Mr Low Thia Khiang: A further clarification. So what is exactly the definition, or is there no definition of foreign talent? Is an EP holder considered as a foreign talent or just a foreign worker?
Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, “foreign” means not local, and “talent” means the opposite of non-talented.
Why is Dr Ng insulting our intelligence? Is this world-class democracy at play? How childish.
Source: Workers’ Party @ Parliament
SINGAPORE: Some six years ago, former Speaker of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon took a peek into the future when he spoke on the hot topic of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) during a budget debate.
He said then: “Sir, the Government’s policy has been that the cost of ownership of cars would be reduced over the long run, but the cost of usage will increase. Hence, we have increases in ERP charges. We have ERP almost everywhere, or soon-to-be everywhere, (and) we are going to have ERP day and night. I think very soon, ERP will mean ‘every road pay’.
“Sir, the day will be quite soon when the only safe place to leave your vehicle is at home, if you are lucky enough to own a landed property. You can well imagine that, one day, if I drive out of my house, the first thing I hear would be this ‘beep’ sound coming from the little device on my dashboard, and everywhere you go, you will be hearing ‘beep, beep, beep’, instead of car horns.”
Mr Tan’s sagacity is well-known.
While Mr Tan’s worst-case scenario has yet to emerge, from July 7, motorists will have to face higher ERP charges and even more gantries in operation as the traffic authorities respond to growing congestion on our roads. Their argument: If ERP charges do not go up, the growing traffic congestion will have an adverse impact on the economy.
From July 7, family life in Singapore should improve, at least for those who pass through traffic gantries. Businesses, too, will become more competitive as the cost of crossing these gantries goes up, leading to faster travel times, which should then lead to lower transport costs overall.
So said Land Transport Authority chief executive Yam Ah Mee in a recent media interview: “Faster travel times lead to overall lower transport costs and ultimately, help businesses to remain competitive. Congestion also adversely impacts family life, as people spend more time on the roads.”
The LTA claims that traffic speed along major routes like North Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Stamford Road and Bras Basah Road have fallen by 22 per cent in the evenings, compared to two years ago.
Few would deny that the ERP system has helped in smoothening traffic flow, especially in the Central Business District. The main quarrel with the timing of the new round of increases is that it comes in the wake of higher petrol prices and insurance costs. Many would argue that traffic congestion here is still tolerable compared with the traffic jams in Bangkok, Jakarta and even Kuala Lumpur.
In fact, some contend that traffic in Singapore could be even smoother but for the ubiquitous road works, tree pruning and numerous traffic lights. The LTA itself has admitted that in calculating traffic speed, it included the waiting time at traffic lights, and as everyone knows, Singapore probably has more traffic lights per kilometre of road than anywhere else in the world.
And, as for business benefiting from a lower volume of traffic, why, then, is it that businesses were the first to voice their opposition to the increases? Just ask the merchants on Orchard Road and elsewhere in the CBD whether they prefer to have the car parks in their malls full, or empty. It was only when the authorities decided to introduce a “window period” in the mornings between 9.30am and noon that business at the malls in the Orchard Road area improved.
Perhaps a survey on whether motorists prefer to pay more for a smoother ride or put up with crawling traffic would have helped.
In any case, why raise costs when inflation is already raging at record levels?
And if the authorities want you to switch to public transport, why do buses and taxis also have to pay ERP charges?
Last year, SBS Transit had to pay $2.9 million (same as the previous year) in ERP charges, $5.8 million in road taxes ($5.4 million previously) and absorbed almost $37 million in output GST (up from $28.5 million). Figures for ERP charges paid by taxis were unavailable. After all, the LTA claims that the ERP system is not a revenue-raising exercise.
The present solution to smoother traffic flow also smacks of elitism, and will only serve to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
And why is the preferential additional registration fee (Parf) on cars, for which the owner claims the benefit when the vehicle is de-registered, still paid with a voucher to be redeemed with the purchase of another car?
If the authorities want to see fewer cars on the road, surely a cash rebate, which may not end up with another car purchase, makes more sense.
Source: CNA
What happens when office tension between IT and Sales get into an all time high?
Flat tariff of 30 to 40 cents may be imposed to help cabbies offset soaring cost of diesel
By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent
Just months after taxi fares rose sharply, cab commuters may have to brace themselves for another cost hike: fuel surcharges.
The Sunday Times has learnt that taxi companies here are proposing what airlines have been applying since 2004 - a surcharge on top of stated fares to defray rising fuel prices. In the case of airlines, the surcharges are sometimes higher than the fares.
