “refinements” to know that it facilitates “social equity” about as effectively as a police baton to the back of the head.

What I really want to know from you, LTA, are answers to the following three questions with regards to your latest COE system refinements:

1. Why can’t you just move all ”premium” vehicle models in Cat A to Cat B?

In your latest COE refinements, you changed the criteria used to classify Cat A and Cat B vehicles. Currently, Cat A vehicles must have engine capacities 1,600cc and below, but you added that they must also have engine power not exceeding 97 kilowatts (kW), or about 130 brake horse power (bhp).

That’s great! Cars like the Lotus ELISE and the Mazda RX8 don’t need to be in Cat A. But why are cars like the Mini Cooper, Subaru Impreza, Audi A3, Volvo S60, and Volkswagen Passat still in Cat A?

Why can’t you just move every vehicle in Cat A that’s made by a “premium” car manufacturer to Cat B?

 

2. How will COE certificates be allocated once a formerly Cat A (now in Cat B) vehicle is deregistered?

This is actually a much easier question for you to answer. When a formerly Cat A vehicle (now in Cat B) gets deregistered, where does that COE get allocated to? Does it go to back to Cat A, or stay in Cat B?

OK, so maybe it’s not such an easy question for you to answer, since it’s starting to sound more like a “does a falling tree make a sound if no one hears it” philosophical “thought” question.

Don’t let yourself get confused, it’s just a simple question – does the COE get allocated to Cat A or Cat B?

Don’t worry – even saying you’ll flip a coin to determine where it goes is still an answer as far as I’m concerned.

3. Will the increase in the volume of car models in Cat B equate to an increase in the allocation of certificates?

Here’s the easiest question. Now that the number of vehicle models in Cat B has grown, does that mean you’ll increase the number of COE certificates being allocated for Cat B?

Or will the increase of vehicle models in Cat B have no effect on the number of certificates allocated?

I think this question is especially important for anyone interested in buying a Cat B car, because no increase in the number of certificates being allocated for Cat B means one thing – a larger demand leading to even higher Cat B COE prices.

These are just some questions I’ve been wondering about lately. Hopefully, you can indulge me with answers soon. Of course, I wouldn’t expect any as I know you’re pretty busy doing the “people’s” work.

Look, I know you just want to take a “let other people handle it” approach when it comes to social fairness. I get it. But you really CAN do more if you… *sigh* I’m running out of eloquent things to say so I’ll just use a line from Spartacus, “pull head from ass, and use it for once.”

And answering these important questions is a good start.

Yours sincerely,

A Messenger of Singaporean Frustrations

What do you think of the LTA’s latest COE category changes? Do you have any clue as to how things may change with the new refinements? We’d love to discuss them with you here!

Image Credits:
KwokCH

Ageing: Is Singapore ready?

The Independent
-
0
Ageing: Is Singapore ready?

Reports commissioned by Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) over last few years on the “state of the elderly” in Singapore raises more questions than provide answers

Singapore adopted the vision of “successful ageing” as part of its public policy on the elderly in 1999. After more than a decade, it is pertinent to assess how far the country has moved in adopting that vision.

In a seminal report about the National Survey of Senior Citizens 2011, published last year, a total of 5,000 senior citizens (aged 55 or older) were interviewed and nine policy recommendations were made.

The report, prepared by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and commissioned by Elderly and Disability Group under the MSF, emphasised on the importance of ensuring the availability of care within the community, as more and more seniors are likely to be living on their own in future. “There is also a need to emphasize the building of care networks comprising paid staff and volunteers (including able-bodied seniors) especially within precincts with high concentration of seniors living alone or those who require social and/or health care support,” the authors added.

The IPS report also made a case for reaching out to seniors with potentially debilitating conditions, as well as shifting the focus of community studies on elderly health conditions to medical testing rather than self-declaration, which is the prevalent method now.

Regarding employment of seniors, the report, rather controversially, stated, “Seniors should aim to work for as long as they can, while employers should redesign jobs and human resource policies to accommodate seniors.” Voluntary organisations and social enterprises should also be encouraged to recruit seniors, it added.

Declining family support

As an indication of declining family support to seniors, the report observed, “15% seniors lived in one-person households. This is a marked increase from the reported proportion in the 2005 survey. At that time, it was observed that 6% reported living in one-person households.”

