Escape has yet to dent govt’s hubris

While in a cab last Saturday, I recalled the newspapers reporting that within hours of alleged Jemaah Islamiah leader Mas Selamat Kastari’s escape from detention, a broadcast was sent to all taxis urging them to look out for the escaped terrorist. Wanting to verify this, I asked the cabby when exactly he received that broadcast.

“They didn’t tell us until the next day!” he replied in Mandarin. “And after making such a big blunder, what’s the point of apologising?”, he continued, ending off with, “Ta ma de!” which loosely translates to “Damn it!” in English.

With just that innocent question, I had not expected to ignite such anger in that otherwise polite taxi driver. It was then I realised that I was not alone in feeling upset at the fact that the government allowed a potentially dangerous man to slip away so easily from detention last Wednesday afternoon. An AFP report published by The Straits Times (2 March) reported that the government has come under unusually “stinging public criticism” after the escape.

But to err is human. And government officials are human after all, aren’t they? So why engage in this “unconstructive and retrospective finger-pointing”, as two NTU academics wrote in TODAY (4 March)? Shouldn’t we “rally behind and support our security forces and not undermine them,” as Mr Nicholas Lazarus advised me in a comment on my blog last Friday?

On deeper analysis, it appears that Singaporeans’ anger at the government is not simply because a bunch of bumbling Internal Security Department (ISD) officials at the Whitley Road Detention Centre let slip the alleged leader of JI Singapore.

It is not because Singapore has been in the international spotlight for all the wrong reasons. It is not even because after more than a week, one thousand police officers and army personnel still haven’t been able to find a limping man in this little red dot of an island.

I suspect that Singaporeans are more upset with the insufferable hubris and lack of transparency of the government despite what is probably their biggest blunder in recent memory.

Mr Tan Chak Lim put it this way in a letter to TODAY (1 March):

“When we hear of dangerous prisoners escaping from prison in Indonesia or the Philippines, we congratulate ourselves that such things can’t possibly happen in Singapore. The escape of Mas Selamat should check any hubristic tendencies on our part.”

Hubristic tendencies? Didn’t the Deputy Prime Minister apologise in Parliament for the “lapse in security”? Wasn’t that a sincere enough display of contrition for someone as high and mighty as Mr Wong Kan Seng?

The behaviour of senior government officials in the wake of the escape suggests that these hubristic tendencies are still as strong as ever.

It took four long hours for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to inform the public that Mas Selamat had escaped? PAP Member of Parliament Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the right question the next day in Parliament: Why so long?

The Minister’s answer? He posed “no imminent danger to the public” and he was “not known to be armed”. The police on Sunday said that they did not want to cause “public panic”.

Does the Minister really think Singaporeans are so irrational? If he is not armed and dangerous, why should Singaporeans panic if the police sounded the alarm immediately?

The public could have helped police nab the man in those crucial four hours.

In fact at about 5.15pm, 70 minutes after the escape, a bus commuter reported seeing a man, believed to be Mas Selamat, at a petrol kiosk near the detention centre. A manager of a car washing kiosk at the Esso petrol station on Whitley Road reported seeing a man struggling up a flight of stairs towards Malcolm Park at 5pm. If these people had been informed of Mas Selamat’s escape, they would have called the police immediately instead of speaking to the press only a day later.

As student Lee Weijia pointed out in a letter to the Straits Times, “the authorities were hoping to apprehend him without alerting the public. It seems that the public was only alerted when the authorities recognised the fact that Mas Selamat could not be apprehended any time soon.”

Lee went on to ask a very pertinent question: If Mas Selamat had been apprehended within the four hours, would this have been reported and made known to the public at all?

“We should not speculate”

The question that every Singaporean must have asked in the immediate wake of the escape was, “How could this have happened in Singapore?”

Every Singaporean, that is, except our local mainstream media journalists and editors.

As NTU don Cherian George pointed out, neither The Straits Times, nor Channel NewsAsia, nor TODAY asked that question within the first 24 hours of the news breaking. This led Dr George to conclude that the editors “must have been instructed not to raise the ‘how’ question publicly”.

Indeed, the Home Affairs minister had told Parliament immediately after his apology, that, “An independent investigation is underway. We should not speculate now. Security at the centre has been stepped up.”

How can the minister tell Singaporeans not to speculate when such a costly mistake has just been committed? Is there a presumption that the government is above public scrutiny?

Suffered a “knock” but we’re still better than others

On Sunday, the Home Affairs minister acknowledged that Singapore’s reputation for safety and security had “suffered a knock somewhat”.

Was it just a “knock”?

The news of the escape was reported the world over by major news agencies and dailies like AFP, CNN, BBC, New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, Xinhua, Hindustan Times, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, Al Jazeera and Taipei Times, just to name a few.

They featured unflattering headlines like “A Jihadi Limps Away from Singapore Jail”, “Singapore: Terror suspect fled toilet” and “Embarrassed Singapore hunts escaped terrorist”.

NTU academics Hoo Tiang Boon and Kumar Ramakrishna assessed that Mas Selamat’s escape is likely to have “wide repercussions, strategically and operationally” and that other terrorists might use this story for the own recruitment and indoctrination purposes.

The Minister went on to boast that “our reputation continues to remain high compared to many other countries”. Indeed, what better way to prop oneself up than to put others down, by implying that “other countries” (read: Indonesia, Philippines, etc) still pale in comparison to us! Even if it is true, this is hardly the time to say so.

Responding in kind, the Indonesians later stated that while they are helping in the search for Mas Selamat, if they catch him, they are not going to extradite him to Singapore for the second time, because the Singapore-Indonesia Extradition Treaty has not been ratified.

See where this hubris has gotten us?

Singaporeans fed dribs and drabs of information

Last Friday, I asked on my blog why the police had not told the public what Mas Selamat was wearing when he escaped. On Tuesday, almost a week after the escape, the police finally revealed that he could have been wearing a baju kurong over a beige round collared tee-shirt and a pair of brown long trousers.

