Dear A.S.S. Editor

On 01/02/2017 at around 1:10 PM at a coffeehouse near Bedok Central NTUC. I and my family was sitting down at a table after doing some tiring shopping for our groceries. We were having drinks chatting away, suddenly a lady from nowhere came to us and wanted to do a survey.

My mom swiftly gave a green light although i signaled her not to do so. The lady sat down, started to surveyed us about our home income, our life, our career, how is our employer treating us. Then the lady said, she will give us a Shop N Save store vouchers. Suddenly it ringed a bell in my mom's head. The store shop and save was closed down already. the lady said, she will give $100 vouchers, in order to get that, the lady said, we must pay deposit of $300 in order to get the vouchers.

Immediately, we know this is a scam. We told her to get lost, she forced us even more to pay her to get the vouchers. We finally tell her, that we will call the police if she do not leave. Finally she left.

My advise is, please beware of this new scam around.

Mr Joseph

A.S.S. Contributor

<Credits: Pissed Off Ex-Uber Driver>

Finally! Thrown keys back to Lion City Rental at 1645 hrs... Screw you Uber!!

These 5 months were like hell for me.. Drove 12 hours and above but the fare was like peanuts!!

Screw all the ABNN expats who behaving like kings! Fuck you! We are all equal here! Especially those residing in River Valley, Bukit Timah and Tanjong Rhu. Go back to your fucking condemned India!

Screw Uber customer service.. you all deserved to be shot and hang! Fast and warm service to new drivers.. Once "up lorry" we waited forever on the phone begging you to answer! Our questions are always replied with generic replies and never get addressed! Fuck you too!

Screw most taxi drivers.. Uber and Grab we are all the same on the road, hoping to earn fares like you do. No need to take pics of us at taxi stands, no need to high beam us and no need to show your middle finger!!

Bottom line.. Delivering LPG or vitagen also better than driving Uver/Grab. Fixed pay, medical benefits and Sunday off. No more early morning open eyes and think of covering rental!!

Fuck you Uber!!

Dear A.S.S. Editor

CAREFUL! Charity "Ripoff" Nowadays, there are some people carrying this A4 Size brochure. These people will approach and persuade you to donate money to them. They coerced you to donate a minimum of $10. I'm not really sure how much goes to charity, but, I know that $4, 40%, will go to the person and some of the money will go to their boss. Just think about how much actually goes to the charity. Some of these people even have the audacity to pocket the $10 themselves.

If you think you will not be persuaded to donate to them, please beware. These people know our weak spots and use all kinds of tactics to get us to give them our money. These people are trained to take our money. They know about body languages, facial expressions and what words to use to manipulate us, in giving them our money.

I hope that you guys can spread this story around. And I hope that you guys will not give your money to these people, but to actual charity organisations, such as cancer foundations that really need your help instead.

Beware of Charity Scammers

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Unless the government explain in detail the calculations made that lead to the 6.9 million White Paper, no matter how they try to sell it and assure us with the grand plans of land use and MRT new lines etc, it just does not bite.

We may be able to accommodate the 6.9 M population with 700,000 more homes, but all in pigeon holes of 50 stories high blocks almost side by side, is not what we see as quality living. Quality living is not how many homes is being built and how long the train lines will be, it is how well the homes are built and how the environment is like without one looking out of the window and all one sees is human beings and another block of HDB flats all over the place.

I hope they get the point. Human well-being involve the use of open green spaces and space with few people to balance the urban lifestyle. Stop using technocrats to develop and shape Singapore. We need more than technocrats and scholars to shape Singapore's future. We now need social scientist on board to give balance to this government. Truthfully speaking, the cabinet is made up of too many generals, lawyers, unionist, civil servants, doctors and businessmen. Singapore is more than a sum total of these professions.

Chan

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

I hope you can continue to raise awareness that our MOM law is not only toothless and anti workers but also one siding only with employers.

I have been working at Patxxxx Pte Ltd since the 90s, which is Malaysian company run by a "datuk kam" and his sister who have been cheating on S'porean workers of our 13th month bonus ever since the law was amended to do away with it since 2008, blaming it on a crisis. But if that the case, then why are MPs of both divides still enjoying their 13th month bonus while remaining silent about companies who exploit loophole in the law to disadvantage local workers?

