Dear Editors,

This creepy NTU student started an elitist dating app called HighBlood. It markets itself as an app without banglas, maids, uglies (ugly people?) or escorts.

The creator claims that there are no uglies in the app but puts himself in the app and rates himself in the 92th percentile. Is this the world class standard of NTU?

Is that what the best minds in singapore come up with? A racist, classist, sexist, elitist dating app that no one asked for?

No Taste No Class
A.S.S. Contributor

Read more about the Elite dating app in the link below. (This is not a paid advertorial)

Dear CPF Board,

I’m writing to question and hopefully clarify the purpose of the Medisave scheme. Both me and my wife are self -employed and are required by law to contribute almost $5,000 each to our Medisave accounts annually in cash. Just how does Medisave help us? We found out the hard way that the Medisave scheme is causing us more financial burden instead of helping us.

I suffer from hypertension and needs to pay around $720 annually for my medication alone. I also need to go for blood tests and doctor’s consultations in order to get this medication with additional costs and nothing is claimable beyond the prescribed $400 annual withdrawal limit. Who and why dictate that I can only withdraw $400 annually from my Medisave account for treatments of such chronic illnesses? After all, I did not ask for or enjoy having hypertension. I’m not requesting Medisave funds to make my face prettier. I would rather pay the $720 medication fees for treating my hypertension in cash instead of having to contribute almost $5,000 to Medisave and only be allowed to utilise $400 each year.

Recently, my daughter was required to undergo for 2 surgeries. The total costs of the surgeries, hospitalization, medication and therapies etc. cost us around $60,000. Also recently, my wife was required to undergo an MRI scan. The scan itself cost around $1,400 and she was only allowed to utilise around $200 from Medisave. We were lucky to be able to claim the full amount from private insurance instead. It was during these occasions that we discovered that Medisave was almost absolutely of no help to us.

We are lucky to have bought private insurance that paid for almost all the costs. Since private insurance can cover such unexpected medical, surgical and hospitalization expenses in full, and one can only withdraw very controlled and limited amounts of funds from Medisave for such purposes, why not allow citizens to choose between getting insured privately instead? After all, the premiums for private insurance that reimburses hospitalization and medical costs in full is only a few hundred dollars per person per annum. If you compare this with the almost $5,000 per person annual contribution requirement, it just doesn’t make any sense.

When my father was dying of cancer in 2008, his doctor suggested him having a PET scan which, if I remembered correctly, cost around $2,500. We were told that this have to be paid in cash and not the dying man’s Medisave or ours. Why even deny a dying man’s need to utilise Medisave monies from his own account really trouble me until today. All in, if the government is afraid that they have to foot unpaid bills by any citizen because they have insufficient Medisave, me and my family members are more than willing to sign any form that relinquish them of such responsibilities.

We will take care of ourselves.

Bryan
A.S.S. Contributor

A motorcyclist ended up pinned under a bus after a colliion at Toa Payoh Lorong 6 yesterday at 11AM.

According to a witness, 3 passers-by rushed forward to offer assistance to the injured biker, who was still conscious. One man provided aid to the victim while another sheltered him from the sun with an umbrella.

The man's motorcycle lay on its side a short distance away.

The police confirmed that a report was made at 10.56AM about the accident.

The victim was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Police are investigating.

There is controversy brewing over the newly introduced autistic character on Sesame Street, but not for the reasons you might expect.

In a Channel News Asia report about the show, a netizen by the name of Meng Lee accused the show's producers of introducing the character as a precursor to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual) characters on the show.

The new autistic character, Julia, is autistic, but not LGBT.

Meng Lee claims that following the introduction of Julia, LGBT characters would be introduced to "induce fear and mind alteration and force, coax, coerce, threaten, bully and insult" children into accepting LGBTs as a norm in society.

What do you think?

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Today's news all but confirms what people have been fearing for the past few weeks. Five taxi companies are making the surge pricing their norm, with 10,600 cabs offering this next week onwards. Yet, the taxi companies said to expect to pay less most of the time.

Who are they kidding? Trans-Cab, SMRT, Premier, Prime and HDT Singapore Taxi will join GRab Taxi Singapore in using surge pricing, with Comfort expected to come up with their own pricing structure in two to three weeks. So, from next week onwards, expect less taxis to be on the road in non-peak periods, because who would want to drive when fares are at its lowest? And during peak hours, you want a cab, you pay more. Probably waiting time also longer.

So, if you want to save that money to pay for your increasing water bills and S&CC, then take public buses and trains. Squeeze your way home.

Andy Tan

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

It has happened again, so soon after the last one in a pre-school in August last year. This time, a staff of a PCF Sparkletots pre-school was diagnosed with active tuberculosis. The pre-school in Clementi was immediately informed when this case is confirmed, triggering a mass screening of staff and children who had been in close contact with the infected staff.

