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http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/alwyn-lau/article/my-year-in-singapore This is the personal opinion of the columnist. Alwyn is enduring a doctorate in Political Philosophy. His day job involves making teaching less painful. He also torments Sociology students on occasion. He blogs at wyngman.blogspot.com. MARCH 30 -- It was a dream job. 2001. I joined a banking project in Singapore. One time I was on this flight, there was this anorexically challenged guy bragging about his job in Kiasu-land... someone (stupidly) asked him in what currency he was paid, he answered so loudly even the Changi control tower could have heard it, “I’M PAID IN SING DOLLARS!” Wow. The almighty SGD. That elixir of life every KL exec hopes to drink from. That potion of success which Malaysians can’t wait to “quietly” inform their peers of. It’s like a Rolex which causes us to, uh, roll up our sleeves and wave our hands more often? Anyway, so there I was. A year in Singapore. About 50 weeks longer than the usual fortnightly vacations I’d take to see my cousins there when I was younger. There are many things a Malaysian would greet with relief across the Causeway, and I was no exception. I mean, where do I start? No more policemen hiding under flyovers (Singapore police, so I heard, also “hide” but it’s WAY more clandestine and sexy than the way “Bersih, Cekap & Amanah” does it). No more train or bus queues which stretch to the moon and back. No more roads and corridors with rotten food strewn all over, barely a few feet from the trash cans. No more chewing gum and cigarette smoke. No more waits at government departments during which one could do a Masters degree. No more traffic jams because no need to drive; indeed, no need to even think about buying a car as the very phrase “Certificate of Entitlemeent” is liable to cause brain damage. Voice as symptom So yeah. Nice. But then there were some “anomalies.” I noticed that practically everyone I was dealing with at work… was Malaysian. I noticed that very few people exhibited the natural kind of relaxation (or even joy) one “feels” in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi, etc. As in, most folks in Singapore appear to be either rushing somewhere or stressed out about something. Why? (Seriously—why?) I also noticed that if shopping in KL was rated 4-star, then in Singapore shopping was a bleedin’super-NOVA. Orchard Road makes Jalan Bukit Bintang look like an alleyway in Batang Berjuntai. Also, the “voice” coming from the Singapore MRT trains, the one which announces the next station, sounds like a dude who just crawled across the Sahara with a knife stuck in his back and with barely a drop of water left in his larynx. Dhoby Ghaut sounds like “dubbigot” with the volume turned down and the spirit turned lower. This phenomenon echoed the fact that Singaporeans are (officially?) among the most unhappy people on the planet. Compare this to our Malaysian trains. The way the LRT voice says Kelana JAYA!! it’s like the girl hit a SPM home-run of 14 As and Khairy Jamaluddin just proposed to her… all in the same day. Damn, after hearing that kind of announcement I tell myself I have to get off at this stop. Another problem. To be fair this isn’t entirely a Singaporean thing; it’s really more a Chinese thing, IMO: the crazy late nights. The company I joined had this paradoxical habit, not at all helped by the project being based in what’s affectionately known as Kiasu-land: Everbody knew that if you want to be in the bosses’ good books, you can’t leave a MINUTE earlier than 8pm. People who leave before 6pm have to cover their faces like convicts. It didn’t matter whether you did any work at all between 9am and 5pm; in fact, it would beirrational to slog from the morning because you’d be too tired to carry on till 8pm. The nett result? You had dozens of (relatively well-paid) executives “taking it easy” in the morning and afternoon, only to raise their game between 5pm and 8pm. Why? Because this made them look great for appraisal purposes. Sure, the projects were still on time. Sure, people were still working. Sure, the money was still coming in. But “beneath” it all was a lie; the efficiency was supported by mass deception and feigning. And stress was unnecessarily high with relationship-time, obviously, being unhelpfully low (everyone left after 8pm, remember?). Was this attitude symptomatic of the island-state? Things look great, clean and prosperous on the outside but people keep mum about certain strange things? It’s all great until it’s not Of course we know what else happened in 2001. I was at Morton’s when the first plane hit. And I was sitting in my Toa Payoh condo staring in disbelief as both the towers came crashing down. 9/11. An act of war, literally, out of the blue. The very thought that any nation would bomb the heart of American capitalism was – until that fateful day - funny. Given the US’ military invincibility, its geographical distance from Europe and the Mid-East, was it impossible for a mega-structure like the Twin Towers to be taken down within a few hours? I think there’s a lesson here for Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew’s methods and policies have brought wealth, resilience and stature to the island-state. Education-wise, Singaporeans are in a league of their own. As a financial hub? Heck, it’s playing a different sport from the rest of ASEAN. So everything’s okay – until they’re not okay. It’s like, the United States is safe – until two airplanes get hijacked and used as missiles. Despite an internationally enviable GDP, Singaporeans are by and large still gloomy. I don’t care so much for “happiness” but if we lack joy (not the same thing) then things can’t be that good. In a twisted way, perhaps the island-state’s greatest strength is also its biggest risk. Lee Kuan Yew’s proudest legacy may also mirror his most hazardous one : An obsessive drive for success, both political and economic. I left the island in December 2001. I don’t regret working there but I don’t regret leaving either. In a sense, I’m thankful that my year in Singapore taught me much. One of the best lessons is one I’ve had to relearn over and over again: We can succeed, make money, be respected – but at what price? And most critically, when will the bill arrive?

