Can We Get A Refund?
Didn’t we just gave the top leadership of the civil service entire civil service a pay hike for supposedly world class service and governance?
First UNSW made a hasty retreat after just 3 months of existence. The EDB don’t even bother to give a good and proper explanation including just how much money was wasted in the process.
Now you have thugs going around knocking the teeth out of people and the police sitting on their hands letting the perpertrator go free. And this even isn’t the first time it had happened. Notice how after last year when some dude gave some MP a tight slap, the government was pretty quick to impose a harsher sentence so that one could potentially be sentenced to 10 years in jail for striking an MP. Guess ordinary citizens are just not entitled to the same protection under the law as our precious MIWs.Â
And I find it appalling how the police can instantly make an assumption that even after losing your 4 front teeth its still a non seizeable offence. Maybe these days our police are equipped with hi-tech medical scanners able to detect internal injuries so they can instantly make a decision as to whether the injuries are serious enough to make an arrest.
And as if thugs going around beating the shit out of people is not enough, geniuses in our civil service decided suddenly its a good thing to explore the idea of letting cyclists cycle on pedestrian paths. Have these people even spent some time walking on our narrow footpaths? Most of the time, these footpaths are barely wide enough to let two normal sized people walk abreast of each other. Now they are actually proposing to let cyclists in on the footpaths as well?
The rationale behind such a move was because of a rising death and injury toll among cyclists cycling on our roads. So guess what, our million dollar civil servants decides its a better idea to move the cyclists onto pedestrian paths so the death and injury toll can now be shifted to pedestrians instead. I guess far better to have injured pedestrians than have expensive cars dented by cyclists. Afterall, the car owners might turn out ot be one of the million dollar civil servant. The chances of an injured pedestrian turning out to be the same is astronomically much lower since these guys are too rich to walk.
I would have no problem if our pedestrian paths are wide enough to accomodate the added traffic, but its narrow enough as it is and the last thing we need is more cyclists cycling on the narrow paths. At least car have insurance, but a injured pedestrian has got what?
Khaw Boon Wan mandated means tested hospital beds?
And finally you have the very same EDB who got audited for the first time in 46 years (gasp)!!! And guess what, lapses in internal control procedures were found. Gee, no shit sherlock, what a surprise since these people were pretty much allowed to do whatever they want in the first 46 years of their existence without so much as an audit. And now you find lapses?
Can we get a refund already? What world class service standard are we talking about? Instead of a pay hike, I think a pay cut is in order here.
14 Comments so far
I am totally speechless…
So this what LKY and PAP meant by world class government and civil service while the rest of the world are ordinary and mediocore.
You would think considering the amount of effort put into ridding the triads in the early years of Singapore, that minor scoundrels like the aforementioned would be treated just the same way…this is not only shocking, but inexplicable by Singapore standards too…
The cycling thing is bizarre. Most places respond to cycling accidents on roads by educating motorists on how to treat cyclists and building bike lanes, not by letting cyclists onto pedestrian paths.
In their defence, though, the injury toll will certainly not be passed on to pedestrians, since it is much easier for cyclists to be injured by cars than for pedestrians to be injured by cyclists, due to simple physical considerations of mass and momentum. I can assure you that if a car hits a bicycle, the scratches on the car are the least of anyone’s worries.
[...] Now, of course, motor vehicles are much more dangerous to cyclists than cyclists are to pedestrians. Nevertheless, it does not make sense that when motorists present a danger through their own doing, that those who are made to pay are non-motorists. How about actually educating motorists on how to accommodate cyclists and making cyclist-friendly provisions on the roads? Oh, I forgot, it’ll slow down traffic and reduce economic productivity. [...]
if any of you remember recently the accident where a car when off the road and hit some people at a bus stop. A few days later some civil servant who designed bollards at bus stops and roads commented that people at bus stops have a role to play too and they should be more alert. I am like WTF?? So now the victims are somehow at fault?! This country is going down hill faster than LKY can climb up the lorry.
As a cyclist, the whole joke about the cyclist-pedestrian debate is it feels like the powers-that-be are trying to “hint” there’s no place for cyclists but daren’t say it out-right – after all, cyclists don’t pay road tax so why allow them to use the roads, right?
I recall an incident when queried, despite being a “world-class” country there weren’t any cycling lanes and the reply from the MIW was something to the extent of (I’d love to be corrected here – does anyone out there have the actual excerpt?) “oh, it’s too humid here – no one would want to cycle to work”.
Of course, I was recently told there are certain areas in S’pore where they have bike lanes with lampposts on them and cyclists are required to “dismount and push” their bikes.
Go figure….
Recently there is also a molestor in Woodlands who rode his bicycle on the pesdestrian lane and molest people on the road.
I was also a cyclist myself in the past and I must say but place doesnt make sense. You rode on the road, you got will have funny (and some rude) people blocking you. You rode on the road, your heart sometimes freeze where there is a nabei bus/taxi that speed pass you so damn close.
In some countries, they have a dedicated lane to cyclist and motorlist (means bike and bicycle goes into same lane). I don’t think that will happen here, since no precious multimillion elite will be on bike. Maybe the day when some high level people wants to cycle to work everyday, they will all nod their head and say “good ah, build dedicated lane good idea”.
So getting 4 teeth knocked out by thugs is a non-seizeable offense and the police can’t do anything. Perhaps they’re too busy going after gay people, who they can charge under Section 377A in a SEIZEABLE offense. So two homosexuals having consensual sex in their bedroom with no victim can be arrested and jailed…but the poor guy got his teeth knocked out and they won’t do anything to arrest the thugs?
Where are the priorities in Singapore? This is just screwed. I guess all the morality thumpers hate gay people a little more than street thugs.
The new Sg made ghost movie’s title is “M.I.W” in English & “Gui-Ah” in Chinese.
“M.I.W” = “Gui-Ah”
So, nex time when U c these MIW (Men In White), jus shout “Gui-Ah” & run in the opp. direction!! Ha, ha!!
To say that the entire civil service got a pay rise is not quite accurate.
Normal service increment is included in the “pay rise”, but not highlighted by the press.
E.g., annual SI is S$100. Govt announced pay rise of S$150 for that grade. So the “rise” is really S$150-S$100=S$50.
Those who got promoted got even less, ‘cos they already got increment from going one grade higher.
World class goverment ????
Where in the world is there an overpaid Prime Minister that needs an overpaid Mentor ?
Such government can’t be world class !!!!
Just an overpaid one !!!!
For a political party that prided itself on being able to find and develop talents for Singapore’s present and future, they have to resort to one person taking 2 jobs: the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.
Could you pls be more specific when you mention Civil Service? I’m a civil servant but I received no pay increase and I’m paid $1000 less than my colleague while we do the same shit.
Anyways… I do agree that putting cyclists on pedestrian walkways is a stupid suggestion. But since the death toll on cyclists is rising on the roads, what would be a better alternative? I guess the day would come when cyclist can cycle in parks only.
My two cents anyway
I stand corrected. My apologies to all the civil servants who didn’t get any increments or just measly ones.