‘Leaders must be able to take criticism, acknowledge mistakes’: PM Lee - Page 72

Goretzka · #**1066** 30-06-2018, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Tower

Can still see many anyhow park their bicycles .

Not "their" bikes . If theirs they won't anyhow park .

sionglim · #**1067** 02-07-2018, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goretzka

Not "their" bikes . If theirs they won't anyhow park .

HahAha good one.

skyleon · #**1068** 02-07-2018, 12:40 PM

1 July 2018 – a Sunday with double price hikes in water (15%) and electricity tariffs (6.9%)

Published on 2018-07-02 by Thomas Loh

For most Singaporeans, the weekends have been a time for family bonding and rest.

Yet starting from 1 July, they will find that merely resting at home will cost more than yesterday (30 Jun). This is because the 2nd phrase of the 30% water hike will kick in, while electricity tariffs for the Q3 2018 will be 6.9% higher than the previous quarter.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat first announced a 30% water hike in his budget speech in Feb 2017. The increase was due to "update our water prices to reflect the latest costs of water supply". According to the PUB, it costs $1.3 billion a year to operate Singapore's water system, up from $500 million in 2000.

While there may be an increase in operating costs, a TOC contributor wrote last year that the whole issue of water price increase essentially stemmed from overpopulation which depleted Singapore's existing water supply which then necessitated more expensive means of water production.

Phillip Ang – a blogger who has been advocating for government transparency – researched into the matter and found that the annual profit for SP has been making an annual profit of almost $1 billion a year for the past 13 years.

Despite such massive profits, HDB households will pay $5 to $8 more a month for their water bills with this second stage increase.

Alternative political parties have expressed strong disagreement over this matter. The Singapore Democratic Party has called this "taking advantage" of Singaporeans, considering that there are already 3 layers of tax – a Waterborne Fee, a Water Conservation Tax and a 7% GST levied on top of these 2 taxes.

On the other side of the coin, this would be the 3rd consecutive quarter in which electricity tariffs have increased. In Q1 2018, the tariffs were $0.2156 cents per Kilowatt hour, while Singaporeans will see themselves paying $0.2365 cents per Kilowatt hour now, or a 9.6% increase in 6 months.

Yet according to the Energy Market Authority in 2016, 95% of Singapore's electricity is generated using natural gas. In a separate blog post, Ang noted that natural gas prices were largely unchanged since a year ago and asked "why is PAP still justifying electricity tariff increase with increase in oil price instead of natural gas"?

continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...y-tariffs-6-9/

skyleon · #**1069** 02-07-2018, 12:42 PM

Shall we not confuse loyalty to country with loyalty to government?

Published on 2018-07-01 by The Online Citizen

by Augustine Low

It’s incredible the number of people out there who equate criticism of the government and its policies with disloyalty to the country.

Is it genuine or feigned ignorance?

These confused or ignorant souls ought to take heed of the enlightening words of the great American writer Mark Twain:

“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”

Our duty and loyalty is first and foremost to the country. Some call it patriotism; it boils down to love of country and a strong bond with the motherland.

As for the government, its duty is to serve and protect, it has to earn the loyalty of citizens.

Citizens have the right to underscore and call out perceived ills, incompetence, tardiness and injustice.

What good is a country if its citizens perpetuate the silence of the lambs? What happens if citizens choose to see no evil and hear no evil, and leave their destiny in the hands of those who may not deserve such blind, unfailing trust?

For those who choose to speak out, it is said that the motive behind criticism often determines its validity. Fair enough.

Do most of us possess any ulterior motive? We level criticism at the government because we aspire for a better Singapore (and not just materially), and because we have a stake in the future of the country.

But there are times when motives do become questionable. For example, if Malaysia and Singapore were to get into a spat, and we applaud and cheer on Malaysia, what is our motivation? Are we then not shooting ourselves in the foot?

A word of caution also to those who find every man and woman in white repulsive, and every action (or inaction) by the government repugnant. If we lump all and sundry into one basket and label it offensive and obnoxious, we risk being all bark and no bite, and we end up shooting blanks.

Ultimately, though, there’s nothing worse than to be afflicted with the disease of silence and indifference.

continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...to-government/

For me I can safely say that I am proud and loyal to Singapore .

skyleon · #**1070** 02-07-2018, 12:48 PM

oBike working on refunding user deposits and collecting remaining bicycles

oBike said on July 1, 2018, that it would announce the entire refund process for users once details are finalised.


Published Jul 1, 2018, 4:30 pm SGT

Calvin Yang

SINGAPORE - Bike-sharing firm oBike, which abruptly shut down operations last week, is working closely with relevant parties on a solution to refund its users their deposits.

The Chinese-founded company, in a statement on Sunday (July 1) afternoon, apologised for the inconvenience caused to all affected parties, and is working towards solving concerns raised over the past week.

Its closure left users wondering whether they would get a refund of the deposit, of up to $49, that they had to make to use its bikes.

As of 5pm last Friday (June 29), the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) had received 884 complaints from consumers asking for oBike to return their deposits.

oBike assured users that the entire refund process will be announced once details are finalised.

