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

[sharklaserscom]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

Really miss kamp days. Tats the price we have to pay for everything including sai water just to be in the list of developed countries!

Another first? Paying good money for sai water?

[skyleon]

Work to remove bicycles has started: oBike chairman

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Published 4 hours ago

Zhaki Abdullah

Sue-Ann Tan

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SINGAPORE - Work to remove oBike's bicycles from public places has already started, according to the chairman of the beleaguered bike-sharing firm.

Mr Shi Yi, oBike's founding investor and chairman, said several companies have already been appointed to clear the two-wheelers from public areas, and work to remove them started on Monday (July 2).

However, he reiterated that the firm may not be able to clear all of its bikes by Wednesday (July 4), the deadline given earlier by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

oBike, which began operations in Singapore in January last year, has about 70,000 bikes here.

"Due to the scale of oBike's operation and capacity restraints, we will highly likely require an extension," said Mr Shi.

The LTA said on Tuesday that it would consider extending the deadline if oBike demonstrated its commitment to the "full and prompt" removal of its bicycles.

If oBike failed to do so, the LTA would begin clearing the bicycles on Thursday, and impose fees for doing so on the bike-sharing firm.

Users could face criminal charges if a police report is filed against him or her for taking an oBike home.
Related Story

Taking an oBike home is illegal - even if company has shut down, say lawyers

The Straits Times understands that various agencies such as the LTA, town councils and the National Parks Board are monitoring the situation to see if oBike will remove a significant number of bicycles, as well as whether it is making progress in areas such as user refunds and data protection.

The firm's abrupt closure on June 25 left users wondering whether they would be able to get a refund of their deposits of up to $49, which they had to pay to rent the bicycles.

Mr Shi told The Straits Times on Monday that oBike owes its users here about $6.3 million in deposits.

Separately, ST reported on Wednesday that oBike owes more than $140,000 in fines to at least five town councils.

However, the payment of these amounts is subject to the decision of the liquidator, said Mr Shi.

"We will do our best in the interest of our users," he said, adding that an official announcement regarding the appointment of a liquidator would be made on Thursday.



continue reading here : https://www.straitstimes.com/singapo...obike-chairman

[skyleon]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

I contemplating migrating with whole family.

Luckily you have a choice . For me 1 don't have a choice as I need to take care of my age parent .

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by skyleon

Luckily you have a choice . For me 1 don't have a choice as I need to take care of my age parent .

I still have my siblings. But they understand i am doing this for my children. Kind of pessimistic. I dont see light end of the tunnel.

[skyleon]

oBike's usage of customer deposits to fund operations 'unethical': CASE


04 Jul 2018 09:20PM (Updated: 04 Jul 2018 09:30PM)


SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing operator oBike’s usage of its customers’ deposits to purchase bicycles and fund operations is “unethical and unacceptable”, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said on Wednesday (Jul 4).

As of 5pm on Wednesday, CASE had received 1,044 complaints from consumers asking for a refund of their deposit with oBike after the operator’s shock announcement last week that it was ceasing its operations in Singapore.

The majority of the complaints were lodged within the last week, CASE said.

“Since the announcement that oBike would be ceasing operations, CASE has engaged oBike together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA). We were informed by oBike that consumers’ deposits have been used to purchase the bicycles and fund their operations,” CASE said in a statement.

“CASE has communicated clearly to oBike that this practice is unethical and unacceptable, as the refundable deposit acts as surety for consumers to be responsible when using the bicycle-sharing service, and should not be used for other means.”

CASE said that using these deposits to purchase bicycles and fund its operations means oBike would be hard-pressed to provide refunds without new sources of funding.

Under oBike’s terms and conditions, riders would have to pay a deposit before they could use an oBike. The operator is contractually required to refund the deposit back to the rider's account when requested.

“The deposit was never intended to be used as prepayment for future services,” CASE said. “As such, the deposit ought to have been placed in a separate account to allow oBike to refund consumers when required. The deposit should not be used to purchase assets and/or fund other operating expenses.

“We put forth our position to oBike that they should honour their contractual obligations to consumers.”

oBike announced last Monday that it would wind up its operations in Singapore, citing difficulties in meeting LTA’s new requirements, which were implemented to tackle indiscriminate parking.