The reason given for not telling the public earlier? They did not want the public to have a “fixation” on this particular attire as the fugitive could have already changed his clothes. Now they want the public to help look out for his discarded attire.

How insulting to Singaporeans! Is it better to look out for these clothes when they are on the fugitive or when they have been taken off?

The police obviously felt the heat for not releasing basic information like his height, weight and attire earlier. Now they are trying to weasel their way out by asking Singaporeans to look out for discarded clothes. Do they really think Mas Selamat will strip off his clothes and place them neatly in the open for everyone to see?

The “independent” investigation

Singaporeans were told by the minister that there will be an “independent investigation” in to this matter. Then it was revealed that the Commission of Inquiry (COI) consists of an advisor to the President, a serving ambassador and former police chief, and the Deputy Secretary for Security at the Home Affairs Ministry.

It is already a stretch to say that the first two are independent, despite their government links and current portfolios, but having on the Commission the third-most senior civil servant in the very ministry at fault surely shatters any veneer of “independence”. Like Mr Wang, I have nothing personal against any of these commissioners. In fact, I met Mr Tee Tua Ba when he was Ambassador to Egypt and can attest that he is a very pleasant and friendly gentleman. I trust that these commissioners will be impartial to the best of their ability.

Nevertheless, I do not understand why the government boasts that this is an “independent commission” when by most objective measures, it is clearly not. Have they taken the liberty to redefine the meaning of “independent”?

It remains to be seen whether the COI’s report is going to be made public, just like the 9/11 Commission which investigated the failures that allowed the terrorist attacks of September 11 in New York and Washington.

Conclusion

I am aware that it is unfair to blame the entire Home Team for a security breach at a top- secret ISD detention centre that many Singaporeans didn’t even know existed. I am in full support of the hundreds of policemen who are working overtime to nab this alleged terrorist.

It is just unfortunate that despite the gravity of the mistakes that were made by MHA officials before and after Mas Selamat’s escape, Singaporeans are still expected to put up with haughty statements and lack of transparency from our government.

The most senior government leaders have been deafeningly silent on this issue since it broke. I will not be surprised if the first statements we hear from them are chastisements along the lines of Singaporeans — especially bloggers — not having a sense of proportion when criticising the government for this minor security lapse.

Singapore’s international reputation for security and competence has taken a hit as a result of this blunder. Unfortunately, however, it seems the government’s hubris hasn’t been dented one bit.

.

The best is yet to be for Singapore

Today is the 122nd Founder’s Day of my alma mater, Anglo-Chinese School. I’m particularly thrilled to learn that MP for Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam See Tong, who is an old boy of the school, has been invited to be Guest of Honour at the annual Founder’s Day Dinner.

This honour is usually extended to illustrious alumni who have excelled in business or public service. It is therefore unsurprising that ACS would choose to honour a man who has dedicated a good part of his life to serving Singaporeans an Member of Parliament. Mr Chiam entered Parliament in 1984 after he soundly defeated the PAP’s Mah Bow Tan with a 60% majority of votes.

What is unusual in the Singapore context is that ACS has invited an Opposition MP as Guest of Honour at this important occasion. Most high profile organisations in Singapore wouldn’t touch an Opposition member with a ten-foot pole, much less give him such a seat of honour.

I’m proud that my school has overcome this climate of fear. It speaks volumes about how the image of the Opposition has improved since the last General Election. Then again, this is a school which has also produced many opposition candidates and is known to produce independent thinkers like Tan Soo Khoon, Dr Geh Min, Eunice Olsen, Colin Goh and Lee Kin Mun (mrbrown)

Happy Founder’s Day to all ACSians! The Best Is Yet To Be and To God Be The Glory!

.

Mas Selamat’s prison break: Some questions for Home Affairs Minister

I have a few questions for the Minister for Home Affairs regarding the escape of alleged terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari.

1. Why has Singapore not asked the Malaysian police for help in tracking him down? Malaysian police chief Musa Hassan was quoted in the International Herald Tribune yesterday saying, “We have not received any special request from Singapore as yet.”

Doesn’t the Government think that there is a very high likelihood that Mas Selamat could have escaped to Malaysia immediately after his prison break?

2. How could Mas Selamat have escaped from the toilet in the ISD Detention Centre? Was there a hole in the toilet wall or an open window that he could have got out from? If so why wasn’t this fixed, given the need for such high security at such a facility?

3. How long did it take for the alarm to be sounded? Surely if there was a warden outside the toilet waiting for him to finish his business, that guard should have gone in to check on him if he didn’t come out in 2 minutes. How far could a limping man have run in just 2 minutes?

4. Once he got out of the toilet, how did he manage to get through the perimeter fence which is guarded by Gurkhas and CCTV cameras? Was there a hole in the fence?

5. Has MHA ruled out the possibility of an inside job?

6. So far the MHA has only released two face shots of Mas Selamat. Wouldn’t it be more useful to tell the public what he was wearing when he escaped, so that people can look out for him? This was pointed out by HWZ forummer knave.

7. The Home Affairs Minister has said that an “independent investigation” is underway. Will the public be informed of the details of the investigation, or will Singaporeans be told that it was an honest mistake and to trust the MHA to know what they are doing? If operational security is a concern, at a minimum, the full report should be released to all MPs, including Opposition MPs.

Terrorist leader escapes from Singapore detention centre


The alleged leader of terrorist network Jemaah Islamyiah, Mas Selamat Kastari (above), escaped from the ISD detention centre in Whitley Road in Singapore on Wednesday 27 February. A massive manhunt is on to find him.

Anyone who sees him should call the police at 999 immediately.

While the priority now should be to first find him, I think serious questions will follow later about how an extremely dangerous man with a limp could escape from jail in, of all places, Singapore.