“For the oldest age group, aged 75 and older, there was also a marked increase in the proportion of one-person households as well as two- and three-person households. The former has been steadily increasing since the last survey in 2005, which saw an increase from 4 to 7 percent. In the 2011 survey, this proportion increased to 17%.”

Almost two-thirds of the respondent were living in arrangements that were not considered “traditional”, which means not living with the immediate family. This included living with friends, other kins, unrelated individuals, or living alone. “Elderly in the middle and older age bands were more likely to be living on their own compared to those in the 55–64 age band,” the authors added.

Significantly, only 26% of all dwelling types were found to contain elderly-friendly fixtures, prompting the report authors to note that “there remains room for improvement to enable the elderly population to live independently within the community”. The report also revealed that the frequency of contact between seniors and their children “declined with age” in Singapore.

Inadequate finances

Hinting towards inadequate financial situation of seniors, the report found that one in five respondents had no savings by the end of each month. Worryingly, the figure rose to 40% for the oldest respondents (aged 75 and above).

“Slightly more than one in four of respondents encountered some degree of financial inadequacy, while one in three of the oldest respondents perceived their financial situation to be so. The two most cited reasons for their financial inadequacy were high cost of living, and low or no income,” the authors added.

In obvious indication of financial insecurity, an overwhelming 83% seniors indicated the main reason for working or returning to work was money. “Overall, only about 17% had active ageing in mind,” the report noted.

Notably, almost 40% of the respondents didn’t agree with the statement that “the government had addressed the concerns of the elderly in Singapore”.

2009 State of the Elderly report

The findings of the latest IPS report builds on the 2009 “Report on the State of the Elderly” in Singapore brought out by the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

Analysing the occupations of employed senior citizens, the 2009 report had noted, “Senior citizens who were employed were primarily in lower-end white and blue-collar occupations. In particular, women were particularly more likely to be cleaners and labourers (especially the former) due to their lack of educational attainment.” Interestingly, the proportions of elderly males and females in cleaners and labourers positions had increased over the decade although the proportions in professional and managerial positions also grew, the authors added. Among the reasons for post-retirement employment, more than 50% of the elderly surveyed then had cited the reason as “need money for current expenses”. Moreover, “nearly all of the unemployed senior citizens seeking employment expected to encounter difficulties in their job search”.

Feminisation of the aged population

sex ratio.png

Females outnumbered males among Singapore’s elderly population. While the total sex ratio (males per 1000 females) in Singapore is 968; in June 2013, the sex ratio among Singapore residents aged 65 and over was 809 males per 1000 females. The sex ratio among the 85 and older was even more skewed, at 494 males per 1000 females. This means that there were two women to every man in this age group.

Whether it is the lack of socio-economic support and social inclusion, or simply the loss of will to live, but suicide mortality by older women is on the rise in Singapore. According to the Samaritans of Singapore, a suicide prevention agency, female suicides for the age-group 85 and above reached a two-decade high of 14 cases in 2012. The number was five a year before.

Credit: Newzzit

SISTIC Sells 20 Million Tickets in Ten Years

The Independent
-
0
SISTIC Sells 20 Million Tickets in Ten Years

Marks Milestone With New Ticket Design

SISTIC, Singapore’s leading ticketing service provider, has reached an amazing milestone, selling 20 million tickets over the past 10 years. Marking the milestone, a new ticket design, in two variations, is being introduced, replacing the familiar tickets. Despite a number of available ‘ticketless’ options, many show patrons continue to prefer printed tickets, holding onto them as a memento of a special occasion.

The new designs feature a larger ticket, printed blue background, a partial metallic/ holographic SISTIC logo and spot UV print finishing. While SISTIC has continuously enhanced security features over the years, this is the first major stock design change, providing stronger security measures to deter ticket fraud. The larger size also provides more space for sponsors, logos and event details.

From offering the first real-time online ticketing in 1998, to launching mobile ticketing using WAP technology in 2001, introducing e-tickets in 2006 and releasing its mobile app for download in 2011, SISTIC has brought many “firsts” to ticketing services in Singapore. The 20 million ticket milestone marks yet another first.

The newly designed tickets have been introduced since 17 February 2014, and will be stocked across all SISTIC marketing channels by 24th February. Ticket buyers who have purchased tickets before 17th February will be issued tickets with the existing design, which remain valid.