Since then, hundreds of worried customers have sought to get back their deposits, which adds up to US$4.6 million (S$6.3 million) in total, while oBike scrambles to retrieve its fleet of 70,000 bicycles that have been left abandoned in public areas islandwide.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...-case-10499488

[skyleon]

Need more water? PUB aims to produce more with same amount of resources


Every time you go to the toilet, your waste enters the sewers as used water, gets treated at a water reclamation plant, then processed into NEWater or released into the sea. Vanessa Lim with more.


By Aqil Haziq Mahmud
@AqilHaziqCNA
04 Jul 2018 07:37PM (Updated: 04 Jul 2018 10:54PM)


SINGAPORE: Every time you go to the toilet, your waste enters the sewers as used water, gets treated at a water reclamation plant, then processed into NEWater or released into the sea.

The treatment process also produces sludge, a mud-like mixture of solid and liquid bits that goes into the incinerator and then dumped in the landfill.

Sounds simple enough, but there's a problem: It's not just a bit of mud.

Singapore consumes 430 million gallons of water a day (mgd), enough to fill 782 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and generates 300,000 tonnes of sludge a year, equivalent to the weight of 3,000 buses.

These figures are not about to go down. By 2060, when Singapore is set to use twice the amount of water it does now, it will generate 600,000 tonnes of sludge annually.

This presents a challenge, as Semakau Landfill is projected to run out of space by 2035 at the current rate waste is being generated and burnt.

Enter national water agency PUB, which is trying to recycle more of the sludge into biogas, an important source of energy.

PUB is already turning some of the sludge into biogas, which means its four water reclamation plants are 25 per cent energy self-sufficient.

This is because its plants have digestors that convert the organic matter in sludge into biogas, which can in turn power generators.

But within the next decade, PUB wants its plants to be fully energy self-sufficient. This means turning even more sludge into biogas through technological innovations.

One way is through a thermal hydrolysis process (THP), which pre-treats sludge using high temperature and pressure to improve its breakdown rate in digestors. This allows more organic content to be converted to biogas.

PUB is testing this technology at a demonstration plant at the Jurong Water Reclamation Plant. The demonstration plant can treat up to 70 tonnes of sludge a day.

The agency is also testing a "novel combination" of processes, including a biologically enhanced treatment facility and energy-efficient membrane bioreactor (MBR) that helps shorten the treatment process, reduce energy use and maximise biogas production.

This combination is being validated at the Ulu Pandan wastewater treatment demonstration plant, which uses 40 per cent less energy than a typical plant.


WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?


Besides extending landfill lifespans, how will reducing the energy and waste footprint of treating used water benefit people?

As PUB explains, used water treatment is the "backbone" of NEWater production, which currently supplies up to 40 per cent of Singapore's water demand. By 2060, NEWater will supply up to 55 per cent.

The same goes for desalinated water, another national tap that will be stretched by rising demand.

“Meeting future water demand with today’s technologies will see PUB’s energy footprint quadruple to 4,000GWh/year and the amount of sludge generated double to over 600,000 tonnes a year by 2060,” PUB said on Tuesday (Jul 3). “This is unsustainable and can only be overcome by leveraging technological innovations.”

That energy footprint would have been enough to power 686,000 5-room Housing and Development Board flats for a month.

“The price of energy is going to go up,” PUB's assistant chief executive (future systems and technology) Harry Seah said. “If you don’t do anything today, the cost of producing water is going to go up.”


WATER PRICES

When asked if the technological innovations would help keep water prices stable, Mr Seah said “we do our part through efficiency to drag it (out) as long as possible, that’s the best I can do”.

Since July, the price of water has gone up 30 per cent following a two-step increase. The hike was in line with the rising costs of producing water.



continue reading here : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...waste-10498142


So what are the rising costs of producing water ???

[skyleon]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

I still have my siblings. But they understand i am doing this for my children. Kind of pessimistic. I dont see light end of the tunnel.

If you do plan to migrate you need to consider giving up citizenship . Once that is done you can get back your cpf . Also you may have to consider yours sons do they still need to serve NS ??? If you can totally detach yourself from this Singkieland then by all means migrate and start a new life overseas . two thirds of my batch already migrated overseas and are doing well in their lives . They are still asking me when I can go over to join them .