.

Bring back our 5% GST, Tharman

In his Budget Speech 2008, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that the higher than expected 7.7 per cent growth and low 1.6 per cent unemployment was a result of the Government’s “broad-ranging efforts to restructure the economy, labour market and fiscal system” and “delivering superior performance”.

Actually, the global economy has done exceedingly well in the past year, powered in part by double digit growth in China. Stellar economic growth is not just due to the Singapore Government’s efforts. Interestingly, when the Singapore economy is doing badly, the Government turns to blame the external environment like the Asian Financial Crisis, SARS and the Iraq war. Unsurprisingly, PAP MP Seng Han Thong blamed inflation worldwide for Singapore’s inflation problems, when in fact much of Singapore’s inflation was caused by the GST hike and hikes in property taxes.

Financial Year (FY) 2007’s overall Budget balance is expected to be a whopping surplus of $6.4 billion against a projected deficit of $0.7 billion (difference: $7.1 billion). In FY 2006, the budget deficit was $1.3 billion against a projected deficit of $2.9 billion (difference: $1.6 billion).

It seems that more often than not, government economists’ projections of the budget position seem to be far off from the actual numbers. Obviously from a political perspective, underestimating works in favour of the Government, as it gives the Finance Minister something positive to report at the next Budget Speech. However, constantly underestimating the next year’s fiscal position may result in the government spending less than it can actually afford to on essential services and assistance for the poor. It will also increase pressure to raise taxes unnecessarily.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) hike is a prime example. The $7.1 billion additional windfall more than covers the $0.3 billion given out in Workfare Income Supplements (WIS).

Singaporeans will recall that the rationale given last year for the GST hike was to help the poor, not to increase overall revenue. The past year’s budget position suggests that the GST hike was not necessary to achieve this. In fact, the GST hike raked in $1.2 billion more than expected, even though it was implemented just 7 months ago.

Consumer price inflation was 4.4 per cent in December 2007, and overall inflation for 2008 is expected to be between 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent. The Minister has acknowledged that the sharp rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the end of last year was “partly due to the GST increase in July”.

I support WP Sec-Gen Low Thia Khiang’s call in Parliament yesterday to bring the GST back down to 5%. NMP Gautam Banerjee also echoed this point, as did NCMP Sylvia Lim today.

I also stand behind my earlier articles in December 2006 asking for the GST not to be raised in the first place:

.

Improving Singapore’s Public Transport System – A Commuter’s Perspective

This paper seeks to highlight problems and provide suggestions for improving the public transport system in Singapore. It is based on the author’s own experiences as a middle-income commuter who relies almost exclusively on public transport, with input received from fellow commuters.

 

Land transport a key focus for 2008

In his New Year’s Day message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that a key focus for 2008 for the government is to improve our public transport system, so that more Singaporeans will take buses and trains instead of driving cars. He acknowledged that the government “can do more to make public transport a choice mode of travel”.

Among the proposed measures PM Lee highlighted were long-term goals like building more rail lines. However, he pointed out that there are some changes which “can and should be made more quickly” like improving bus services, making transfers more convenient, as well as running more trains at peak hours. This policy focus by the PM is certainly welcome news for the millions of Singaporeans who depend on public transport to get around.

In January, Transport Minister Raymond Lim unveiled a series of short and long-term changes to the public transport system, a culmination of the Ministry of Transport’s Land Transport Review. This paper builds upon these proposed changes and offers more recommendations for further improvements.

 

‘Good’ is not enough

The standard of Singapore’s public transport system is generally good compared with other major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Sydney. However, simply being ‘good’ may not be enough, because of the unique constraints that Singapore faces.

It is the government’s stated goal to make public transport a “choice option” [1] and a “viable alternative to the car” [2]. With just 617 sq km on our main island (much of which is set aside for water catchment and SAF training areas), it is untenable for Singapore to have the same proportion of residents driving their own cars as in, say, Los Angeles, which has a much larger land area.

Hence, with private cars priced out of the reach of most of the population, they are left with little choice but public transport. It is therefore inappropriate to just

benchmark Singapore’s public transport system against other cities in developed countries. In most of these countries, a car can be purchased for as little as $3,000, making private transport a viable alternative for a much larger percentage of the population. Most Singaporeans enjoy no such luxury. Furthermore, we should not be comparing Singapore with countries that are known to have overcrowded and inferior public transport systems. If there are improvements to be made, Singapore should strive for them rather than look backwards.

There are two broad categories of commuters who regularly take public transport:

Category 1: People who cannot afford to buy a car or take taxis except during emergencies;

Category 2: People who may be able to afford a car in the near future.

For the Category 1 commuters, who are likely to comprise the bottom 50 per cent of income earners, the government has a moral obligation to ensure that the cost of public transport is kept affordable, and that most parts of the island (especially where workplaces are located) are within reach of the bus and rail networks.

Public transport operators SMRT Corporation (SMRT) and SBS Transit (SBST) need to continually explore ways to improve the efficiency of their services, so as to keep their costs and fares affordable for this group of Singaporeans.

Category 2 commuters are probably the target of the government’s efforts to make public transport an attractive alternative to cars and cabs. For this group, comfort, convenience and speed are three main factors besides cost that influence their decision whether to take public transport or to drive.

Once these people switch to driving, it is very unlikely that they will return to using public transport. A recent Singapore Press Holdings survey of 295 people who drive cars showed that only two per cent reverted to taking the MRT or buses [3].

With the expected increase of Singapore’s population to 6.5 million from the current 4.3 million and the growing affluence of the population as a whole, it is imperative that improvements be implemented soon to make public transport a more attractive option than cars.

 

Ride or Drive?

For most commuters, the decision on the mode of transport is dictated by three main factors:

a. Comfort

b. Convenience

c. Cost

Lower travel costs are usually the only reason for taking public transport instead of driving. Remove the cost factor, and the comfort, convenience and speed offered by cars or taxis make public transport a hands-down loser.