This is the 9th year that Patxxxx Pte Ltd has been cheating on workers' salaries knowing that the government and unions are "on their side". They tried to pull the same stunt on our Malaysian colleagues in JB several years back but was taken to task by DAP MP Lim Kit Siang who championed real action on their behalf and initiated a strike. datuk kam eventually relented.

I really cannot understand why Malaysia, a third world country have first class MPs while ours campaign on all kinds of promises but become mouses after being sworn in? #weneedaworkersrevolution

Sarada

A.S.S. Contributor

Singapore Police Force and ICA arrested 2 Bangladeshi men for unlawful entry into Singapore after they were found swimming in the sea off Woodlands Waterfront at 1.44am on Wednesday (1 February 2017) morning. Officers spotted the men floating in the sea and took immediate action to apprehend them.

For overstaying or illegal entry into Singapore, both suspects face jail of up to 6 months and 3 strokes of the cane. It is unclear if they were leaving or attempting to enter Singapore.

This comes just days after a crocodile was spotted in the waters near the Woodlands Causeway which may pose a danger to anyone attempting to swim across the sea to enter or leave Singapore.

You may check out the crocodile sighting video at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/allsgstuff/videos/2381847248622657/

HERE'S A SENTENCE that risks boring you to tears if only because you've read it so often: Technological advancement is taking place so rapidly that entire industries, not just jobs, are going under.

But before you roll your eyes and yawn, understand this: Unless you're the guy sitting at the top of the system that makes the rules – and I mean at the very top – your posterior is going to be the one closest to that boot marked 'RETRENCHMENT'.

Focus for a minute: Uber is going with driverless taxis, Deliveroo is looking to using drones to make its food deliveries, and MacDonald's is experimenting with automation to let customers create their own burgers. Property agents, stock brokers, receptionists, cashiers and sales assistants are becoming surplus to requirements as buyers and sellers directly transact their business through the Internet.

Even higher-end professionals like accountants, lawyers and medical professionals are not in the safe zone: Sophisticated tax software will eliminate the need for accountants, court cases can be fought with the employment of artificial intelligence in place of attorneys, and surgeons replaced with robots which can carry out intricate operations at lower costs.

The discussion is not whether workers are replaceable but how rapidly the process is taking place. In 1998, the Kodak Co. employed nearly 150,000 workers. Today, Facebook, managing how we share photographs through Instagram, has only 10,000 employees – about 7% of what Kodak used to employ. In the 1970s, the American communications giant AT&T had 750,000 employees under its belt. Today, Google dwarfs it in market value but hires only 55,000 people.[1]

The way things are trending, huge swathes of the population are going to be rendered workless resulting in an increasingly jobless economy. When that time comes (and it'll be sooner than you think), the idea of a Universal Basic Income would have to be contemplated. But that is a discussion for another occasion. (In the meantime, read Alex Au's discussion on this topic here.)

Not only is the world changing, the pace is also quickening. Today's Google, it's executives fret, could become tomorrow's 'there once was this giant corporation' story if the company does not constantly innovate.

Progress is driven by the obsession to develop new technology – an obsession embedded in the cultures of advanced economies where freedom of thought fuels debate and creative destruction.

Falling behind

Think about it. Now think about Singapore.

We are neither productive nor innovative; we make nothing that the world wants to buy. Yes, we're tops when it comes to using technology but that's not what is going to make us competitive. The fact that we – to adopt the commonly used slang – suck at inventing new technology is what is going to be our undoing.

We're falling behind and, with each passing year, going to fall even further behind if nothing changes.

What can we do? More immediately, what should we not continue to do? For one thing, let's stop cobbling together committees made up of establishment folks, conducting discussions in PAP echo-chambers and writing fanciful reports that say much but achieve little.
Picture

​It was the Economic Review Committee in 2003, the Economic Strategies Committee in 2010 and the Committee for Future Economy in 2017. Each one liberally employed buzzwords like 'innovation' and 'entrepreneurship' and 'knowledge economy' as if merely repeating them will magically transform our economy.

