My Choice - Whampoa SMC

Today 14 July 2015, marks my last day as a member of NSP. Early in the morning, I sent a text to the party's President to bid him farewell and to wish him and the party well. He responded cordially with his good wishes.

Since stepping down as Secretary-General of NSP, I have been invited by other political parties to join them. Unfortunately, I had to politely decline each of their kind offer. At the breaking-of-fast dinner held at the Islamic Restaurant this evening, attended by representatives of the various alternative parties, I was interviewed by the media and press, and they were interested to know my plans.

I have already made up my mind to go independent and informed the reporters of my intention to contest in Whampoa, one of the places where I have been regularly visiting to do volunteer work in the past years. To some my friends in politics, both the idea of going independent and disclosing my choice of ward to contest in the next election so soon were against conventional political wisdom. But, why should that always be the case? If they earnestly wish to improve the electoral system, they must be ready to challenge conventional wisdom and think out of the box. 

 

I was asked if I was concerned about three-corner fights. This seems to be a common worry for potential candidates and the voters. Again, my thoughts are quite different. I feel that voters are entitled to make their choices and to decide who to vote for without interference. With closed-door negotiations to avoid multi-corner fights, the voters' choices become limited to only those who are allowed to contest by private treaty. That seems to run against the very idea of an open democratic system.

In any event, for a maturing democracy, voters should not be afraid of making choices. If the voters' objective is not to dilute the votes for the alternative party candidates by them agreeing not to engage in three-corner fights, the voters themselves will unwittingly stifle the development of a truly multi-party political system. The voters need to find the courage to face the ballot box just as much as the candidates themselves.

Ultimately, it will be the voters who will decide the outcomes in every election. May the voters not only have the courage to choose but also the wisdom to know how.

Trolleys full of old cardboards

They have become part of our social landscape. They are seen pushing their trolleys full of old cardboards with their backs bent and attracting sympathy from onlookers. These rugged old folks have recently become the focus of a group of young people who are interested to know more about them.

Photo Credit: Tan Chuan-Jin

For years now, these old folks have been plying their trade, collecting cardboxes and selling them, and Why do they have to do it? Some observers speculate that these folks collect cardboxes just for the money. Others think they do it out of boredom. Well, they are all correct.

Photo Credit: Gilbert Goh

I have met many of them and spoken to them. There is a small number who do it out of boredom. These folks are already receiving some financial aid from the CDC or Comcare but would rather spend their time collecting cardboard. The majority, however, do it to make some money.

But there are many more old folks that I have come across who sit alone in the void decks and open spaces, often doing nothing at all. They are the lonely old folks who seem to have nothing to look forward to and wither their time away in loneliness. Whenever I stop to speak with them, they have so much to share with me and are happy to know that someone cares enough to listen to what they have to say.

We will all grow old one day. Then, will we also be pining for someone to talk to us like these lonely old folks?

THEME: From SMRT & SBS Transit to MRT Commuters: Perfecting Attitudes

In my last blog on our MRT System, I stopped at the COI report on the train disruptions in December 2011.

The COI report was delivered on 3 July 2012 and the essence of it was simply this. Both the regulator (LTA) and the operator (SMRT) had not paid enough attention to the maintenance of the ageing NSEWL, resulting in recurring disruptions train services. In conclusion, the Committee expressed that "With the various recommendations implemented, the COI is confident that future incidents, should they recur, will be much better managed."

Since the release of the COI report, steps have been taken by LTA and SMRT to address most of the problems in line with the recommendations of the Committee. On 11 March 2014, LTA even released news of its "Rail Network Enhancements" on expanded capacity, shorter waits and more travel options. There were plans to add more trains, upgrade signalling system for NSEWL and new rail lines for faster and more connections. However, the latest incident on 7 July 2015 suggests that some basic problems have yet to fully addressed. This was also the perception given when the promise for better train services reliability was qualified by SMRT at their subsequent press briefing co-chaired with LTA (http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/smrt-chief-desmond-kuek-apologises-for-train-disruption-promises-better-train).

The breakdown of our MRT system is not just a matter of our rail network failing. The latest incident has further revealed that our overall public transport system is ill-equipped to cope with the fallout of a major train service disruption (http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/mrt-disruption-puts-strain-buses-taxis). It is therefore imperative for us to deepen our analysis of the entire situation, including how to address public frustration. For a start, the people are not convinced that another CEO appointed to SMRT in October 2012. who does not have the relevant technical skills or experience in running a train operator. was the right move. And for LTA to repeatedly impose a fine on SMRT for delays hardly solves any problem.

The cause of the frequent breakdowns and disruptions are technical in nature. The long-term solution is for both LTA and SMRT to appoint an independent 3rd party technical expert in the field of urban-rail operations to fully investigate and recommend all the measures to be taken to effectively address the problems once and for all. Both LTA and SMRT can then look into implementing the recommendations, which may eventually require a lot of understanding and patience from the public. I believe that the public would understand and be able to withstand the periods of disruptions necessitated in carrying out these recommendations to prevent recurring train disruptions that cause so much more inconvenience to everyone.

Meanwhile, improvements can be made in the communication of train disruptions and the provision of alternative transport for affected commuters. One measure is to ensure that clear and immediate dissemination of information of disruptions are further made at all transport waiting points, including bus stops and taxi stands. There should also be deployment of ground staff to guide train commuters to the location of supporting bus services and to provide bus information. Ad-hoc taxi stands can be set up for those who wish to take taxis and support staff can help in calling/hailing taxis. In addition, motorists who are en-route could be roped in to help ferry commuters and help alleviate the heavy load on buses and taxis.

We do not live in a perfect world. What is important is that we learn how to perfect our attitudes towards every difficulty that comes our way. Only then can we become a great nation.