The key for the government, therefore, is to ensure that costs of public transport are kept low, while increasing comfort and convenience.

Scale of Benefits

Figure 1: Balance of benefits

As illustrated above, as fares and commuters’ income increase, the scale will be tipped in favour of driving. Since fares and income will inevitably increase in the long run, the government and public transport companies need to put in more effort into increasing the comfort and convenience of MRT trains and buses.

 

Problems and Solutions

As a commuter who relies almost exclusively on public transport, I have observed the following key problem areas in our current public transport system:

  • Overcrowded buses and trains;
  • Inadequate trip planning facilities;
  • Inconsiderate commuters;
  • Lack of genuine competition, resulting in ever-increasing fares

This paper offers two sets of suggestions on improving the public transport system in Singapore. The first are the “quick wins” — measures which can be implemented quickly and with minimal cost. The second set of suggestions, while not asking for the moon, will require some policy and perhaps mindset changes to implement.

 

The Quick Wins

Recommendation 1: Lengthen peak hour timings

Unlike many other major cities I have travelled in, including Tokyo, Singapore’s MRT is crowded at almost every hour of the day, including late evenings and weekends.

It has become a norm to be standing sandwiched between other passengers for the entire ride. Passengers jostle for personal space. Women passengers clutch their handbags closely to their chests to preserve their modesty. At least 20 per cent of standing passengers have nothing to hold on to, as the grab poles are located at the centre of the carriages. Whenever the train comes to a sudden stop, many of them get thrown off balance. The situation is magnified for pregnant mothers, senior citizens and people with disabilities. It is simply not safe, in many cases, for them to board these crowded trains.

Is it any wonder that many young Singaporeans will swear to buy a car as soon as they can afford it to escape this madness?

The most distressing times to take public transport are during the morning and evening rush hours, or late at night on weekends. According to SMRT, peak hours are defined as:

Monday to Friday, between 8 to 9 am and 5.15 to 6.30 pm

Saturday, between 8.15 to 9 am and 1 to 2.30 pm

During these times, the train frequency is about 2 to 5 minutes. However, after “peak hours”, train frequency drops to about 7 to 8 minutes. Disappointingly, SMRT’s “peak hours” do not seem to coincide with the full evening rush hour timings, and curiously neither do they coincide with the taxi peak hour surcharge timings (5 to 8 pm).

Busy professionals rarely leave work in time to make it to the MRT station by 6.30 pm. Many (particularly Category 2 commuters) leave work between 6.15 and 7.30 pm. The result is a space crunch as passengers try to get on the trains between 6.30 and 8 pm. Commuters find themselves packed like sardines on both the North-South and East-West lines.

Later at night between 10 and 11 pm, especially on Friday and weekend nights, this crunch situation is repeated when people head home after an evening out in town. Unfortunately, train frequency is not as high as during peak hours and the trains are often packed to overflowing.

SMRT’s 2007 annual report [4] (see Table 1) revealed that while the number of passenger-trips has increased 10 per cent from 2003 to 2007, the number of car kilometres operated actually decreased by 14 per cent. This explains how average car occupancy increased 23 per cent in that same period.

Is it fair for commuters to be paying higher fares yet having to squeeze into much more crowded trains?

SMRT Annual Report 2007

 

SMRT should be compelled to increase its train frequency and extend its peak hour timings.

In response to my suggestion on 23 Sep 07 to extend peak hour timings, SMRT responded:

(T)he current train service frequency is sufficient to meet commuter demand during these time (sic).

On the perception of overcrowded trains, we would like to point out that, although our trains are designed with an engineering limit of 1,800 commuters, we rarely carry more than 1,400 commuters per train during peak hours. In fact, the actual typical average passenger load per train is about 1,200. Furthermore, when benchmarked against 15 of the world’s top metro operators from major cities, we are ranked among the top five with one of the lowest density of passengers on our trains. During peak hours, we have an average of four passengers per square metre, as compared to six passengers per square metre for metros located in other densely populated cities.

SMRT has admitted that during peak hours, there are up to 233 passengers squeezed in to each carriage, and that peak hour passenger density is 4 passengers per square metre. Based on my experience commuting at peak periods, it appears 6 passengers per square metre would be a more accurate estimate.

In any case, even 4 passengers per square metre is too close for comfort. As explained earlier, it is immaterial to benchmark our passenger density against other major cities if we want public transport to be the desired option for most Singaporeans.

To solve the overcrowding problem, SMRT should extend the evening peak hours to 8 pm every day (even on weekends) and have a higher frequency during the late evening from 10 to 11 pm. During peak hours, the train frequency should be 2 minutes. After peak hours, a frequency of 3 to 5 minutes should be the norm. There is no reason to have train frequency exceeding 6 minutes at any time of the day.

I note that it was recently announced that the government will be spending $40 billion by 2020 to extend the rail network, and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be working with rail operators to run 93 additional train trips per week from February 2008. These are positive steps in the right direction.

 

Recommendation 2: Develop a harmonised trip-planning e-portal

The available trip-planning facilities on our public transport network are dismal relative to the level of technological advancement of our country.

Although a printed bus guide is available for purchase, it is not convenient to carry around and it is not easy to plan one’s trip using it. SMRT and SBST run their own online bus and MRT guides. However, most people plan their trips based on where they want to go, not which transport company to use. To have to run a web search on both sites is excessively time consuming and confusing.

LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit should jointly develop a harmonised online bus and MRT guide with “intelligent” features that help commuters plan the fastest, most convenient way to get from point A to B — be it on the MRT, buses or a combination of both. This online guide should be viewable even on small mobile screens and should be able to accept queries via SMS.

In order to ensure the best possible product is built using the most appropriate technology available, the government should fund part of its development costs. In addition, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) should grant permission for the free use of their road maps in this portal.