Did anyone read the column in today's ST by a snr correspondent? Although he was mainly addressing the whole COE issue, one thing that stood out to me was when he said that *some* taxi drivers only pick up enough passengers to cover their rent and then use the taxi for their own things thereafter. By extension, a taxi driver who on a given day has no errands to run might be able to collect enough rental for the next day's rent as well which mean he may use the whole of the next day to himself. If this is true (which i am sure it is as a snr correspondent would not anyhow make such statements and face lawsuit) then i guess this is the reason (or at least one of the main reasons) why though with so many new cabs each month there is still shortage of cabs. This must be very bad and must stopped. Taxi companies should set sales targets for taxi drivers (targets can be based on the 20th percentile of top drivers' sales and all other drivers must then come within 10% of their sales). So if the 20th% driver has sales of $10,000 per month, then the other drivers must achieve at least $8,000. Those who not able to hit their targets for 2 consecutive months AND 4 out of 6 continuous months will be disciplined. GPS can be used to further prove that the taxi driver is not "sincere" (going to certain places frequently where he doesn't pick up sales) and will be booted out. As for other things like pay more, etc....well, what can i say right? Everyone wants more pay. Recently bus drivers and pre-school teachers so.... I know some people might come and flame me as a "pappy dog" for saying this but i have to applaud LTA that when they removed taxis from Cat A, they did think it through and implemented something that not just relieves some of the upward pressure on Cat A but at the same time also found a way to improve taxi service standards. They did not just "bow to pressure from us" and set up a separate category for them as what many of us were saying. They did more than that. Kudos.

Check this link: http://www.freep.com/.../oil15e_20040715.htm Don't be fooled by pricey, fancy oils Auto experts say money often wasted July 15, 2004 BY MARK PHELAN FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC Deciding what oil to put in your car used to be as simple as ordering an after-dinner drink in Dublin. You'd buy a quart of 10W-30 as reflexively as I'd order a glass of Jameson's whiskey. Today, topping up your crankcase is more like watching my friend Deb order a martini: Bombay gin -- Sapphire if you have it -- a hint of vermouth, a dash of olive juice and bleu cheese instead of a pimento in the olive -- no, make that two olives on a skewer. Oil companies advertise a bewildering variety of oils they say were painstakingly developed for specific vehicles. Whether you drive an SUV, a car with a lot of miles on it, or a sports car, they claim to have the one and only oil that's right for it. It's enough to drive a person to drink, and it's a waste of money, according to a variety of experts. "They're trying to distinguish an essentially generic product," said an expert on Ford's vehicle-service operations, who asked not to be named. "They're marketing a commodity." The designer oils with their special claims can cost six times as much as motor oil distilled from the black goo that came bubbling up in Jed Clampett's backyard. A recent check of Detroit-area stores turned up synthetic oils selling for as much as $5.99 a quart, versus 99 cents for store-brand 10W-30. That's an extra $20 to $30 an oil change, but it's chicken feed compared to rebuilding an engine, so a lot of people dig into their wallets just to be on the safe side. Automakers say you should simply stick to the oil and service schedule they recommend. "We test oils in extremely rigorous circumstances," said Tracey King, Chrysler Group product development specialist responsible for testing and recommending oils and other organic materials. "Our engineers try to break the engine's parts. If they succeed, we specify another oil." "As long as you follow the manufacturer's recommendations, you can't go wrong," said Harold Schock, professor of mechanical engineering and director of Michigan State University's Automotive Research Experiment Station. The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and petroleum industry's trade group, certifies oils and agrees that the manufacturer's recommended oil is the preferred choice. "We always recommend consumers follow their owner's manual," API spokesman Kevin Ferrick said, although he added that owners of classic cars from the 1960s and earlier should also consult with car clubs for the latest information. The API's "Starburst" emblem on the container guarantees an oil meets the automakers' standards, King said. Beyond that stamp of approval, the API does not endorse any specific oil. Chrysler recommends traditional oil, sometimes called mineral oil, for almost all its vehicles, she said. The only exceptions are high-performance models like the Dodge Viper, for which the company recommends synthetic oil. Most automakers recommend a single grade of oil -- at Ford Motor Co., it's a 5W-20 synthetic blend -- for nearly all their cars and trucks. Ford recommends oil changes every 5,000 miles or six months for vehicles that get normal use and every 3,000 miles or three months for vehicles that do heavy work like towing and hauling heavy loads. Most automakers recommend oil changes in that range, but some, including BMW and General Motors, use engine sensors to determine the interval, which can be much longer. Some synthetic oils claim to last as much as 15,000 miles, but "we see no evidence of that," Chrysler's King said. "They have not demonstrated it, so we do not accept it." Automakers all say the oil they put in a new car or truck should be used throughout the vehicle's life. "Oil companies make so much money off oils for higher-mileage cars," King said. "We don't recommend it. There is no need to spend money on it." OIL DESIGNATIONS The numbers following an oil's name -- 10W-30, for example -- indicate how viscous, or thick, the oil is. The first number, 10 in this case, shows how viscous the oil is at low temperatures. The second, 30, is its viscosity at high temperatures. The W means "winter." Both numbers are important. Oil must flow freely at low temperatures for lubrication when the engine first starts and during the winter. But the oil must also flow at high temperatures, such as when the engine has been running for a long time. Contact MARK PHELAN at 313-222-6731 or [email protected].