So far, 66 staff and students of the school located at Clementi Avenue 1 had been screened by the MOH , with 45 tested negative, and 21 more awaiting a doctor's evaluation. All 66 screened do not suffer from active TB. This must be a scary time for parents of the kids sent to the school. Most of these kids are very young, and most of the parents are worried about the TB skin test and how that would affect their young children.

Some 90 per cent of patients, including majority of the 1,500 Singapore residents who develop TB every year, are cured. But treatment lasts at least six months, and requires a specific combination of drugs to be taken daily.

Let's hope that the TB does not spread to the other staff and students at the pre-school.

Sim N Y

A.S.S. Contributor

After Amos Yee insulted our ( allegedly) beloved God-King-supreme leader-minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew and made fun of christians and muslims we Singaporeans have to say enough is enough.

We made it clear that we are not ready for his western ideals of freedom of speech with no limits, we singaporeans need freedom but with a template and lines drawn in the sand, beautiful lines that is the hallmark of being singaporean.

We request the United States of MURICA!!!(gunshots PEW PEW) to take him off our hands.

Sign this is you don't want Amos Yee to ever set foot in Singapore again!

Click on the link below to sign the petition.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

The Singapore Police have released a statement indicating that scams involving credit-for-sex in the first 16 days of March this year numbers 53. 53 cases in just 16 days! Last year, the total number reported to the police was 779. Seems like the scammers are getting bolder, and more people are just so desperate that they are falling for the scam.

Police said that victims are usually men, and the online platforms involved are WeChat, Locanto and OkCupid. Scammers would usually engage their victims via phone calls and online messaging. The victims are usually told to buy gift cards or online shopping credits such as iTunes or Alipay Purchase Cards before they can meet up or date the scammer. What makes the victims desperate to meet the scammer? Usually, sexual favours are dangled to the victim to entice them.

These men need to stop thinking about getting sexual favours from people they have never met. Time to stop, then use your brains to think that this is a scam no matter how enticing it sounds. And stop looking for sex online. Perverts!

Nurul L

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

A 34 year old man have been arrested by the police for his suspected involvement in a series of milk powder thefts from supermarkets all over Singapore. This all stemmed from a police report lodged on 6 March, that indicated that 24 tins of milk powder had been stolen from a supermarket along Turf Club Road.

Now, the question is, how did the man managed to steal 24 tins of milk powder and walked out of the supermarket? Surely someone would have seen this? And surely, carrying 24 tins of milk is a bit ridiculous? Who would use 24 tins of milk in a short space of time?

Incredibly, when police raided the suspect's residence, a further 200 tins of milk powder were also found. Possible case of stealing the milk powders and selling it to make money? So desperate to make money to live in expensive Singapore?

Li LL

A.S.S. Contributor

Netizen Tawfik Daud's facebook post went viral after he "exposed" the 3 upcoming MRT stations being built in the Tuas area. Tawfik took a picture of a peeled off MRT Map and underneath it revealed the stations Tuas Crecent, Tuas West Road and Tuas Link. 

Were you aware of these new MRT stations or was it just as surprising to you? Tuas residents are you happy that your home prices will rise soon because of these increased transport connectivity? 

Siao liao lah Singaporeans!

The new China "One Belt One Road" website is out. Guess who is missing from the map?

From Wikipedia:

"The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as The Belt and Road (abbreviated B&R), One Belt, One Road (abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy and framework, proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between the People's Republic of China and the rest of Eurasia."

If you look at the website: https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/

The list of countries does not includes Singapore. Even South Korea is listed.

https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/info/iList.jsp?cat_id=10037&cur_page=1

China is going to exclude Singapore from all future economic plan?!!

The price of formula milk in Singapore has increased by 20.7% to 39.3% over the last 4 years.

According to data collected by Babyment.com about baby milk powder sold in Singapore early this month, there was a stark increase in price when compared against data collected in December 2012.

To make things worse, the price of formula milk sold in Singapore is much higher than similar ones sold in Malaysia and China, with two formula milk products selling at 2.2 times the price of similar ones in Malaysia.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

With the 2G Mobile network nearing its shut down date next month, it is the foreign workers who are going to be the ones most affected by it. Ordinary Singaporeans would most likely already be on 3G or 4G networks, and those who are still on 2G, can just change without any qualms.

But for the foreign worker, like our Bangla construction workers, the shut down of the 2G network will really hit them hard. Currently, most of them just use the 2G phones to call back their families, just to chat with them, being away in a foreign land.But soon they can only call their families using at least a 3G network phone. That means buying a smart phone, which cost at least $100 for the lower end ones. Where can they find money to buy such phones?

Such smart phones are a luxury items to these workers. Unfortunately, whether they can afford it or not, they still need a phone to stay in touch with their families, and also as a means of contact for them when in Singapore, in case they need to go for medical check-ups or for any other matters concerning their work.

Question is, how many of them can actually afford such a luxury? Are we denying them a chance to talk to their families starting from next month onwards?