 

Long-Haul Changes

Recommendation 3: Tackle inconsiderate behaviour

There is an appalling lack of courtesy and consideration among many commuters. This contributes much of the unpleasantness of taking public transport, especially for less able-bodied people.

Some examples of discourteous behaviour include:

  • Not giving up seats to the elderly, pregnant mothers or parents carrying infants;
  • Rushing into the train without giving way to alighting passengers;
  • Not moving to the centre of the carriage or the back of the bus;
  • Leaning against grab poles, preventing others from holding on to them.

Although it is not the core business of public transport operators to teach commuters manners, inculcating a culture of courtesy among commuters could help to make the ride much more enjoyable.

Many commuters do not seem to be aware that they are obliged to abide by certain unofficial rules. For example, the sign located above the corner seats on the MRT, “Please give up this seat to someone who needs it more than you,” is ambiguous and comes across as more of a suggestion than a requirement. It is not surprising that many passengers find it perfectly acceptable to fall asleep (or pretend to do so) on those seats and not give up their seats even if a heavily-pregnant woman is standing in front of them.

The approach of the public transport companies ought then to be

i. Making clear to commuters the behaviour expected of them;

ii. Feed societal pressure to encourage good behaviour;

iii. Focus on educating the young.

A list of suggestions on how to do this is in the annex at the end of this article.

 

Recommendation 4: Introduce genuine competition into public transport

SMRT and SBST form a duopoly over public transport in Singapore. Not only do they control both the bus and rail networks, they control the taxi fleet as well. The rationale for the government’s decision to privatise public transport was to reduce costs to the government and to promote greater efficiency brought about by market pressures.

However, market pressures only work if there is genuine competition. This cannot happen when there are only two players in the market.

The recent move by the government to introduce a tendering system for bus routes is sound in principle. However, unless more independent bus operators are allowed to enter the market, the tendering exercises will serve only as window dressing for the same oligopoly.

The government’s concern about allowing more entrants is that it would impede its efforts to have an integrated bus and rail network. This can be addressed by establishing a common set of standards that different operators are obliged to adhere to. For example, ez-link card readers should be installed on all buses, regardless of operator, and these readers must be able to calculate transfer fare reductions. With the LTA taking over the centralised planning of public transport routes, it would not take much more effort to plan for more than two bus companies to cover all the necessary routes in Singapore.

A similar bidding process should be implemented for MRT lines as well. As there are no other local companies with the expertise to run MRT lines other than SMRT and SBST, foreign operators should be allowed into the market to compete with the incumbents. Ultimately it will be commuters who will benefit from lower fares and better service.

 

Recommendation 5: Appoint only officials who are accountable to Singaporeans to the PTC

The Public Transport Committee (PTC) is seen, rightly or wrongly, by many Singaporeans as a rubber stamp committee which only executes the wishes of the public transport companies.

It would be better to appoint to the PTC land transport professionals (e.g., LTA officials) and elected Members of Parliament from the two largest parties in Parliament. This will ensure that the PTC is both cognisant with the technical complexities of public transport, sensitive to the needs of the people and accountable to them.

Conclusion

While few will deny that Singapore’s public transport system is above average compared to most of the world, there is still much room for improvement if we are to achieve the aim of making it an attractive alternative to driving.

Transport companies need to pay closer attention to comfort and convenience on public transport, and the government has a responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient competition so as to keep prices affordable. Having an affordable, efficient and comfortable public transport system will increase the quality of life for millions of Singaporeans, while easing the congestion on our roads.

Listed in the Annex is a summary of the above-mentioned points as well as further suggestions on how public transport companies can address the problems faced by commuters.

 

Annex

SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

Comfort

Problem

Suggested solution

1

Overcrowded MRT trains and buses

 Increase frequency of MRT trains and buses.

 Lengthen the peak hour timings.

2

Jerky and uncomfortable rides on buses.

 Provide training for bus drivers to start and stop their vehicles more smoothly.

3

Above-ground MRT station platforms hot and uncomfortable during daytime.

 Install fans at all outdoor MRT station platforms.

 Ensure that soon-to-be-installed platform screen doors allow wind to pass through.

4

Passengers not giving up their seats to elderly/disabled

 Clearly demarcate seats designated for the elderly or disabled.

 Paint these seats a different colour.

 Place unambiguous signs at eye level (for seated passengers) instructing — not merely suggesting — that they give up their seats.

 For example:

RESERVED SEAT

For the elderly, disabled, pregnant women or parents carrying infants

 Work with schools to organise educational “behind the scenes” tours of the MRT, and teach students the virtue of considerate behaviour from a young age, encouraging them to lead others in following their example.

5

Passengers (esp. teenagers) playing music aloud on the trains and buses.

 Have signs indicating that playing music aloud is banned.

 This is also implemented in the Tokyo metro.

6

Passengers not allowing others to alight from trains before boarding. Cutting in front of those considerate enough to allow others to alight first.

 Paint ‘queue’ lines outside train doors requiring passengers to queue while waiting to board.

 The first to arrive gets to board first.

 See Figure 2 below.

 Tokyo metro stations have these ‘queue’ lines.

Queue lines outside doors

Figure 2: Queue lines outside train doors

Convenience

Problem

Suggested solution

7

Poor trip-planning facilities

 Develop a harmonised bus and MRT trip-planning e-portal.

8

Lack of connectivity between MRT train lines and bus routes

 Situate bus stops closer to MRT stations.

 Post bus guides at MRT stations so commuters know which bus stop to head to and in which direction.

Cost

Problem

Suggested solution

9

Lack of genuine competition, leading to ever increasing prices

 Introduce genuine competition by allowing more players in the market.

10

Lack of public accountability of public transport regulators

 Appoint to the PTC only LTA officials and elected MPs from the Government and Opposition who are accountable to the electorate.