The groupthink meant that what's really needed to cultivate an innovative culture – one, dumping the state-dominated economic model, two, reforming the media, and, three, revamping the painfully out-dated education system – were not examined.

Whistling past the graveyard

On the first point: In an economy whose domestic sector is overwhelmed by Government-linked companies (GLCs), how are entrepreneurs going to emerge?

The sector comprises several hundred conglomerates and their subsidiaries and employs tens of thousands of workers. But surveys tell us that GLC executives do not possess the requisite leadership skills especially when it comes to taking risks and motivating workers.[2] Is it any wonder then that our labour productivity grows sideways?

To top it off, the overall performance of the sector is largely inscrutable, that is, until they go bust (Neptune Orient Lines) or come close to it (Keppel Corp and SembMarine).

The argument that GLCs are a viable and necessary part of the corporate landscape is borne more out of the PAP's autistic pronouncements than hard evidence. The case for Temsek Holdings to divest its portfolio has never been more pressing.

Yet, the government's strategy seems to be one of whistling past the graveyard.

A secret formula?

The mass media is another area in need of a desperate makeover. The PAP is, however, betting the farm that it can transform Singapore into a society on the cutting edge of research and innovation while clinging onto 1960s standards of state censorship and citizen intimidation.

Maybe it knows the secret formula to squaring this circle. But with ministers telling us that flooding on our roads is a once-in-50-years phenomenon, we shouldn't hold our breaths.

If we are going to nourish creativity, we must upgrade minds. If we are going to upgrade minds, we must discard state control of the media. We must encourage open exchange of ideas, intelligent debate, free expression and questioning minds.

How long more are we going to delude ourselves and deny the fact that the most innovative societies are also the most open and democratic ones?

(The third area that needs reform is our education system which I discuss here and will not repeat in this essay.)

There is a steep price to pay if these reforms are not undertaken soon. Even if a political epiphany miraculously descends upon the PAP today and its leaders awake to implement the much-needed changes, it would take another generation for results to actualise.

Yet, where there should be urgency, only calm pervades. It is, tragically, the calm of a sedated populace, and it is in this state that we will walk over the cliff with the PAP.

S’poreans are world’s biggest gamblers

I refer to the article “Small country, large stakes: S’poreans are world’s biggest gamblers” (The New Paper, May 26, 2015).

It states that “While the national average spent by local gamblers last year is much lower at US$1,019 (S$1,361), it was enough for La Fleur’s Magazine, which reports on the US$262 billion global lottery industry, to name Singaporeans as the biggest lottery spenders.

1.5 times that of the 2nd ranked

That figure is close to 1.5 times that of the second-ranked Massachusetts State Lottery, where the average spent last year was US$730.

Large number of betting outlets

One reason given for the high lottery sales is the large number of betting outlets here, which makes it convenient for local gamblers to place their bets.

$8b a year

In total, local punters spent close to $8 billion a year on games run by Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club.”

How much of the casinos’ $5b lost by those living here?

In this connection, what about the estimated $5 billion gaming revenue a year of the two casinos?

Why people gamble?

As I have written scores of articles on gambling in Singapore and Japan – I have been talking to quite a lot of people over the years, to try to find out what is their primary reason for gambling.

Of course, from my experience most people can’t or won’t tell you and most probably don’t even know themselves.

Their only “hope”?

Anyway, my take is that a lot of people gamble because it is the only “hope” for them.

They see no “hope” in their jobs in the future. As they get older, their wages start to fall and they also fear losing their jobs (retirement study commissioned by the Ministry of Manpower).

They see no “hope” in their lifestyle in the future, as the cost of living keeps rising (most expensive city in the world, The Economist).

They see no “hope” in growing their assets in the future, as their bank deposits (savings 0.1 per cent, fixed deposits 1 per cent), CPF interest (2.5 per cent on the Ordinary Account), bonds (Singapore Savings Bonds less than 2.5 per cent even if you keep it for the full 10 years), stock market (almost zero return on the STI last decade), etc, are and have been among the lowest in the world.

They see no hope in acquiring big ticket items like a house or a car, as their net disposable income makes these unaffordable and beyond their reach (estimated about a quarter of workers earn less than half the median income).