[skyleon]

The severely disabled can access their own CPF savings early – but only $50-$200 per month, dependent on their Medisave balance


By Jewel Stolarchuk -
July 4, 2018

The Ministry of Health announced that locals who are severely disabled may finally have early access to their own savings that are locked in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Medisave accounts, from 2020 onwards.

Making the announcement yesterday, the Ministry revealed that the new scheme will only be available to those aged 30 and above and that the individual applying to withdraws funds must have at least S$5,000 in their CPF account. Eligible CPF account holders may access their savings from their own account as well as their spouse’s account.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday that allowing Medisave withdrawals for severely disabled individuals will provide flexibility in planning for long-term needs: “We don’t really want them to consume services that are not really necessary; some of them might have informal care arrangements and will need some financial support to make sure these arrangements are affordable.”

Although many perceive this new move as a liberalisation of CPF withdrawals, the eligibility requirements and caps on withdrawals may hinder some from accessing their own Medisave savings even if they are severely disabled and need help.

According to MOH, CPF account holders must have a Medisave balance between $5000 to $20,000 and their spouses must have at least $5000 in their own Medisave accounts to be eligible to withdraw $50 to $150 from their own Medisave savings per month.

Those who have a Medisave balance that stands at or exceeds $20,000 can withdraw the maximum $200 per month. This maximum cap will apply to all severely disabled individuals who apply to withdraw their funds, even if they are supplemented by their spouse’s Medisave balance.

MOH cited that residents aged 65 and above have a median Medisave balance of $19,000, with nearly half having $20,000 or more and a quarter having $5,000 or less in their Medisave accounts.



continue reading here : http://theindependent.sg/the-severel...isave-balance/



Seriously even still want to further control our medisave even if we use it for ourselves ?

[skyleon]

How “severely disabled” a person should become in order he can withdraw cash from own CPF?

Published on 2018-07-04 by Correspondent


It was reported in the news today (4 Jul) that CPF members can now withdraw money from their own CPF, but only if they are "severely disabled" and are at least 30 years old.

Apparently, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has taken pity on the "severely disabled" Singaporeans and decided to allow them to withdraw a monthly cash from their own CPF Medisave account for subsistence.

He told the media, "When a Singaporean is facing severe disability and, at the same time, facing financial difficulties, I feel that we can afford to be more flexible."

Those with at least $5,000 in their Medisave accounts will be able to withdraw $50 a month while those with $20,000 or more will be allowed to withdraw $200 a month.

Fifty dollars a month is roughly equivalent to buying 20 packets of chicken rice for a month at $2.50 per packet. Some netizens have commented that a packet of chicken rice now costs $3 in most hawker centres. In that case, $50 would only buy the person about 16 packets of chicken rice a month.

Defining severe disability

So, to withdraw this $50 or $200 a month from one own savings in one's CPF Medisave account, how "disabled" a person should become in order to qualify?

According to Ministry of Health's website, it defines "severe disability” as the inability of an individual to perform three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) independently. This means that the individual will require the physical assistance of another person for the ADL.



continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...-from-own-cpf/

[Baigonggong]

Everything they also want to control . Lucky Ah Gong still can walk a bit but I need missy to feed me .

[Tai_zi21]

Originally Posted by skyleon

The severely disabled can access their own CPF savings early – but only $50-$200 per month, dependent on their Medisave balance


MOH cited that residents aged 65 and above have a median Medisave balance of $19,000, with nearly half having $20,000 or more and a quarter having $5,000 or less in their Medisave accounts.



continue reading here : http://theindependent.sg/the-severel...isave-balance/



Seriously even still want to further control our medisave even if we use it for ourselves ?

What can $50-$200 do in Singapore nowadays?

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by Tai_zi21

What can $50-$200 do in Singapore nowadays?

In excess of mthly med bill of $200, the diff shld be paid n subsidize by MOH.

[JoesephToh]

This is another way they are trying to suck out more money from our medisave and deciding for us how we should use our own money . When someone try hard to sell something and say this is good please be very careful . As usual they are still using scare tactics on us.

[HeartyItalian]

Originally Posted by JoesephToh

This is another way they are trying to suck out more money from our medisave and deciding for us how we should use our own money . When someone try hard to sell something and say this is good please be very careful . As usual they are still using scare tactics on us.

They are not called white bastards for no reason .

[moobs34]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

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

If any of our leader is held hostage and I have a rifle, I scream at the enemy "You fucking ballsless cheebye, I dare you to kill him!!"