11

High operating costs for SMRT and SBST, leading to increases in fares.

 LTA to allow more space for advertising in MRT stations and bus interchanges.

 Space on MRT station walls is not being fully utilised for advertising.

 SMRT’s “Tunnel TV” is an innovative way to provide more space for advertisers in MRT tunnels. This should be expanded upon.


Knowledge-based economy needs more Uni education financing

The need to improve access to higher education has taken a much more urgent imperative. This need can be met to a large extent by increased financing for university education for Singaporean students, particularly those in the low-income group.

FINANCE Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced in his 2008 Budget Speech that the Government will increase the CDC/CCC-University Bursaries for students from the lowest 20 percent of households from $1,000 to $1,600. This is a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the increase is probably not enough to cover the 7 to 20 percent hike in tuition fees recently announced by Singapore’s three publicly-funded universities. Singaporean students will now have to fork out between $6,360 and $18,230 a year for undergraduate courses.

The ever-increasing cost of tertiary education is a cause for worry.

I believe that education is the best socio-economic leveller. One of the most important ways to facilitate social mobility is education, and tertiary education in particular.

The Government has taken pride in its self-proclaimed “meritocratic” system, whereby anyone, whether rich or poor, can climb the social ladder to join the ranks of the elites in society if they achieve excellent grades in school and get awarded scholarships to study in university. However, the success of a country should not be judged solely by the achievements of the elite.

The former president of Japanese multinational Matsushita remarked some years ago to the then-Economic Development Board (EDB) Chairman Ngiam Tong Dow that our educational structure had some brilliant individuals perched like eagles on high peaks, but the average education level of the rest was not high. He advised that Singapore should concentrate on educating the masses to raise the average level and not just focus on the top scholars. He said that to advance as a nation, we need “high broad plateaus, not solitary peaks”.

Singapore already has a very good education system at all levels — primary, secondary, technical and tertiary. However in the present economy, it is tertiary education (i.e. universities and polytechnics) that will make the difference between those who break into the middle-income group and above, and those who will remain in the struggling-to-survive group.

Singapore needs more knowledge workers to power our economy. If companies can’t find these workers locally, they will have to hire foreign talent, as they are already doing. The globalisation train is steaming ahead, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Most manufacturing jobs and even technical jobs will be shipped out to China, India or Vietnam sooner than we think. No amount of labour protectionism will save these jobs.

More foreign talent or more education?

To prepare our young for the knowledge-based economy, the Government needs to give as many students as possible the opportunity to study in tertiary institutions.

It doesn’t make sense for the Government to constantly carp at the lack of local knowledge workers and import wave after wave of foreign talent, when it should be putting in place more long-term solutions by providing more opportunities for Singaporeans to complete their tertiary education. Human capital development is an investment with an almost guaranteed return.

In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister pointed out that in centres for innovation like Austin, Texas, over 44 percent of their population hold college degrees. But currently in Singapore, a mere 23 percent of each primary one cohort enters university. The Government plans to increase this to just 30 percent by 2015.

This, in my opinion, is not enough. It is unfortunate that many parents spend fortunes to send their children overseas to study due to lack of places in local universities. I understand that one of the Government’s concerns is that the job market may not be able to support a higher proportion of degree holders, should the economy head south in the future.

The question to ask then is will these Singaporeans be better off if they didn’t have a degree? Probably not. They might still be able to find well-paying jobs overseas with their qualifications, just like many Filipinos do. Not so for the non-degree holders, who will have far fewer career options, whether the economy is doing well or not.

Tertiary education and the lower income group

Students from low-income households often have to overcome numerous odds just to perform well in their studies, let alone finance their tertiary education. For these students, continuing on to tertiary education after secondary school entails not just tuition fees and other school-related expenses (stationery, books, etc). It also presents an opportunity cost. This is because many would be under pressure to start working as soon as possible to contribute to the household income, often to see their younger siblings through school.

Furthermore, the lower value that many poorer parents place on higher education is another factor that might be holding down university enrolment among low-income students. I have a good friend who qualified for junior college after secondary school, but her parents discouraged her from continuing on in JC after the first 3 months because they felt it would be a stretch to pay for her university education. She went to polytechnic instead. (Fortunately she took up a professional degree after she started working.)

This would probably not have happened had her family been wealthy enough to pay for her university education. In fact, all of my peers from high-income backgrounds eventually completed university, even those with average academic ability. Those who didn’t do well enough to enter local institutions completed their studies overseas. Is it fair, then, for someone to miss out on a university education just because her family is not rich?

A report by the Education Policy Institute in Canada titled “Grants for Students” found that grants are an effective way of increasing access to higher education for students from low-income households. The research revealed that grants tip the cost-benefit ratio of higher education in favour of the “benefits” by offsetting tuition costs and foregone income. In other words, a JC student from a low-income family who is deciding whether to spend $20,000 to complete university or start working immediately no longer has to make that decision if he knows that his university education will be covered entirely by grants.

Are current bursaries enough?

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has stated that no student will be denied a university education because of financial difficulties. It claims that all cases of genuine financial need will be met by bursaries.

Unfortunately, bursaries don’t cover all the tuition costs, let alone the other expenses of higher education. The annual tuition fees in local public universities range from $6,360 for arts and engineering, to $18,230 for medicine and dentistry. This includes the MOE tuition grant, which is given to all students, even foreigners. Most bursaries are valued between $800 and $2,000 per year, based on the level of financial need.

One needs to have a gross monthly per capita household income of less than $1,000 to qualify for an $800-a-year MOE bursary. Furthermore, the bursaries usually prohibit students from concurrently holding other bursaries or scholarships. They are also required to re-apply every academic year.