Leong Sze Hian

A resident complained about the unreliable Sigma lift in his HDB block located at Skyline @ Bukit Batok. He narrated how he almost fell down after the lift made a sudden stop and opened its door. From the images provided by the resident, the lift failed to stop at the correct level and was at least 30 centimetres too high.

Because of the unreliable lift, the resident chose to take the stairs instead. If this happened when an elderly person was taking the lift and he or she had stepped off without checking if the exit was level, the elderly person would most certainly have suffered a serious fall.

When will HDB fix this lift problem once and for all?

Original FB complaint:

"Just now I almost fell down when using 296B lift (Skyline @ Bukit Batok). The lift suddenly stopped and door opened. So scared then I took staircase instead."

On Tuesday, an eagled-eyed student, Ashley Soo was onboard the North-South line towards Jurong East when she spotted a doll perched on a ledge at Dhoby Ghaut MRT tunnel.

Miss Soo managed to capture a photos of the creepy doll which she and her friends felt had been "purposefully" left there.

It was reported that SMRT have since removed the doll and investigations are ongoing.

On Tuesday (Jan 31), NTUC Fairprice took to social media to assure customers that the FairPrice house brand jasmine fragrant rice is NOT made of plastic.

This was to counter the false information that had been circulating on social media which alleged otherwise.

Yesterday, some shocked customers had approached various stores to demand for a refund.

Customers who suspect that they had bought plastic rice can approach the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) to verify its authenticity. The authority regularly inspects and samples imported rice to ensure it complies with Singapore's food safety standards and requirements.

https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/ntuc-fairprice-assures-consume...

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Today at about 6.45pm, we encountered this inconsiderate big fxxked taxi driver who park his or her comfortdelgro taxi (SHA9303S) on the "no parking lot" today, blocking me and my wife and my young child's way. We have to walk one big round to reach our preferred route as my son is too young only 2 yrs old to walk our desired route home.

The illegally parked taxi has also blocked the pavement leading to the Handicapped lot as well, causing inconvenience to the less-fortunate, the elderly and also family with young child or with baby strollers. I think the undermentioned driver is indeed very selfish. This incident happened at block 445, Tampines st42 carpark area.

Jackie Chun

A.S.S. Contributor

<Credits: SPCA Singapore>

DOG CAUGHT IN SUSPECTED ILLEGAL WILD BOAR TRAP

*Warning - The following photographs contain graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.

On 26 January, we rescued a community dog that had its leg caught in a suspected wild boar trap. These traps are not only cruel, they are illegal. Wild boars, or any animal, caught in the traps end up suffering very painful and debilitating injuries which may result in death.

Luckily, we managed to get to this dog in time, thanks to the good hearted people who alerted us to the dog’s plight and our dedicated rescue officers who made multiple attempts before finally catching the elusive dog.

While slightly wary of people, he has been slowly warming up to the staff who have been caring for him and tending to his wound. We are glad he is recovering well and that, in this case, he will probably not be losing his leg. Other animals caught in traps have not been so lucky.

We are currently investigating this case of suspected illegal trapping. If you have any information on poaching activity going on in Singapore, please call the SPCA’s hotline at 6287 5355 ext 9 or email inspector@spca.org.sg

<Facebook post by Andrew Loh>

Noisy children playing football - SLA shuts down the football fields.

Noisy music at Thaipusam - Police banned the playing of music. (Ban relaxed after protests.)

Noisy chickens in the neighbourhood - AVA kills the chickens.

#BrilliantSolutions

Dear A.S.S. Editor

A Saudi Diplomat, who is based in Beijing, was found guilty in court today for forcefully molesting an intern at a Sentosa hotel. The 39 year old diplomat, Bandar Yahya Alzahrani, had apparently trapped the intern in the toilet of his hotel room, and for the next 15 minutes, he proceeded to hug the intern, violently molested her, kissed her face and her neck, and rubbed his body with the intern's.

The diplomat claimed that the intern had in fact planned this incident with some others, so they can extort money from him. This claim was immediately dismissed by the judge, saying that the diplomat was an unreliable witness, as at the end of his questioning, he even claimed the intern had fallen in love with him.