Elvin Pang

A.S.S. Contributor

For the past 2 years, neighbors living at Block 112 Yishun Ring Road have had to endure the craziest antics from a 56 year-old woman living in their block.

Nicknamed the "Sunglasses Auntie" for her habit of wearing sunglasses even at night, the woman has been terrorizing her neighbors by throwing salt, oil, litter and even urine outside her flat.

The situation became so bad, a neighbor ended up building a wall blocking her neighbor's path by stacking tables and chairs along the corridor.

According to the affected neighbor, the auntie even stuck wet toilet paper on her bicycle seat, which was parked outside her own flat.

Dear A.S.S. Editor

In an interview with the local media, former head of the Civil Service, Mr Peter Ho insisted that Civil Servants' job is not just to follow rules, but also ask how to improve them. Peter Ho was the Head of Civil Service from 2005 to 2010.

The reporter should have asked him during his more than 5 years in service as the Head of Civil Service, how many of his civil servants actually ask him the question on how to improve the Civil Service. Civil Servants are well known to process everything according to their SOP, and follow rules, even if blindly doing what might not be efficient. Which Civil Servant have you come across who do things their way, without following rules, or their bosses' orders. Perhaps the clue is in the word Civil Servants. After all, those people in the Civil Service are servants to someone, so how can they question the authority?

Feel that this is another lip service, report coming out just placate civil servants for the very low performance bonus they got this month. They are telling you that you can work creatively and ask questions of your superiors, but at the end of the day, you are still a servant, and you will still be paid relatively low.

Tee CS

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Not sure if anybody knows this, but Malaysia apparently have a program called "Make Malaysia My Second Home" (MM2H). Malaysia's Tourism and Culture Minister just recently announced that there had been 1,258 successful applicants from Singapore to participate in this program.

The Minister also said that the program had enabled Malaysia to be placed sixth in the world and first in Asia as a retirement destination. So, 1,258 Singaporeans, although not a significantly high number, have decided to uproot and settle in the neihgbouring country. Their cost of living is definitely much cheaper than that of Singapore's, plus the strong Singapore currency ensures that the spending power is with Singaporeans.

So, no surprises for the people who uprooted. In fact, is is more surprising that not a lot more numbers have made the move from Singapore to Malaysia. Maybe it is just a matter of time.

Ben Heng

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

NTUC Fairprice have announced that they will open another six more supermarkets for budget conscious shoppers this year, due the demand for more of such budget groceries. These stores feature a smaller but more affordable range of products, including housebrand products, Every Day Low Price and Yellow Dot items, which comprise about half the product mix in the stores.

Makes you wonder why they can't just carry the cheaper and budget groceries product in all of their NTUC stores. Must be very discriminatory to budget conscious Singaporeans, is it? What is wrong trying to save a few dollars here and there, now that prices everywhere are just getting too high?

Seems like this is the new norm. The supermarkets also cater only to specific markets, the atas ones for rich and elites, the normal fairprice one for every Singaporeans, and a budget ones for those who can't really afford to spend so much on groceries. Are we already a society where class divisions are present?

Terence Chao

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

There were some reports that despite Singapore's gloomy economic outlook for 2017, Singaporean employers are still expecting to award their staff with salary increases, although the increases are negligible. In the survey, most of the companies indicated that salary increases of between 3-6 % are expected.

As have been said countless times before, these negligible pay increases, although are very welcome indeed, will not help most people facing tougher financial challenges. How to? Water price already slated to go up by 30%! That is not counting into effect the other fare increases, like the town councils service charges, transport fares, and even food prices, due to the water price hike.

True, while we will get a pay increase, compared to the other fare increase, maybe we will end up with lesser money than what we currently have. Times are really tough. Even when you expect a salary increase, you can be sure that you will save even lesser than before.

Brie Lam

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

I found a wallet in front of the Indian store beside the fruits shop at Toa Payoh market this morning.

Didn't know what to do, so I gave the wallet to the fruits lady vendor. If anyone knows the person, kindly inform her. Many thanks!

Mary Ann

A.S.S. Contributor

Dear A.S.S. Editor

Wah, is this true? Healthway Medical Corp is facing huge financial difficulties that they even had to tell patients that they are running out of medication, and tell them to take their prescriptions to pharmacies because the firm had not been able to place orders fast enough?

For those patients who are not urgent cases, they have been told to return another day to collect their medicines. The The Straits Times had reported that its checks showed that no doctors turned up for work at several of its family clinics on Monday last week, because certain anchor doctors fell ill and no locum ones could be found to take their place. Some replacement doctors and staff are also owed salary by the company.

This is really serious. Healthway Medical Group is a well known group of clinic, and they run Singapore’s largest network of private medical centres and clinics. If even they could not face up to the financial crunch, then what hope are there for other private clinics?

Ken Low

A.S.S. Contributor