The National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Student Financial Aid Unit states on their website that the financial aid package is a “partnership involving the student, his/her family and the University”. While this co-payment approach sounds reasonable in theory, in reality many students from low-income families still won’t be able to meet the balance of payments even after factoring in the bursaries. Many would still have to fork out several thousand dollars each year for tuition fees, books and other living expenses, even if they receive the maximum amount in bursaries.

Part-time work could make up for some of the shortfall, but the money earned may be needed to supplement family income or support siblings, rather than pay their own tuition expenses. In addition, since bursaries need to be renewed every year, the student has no assurance prior to entering university that his or her expenses will be adequately covered for the duration of the 3 or 4 year course.

A tuition loan may be an alternative, but it does not reduce the net price of education (in fact it increases because of the interest) and it saddles the student with debt even before he or she has begun working.

Therefore, I propose that the bottom 30 percent of households (according to per capita income) should be given full tuition grants and grants to cover other expenses like textbooks and board. The payable fees could be slowly increased from the 31st percentile until the 90th percentile. Students from middle income households should have access to a combination of grants, low-interest loans and “work-study” to cover all their tuition fees and expenses. Those in the top 10th percentile should pay close to full tuition fees.

Financial Assistance for Continuing Education and Training

The Finance Minister has announced that the Government will now provide subsidies for part-time degree programmes at NUS, NTU, SMU and UniSIM. The Government will meet 40 percent of the cost of these programmes. This is an excellent but long overdue measure. Many adults who take up these part-time degree programmes do so because they couldn’t afford to do their degrees after secondary school. They deserve to be given equal access to subsidised tertiary education just like their full-time peers.

Keeping Education Costs Down

According to NUS, 70 percent of their budget goes to paying salaries. In their quest to ascend to the top of the world university rankings, our public universities are paying increasingly large salaries to attract “top-notch” professors to come to Singapore.

I question the value of this strategy.

The rankings of a university are dependent more on the quality and amount of research by its faculty and post-graduate departments than the quality of instruction. This is because many top researchers and professors choose universities for their research opportunities and funding. In this regard, a highly-ranked university may not necessarily be the best in terms of teaching quality, and thus beneficial for those seeking higher education. I once had a physics professor who was a decorated US government scientist but couldn’t teach for nuts!

I wonder if our universities are wooing all these top professors, paying them top dollar and then passing on the cost increases to students, who may not enjoy any significant improvement in the quality of their education.

Conclusion

Many well-to-do Singaporeans would have welcomed the 20 percent income tax rebate and the abolition of Estate Duty. While I personally have no complaint about this, it presents a huge revenue loss for the Government. Couldn’t this money be put to better use by investing in education rather than giving it away to Singaporeans who don’t really need it anyway?

Singapore has done well as a whole in educating our people, earning praise from may quarters. Nevertheless, with increasing competition from India, China and the ASEAN region, the need to improve access to higher education has taken a much more urgent imperative. This need can be met to a large extent by increased financing for university education for Singaporean students, particularly those in the low-income group.

Singaporean students subsidising foreign scholars?

The Straits Times Forum, 20 Feb 08

Help grads who do as well as foreign talent

RECENTLY, I befriended a group of scholars from China studying at my alma mater, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). They were in their late teens and were attending foundation courses in English and maths before starting their undergraduate studies. In their five-year sojourn at NTU, they will be given free lodging and a monthly allowance of $500 each. Needless to say, they do not have to pay for their tuition fees. When they graduate, they must work in Singapore for six years as part of their ‘payback” bond.

A highly conservative calculation of their five-year tenure at NTU suggests that each will cost the Government or NTU some $70,000. That is, $30,000 for their five-year tuition fees, including the charges for their foundation courses, and some $40,000 for hostel accommodation and their monthly stipends. I graduated from NTU five years ago, with a good honours degree.

I was in the top 15 per cent of my cohort – and performed better than some of these scholars. While studying at NTU, I had to work as a pizza delivery boy to earn my allowance. Upon graduation, I had to start paying off a $24,000-student loan.

Why are Singaporeans like me not treated as considerately as such scholars? My study loan took five years to pay off after I started working. The China scholars receive financial support, a free education and start their working lives debt free. Their six-year bond is seen as a contribution to Singapore.

Am I not contributing as much, if not more? Non-scholar Singaporeans are not treated in quite the same way as foreign talent, regardless of how well we perform. The disparity is disheartening.

Don’t Singaporeans like me who have done well deserve some relief? True, local scholarships are available. But not every Singaporean who graduated well, gets one.

Can the NTU or the Education Ministry tell me why graduates like myself don’t deserve some relief or reward for doing as well as, or better than, some of the foreign talent?

Zhou Zhiqiang

I’m glad Zhou has highlighted this unfair situation in Singapore. Singaporean students, as far as I know, never get this type of no-strings-attached full scholarships. The foreign scholars only need to work with some company in Singapore for 6 years. Singapore Government scholars have to work with the government for 6 years.

I just wonder where MOE is going with all this sponsorships of foreign students using taxpayer money. Do they really have so much money to give away in their quest to make Singapore an “education hub”? Is this really making us an education hub?

In Western countries like the US, UK and Australia, the foreign students pay full tuition and effectively subsidise the locals. In fact, education is a big money spinner for their economy. In Singapore, it seems the reverse is true. How unfortunate!

I’ve written a related piece on university education financing on theonlinecitizen.com.

.

ASEAN has a key role to play in Myanmar crisis

This is an excellently balanced commentary on Myanmar/Burma by the International Crisis Group. Unlike most Western commentaries on Myanmar, it contains none of the sabre-rattling and calls for sanctions which have proven wholly ineffective. At the same time, it takes a different tone from that of ASEAN leaders, who seem content sitting back and saying there’s nothing that they can do about Myanmar because their influence is “limited”.