These kind of people should be put behind bars for a long time. Diplomats think they are above the law, can even make ridiculous claims that the intern wanted to blackmail him and had fallen in love with him. Good that he was in Singapore for a holiday, and not as a diplomat, so no diplomatic immunity. Jail him, cane him, make sure he knows he is an idiot who thinks the world revolves around him!

Wee C K

A.S.S. Contributor

Police have arrested the driver of the white Honda who rammed into a motorcyclist on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) last Sunday (29 Jan).

The driver is a 51 year-old-man. He has been arrested on the charge of he driver had been arrested for the offence of causing "grievous hurt by a rash act and failing to render assistance".

In a dash-cam footage that went viral, two motorcyclists riding side by side when the fast-moving Honda hit the 46 year old motorcyclist, Mr Hajni Yaacob. Subsequently, the motorbike caught fire.

Mr Hajni, a Malaysian was returning home to Johor Bahru when the accident occurred.

Currently warded in the National University Hospital, Mr Hajni expressed gratitude for being alive.

He added, "The driver must be taught a lesson because had there been no witnesses, he would have escaped the law."

<Credits: NUS Whispers>

Saw this at the Yale-NUS library. Even for a "liberal" college, this is a new low. Might be my own opinion but shouldn't we be striving to rid ourselves of our C/M/I/O markers? Shouldn't we be striving to create a truly Singaporean identity, no matter how contrived it may be?

Playing ethnic/racial lines and politicising this issue is a sure fire way to deepen racial lines and cause greater divide. We already have a great problem not just with racial divides, but with international ones (think local attitudes toward our friends from the region and beyond. Really think about it.)

Yale-NUS was a great idea. The individuals (Sangeetha Thanapal) inciting and propagating these hateful Liberal Left ideals will only nurture the storm USA is experiencing right now. A harsh, clear, irreconcilable ideological divide, and a more unforgiving Conservative opinion.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

So, AVA said they will cull wild chickens if they receive complaints over noise, while NParks has said that they will cull the wild chickens to prevent interbreeding with their endangered ascendants, the native red junglefowl.

In this year of the rooster, this is not good news at all for the wild chickens. Seems like the chickens days of running wild all over Singapore are over, as two government agencies have them in their sights. Funny thing is, are there that many wild chickens left in Singapore? Seems like all the chickens found in Singapore are those ready to be cooked ones or in fast food outlets. Don't see any live chickens running around all over Singapore.

What few that are left, and they are going to be culled. Thanks to people who cannot stand the noise of chickens, we can say goodbye to them. What do these people expect, the chickens to have their mouths taped shut?

Chix Lover

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear Editor,

I refer to your article https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/brilliant-solutions-public-com...

On one hand, we find the government too authoritarian.

On the other hand, we have civil/public servants who provide knee-jerk solutions to deal with or "put an end" to complains made by the public.

Decisions made by the government are non-negotiable. The public facing civil/public servants however seem too weak to stand up against public complaints.

They aspire for the Singapore football to enter the World Cup but they shut down football fields because they children were "noisy" when they played the game. How do young talents get nurtured?

Wild otters are welcomed but chickens get culled for being noisy. It okay to take lives when it gets noisy?

Eugene Lim
A.S.S Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Remember the Mr Singapore World 2010, who was mocked for his poor diction in a self-introduction video when he represented the country? He's in the news again, and again for reasons he would not be proud of.

Hu Hanxiong, now 31, was jailed for three months yesterday after pleading guilty to causing grievous hurt to a cabby by performing a rash act. Hu and a friend had boarded a taxi driven by Mr Lee Yew Chye, 47, at the Esplanade at around 4.20am on May 24, 2015. The pair had earlier consumed alcoholic drinks at a birthday celebration. Apparently, they had drunk so much, that they had vomited into plastic bags that the cabby had given them. However, upon reaching their destination, they had refused to pay. The cabby had then called the police for assistance, and when he tried to stop them from leaving, Hu proceeded to attack the cabby. The attack was so vicious that the cabby ended up with a permanent scar on his forehead, scalp and face, with nerve damage.

So, now we know Mr Singapore World is also quite a violent, drunk idiot. Better not mock him on his poor diction, less he starts getting violent on you.

Ricky Mah

A.S.S. Contributor