Industry sources say the fuel surcharge being considered for cabs could be a flat tariff of 30 to 40 cents a ride. If a cabby makes about 20 trips per shift, a 40-cent tariff would lift daily takings by $8, helping to offset the rise in fuel expenses.
Since the last cab fare increase in December, prices of diesel at the pumps have climbed by 40 cents a litre to a record $1.933 (before discount). A cabby on a single shift covering about 250km would have seen his fuel bill rising by close to $10 a day over the period.
Although operators have not made a firm decision, observers reckon the surcharge could be implemented in the next few weeks.
Mr Lim Chong Boo, managing director of Premier Taxis, said: ‘We’ll have to wait for ComfortDelGro to take the lead.’
Ms Tammy Tan, spokesman for ComfortDelGro, the biggest cab group, said: ‘This is something that is being looked at, given the unabated rise in fuel prices. But no decision has been taken yet.’
Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxis, whose fleet runs entirely on compressed natural gas, said even if other players went ahead with a fuel surcharge, he might not. ‘We cannot follow blindly. After all, we are not using the same fuel as they are. We will gather feedback from our drivers before making the next move.’
There are six taxi companies here with a total fleet of about 24,000 cabs. As the industry is deregulated, they do not need to seek approval from the authorities to make changes to fares, unlike the bus and train operators.
Taxi drivers have mixed reactions to news of the proposal.
Cabby Azman Mohamed, 45, said: ‘We’ve seen a drop in passenger numbers since the fare increase. This is not going to help us. This will only help the bus and MRT companies because fewer people will take cabs. What we want is more passengers, not driving around empty burning more fuel.’
Fellow driver S.H. Ngiam, 53, said: ‘We have too many surcharges. This will put off more people.’
But cabby Tony Pang, 59, felt it was ‘a good move as it will relieve the hardship of rising diesel prices’.
Other cabbies said the time is not right for such a move, with inflation rate at a 26-year high. ‘We’ll be digging our own graves,’ one said.
Commuters are obviously displeased with the prospect.
Merchandiser Ivy Ong, 42, spoke for many when she said: ‘Oh no. I will not take taxis unless it is absolutely necessary.’
Ms Dawn Chia, 28, who is in public relations, said it would be ’slightly insensitive of cab companies’ given that the last fare hike was ‘imposed very recently’.
Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon noted that when fares were raised recently, fuel cost was cited as one of the reasons.
‘Therefore, cab companies owe the public a good explanation to show cause for such a proposal to be justifiable,’ he said.
Taxi companies raised fares on Dec 17 last year. The flag-down fare rose by 30 cents to $2.80 and meters jumped at shorter intervals.
The city surcharge trebled to $3 from 5pm to midnight, and the peak-period surcharge was changed to 35 per cent of the metered fare from a flat $2.
Although cabbies said the number of fares has fallen since, takings have improved.
National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said: ‘Fuel cost should be properly reflected in fares, but imposing a surcharge now may worsen the public’s impression of the taxi industry, especially when inflation is on everyone’s mind.’
Mr Seng Han Thong, adviser to the Taxi Operators’ Associations, said: ‘Diesel prices have gone up by about 50 per cent from a year ago. Many taxi companies have also been giving fuel rebates to drivers. But this would not be sustainable in the long run.
‘We welcome and support any proposal from companies to help drivers reduce their burden. A fuel surcharge could be one way.’
christan@sph.com.sg
The first ever convention dedicated to the visual artistry and craftmanship of a realm so sacred, that it was once deemed to be a nerd-only domain. Not anymore, with the introduction of the Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 that will span over a period of 3 days (the 1st magical day was closed to the public). Featuring a host of toys (general and designer), comics, animation, gaming, design, licensing and Cosplay from creative minds from all over the world, serving up an eye-popping visual feast and unprecedented variety and innovation in all the closely-related industries. This year, SGFRAG was there to document it all and is ready to serve up a mashed-up montage of the first public opening. Honestly, we would rather do that than cook up a chunkful worth of text.
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DIABLO III VIDEOS
http://eu.blizzard.com/diablo3/index.xml
wo decades have passed since the demonic denizens, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, wandered the world of Sanctuary in a vicious rampage to shackle humanity into unholy slavery. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils directly, the memory fades slowly and the wounds of the soul still burn.
When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram’s Cathedral seeking clues to new stirrings of evil, a comet from the heavens strikes the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells – and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself.
ITS DIABLO III!!!
When Oil Barrel hits USD$300
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