StarHub to serve up Xiaomi Redmi from 27 February

The Independent
-
0
StarHub to serve up Xiaomi Redmi from 27 February

StarHub announced it will offer the much-talked-about Xiaomi Redmi at all StarHub Shops beginning 27 February 2014. Redmi will be available for $0 on selected StarHub Mobile post-paid plans or $169 with a StarHub Mobile pre-paid bundle.

Redmi is a high-performance smartphone featuring a quad-core Mediatek 1.5GHz processor and a 4.7″ IPS display from Sharp/AUO – a perfect device for all mobile Internet, communications and gaming needs. Redmi is a dual-SIM device with dual-standby capability, which makes it possible to send and receive text messages and calls on two mobile numbers seamlessly, ideal for people who have personal and work SIMs or who travel internationally often. Redmi has an 8-megapixel Samsung/OV camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture that creates professional-looking photos with soft-blurred backgrounds. As with all Xiaomi devices, Redmi comes with MIUI v5, the most powerful Android-based operating system in the world.

“We are very excited to be among the first few mobile operators in the world to bolster StarHub’s smartphone line-up with our first-ever device from Xiaomi – the designer of smartphones that boast premium hardware and advanced software features,” said Mr Chan Kin Hung, Head of Mobility, StarHub. “We will continue to work closely with Xiaomi to make available a wider range of attractively-priced smart devices, as part of our efforts in encouraging even more consumers, including current 2G mobile users, to jump onboard the smartphone wagon.”

Healthcare: Foreign manpower dependent

The Independent
-
0
Healthcare: Foreign manpower dependent

Singapore’s recent public hospitals bed-crunch has brought into focus the issue of medical tourism in the limelight once again, with many questioning whether it is due to an increase in the number of foreign patients. While the said premise is debatable, it is certainly true that the country’s healthcare services are increasingly reliant on foreign manpower

The minister of health, Gan Kim Yong, in his committee of supply (COS) speech in March last year assured the Parliament that “over the years, foreign patients have remained about 2% of the public sector’s total patient load”. In comparison, the healthcare manpower, in the public sector has been rising steadily, and have almost doubled between 2006 and 2012.

Earlier in 2012, the minister had noted in his COS speech, “Over the last five years, we have increased the number of our doctors, nurses and allied health professionals in the public sector by 53%, 72% and 86% respectively.”

foreign manpower.png

NPTD estimates

While above data by the ministry of health (MOH) doesn’t indicate how many of these are foreigners, media reports have noted that almost one-fifth are. Salma Khalik, in herarticle for the Strait Times, Foreign docs learning local languages, noted, “Foreign doctors are here to stay. More than 20% of those practising in Singapore come from abroad.”

But the biggest clue about Singapore’s reliance on foreign healthcare manpower comes from National Population and Talent Division’s (NPTD) Occasional Paper – Projection of foreign manpower demand for healthcare sector, construction workers and foreign domestic workers 2012.

growth of foreign manpower in healthcare.png

The NPTD estimated that at current fertility and immigration rates “the median age of the citizen population will increase from 39 years in 2011 to 45 years in 2030. The number of elderly aged 65 years and above will increase from 340,000 (10%) in 2011 to 900,000 (24%) in 2030. In particular, the number of citizens aged 80 years and above who will require more care and support, will increase from 70,000 in 2011 to 210,000 in 2030”.

Thus, anticipating an increasing demand for healthcare services and care-giving support for Singapore’s growing elderly population, MOH has projected the growth of foreign manpower in the healthcare sector, NTPD argued.

In conclusion, the NTPD noted that while MOH will expand Singapore’s resident healthcare manpower as well as raise productivity of the healthcare sector, “our supply of resident healthcare manpower will not be sufficient to meet the sharp increase in manpower demand. Hence, we will continue to need to supplement our resident training pipeline with foreign recruitment”.

 

Credit: Newzzit

1...5,1955,1965,197...5,255Page 5,196 of 5,255

The Independent SG

Singapore News

‘Do you check your helper’s luggage on her last day of employment?’ — Maid’s employer seeks advice

0
SINGAPORE: An employer took to social media to seek...

Singapore richer, healthier than most English-speaking countries?

0
SINGAPORE: Singapore is getting so accustomed to superlatives that...

Singaporeans more open to talking about death, but few take concrete steps to prepare

0
SINGAPORE: A recent survey by the Singapore Management University...

‘This is daylight robbery’: Toast Box patrons upset with difference in menu pictures and actual items

0
SINGAPORE: Some Toast Box patrons have raised concerns over...

Business

Singapore Politics

© The Independent Singapore