Last Monday (June 25), oBike unexpectedly announced that it was stopping its operations in Singapore.

The company, which has been given a deadline of July 4 by the authorities to clear its fleet of at least 14,000 bicycles, is working with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to collect all remaining idle oBikes still strewn all over the island. "We will have further discussions with LTA if we are unable to collect the bicycles in the given time frame," it added.

oBike also said it is working closely with the Personal Data Protection Commission over its next course of action. It assured users that user data will not be sold or used for any other purpose other than for the oBike service.

oBike's surprise move comes three weeks after another operator, GBikes, said it would stop its Singapore services from this month.

oBike, which began operations in Singapore in January last year, had told the media in January this year that it had about 14,000 bicycles and one million users.

When announcing its closure, oBike said it foresaw difficulties in meeting LTA’s new licensing requirements for the bike-sharing sector. The licensing regime, announced in March, set such standards as capping the number of bicycles offered by each firm and ensuring their users do not park the bicycles indiscriminately.

On Sunday, the company, which began operations in Singapore in January last year, added that it is "fully committed to solve these issues to ensure proper closure for our stakeholders in Singapore".

continue reading here : https://www.straitstimes.com/singapo...ining-bicycles

nitecrawllerr · #**1071** 02-07-2018, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyleon

For me I can safely say that I am proud and loyal to Singapore .

So in time of war, would u be patriotic and fight alongside with the govt/saf?

skyleon · #**1072** 03-07-2018, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

So in time of war, would u be patriotic and fight alongside with the govt/saf?

I will protect my family; my love ones ; my friends ; my assets ; and my way of life . How about you ???

skyleon · #**1073** 03-07-2018, 05:16 PM

Hit by rising water and electricity bills, Singaporeans and businesses tighten belts

By TOH EE MING

With water tariffs and electricity bills set to go up by more than 20 per cent from this month, Singaporean homeowners and businesses are tightening their belts, and keeping a close watch on their energy and water consumption as they brace themselves for the price hikes.

Published 02 JULY, 2018UPDATED 03 JULY, 2018

SINGAPORE — Over the past year, Ghim Moh resident and fruit seller Anna Chan, 56, has been making more effort to cut down on electricity and water consumption by switching her old air-conditioner and washing machine to energy-saving models.

She recycles water from her washing machine to clean the toilets and floors, and uses water from washing vegetables for her plants. She also continually reminds her family members not to leave the tap running unnecessarily.

With water tariffs and electricity bills set to go up by more than 20 per cent from this month, Singaporean homeowners – such as Ms Chan – and businesses are tightening their belts, and keeping a close watch on their energy and water consumption as they brace themselves for the price hikes.

Ms Chan’s efforts have seen her reducing her utilities bill to about S$60 per month. “Knowing that it’s now going to be (more expensive), we definitely have to cut down our usage… If not it’s very heart pain,” she said in Mandarin.

Taxi driver Kent Chia, 46, forks out about S$100 monthly in utilities for his five-room flat, and his family-of-three is “extra mindful” of electricity and water usage, and they “save where we can”. They have a washing machine that uses less water, and they plan to wash dishes and utensils in a basin instead of individually.

Housewife Chuang Pek Yah, 62, who lives in a condo in Bukit Timah, tries to save money by dimming the ceiling lamp, and she is considering doing the laundry every other day, instead of daily.

But Madam Chuang admits that it is tough to shake off habits such as her thrice daily showers. That goes up to five times a day when she does housework in humid weather.

Her family-of-four already pay S$100 a month for their water bill, and a further fee hike would lead to her “getting very frustrated”.

Madam Chuang is one consumer who is already feeling the pinch from water hikes. The first phase of a 30 per cent increase in tariffs kicked in last July after remaining unchanged for 17 years, with the second phase starting this month.

The higher water prices spurred households to cut water consumption last year from 148 litres to 143 litres per person per day. This was the sharpest drop in at least a decade, said the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli during the Committee of Supply debate in March.

The dip was due to the increase in water prices, adoption of water-efficient fittings and appliances, as well as the wetter weather, said national water agency PUB.

HELP FOR PRICE HIKES

Electricity prices will also go up by 6.9 per cent over the next three months, as utilities provider SP Group will be charging 1.5 cent more per kilowatt hour (kWh) between July 1 and Sept 30, bringing the price to 23.65 cents per kWh. SP Group had previously attributed the hike to the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation.

While electricity tariffs continue to rise – the first quarter of 2018 hit a new high in more than two years – it can change over time due to the volatility of oil prices.

But some households will get help to manage the price hikes, as the Ministry of Finance announced on Monday (July 2) that about 900,000 Singaporean Housing and Development Board households will receive the next instalment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher – Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebate this month. It is expected to come up to S$280 million over four quarters, starting from July.

However, local hawkers told TODAY that they are forced to swallow the cost increases, as raising food and drink prices will only drive away customers.

Some of them, including a 56-year-old noodle stall owner in the Holland Drive Food Centre – who declined to be named – have resorted to using fewer ingredients and serving smaller portions. His water bills come up to S$300 a month.

continue reading here : https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...-tighten-belts

So how you guys dealing with higher electricity and water tarrifs ?