The only point I disagree with is that China’s influence over the Myanmar generals is limited. From what I understand, China is the number one supplier of arms and trade (a lot of it in the blackmarket) to Myanmar. Without those arms and that economic lifeline, the junta’s hold over the country would be diminished. China wants to curry favour with the Myanmar generals to prevent rival India from gaining more influence over them and threatening their supply lines to the Bay of Bengal.

Speaking of which, the author failed to mention about how India, the world’s largest democracy, can play an influential role in resolving the Myanmar crisis.

But overall a great article.

A Chance for Change in Burma
by John Virgoe, International Crisis Group

10 February 2008
The Boston Globe

Four months after crushing massive street protests, Burma’s generals seem as entrenched as ever. There are few workable options for a way forward. Twenty years of Western sanctions haven’t worked. Neither has 20 years of “constructive engagement” by Burma’s neighbors. It is time to try something else.

A three-tiered approach – with a division of labor between the United Nations, Burma’s neighbors, and the wider international community – holds the best prospect of launching a process of reconciliation and broader reform.

The first tier would build on the work of the UN secretary general’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. He has been able to establish a reasonable relationship with all the key players in Burma and abroad, and it therefore makes sense for him to coordinate the diplomatic efforts. Within Burma, his key role is to focus on political reform and national reconciliation between the government, the democratic opposition under Aung San Suu Kyi, and the ethnic groups. This will require sustained, low-profile mediation efforts. Retaining the confidence of the generals may mean it is sometimes better to leave public denunciations of their human rights record and other failings to others.

The second key tier would be informal regional talks. For years, Burma’s neighbors have taken heat for their defense of Burma, which has seriously damaged ASEAN’s relationship with the West. Now is the time for them to call in their favors with the regime.

Indonesia is particularly well-placed to take a lead. It is keen to show progressive leadership, and it carries weight in the region and in Burma. Its recent transition to democracy, reducing the military’s political role, and its experience with separatist conflict have obvious relevance.

Regional talks on Burma, based on the prospect of its reintegration into the region, should address the need for long-term stability, democratic reforms, and transparent economic policy. Without joining the generals in their paranoia, the participants will need to reassure them that Burma’s stability and territorial integrity are not threatened.

Western nations are generally reluctant to accept that others are sometimes better placed to take a lead. But Burma is such a case. It is possible that the junta might agree to constructive actions with a group consisting of, for example, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and China. It is inconceivable that they would do so if the United States or EU were present.

But the wider international community has a vital role to play too, providing the context for the regional talks and the UN’s mediation efforts. This would mean keeping human rights at the top of the agenda; developing a set of escalating sanctions and incentives to encourage progress and punish recalcitrance by the regime; and monitoring the regional talks to ensure they do not degenerate into an excuse for inaction.

A donors’ forum could help address the urgent problems of hunger, poverty, and disease. It could also start contingency planning for a transition to democracy. The crisis in Burma goes beyond politics. After decades of conflict, institutional failure, and poverty, the country suffers deep social divisions, incompetent and corrupt governance, collapse of the education system, deep-rooted structural poverty and a health crisis of major proportions.

The creation of a donors’ forum would also send a powerful message to Burma that there is an alternative to hostile relations with the outside world.

Finding a way forward is complicated by three persistent misperceptions. The first is that ever tighter sanctions can force change. But the generals are used to ostracism, and they are not going to be forced to give up power. The second is that China holds the key, if only it could be persuaded to exert its influence. China’s influence is important, but it can be exaggerated. China has been as frustrated as anyone with the generals’ resistance to outside persuasion.

The third misperception is that all Burma needs is an end to the junta’s rule. But Burma faces real problems of internal conflict and instability – including conflicts with ethnic secessionists which have raged ever since independence. Military rule has also caused most formal and informal institutions to wither. Even many in the democratic opposition accept that progress will require close cooperation with the army. The junta’s so-called road map to democracy, though wholly inadequate, could be viewed as an initial offer for discussion.

Change will require compromises, and will be slow at best. There is a small window of opportunity to try something new. Burma’s neighbors, backed by the international community, should seize the moment.

John Virgoe is South East Asia project director at the International Crisis Group.


.

China must be held to account before Olympics

A 13-year old Sudanese child witnessed a rebel soldier being first shot in the arm,
then executed by gunshots to the groin. (Sudan Watch)

Film mogul Steven Spielberg made the most rattling move so far for the Communist Chinese government by pulling out as artistic advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His objection: Beijing’s complicity in the genocide going on in Darfur, Sudan. This was by no means an unexpected move. He had urged China as far back as April last year to do more to press for change in Darfur.

Spielberg’s announcement came on the same day that nine Nobel Peace Prize laureates — including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel and Jody Williams — sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging China to uphold Olympic ideals by pressing Sudan to stop atrocities in Darfur.

I fully support Spielberg’s move. The PRC government must be held to account for its human rights abuses not just within its borders, but outside as well. Darfur is just one in a long string of human rights abuses which date back to the founding of the Communist state.

In more than four years of conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. Just last Friday, Sudan’s government attacked three towns in Darfur, forcing about 200,000 people from their homes and leading thousands to flee into neighboring eastern Chad.

Closer to home, we are all aware of the role that China has played in propping up the Myanmar generals who are responsible for killing thousands of their own people and dragging their country down into an economic abyss. Not to mention their jailing of responsible journalists like The Straits Times’ Ching Cheong over trumped up charges, and not even giving him the benefit of an open trial to present his case.

China is trying to use the Olympics to show their world that they have arrived, that they are a superpower to be reckoned with, when their dismal human rights record clearly suggests otherwise.

The world should seize this window of opportunity to highlight China’s contribution to the suffering in the world. I hope that in the coming months, international pressure will be be ramped up on Beijing to force them to relook at their policies. I have no doubt that Ching Cheong’s early release was in part due to the upcoming Olympics. Imagine what more can be achieved if more influential personalities like Steven Spielberg stand up and tell China’s leaders that enough is enough.

.